Galactic Explorers

Got a chance to playtest this game a few times at the Strategicon conventions. At first glance there seems to be similarities to games like Xia, but only at first glance. Once you pick your starting configuration (which can take a wide variety of forms), each ship can be a unique construct. Then, these ships begin exploring a universe that at first seems restrictive and small, but with each hex holding the possibility of being different planets or empty space, expands before your eyes. I have employed a couple of different strategies towards victory, a quality that makes this playtest incredibly promising. I like that this scratches the itch that games like Xia do, but can be played in a fairly short period of time. Also, I love that instead of ships having one static ability, the tech trees allow you to pursue a much more custom set of abilities. The only complaint I have (and I will admit is because I can be a power gamer, and not any fault of the game) is that I wish the tech trees were cumulative. As in, instead of losing the old abilities when you buy one further down the tech tree, you kept all abilities. However, that could possibly affect game balance. All in all, we have a game that is accessible enough for my 7 year old to grasp and play well, but complex enough to keep a 34 year old engaged and desiring to playtest it every con it is offered. If you find yourself at one of the conventions, I highly recommend you playtest this game!

tl;dr You can play this game, HOWEVER you want. Reduced RNG, made by a math teacher HUNDREDS of different strategies can win Very easy to learn, but be as complex as you make it Designer very open to feedback Games can be played long or short, feels like Mario Party in game length variability

So to start, I played this game at OrcCon, and this game is incredibly unique and customizable.

Right off the bat, when you start the game, there are over 500 starting options with the kind of ship you can build, you can go fast, and hope for RNG, or you can go for slow and steady, but guarantee yourself some points, and then ramp up. (And of course hundreds of other options)

The fact that the game utilizes random tiles for each game makes it so that every single game is different, and you will never play the same game/map/style twice. Unlike Monopoly where everything is already laid out for you.

With 7 different pieces of the game having the capability of being upgraded PLUS variations on how you can upgrade them, you can play this game HOWEVER you want, I can not stress that enough. Because of this, it really does take a lot of the RNG away from the game. And like I said earlier, the game is made by a math teacher (and brilliant man in general) so everything is exactly averaged so everything MAKES sense. The better parts you get, the BETTER the ship is, it never just shifts RNG arbitrarily, which is the problem I have with Settler's and Monopoly (don't get me wrong I still love Settler's of Catan)

Every draw back the game has, the designer is actively addressing, the only thing I didn't like about the game is that even in a four player game, it just really feels like I'm playing a one player game and then just comparing scores at the end. The designer understands the flaw as well and will be fixing/changing/adding elements to the game to give it a more competitive feel.

I can not wait for this game to be publicly released and for the designer to add expansions, because the way the game is currently, is a fun, interactive, and FULLY customizable experience that most board games just don't capture.