| Foreign Name: Race for The Galaxy: The Gathering Storm
Publisher: Rio Grand Games Game designers: Thomas Lehmann Website: http://riograndegames.com/ |
Type: Number of players (and optimal): 1-5 (2-3) Difficulty of mastering: high Preparation time: 5-15 minutes Party time: up to 1 hour |
The story of the first addition to the game "Struggle for the Galaxy" tells the story of the beginning of a difficult period for space civilizations. Hyperdrive technology has spread, and more races are caught up in the technology race. Old peoples, renegades and refugees from dying worlds are settling across the Galaxy in search of a better life. Scientists are taking their first steps in studying the missing Forerunners. Meanwhile, the Empire is gaining strength for a decisive blow to the rebels...
"The Gathering Storm"
made in a non-standard style for additions. Instead of just adding a bunch of new cards and making everything good even better, it introduces two new mechanics into the game - development tasks and an artificial opponent. There are also some nice touches added, such as fifth player cards and a draft mode.
(For those unfamiliar with the base game Race for the Galaxy, can read about it.)
ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED
The objectives of excellence require not only the fulfillment of their conditions, but also holding the lead in them. So token "Production Leader"(in the photo the third token in the top row) is taken by the first one to place the fourth production world on the table. But the token can change owner if someone has even more worlds. At the end of the game, tokens are worth points to the home team, 3 for achievement and 5 for dominance. This mechanic creates active interaction between players and makes it difficult to choose the right strategy, because the tasks will be different in each game.
RISE OF THE MACHINES
Glory to the robots!
HIDDEN THREAT
Actually new cards Not much was added. Firstly, the supply of starting worlds has expanded. "Doomed World" (DoomedWorld) can be thrown to populate a better world (like the Colonization Ship from the base game) and opens up a lot of interesting strategies. A "Damaged Factory Forerunner » (Damaged Alien Factory) is capable of producing the most valuable goods from the very first turn! But there is a drawback - it requires a card discard to be produced.
Finally, a 6-cost upgrade has appeared that expands on themes not covered in the base game. Timidly debut "Lords of the Empire" » (Imperium Lords), which aid military strategies and interact well with other Empire cards. But, alas, there are still very few of them. "Guild terraforming » (Terraforming Guild) is devoid of such a drawback, since it is built on effective use worlds of accumulation. And there are always enough of them. Finally, the first card in the game appears that uses chromosome icons (they are found on greenuplift-worlds from the base game) - "The Secret Laboratory of Exaltation" ( Clandestine Uplift Lab) . But the real flowering of this mechanic is yet to come.
RESULT
Gathering Storm It doesn't overly complicate the base game, but it takes player interaction to the next level and also introduces a fun single player mode. The ideas behind The Gathering Storm will not be forgotten: each subsequent expansion will bring new tokens for Robot, and new tasks achievements/excellences.Humanity has long founded colonies on the near and far planets of ours and neighboring ones star systems, but even this progress was a very small step in the exploration of the universe. Today, you have a working prototype of a hyperdrive and the technology of ancient alien races in your hands, so now you can take space exploration seriously! You have to develop your space power in various fields and lead it to power, greatness and prosperity!
"Struggle for the Galaxy" is card game for 2-4 players, the action of which, as you already understood, takes place in far, far space. Each player will have to build a galactic civilization, improving its technological and social aspects.
One of the interesting features of the game is the dynamic change of phases - players themselves privately choose which phases will be in this round. You need to raise science - just select the “Research” phase. If you feel that it’s time to populate new worlds, select the “Development” phase. You have seven to choose from various actions, and the selected phase will be relevant for all players, but the one who chose it will receive additional bonuses and privileges.
The players’ task is to manage the cards as efficiently as possible, correctly assess the situation and adapt to the game environment, choose important phases and privileges in time - all in order to build the strongest space empire.
Game process
Each round, all players choose face-down and then simultaneously reveal one action card. The round will only have phases that were chosen by the players, but players will receive benefits in the phase they chose. Each player also has a hand of game cards, which represent worlds to inhabit, in-game currency, and goods to sell or consume. Some cards placed in a player's sector can give him new abilities during turn phases.
All phases always take place in a certain order:
- Exploration - Allows players to draw cards, take two and keep one of them. There are two privilege options to choose from: either take two cards out of three, or take one out of five.
