Even in board game form, games by Studio Oleomingus are simply mesmerizing. The team behind Somewhere, a surreal stealth game set in an alternate world version of colonial India, have started work on an unnamed historical project about running a Portugese colony in 17th century Goa.

In a recent post about the project, Oleomingus provides a series of mockups detailing their German-style board game influences and diving into how the game works. The map is dotted with vibrantly colored squares, representing the majestic palaces you’ve built up and the different resources there are to extract: cotton, wood, gold, grain, and gunpowder.

Presumably the gunpowder is something you manufacture, but coming from the folks behind Somewhere, where toothbrush forests and enormous oil lanterns are the norm, I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s a mineable resource.

Since this is a colony, mining too much on one square can cause the labor force there to rebel. The specific mechanics of handling this and other aspects of the game are unclear so far, but Oleomingus makes mention of securing trade routes, managing local interests, religious conversion, and other “nefarious shenanigans” related to colonialism.

An artist named Gayatri Kodikal is working with Studio Oleomingus on the game, which is also being supported by the India Foundation for Arts and the Archaeological Survey of India, so much of this will be rooted in the real medieval history of the western Indian state of Goa.

Check the Studio Oleomingus blog for more on their board game and Somewhere.