Earth Gambit: Light is a team-based game, and players play as either the Aliens who want to conquer the Earth, the Scientists who fight for existence, or the Extinctionists, who want to rid the Earth of any intelligent life.

The playing deck is a mix of different coloured science cards and action cards. Team wins when a certain amount of science cards of that team has been played. To achieve their goals, players can also use psych weapon or psych defence cards, and stall their opponents by playing other different action cards.

The catch is in the limited choice players have on their turn: from the 3 cards they have in their hand, they must play one card, and pass one card to the next player, but they don’t necessarily know who they are giving the card to. The identities of all players are hidden, but it is not really a social deduction game per se, as although it might become quite clear who is who after a few rounds, it doesn’t make the winning much easier (or the game less enjoyable) – so we call it a social adventure game.