Impulse is a quick-playing 4X (explore, expand, exploit, and exterminate) game set in space with the game board being composed of cards that have actions on them. Players also have cards in hand, and in addition to featuring one of ten possible actions, these cards have a color (red, yellow, blue or green) and a size (1, 2 or 3, as indicated by the number of icons on the card). Each card also has six edges, and these edges connect adjacent cards in the hex-shaped playing area.
The cards in the playing area start face down, with each player controlling a card(their Home) on a corner of this area. Each player has two transport ships in the center of his Home card and a cruiser on an edge. Cruisers are used to patrol sectors of space and destroy opposing transports, while transports let you activate sectors that you enter.
On a turn, a player adds a card to the Impulse from his hand, then (optionally) performs an action for a tech in his playing area, then (optionally) performs all the actions in the Impulse, then draws two cards and adds them to his hand. The Impulse is a line of cards shared by all players that changes turn by turn as players add cards to it and as cards fall off once it reaches maximum size. Thus, players need to feed the Impulse with actions that benefit them more than opponents, but that's easier said than done.
When you perform actions – whether from moving transports to them or using the Impulse – you can boost them by having minerals of the same color or lots of transports. Each action has a single numeral on it, e.g., "Command [1] ship for one jump" or "Build [1] cruiser at home"; when you boost an action, you increase that numeral.
Players score points by destroying enemy ships (one point per ship), by controlling edge spaces on the central card (one point per edge), and by taking other actions via cards. The first player to score 20 points wins!
- Fast playtime under an hour in most scenarios
- Multiple deployment paths and strategies
- Strong variety in card uses and board interaction
- Chaos can be overwhelming for new players
- Rules dense for beginners
- Political agenda drafting and space conflicts with a roll/impulse mechanic
- Space, sci-fi 4X environment
- Bold, cinematic sci-fi vibe with quick play
- Twilight Imperium
- Eclipse
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- agenda/voting elements — players set agendas for future scoring and actions
- Multi-use cards — cards serve as spaces, hand cards, and agenda points
- roll selection impulse — a dice/roll mechanic drives actions with impulse choices
- space combat/economy via cards — combat and economy resolved through card play and resource management
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- the cards can actually become the terrain, you're creating the battlefield as you play
- it's organic, not like rigid and sterile landscape
- Splendor starts with everyone just silent, then the game escalates into intense negotiation
- you can play cards to become the terrain so you're building the battlefield as you go
- you can kind of bluff and read each other with the command and colors system
- it's a pure and accessible civ-like experience that scales well with人数
- the negotiation and hotel-dynamics in Lords of Vegas create a very social table
- Age of Steam-level purity with Steam's maps adds a refreshing clarity