SUMMARY:

Ages: 14+
Players: 2-5
Est. Length: 60 Minutes
Game Design: John D. Clair
Illustration: Chris Walton
Publisher: AEG
Genre: Family / Space Exploration
Mechanics: Card Drafting, Dice Rolling

Reviewer: Andy Hickman

INTRODUCTION

Do you like to roll dice? Space Base is a game where you're trying to create the best base ever by rolling dice (2 custom blue dice) and buying cards.

Why would you buy a card? That is the process that you'll use to make your base better. There is a common pool of cards that all players will have access to buy from on their turn, in order to make their base better.

Each player has their own base, and it has 12 sectors on it that each will hold one card. As the dice are rolled, you'll get to make the choice of using each die separately or using the sum of the dice. Using a die or the sum will activate one of your sectors (the sectors are numbered 1 - 12). If your roll a 2 and 5, then you may activate sectors 2 and 5 or sector 7. At the start of the game, they provide very basic benefits, but as the game progresses, you'll be upgrading these sectors with better cards. As you perform these upgrades, you'll still have access to a benefit from the replaced card. This benefit will only be available to you when other players roll the dice on their turn. There is a pretty cool mechanic where you flip over the replaced card and it gets tucked under the top of your base.

It is space themed game that is also a race game, the first person to 40 points triggers the end of the game, meaning that is the final round. The player with the most points wins!

THE MOMENT THE GAME “CLICKED”

Unlike watching television or reading a book, board games inherently have a learning curve. Every time you want to play a new game, you first have to learn how to play it. Games vary in difficulty and complexity, but every game has a moment where it just “clicks”. Once this moment happens, you’re able to fully grasp how the game is played, and what the goal is. This moment happens at different times for different people, but having an idea of when it can happen is a good indicator of whether or not you’ll enjoy learning and playing a game.

When I first sat down and looked over my space station (my play area), it looked a bit overwhelming; however, the game clicks very quickly. It is a very basic set of steps that is a rinse and repeat formula. Roll dice, collect stuff, and buy cards. There is a simplicity and fun factor to the game based on hoping certain dice results are rolled. With that being said, you may also mitigate the randomness of the dice by buying cards in many sectors which will result in activating your sectors more often. The game gives you the opportunity to play with as much or as little risk as you like. If you want to go for a high risk and high reward strategy, then great, do it! If you're more conservative, then you can build your space base to match that approach.

SHOULD YOU PLAY IT?

This is a family weight game that can be played and enjoyed by all (about 8 and up that is). I really enjoy games that engage all players on every person's turn, and that is what is happening in Space Base. You are always interested as others are rolling the dice to see if sectors in your base will be activated.

This game can be played very simply, while also providing more depth if you so desire. Most of the cards are pretty straight forward; however, there are some cards that provide a little more planning to successfully pull off. The cards you buy are your decisions, so each player may choose how complex they would like their game to be. This is a great game for all.

Like Neil Armstrong said, 'that's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.' Was he possibly talking about this game? :)

Happy Gaming!