- Development - allows you to play a development, for which you will need to pay for it by discarding from 1 to 6 game cards. The privilege allows you to discard one less card. Among other things, developments provide players with victory points at the end of the game.
- Mastery - allows players to master new world, for which you will need to pay for it by discarding from 1 to 6 game cards. The privilege allows you to take one card after mastering the world. Worlds also provide victory points to players at the end of the game, but in addition they provide one of four types of goods: alien technology, genetic materials, rare elements, luxury items. Some worlds can only be captured, in which case you do not need to discard cards, but your fleet strength must be greater than or equal to the defense rating of that world.
- Consumption - Allows players to discard goods or cards to gain victory point tokens or draw cards. Players themselves choose the “rate” at which they will make the exchange. There are two privileges to choose from, Sale will allow you to exchange one goods card for game cards, and VPx2 will allow you to double the victory points received during this phase.
- Production - Every world with production that has no goods receives goods. As a perk for choosing a phase, the player can choose one non-producing world with accumulations, and replenish its reserves with a goods card.
Players must now discard all extra cards from their hand up to the ten card limit.
A new round begins.
Who has won?
The game continues until the player places twelve cards in his sector or until the last victory point token is used. The player with the most victory points wins.
Humanity spread across many planets, which then went on their own paths of development. Some developed industry, some culture and art, some tourism... Some “embarked on the warpath,” while others undertook to improve human nature itself through genetic experiments. Gradually, people no longer had enough space, but then the hyperdrive was invented, and each world that had emerged by that time began its policy of galactic colonization.
In its process, artifacts and planets of ancient galactic races were discovered. The discoverers studied them and put them to their service. They also made their own discoveries, both genetic and technological. Naturally, this led to the fact that the activity of humanity entering the galactic expanse increased sharply. Entire empires appeared - and, of course, not without the appearance of those who were dissatisfied with these empires!
Political ambitions combined with technological growth have led to strained relations between galactic states that were once a united humanity. The explosive expansion led to the fact that the whole Galaxy began to seem small. Border conflicts began, some of which were overtly political in nature, and some were simple raider takeovers for purely predatory reasons...
Game history
“Struggle for the Galaxy”: original and Russian editions, as well as three additions
After the huge success of the board game "Puerto Rico"(which happened in 2002), it was decided to release a card version of it. It was supposed to be based on the mechanics of choosing roles, each of which would give some bonus to the player who chose it.
Projects for such a game were developed by several designers, and the final preference was quite predictably given to the version from Andreas Seifert (the author of the "Puerto Rico"), which went into circulation under the name "San Juan"(2004). And this whole story could have remained an insignificant episode of the board game business if Thomas Lehmann, a little-known and not very successful author, had not participated in it.
Although his project was rejected, Tom did not lose heart. Taking some ideas from it, he combined them with his older ideas from "Battles for the Stars" ("Duel for Stars" is a space-themed trading card game that Lehmann developed in the 1990s, which was also unpublished). This is how I was born Race for the Galaxy, released in 2007... and turned out to be noticeably more successful "San Juan"!
Over the next three years, three additions to the game were released, and Tom ceased to be little-known and not very successful. The year 2009 was marked by two notable events: the game was localized (under the name "Struggle for the Galaxy"), and the publishing house Rio Grande Games gave official permission to release a computer version of the game using the original design.
The essence of the game
As is easy to understand from the gaming legend, we are talking about several players building their own galactic states. Everyone starts with a single starting world, which gives an advantage in one area or another.
Old Lady Earth, for example, has long stopped producing anything and has turned into a kind of mixture shopping center and the galactic exchange. The warlike inhabitants of New Sparta do not like to work or trade, but they are great specialists in military matters. Volunteers will help the population of a system whose star is about to go supernova to colonize any planet suitable for habitation, regardless of any effort or expense...
The game has two types of maps, which are divided into worlds and technologies. These names are a bit arbitrary: for example, a giant warship of the Ancient Races is quite suitable for settlement and belongs to the worlds, and both organizations (at least an institute for the study of the same Ancient Races) and individual specialists (for example, a diplomat-negotiator) are considered technologies.
In turn, among the worlds you can find planets with production capacities and resource reserves. What is produced or mined can be sold and/or spent on various needs of the state. Provided, of course, that the state has trade opportunities or these same needs.
