The conquest of space was one of the greatest achievements of the 20th century. In 1957, the first satellite—named Sputnik 1—was launched into orbit. Just four years later, Yuri Gagarin was the first human in space, aboard the spaceship Vostok 1.
This game is dedicated to the early space explorers: all the outstanding people who worked to make space travel possible. As Yuri Gagarin said at the moment of his launch: “Let's go!”
You are the head of a Research & Development Hub in a Space Research Center, competing with other such Hubs in the spirit of the Golden Age of Astronautics. Your goal is to complete large-scale space projects by gathering the best and brightest minds humanity has to offer.
Thanks to your efforts, satellites, manned spaceships, and orbital stations will be launched into space!
You score Progress points by recruiting Specialists and completing Projects. The game ends when all available Projects are completed, or you have recruited 12 Specialists to your Hub. The player who made the most Progress is the winner!
Key game features:
Closed loop resource system: when recruiting a Specialist to your team, you pass Research tokens to a player to your left.
Specialists are assigned to the Divisions according to their skills. The more Specialists you have in a Division, the easier it is to recruit new ones to that Division.
All Specialists have unique abilities. Only the ability of the top card in each stack is active. Therefore, by adding a new Specialist, you often get a new ability but lose the other one. Think carefully what is more important for you at that moment in the game!
- easy to learn
- good filler game
- not deeply strategic
- resource economy and exploration
- Space exploration theme
- light, family-friendly
- Splendor
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- economic engine — spend resources to progress on goals
- hand-management — players manage actions to advance their space program
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- Star Realms is fantastic
- we should probably give Star Realms the boring coffee seal of approval
- Sorcerer is a fun game
- the artwork for Sorcerer is fantastic
- Space Explorers is a simple fun game
- it's cooperative and accessible
- this game makes you think like a winner
- the 3D buildings are amazing
- it's the giveaway sirens
- Munchkin Dungeon is a wild ride
References (from this video)
- Beautiful 1960s artwork
- More strategic than Splendor
- Interesting resource economy
- Card abilities add replayability
- Great player aid
- Thin thematic connection
- Somewhat derivative of Splendor
- Wild resource tokens cheapen fixed economy concept
- Government Space Program
- Space Race Era (1960s)
- Recruitment and Project Completion
- Splendor
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- card drafting — Players select specialists from a display
- Resource management — Players use research tokens to recruit specialists
- set collection — Collecting specialists with specific skills to complete projects
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- I am a sucker for the space race
- Gameplay is where this game comes in since there's no theme
References (from this video)
- stellar art across all cards
- deep engine-building with clear rulebook
- complex for new players but approachable with guidance
- space-age advancement and discovery
- space race and exploration
- tech-forward, aspirational
- Splendor
- Gizmos
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- deck-building — players acquire cards to build an engine and tableau
- engine-building with stacking effects — abilities from stacked roles trigger cumulatively
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- Vegas II like yes except with superpowers
- I love the narrative love the story feel
- it's a great game
- this is art you're looking at right now
- if you're a Harry Potter fan check this game out
- it's the best aliens board game I've ever experienced