Space Base

The Game

This is a game which reminds me of and makes me feel nostalgic about two other games - Machi Koro and Catan.  Every turn two dice are rolled, and based on the numbers rolled, you make money or score points, or get to do something else more fancy. Every player manages his own space base, which has 12 space ports. You start the game with the same fleet of spaceships, each parked at one port. Spaceships help you make money and score points when you roll their numbers. Throughout the game you will keep buying more spaceships and improving the abilities of your fleet. The first to score 40 points wins the game. 

Every turn you roll two dice. You can decide whether to use them separately or together. For example if you roll a 1 and a 5, you can choose to activate ships 1 & 5, or you can activate ship 6. In the early game most ships generate a measly income. You need money to buy better ships. Every ship you can buy is associated with a port number. When you buy the ship, it must be parked at that specific port. The previous ship sitting here must now be deployed. Being deployed changes the ability of the ship. It is now triggered on your opponent's turn instead of yours. So yes, you get stuff on other people's turns. What you earn from a ship may change after you deploy it, but usually it is something similar to before.  

At the end of your turn, if you can't finish spending your money, it goes to waste. You don't keep money over multiple turns in hope to buy that super expensive spaceship. One power in the game increases your permanent income. You always earn this base income at the start of your turn. 

This above is the market. There are three tiers of space ships. The more expensive a ship is, the more powerful it is, generally speaking. Whenever a ship is purchased, a new one is immediately drawn to replace it. 

Some ships have special abilities. This ship when activated lets you place a marker on it. In future, you can spend that marker to increase your die roll total by 1. 

There is a special type of ship called a colony ship. Normally when you buy a ship which generates points, you only get the points if the ship is activated. Colony ships are activated immediately, but only once. They are an immediate way to score points. However they are also expensive, and once purchased, they lock up the port they are in. You cannot buy another ship for that port any more. The colony ship has no ability after you buy it. Normally you'd buy them only near game end when you are rushing for points. 

The Play

This is a game that makes me happy. You roll dice to collect stuff. You collect stuff when your opponents roll dice too. And you get to go shopping! This is a development game. You are shopping to improve your base. You want to make more money to buy even better ships. Eventually you want to buy ships that will get your lots of points. Some ships combo well and support one another. You may have a ship which scores many points but is placed at a high numbered port. This means it is hard to activate. When you roll two dice, the most frequent result is 7. It is hard to roll high numbers like 11 or 12. If you have a ship which lets you add 1 to your total, it improves your chances. 

What I enjoy about the game is that every die roll is a lucky draw. You'll get something, whether it's on your turn or on your opponent's turn. Lucky draws are exciting. The fun part of the game is how you develop your base. It is satisfying to develop a coherent strategy for your base and watch your vision take shape. 

As part of setup your high numbered ships all have the green Jupiter icon which means increasing permanent income. 

By late game you will have many deployed ships. They are tucked above your ships still at port, showing only the red parts. As you plan the growth of your fleet, you hope to be able to gain something useful no matter what numbers are rolled. 

The Thoughts

This is a pleasant and brisk game. The core mechanism is simple. The game is a breeze to play. However planning your space base will takes some thought. You should not be buying ships randomly. You want to put together ships that help one another. The game has a good balance between luck and strategy. There is certainly some luck. It is nice that you get to choose between using your dice separately or together. This gives you a bit more control. You do make meaningful decisions in developing your base. If you plan well, chances are you will get good results. There is no directly attacking your opponents, but you do have to watch their progress. You need to gauge the tempo of the game to decide when to switch gears and go for points.