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Game Info
Year
2017
Collection
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Description
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!
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All mentions
Browse transcript mentions, sentiments, pros/cons, mechanics, topics, quotes, and references.
Total mentions: 7
This page: 7
Sentiment:
pos 6 ·
mix 0 ·
neu 1 ·
neg 0
Showing 1–7 of 7
Video GIpkRS23jXs
Getting Games Discussion at 24:37 sentiment: neutral
video_pk 91553 · mention_pk 245714
Click to watch at 24:37 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
neutral
Pros
none
Cons
none
Thematic elements
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Mechanics unknown.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- Origins is obviously a lot smaller than Gen Con
- I quite liked it
- overall I had a good time at origins
- it's a heavy game with a really neat card and worker placement mechanism
- I actually quite enjoyed this one
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video 2b1UeEBh1AM
Getting Games Discussion at 28:10 sentiment: positive
video_pk 91483 · mention_pk 245495
Click to watch at 28:10 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
none
Cons
none
Thematic elements
Comparison games
- Splendor
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Mechanics unknown.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- this is puffin she's a six-month-old Minnie burna doodle and she is just the best
- it's just been wonderful having her around
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video pCNtAqqkwNc
Review at 0:31 sentiment: positive
video_pk 72709 · mention_pk 172138
Click to watch at 0:31 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Wonderful nostalgic art style.
- Graphic design is well-made and specialist abilities are understandable after one playthrough.
- Offers strategic choice and tactical elements.
- Plays quickly.
- Enough replay value with double-sided projectiles.
Cons
- Would have loved to see more variation in the art style.
- Can be limited by luck problems if the right specialists don't show up.
Thematic elements
- Competition to launch satellites, manned spaceships, and orbital stations into space first.
- Space Research Center in the late 50s
Comparison games
- Splendor
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Race for Objectives — Projects are first-come, first-serve. Game ends when a player recruits 12 specialists or all projects are completed.
- Recruiting Specialists — Scout specialists by taking them from the center or top of the deck, or recruit them directly from the center or hand. Recruitment requires matching icon tokens or like-minded specialists in the hub to reduce cost. Specialists in the hub lower recruiting cost by their skill icons.
- Resource Management — Hubs must have matching icon tokens or like-minded specialists to recruit. Returning a specialist from hand to the center grants research icons of any type.
- Set Collection — Completing projects requires enough skill icons available in the space center.
- Take That (indirect) — Scouting specialists can remove them from another player.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- The first thing that pops out from two space explorers it's the wonderful nostalgic art style that is perfectly captured from that 50s or 60s era
- so whereas splendor is a full-on race here you need to know which specialists are more important to recruit and/or remove from another player by scouting them out
- The right specialists might never show up in the center for you to recruit them and that can limit your overall strategy and for soon a different Avenue
- I keep saying I want more out of this game not because I'm disappointed but because I really did enjoy it and I already think that it needs to step up a level to propel it to greatness
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video n4TnF05W2lY
Meeple Mountain Review at 0:29 sentiment: positive
video_pk 35227 · mention_pk 105121
Click to watch at 0:29 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Accessible rules with a clear rulebook and helpful structure
- Engaging token economy that interacts with neighboring players
- Deep strategic depth with meaningful, bite-sized decisions
- Elegant blend of tableau building and card-based engine
- Clear end-game goals that reward planning and adaptation
Cons
- Artistic variety between cards could be improved
- Components (especially tokens) could be upgraded for tactile feel
- Some players might want more explicit visual differentiation between cards of the same skill
Thematic elements
- Resource management, technology development, and hub-based specialization
- Space exploration and interstellar research hub construction
- Strategic, abstract with light thematic narration
Comparison games
- Splendor
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Card Drafting — On each turn, a player may take a specialist from the six available or take the top card from the deck.
- Card drafting / top-deck choice — On each turn, a player may take a specialist from the six available or take the top card from the deck.
- Discounts and cost reduction — Specialists provide discounts for future purchases, reducing overall token expenditure.
- End-game trigger and pacing — The game ends when the last project is taken or a hub condition is met that ends the round.
- Hub management and activation — The top card in a skill group provides abilities; recruiting a new card can cover up or replace older abilities.
- Projects and end-game scoring — Project tiles grant end-game points and require certain combinations of specialists to claim.
- Resource Management — Research tokens are limited and passed to neighbors, influencing both you and your opponents.
- Tableau Building — Players assemble a personal hub of specialist cards that generate abilities and end-game points.
- Token-based resource management — Research tokens are limited and passed to neighbors, influencing both you and your opponents.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- Space Explorers is a tableau building game that has some similarities to Splendor.
- It's pretty crazy if you think about it.
- The rules book is done well; it explains the rules and has these fake tabs on the side that help you find part of the book you're looking for.
- Gameplay is super great because you can try to collect specialists and complete projects to get points that way.
- Choices are super important on your turn and they will change the game so that your decision actually matters.
- I will be competing in the space race for a long long time.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video WTfkfgM6DOo
Board Game Coffee Discussion at 10:06 sentiment: positive
video_pk 11296 · mention_pk 33203
Click to watch at 10:06 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- easy to learn
- good filler game
Cons
- not deeply strategic
Thematic elements
- resource economy and exploration
- Space exploration theme
- light, family-friendly
Comparison games
- 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
No key topics recorded for this video.
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)
No references stored for this video.
Video UpwIRtht9SA
The Secret Cabal Gaming Podcast Review sentiment: positive
video_pk 10678 · mention_pk 31524
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Beautiful 1960s artwork
- More strategic than Splendor
- Interesting resource economy
- Card abilities add replayability
- Great player aid
Cons
- Thin thematic connection
- Somewhat derivative of Splendor
- Wild resource tokens cheapen fixed economy concept
Thematic elements
- Government Space Program
- Space Race Era (1960s)
- Recruitment and Project Completion
Comparison games
- 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
No key topics recorded for this video.
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)
No references stored for this video.
Video OgS-IO_ZZzc
Board Game Coffee Top List at 25:22 sentiment: positive
video_pk 4224 · mention_pk 12347
Click to watch at 25:22 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
very positive
Pros
- stellar art across all cards
- deep engine-building with clear rulebook
Cons
- complex for new players but approachable with guidance
Thematic elements
- space-age advancement and discovery
- space race and exploration
- tech-forward, aspirational
Comparison games
- Splendor
- Gizmos
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Deck Building — players acquire cards to build an engine and tableau
- 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
No key topics recorded for this video.
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
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Transcript Navigation
Showing 1–7 of 7