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SpaceCorp: 2025-2300 AD is a fast-playing board game in which one to four players explore and develop outer space over three eras. Each player controls an Earth-based enterprise seeking profit by driving the expansion of humanity into the Solar System and beyond. In SpaceCorp you can …
Assemble a spaceport at a Lagrange Point.
Launch an exploration mission to Mars.
Mine the asteroids.
Earn profit from exotic resources discovered on the Jovian moons.
Discover microbial life in the subsurface oceans of Charon.
Decode exo-DNA to develop radiation resistant human pioneers.
Undertake a mission to Alpha Centauri in a generation ship.
Break through technological barriers to achieve faster-than-light travel.
Establish a colony in the Tau Ceti star system.
Each of the three eras is played on a different board:
The first era, Mariners, covers exploration and development out to Mars.
In Planeteers, players settle the outer solar system.
In Starfarers, players send missions to nearby star systems and establish interstellar colonies.
The game is based on Ejner Fulsang's SpaceCorp book, the first of the Galactican Series.
- Epic scale with deep, multi-era exploration and expansion
- Strong emphasis on exploration, discovery, and rapid expansion
- Solo-rulebook support via expansion; great for solo play
- Ventures expansion adds new factions and deeper strategic options
- Tangible 3D bling and components (printable buildings) enhance immersion
- Very heavy and complex; significant learning curve
- AI competition can feel punishing and requires careful tracking of rules
- Setup and setup-time can be lengthy and involved
- Expansion rules can complicate balance and require careful management
- Competitive space exploration, base-building, and governance across a shifting map with AI opposition
- Solar system exploration and colonization across three eras (Mariners, Planeteers, Starfarers)
- Host-led, descriptive, and expository commentary blending playthrough with space science trivia
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- advances: genetics, adaptation, and revelations — A genetics track advances via adaptation and revelation cards; breakthroughs grant extra turns and open new capabilities across eras.
- base-building and infrastructure — Players build bases, spaceports, and various facilities on discovered sites; radiation and shielded moves influence build costs and survivability.
- Card-driven actions — A face-up column (the offer) provides action cards; players draw, manage, and play cards to move, explore, build, upgrade, and influence the AI opponent.
- Compound Scoring — Contracts provide profit opportunities; the AI competitor (Nova Capital) interacts by claiming contracts and driving scoring, with profit transfers when contracts are completed.
- contracts and competition scoring — Contracts provide profit opportunities; the AI competitor (Nova Capital) interacts by claiming contracts and driving scoring, with profit transfers when contracts are completed.
- era progression and endgame — Three eras (Mariners, Planeteers, Starfarers) drive the pacing; era end conditions and the Beyond markers determine when the game ends.
- exploration and discovery tiles — Exploration reveals Discovery tiles and tokens; some tiles trigger profits, others enable builds or provide special benefits.
- movement and gravity — Movement costs are determined by location, gravity, and base/spaceport presence; transitioning between bodies may incur gravity penalties and transit costs.
- multi-region scoring and colonies — Colonies in multiple regions and multistar systems influence endgame scoring; nearby colonies provide additional incentives and scoring paths.
- transit upgrades and spaceports — Special infrastructure like spaceports can double move values or enable team transportation, creating dynamic repositioning options.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- this game is one of the few games that has a solo only rule book
- epic game
- I love exploring the solar system and beyond
- watch this for rules and to see if it's something that you're interested in