Some maps—both worlds and technologies—bear keywords denoting their relationship to certain realities common in science fiction: TERRAFORMING(transformation of planets), UPLIFT(greetings from David Brinn and his famous series about Ascension), IMPERIUM/REBEL(Imperials and rebels - well, how can you not remember « Star Wars» ?) and so on. Such cards can interact with each other according to the laws of the genre: the imperials fight with the rebels, genetically bred soldiers help in the war, mining is easier on the transformed planets...
In general, the interaction of cards and their effects is the basis of the game. It can be very complex (especially when using extensions)... but it’s not enough to play the cards on the table - you also need to make the built effect chains work!
The life cycle of galactic states consists of several phases - up to six (more precisely, five and a half) in each round. Each player himself chooses what he needs most at the moment, takes the corresponding card from a special set, and places it in the middle of the table. Once everyone has made their choice, the cards are flipped over to reveal the phases that will be played this time.
Key point: all unlocked phases will occur for all players (with one exception, more on that below), but each player will have a small bonus to their chosen phase. Let's see what opportunities and bonuses there are here (phases always work in the specified order, their names from the official localization are indicated in brackets):
- EXPLORE(“search”) - getting cards into your hand. For the chosen player, two bonuses are possible: either search deeper, or keep more.
- DEVELOP(“improvement”) - drawing technology cards to the table. The player who chooses plays cheaper.
- SETTLE(“development”) - drawing world cards onto the table. The choosing player draws a card from the deck at the end of the phase. Military worlds are a special case: in order to master them, you need to have the appropriate military power (“onslaught”)... and when playing with add-ons, you can try to conquer someone else’s world!
- TRADE(“trade”) - strictly speaking, is not a separate phase. It is played only by those who chose it. Each such player can sell one of his resources for several cards. The remaining resources (if any) are consumed (see next phase).
- CONSUME(“consumption”) - players exchange the resources they have for victory points and cards. The exchange is made according to the opportunities provided by the cards previously played on the table. The player who chooses receives more victory points.
- PRODUCE(“production”) - on worlds with production capabilities, resources appear available for sale and consumption. The player who chooses can “find minerals” on one of his worlds.
It is important to remember that any of the cards played on the table can change the conditions for wagering any of the phases for its owner! For example, there are cards that allow you to sell at a higher price. There are cards that allow you to “improve” cheaper... well, and so on.
The game ends when at least one of two conditions is met: either someone has played 12 or more cards on their table, or the “victory point bank” has been emptied (its size depends on the number of players). Points—both those accumulated by consuming special tokens and those indicated on the cards played—determine the winner.
When there are only two people playing, it is easier to track your opponent's moves. Therefore, for two people there is a special version of the dueling game, more complicated than the usual one: on each move you can declare not one phase, but two at once. By acting wisely and adapting to the actions of others, you can develop very quickly! If more than two people are playing, then keeping track of everyone, of course, becomes problematic. But, on the other hand, more players mean more declared phases, so the dynamics of the game do not suffer.
It should be noted that those used in Race for the Galaxy the cards carry a lot of conventional pictograms showing bonuses for game phases. Their abundance and diversity can scare off a beginner, but there is no need to panic: the notation system is thought out extremely well and is learned very quickly. Non-standard effects are also duplicated by text.
Base game
The basis of the game (actually Race for the Galaxy, localized in 2009) is intended for 2-4 players and is ideal for first acquaintance and learning. Of all the options that can be built with the help of additions, the “base” is the least conflicting (if this word is appropriate here) and the most, let’s say, simple.
But for getting to know the game mechanics, the foundation is ideal. There are all the possibilities for constructing and operating chains of effects, and the symbols on the cards cover almost every situation imaginable in the game, so you can easily master them and get used to them.
The foundation is even better for learning because some of the included cards are specifically labeled as “learning starter sets.” Give them to beginners and the first two or three moves will be quite obvious; During these moves, beginners will more or less get used to the gameplay, and then they can continue for real.
You can and should immediately note that additions to the game cannot be used without the basic set. They only expand the game, but do not provide the opportunity to build a game set from scratch. Note also that at the moment none of the add-ons have been localized yet.
First addition. "The Gathering Storm"
Translating the name of this add-on is not so easy. In its main meaning it means a storm is about to break out, but there is also some hint of a second meaning - a sharp increase in grasping activity. On Russian websites (online stores, etc.), the first addition is most often mentioned under the name "The clouds are gathering".
