Will you join the rush on Planet Baen when it opens for settlement on June 15?

Planet Baen is a web-based game, integrated with Facebook, which permits players to earn free ebooks by playing. The player chooses the political and economic orientation of the settlement and then attempts to develop the colony, while earning free ebook coupons in the process.

Here is a list of game activities from their website:

Planet Baen Things You Can Do

Shop for assets.
Surge your assets for bonus points. (Click an asset on the Assets-page grid to see Surge and other options.)
Redeem your gifts.
Send gifts to other players.
Adjust your political, economic, and moral outlook.
Check out ebook links and adjust your wishlist queue.
Upgrade individual assets to your current tech level.
Sell off less productive assets.
Complete projects to make high-level assets and qualify to level-up your freehold.

The full press release follows the jump.

Planet Baen Ebook Game Ready to Launch

Science Fiction Publisher’s Web Game Lets Participants Earn Free Ebooks by Playing

RIVERDALE, NEW YORK—Planet Baen is set to launch June 15, 2012.  Planet Baen is a revolutionary web-based game from Baen Books which encourages players to earn free ebooks by playing. The Facebook-integrated game allows players to create a settlement on a planet on the galactic frontier.  The player chooses the political and economic orientation of the settlement and then attempts to develop the colony, while earning free ebook coupons in the process.

                        Coupons are fully redeemable for a wide selection of titles at the publisher’s ecommerce site Baenebooks.com.

                        “It’s a book you select,” says Baen Books publisher Toni Weisskopf.  “No conditions, no requirements for you to buy anything else.”

                        Players can continue to earn ebook coupons as they move up the levels in the game.

                        “Our aim with Planet Baen is completely and utterly subversive—to get players to read,” Weisskopf adds.  “We hope a player will stop playing, read and enjoy the book they’ve earned, buy all the other books in a series, then come back to the game and play some more.”

                        Baen Books is distributed by Simon and Schuster and known for its story-oriented approach to science fiction and fantasy by such authors as David Weber, John Ringo, Mercedes Lackey, and Larry Correia.  Baen plans to add features and exclusive fare from its well-known authors as the game develops that will “unlock” as players move up in the game.

                        “We’re also developing a print and ebook shared-world anthology based on settings and characters we’ve created for the game,” says Baen editor Tony Daniel.  “We’re very excited about developing what we think will be a rich and on-going connection between online gaming and ebooks.”

                        Players can sign up to play the game and begin earning free ebooks at Planetbaen.com beginning June 15, 2012.