It quite accurately conveys the idea: according to the game legend, humanity has not yet reached the point of military conflicts, but is already actively beginning to prepare for them. Production capacities, which work for the arms race, are sharply increasing, and artifacts and technologies of the Ancient Races discovered during research are being used with might and main for military purposes. In the political arena, the newly-minted galactic states are beginning to compare their ratings...
The main innovation lies in gaming purposes. The set includes several tokens, from which a subset is selected before the start of the game. These tokens announce tasks for players, and completing each one earns victory points.
Objectives are divided into two categories: “priorities” and “excellences”. The first require doing something before all other players (for example, being the first to collect bonuses for all game phases); the latter propose to have something in quantities greater than others (for example, more than all - and at least four - producing worlds). By the way, the “superiority” token can go to another player if he has surpassed the current owner in the required indicator!
Of course, the expansion contains new maps that bring the gameplay in line with the legend. And in the box you can find additional starting worlds and phase selection cards that make it possible to play with five players, blank cards for realizing your own ideas, and - the most unusual thing - a set of materials for a solo game against a “robot” with a cleverly and cleverly designed algorithm of actions (description which takes up a large part of the rules booklet).
Second addition. "Rebel vs Imperium"
Humanity is taking the next step in its galactic development: individual rulers' appetites are increasing and imperial ambitions are emerging. In response, “freedom fighters” appear... and looking at all this, some are also not averse to snatching a planet or two from their neighbor. There would be a corresponding army.
The main innovation of the second addition is captures, which allow you to take over someone else's world. True, there are still few conquest cards (only three, one of which is disposable - military conflicts are still rare), but this opportunity can already decide the outcome of the game. Especially if you carry out the capture competently, so that if successful, one of the game goals will be fulfilled.
It is still possible to stay away from conflicts. It is enough not to get involved with either the Empire or the rebels (i.e., do not play the corresponding cards on the table) and not get involved in the arms race (i.e., maintain your military power at zero or negative). You can even play with prohibited holds (in the rules, the author recommends using such a ban every other game). But in general, this addition gives the game a pronounced aggressive character, and lovers of peaceful coexistence will most likely not like it.
If you are a lover of aggression, then the rules offer the “Rebels vs. Empire” scenario especially for you. It is played by two people, and each player represents one of the opposing sides. The starting worlds are set accordingly from the start, and Imperial and Rebel aggression cards are added to the initial distribution. Further quote: “Grabs are allowed. Good luck to you!"
Since military power becomes a very significant factor, the add-on kit includes tally lines on which each player can mark it with special markers: it is desirable that everyone can see who is how strong.
The kit also includes cards for a sixth player (although playing with six is already a dubious idea), new objective tokens, materials for adapting solo play... and, of course, additional cards.
By the way, the increase in the deck (and with two additions it becomes noticeably thicker) led to a small addition to the rules. Now, at the beginning of the game, everyone receives not one starting world, but two: military and civilian. Looking at the cards that came into your hand, you need to choose one of them and keep it, and discard the other.
The second addition can be used in the absence of the first, although the author does not recommend this - you will have to give up playing with goals.
Third addition. "The Brink of War"
"On the brink of war"... this is where, according to gaming legend, humanity is located in its third expansion. Tom Lehmann himself wrote that he imagined a situation roughly corresponding to the autumn-winter of 1939: the great powers were in full swing solving their political problems, and Europe was already blazing local conflicts... but the newspapers talked about a “strange war”, and no one - almost no one - realized that this was the beginning of a world war.
Yes, conflicts are still local in nature, and there are not so many of them - but there are already more, noticeably more than there were before! If previously aggressive maps allowed you to capture only military worlds, now civilian planets can also be subject to aggression. If previously only rebels and imperials allowed themselves to capture foreign planets, now any galactic ruler with a strong army can try to pursue such a policy. Finally, if previously aggressors captured other people’s worlds, now technologies have appeared that make it possible to mercilessly destroy them. Yes, yes, the real Death Star has appeared in the game!
On the other hand, there are opposite tendencies in the political arena: in the third addition, it is possible to build your strategy on negative military power, and even block other people’s seizures - moreover, directed against any player.
But the most important innovation is a new game resource called galactic prestige. Here it is easiest to give the floor to the author:
“Prestige represents something like the comparative authority of individual players' empires and is earned either by playing special cards on the table or through certain abilities during the game. With the help of other abilities, prestige can be turned into opportunities to capture other people's worlds, obtain certain benefits, or simply convert it into hand cards and/or victory points. In addition, prestige in each round gives a bonus to the player who has the most, and at the end of the game it is converted 1:1 into victory points.”
By the way, symbols of prestige on maps appeared in the previous expansion - then the rules suggested ignoring them for the time being.
Each player now receives a special “super card”. Using it, he can either get a “super bonus” to one of the phases, or look through the deck in search of the card he needs (there are nine categories of cards to choose from for such a “deep search”)... but this can only be done once during the entire game . As you can see, the author is aware of the problem of deck growth and provides players with tools to combat it.
Accordingly, the kit includes prestige play tokens, new game objectives, materials to expand solo play, “super cards” for players, and new game cards (including several starting worlds with extremely interesting features!).
To use the third addition, both of the previous ones are required - this time this is stated categorically and without any reservations.
Gaming accessories
It is strongly recommended to protect at least the phase selection cards assigned to each player - they are constantly picked up, moved and placed on the table. One set for each player includes nine cards (seven of them are always needed, two are required only in a duel game), and one more is added by the third addition.
All cards are 63x88mm, which is standard for most collectible card games.
The base game contains 150 maps (114 main, including 5 starting worlds; in addition, 4 sets of 9 maps for four players). The first addition contains 49 cards (1 replacement; 22 game cards, including 4 starting worlds; a set of 9 cards for the fifth player; 17 blank cards). The second addition contains 54 maps (1 replacement; 44 game, including 3 starting worlds; a set of 9 cards for the sixth player). The third addition contains 55 maps (1 replacement; 48 playable, including 4 starting worlds; 6 one-time use cards for six players).
Some people prefer to count victory points at the very end of the game, while others like to keep score right during the game (in order to constantly see the leaders and the laggards - this is not prohibited by the rules). If you belong to the latter, then you will need some kind of device such as a counting track with chips according to the number of players.
A complete game set with cards dressed in protectors is conveniently and comfortably placed in the box of any of the add-ons, which is very practical when carrying.
Computer embodiment
Keldon Jones wrote the computer version of the game, which was officially approved by the publisher Rio Grande Games, although in itself it does not have official status. The game is distributed free of charge and is available for download at .
The current (at the moment) version 0.7.5 implements all three additions, it includes both play against artificial intelligence and against live opponents over the network (a connection to the server is required, playing “via LAN” is not possible).
Keep in mind that the artificial intelligence is very strong and it is very difficult to win against it. Unfortunately, there are no settings for the difficulty level yet.
There is no unity in space, and there is no peace in it! As soon as several earthly colonies opened a jump engine, they immediately broke into a race of arms, economics and technology. They did not directly fight among themselves. But the competition between them was serious. Each colony wants to become the largest, most prosperous and technologically advanced. But not everyone will succeed, that's for sure.
Fight for the Galaxy is a card game that simulates the competition of galactic civilizations in the fields of economics, science and war. From two to four players can take part in it. Each of them becomes the leader of his colony and tries to lead it to victory. The winner is determined according to the victory points that players receive for conquered worlds, built improvements, consumed goods and much more.
What does the game actually look like?
There are two types of cards in the main deck: worlds and enhancements. They fall into the hands of players in different ways. And then you can lay them out on the table, paying with the remaining cards from your hand. For example, if a planet has a price of 2 (in a large circle), then when laying it out, you must also discard two cards from your hand. But there are military worlds that do not surrender to enemies for money. To acquire them you need to have sufficient military power. You can get it from other planets and upgrades like Space Marines. But improvements, by the way, are always purchased for a fee.
All cards, with rare exceptions, bring victory points, the number of which is indicated in the hexagon next to the price.
How are the cards different?
There are accumulating, producing and, let’s say, not connected with trade turnover worlds. That being said, there are 4 different products that they can store and reproduce, namely: innovations, genes, minerals and alien technologies. The latter do not mean simple things from your neighbors in the galaxy, but objects from a vanished supercivilization. The acquisition of, say, an Abandoned Alien Laboratory will cost a pretty penny. But if it works, it will easily recoup all costs.
Producing planets (green - genes, blue - innovations, yellow - alien technologies).
What, exactly, are the goods needed for?
But they are needed for consumption and trade. Consumption is the process of exchanging created material wealth for abstract victory points. It must be assumed that they reflect the contentment and prosperity of your race. And one of the ways to victory is to create an effective mechanism for obtaining these points. Some of the worlds should produce goods, and another part of the planets and improvements will consume them. Trade- This is the exchange of goods for cards in your hand. The exchange rate depends on the product and on the special properties of the planets and improvements. By default, the cheapest product is innovation, and the most expensive is alien technology. As you remember, the cards in your hand are universal remedy payment for worlds and improvements. Therefore often The best way to save up for a heavenly planet - selling some alien hardware on the galactic market.
Military planets. There are also production ones among them.
What is the benefit of improvements?
Improvements are somewhat similar to planets, but never store or produce goods. However, they can consume goods, increase trade income, reduce the cost of colonizing planets, and many other things. In principle, there will be funds for all occasions. But they stand apart among them improvements worth six. This high price, but such upgrades not only have useful abilities, but also reward certain strategies with victory points. For example, the Galactic Federation seriously reduces the cost of upgrades and adds victory points for them. The Mining League gives points for planets and mineral-related improvements. And what the Institute of Alien Technology values is clear from the name.
Improvements worth six (Miner's League second, Institute fourth, Federation sixth).
It should be noted that several such improvements may be built or none at all. The player always has great freedom in choosing how to win. A militarist, a trader, and a skilled production worker can all win. The important thing is not which way to go to victory, but how effectively this will be done. Moreover, you cannot focus on one chosen path. Players receive random cards. This means you need to be able to change your strategy during the game. I would like to fight, but the producing planets are in my hand? So why not switch to manufacturing? Maybe it will be useful later in the war.
By the way, it is no coincidence that the game in the original is called Race for the Galaxy or literally “Race for the Galaxy”, and not, say, “War for the Galaxy”. This is because the players do not directly collide here. Instead, they compete to build the most effective schemes victory (score points). And whoever succeeded more in this won.
Interaction here is present only at the step of choosing Actions. At the start of their turn, players secretly choose the Action they would like to take this round. The list is: Search, Improvement, Development, Consumption, Trade and Production. For example, if three players chose Development, Improvement and Production, then ALL players will be able to introduce an improvement, develop the planet and start production on this turn.
Accordingly, when making a decision, one can and should predict the choices of others. After all, actions open up opportunities for everyone.
Set of action cards. Every player has one.
Despite such limited interaction, the game remains very interesting and tense. The fact is that there are countless winning combinations and the games are never alike. And a certain element of luck when dealing the cards ensures that the game doesn't become too boring or predictable along the way.
By by and large Fight for the Galaxy has only one serious drawback - it is quite difficult to master. The player is required to know the icons on the cards, imagine the proportions of certain cards in the deck, and understand the basic strategies for winning. And all this cannot be learned in one or two games. But somewhere after 5-10 games played, players already begin to navigate the cards and act effectively.
And here the main advantages of Fight for the Galaxy appear - high replayability and fun. And for this we can forgive her difficulties in mastering, weak interaction, and a rather abstract game universe.
The fight for the Galaxy is sometimes called solitaire. Indeed, in essence this is a complex collective solitaire game. But how fascinating he is!
Perhaps you are haunted by the laurels of space pioneers, and you have always wanted to immortalize your name on the tablets of those who went into space to build a new, better life for yourself and others, preferably spending 30 minutes to one hour on it? We sing a song to the madness of the brave - this game is for you!
IN A NUTSHELL
In Race for the Galaxy, each player is in charge of the development of space civilization. Unlike most “civilization” games, RftG does not have any kind of playing field; everything happens using cards. At the most global level, all cards are divided into two types - action cards and discovery cards (perhaps in Russian localization they are called differently, I don’t know, I haven’t played). Discoveries, in turn, are divided into two subgroups - there are planet cards that can be colonized, and there are technology cards that can be introduced into the game. Actually, that's all the parsley.
At the beginning of the game, each player is dealt one starting world card, which he places on the table in front of him. Next, from the common deck, each player is dealt six cards, two of which are discarded at the player’s discretion, and four remain in his hands. That's all the preparations.
The game itself is divided into rounds, and continues until one of the players places the twelfth card on the table in front of him - this round becomes the last (there are other ways to end the game, but I will not focus on them). At the beginning of the round, players lay out one (or two) action cards face down. There are six possible actions in total, with some variations. The essence of this process is that only those actions that the players have chosen will be performed in the current round (regardless of who chose them). For example, Player 1 chose phase I (space exploration), Player 2 - phase III (planetary settlement), Player 3 - also phase III, Player 4 - phase V (production). This means that for ALL players, only phases I, III and V will occur in this round. Accordingly, part of the game is to anticipate what other players will post in order to adjust to it as profitably as possible.
After selecting actions, the directly selected phases begin. As I said before, there are only six of them. Phase I (space exploration) allows you to add new cards from the deck to your hand - you take two, discard one, and keep the other. If you chose Phase I yourself, then, depending on which of the two action cards you played, you either take three and keep two cards (that is, you collect more), or you take seven but leave one (that is, more choice) . Phase II (Technologies) allows you to place a Technology card on the table. Each technology has its own cost (from 1 to 6), which must be paid by discarding the corresponding number of cards from your hand (regardless of what is shown on the card). Naturally, each technology provides some advantages for future rounds. If you chose phase II yourself, you can buy the technology one unit cheaper. Phase III (colonization) allows new planets to be placed on the table. Planets have a number of characteristics - there are peaceful planets that need to be colonized, and there are military ones that need to be captured by force; planets can be one of four colors - this shows what goods can be produced on the planet; planets can have the windfall characteristic (I don’t know how this was translated into Russian) - this means that the planet is immediately laid out on the table with goods on it, but at the same time it is more difficult to produce new goods on it; Naturally, each planet has a cost - how many cards must be discarded in order to populate it peacefully, or what indicator of military power must be had in order to capture it by force. Also, many planets, like technologies, give their owners some goodies in subsequent rounds.
The next three phases, namely $ (trade), IV (consumption) and V (production) are the most difficult to understand, as they form a certain production-consumption cycle in the game, which is one of the ways to win. I'll start with Phase V, which allows goods to be produced on planets that have this ability. The essence of production is that a card is taken from the top of the deck and placed face down under the card of the producing planet, thus indicating that the product was produced on this planet. Goods, like the planets that produce them, come in four colors - from the cheapest and most common blue to the rarest and most expensive yellow. By the way, if you yourself chose phase V, then you can also produce one good on a windfall planet - usually goods are not produced on these planets.
But why are goods needed, you ask? A natural question. But they are needed for trade and consumption. Trade allows you to sell one product from any planet, and get new cards for it into your hand from the deck - the number of cards depends on the high cost of the product. Consumption allows, using the special abilities of already laid out technologies and planets, to turn goods into victory points. It is very difficult to explain this in words without showing examples, so I will try to illustrate.
Let's assume you've already laid out the cards shown above on the table. If we were in Phase V (production), you would produce one blue good each on Earth's Lost Colony and Spice World (the color of the good is determined by the color of the planet it's on). If you played the Phase V card yourself, you would additionally be able to produce green goods on the Avian Uplift Race windfall planet (indicated that it is a windfall planet by the green border in the upper left corner of the card instead of a solid green circle).
Again, let's assume that you chose the $ (trade) phase for the next round. If you have two blue goods, then you can sell one of them through trade (usually for a blue goods you get two new cards, but thanks to the special ability of the Spice World planet, you will get two more, that is, four cards). The second commodity, thanks to the special ability of the planet Earth’s Lost Colony, you could turn into one victory point in the consumption phase, which always follows the trade phase.
At the end of the game, the player with the most victory points wins, which is a combination of points gained from technology and planets placed (note that in the upper left corner of each card there is a number in a hexagon - these are victory points) and points gained through consumption and other similar abilities that players collect in the form of small cardboard hexagons. Also, there is special technologies, which bring different amounts of points depending on the player’s fulfillment of certain conditions - for example, two points for each production world (accordingly, the more such planets the player laid out during the game, the more points he will receive at the end).
NUMBER OF PLAYERS
In its basic form, Race for the Galaxy can be played by two to four players. In my opinion, it plays well with two or four players. When playing with three players, there is a small disadvantage - each round only three action cards are laid out (two and four players are laid out four each), which makes the game a little slower, but not so much that you won’t play it because of it.
Race for the Galaxy has three expansions, with the first two increasing the number of players to six and adding the ability to play solo. In this review I will not talk about the additions (I myself have only actively played the first one, although I have all three), but information about the number of players may be useful to someone.
GAME TIME
It usually takes about thirty minutes to explain the rules of the game. Since most of the special abilities of technologies and planets are indicated by icons, they can easily take another half hour to explain. As an option, play the first trial game openly. The iconography in RftG is quite intuitive, and after a couple of games the multi-colored icons begin to be perceived quite adequately (although there are rumors that this greatly depends on the mentality of a particular person).
It takes about 5-7 minutes to prepare for the game - shuffle the deck of cards, deal initial worlds and select the starting cards, lay them out required amount victory tokens.
The game itself takes on average 15 minutes per player, that is, from 30 minutes to one hour.
COMPLEXITY
Race for the Galaxy is not the best simple game, and this is both its plus and its minus. The downside is that due to its rather steep learning curve (how else can you call it a learning curve?), beginning players may find it too difficult, and they will abandon it before the training bears fruit. On the other hand, the plus is that in this game you constantly find something new - after the tenth game, and after the fiftieth, and after the hundredth. Starting from simple strategies, over time you find more and more complex combinations, thanks to which the game remains interesting for a long time.
RANDOM FACTOR
Yes, the randomness factor plays a role in Race for the Galaxy. There are people who believe that everything is leveled out by the different strategies that can be applied with a particular set of cards in hand, and this is partly fair, but I will look at it from the other side - no matter how well you play, you can be beaten by a player who the player who plays worse, only because he was luckier with the cards than you. And when you draw cards from a deck, there is no escape from luck.
INTERACTION BETWEEN PLAYERS
Unlike the vast majority of games that focus on building civilizations, Race for the Galaxy keeps player interaction to a minimum. In the basic version, for example, you cannot capture the planets of other players or in any way prevent them from developing. Here everyone is digging in their proverbial cosmic garden, and the only interaction occurs at the stage of choosing actions, since what actions will be in a given round depends not only on you, but also on your opponents. Otherwise, the whole game comes down to group solitaire. Many people like this, since there is no direct confrontation in the game, and no one can stop you from realizing your plans, but fans of galactic-scale wars may not like it.
For the same reason, there is no kingmaking in the game - everyone plays for themselves, and there is virtually no opportunity to somehow help or hinder another player in the game.
COMPONENTS
If we talk about the Western version of the game, the components in the game are good. Separately, it is worth mentioning the illustrations on the cards - each of them can be viewed with pleasure as a picture, although during the game there is usually no time for such considerations. High-quality cardboard, high-quality detailed iconography, high-quality illustrations, high-quality printing, high-quality design. No complaints.
I held the Russian version in my hands only once, but one thing bothered me - in my opinion, our version of the game used a very poor font solution. Plus, it seemed to me that some of the illustrations were drawn from scratch, and not taken from the original game - apparently, it all came down to the cost of the rights to purchase the illustrations.
LANGUAGE DEPENDENCE
As I've written before, all the special abilities on the cards are represented by icons, but many of the rarer and less obvious icons are explained on the cards with text that you need to be able to read. Accordingly, over time the need for this disappears, but at the beginning of the game, ignorance of the language can lead to certain difficulties.
WHO WILL LIKE IT?
- For space lovers
- Those who like to think about various combinations of cards in order to find the most successful
- People who don't like to spend money on games more than an hour
- Playgroups With a small amount players
WHO WOULDN'T LIKE IT?
- For lovers of atmospheric thematic “civilization” games
- For those who don't like solitaire games with minimal interaction between players
- People who have difficulty with information presented in the form of small colorful icons
SUMMARY
Number of players: from 2 to 4
Game time: 35-130 minutes (rules: 30-60 minutes; preparation: 5-7 minutes; game: 30-60 minutes)
Complexity:
Thematic:
Random factor:
Aggressiveness:
Kingmaking:
Components:
Language dependency:
The only thing I initially didn’t like about this game was the randomness when drawing new cards from the deck. Over time, I simply accepted this as an inevitable element of the game and came to terms with it, especially since we control this randomness. I can’t say that this is my favorite game, but I can say that it is the most frequently played - thanks to the short playing time, the ability to play with different numbers of players without compromising the process, and the large number of combinations, thanks to which you constantly want to look for new ways to victory I consider it, along with “Citadels,” one of the most successful localizations in our country, although it would be a great shame if, as often happens with us, extensions for it are not localized.
My final rating:
