Space Base Game

As every Commodore knows, the key to a successful space station lies in the best combination of ships that perform different critical functions along with planning and timing their deployments strategically. In Space Base, players choose the ships to place in their command center and activate their benefits and abilities with the goal of earning rewards and actions that propel them towards earning the most victory points to win the game!

Main Shipyard Setup: There are three levels of ship cards which cost increasing amounts of credits (money) to play based on their level. Shuffle all decks into their own stacks in the center of the gameplay area and deal six face-up to the right of each stack. Place all 12 colony cards face-up in ascending order beneath the ship cards.

First Assignment: Report to your post and set up your Command console. Each player receives a starting set of ship cards numbered 1-12 and places them in their respectively numbered sector slots. There are three tracking sections for credits, base income, and victory points. Receiving a beginning income of five, all players take one card from the level one ship deck in the main shipyard.  The player who draws the largest numbered card starts as the first player.  Each person purchases their card by decreasing the credit level in their command console to match its cost and then places it in their console.  The starting card that was in that slot is rotated 90 degrees and placed under the board above the slot it was removed from. This card is now “deployed.”   The first player takes the set of two space dice and begins the game!

Game Play:  Turns consist of four basic steps:

 Roll the Dice: The active player rolls two dice.

The Active Player Takes Their Rewards: Using the separate numbers on each dice or the total number of both dice, activate the rewards on the cards that are positioned on the same sector numbers on your command console. These rewards are shown in the blue area of the card. The red reward area is used when the spaceship is deployed to collect non-active player rewards.

Other Player Rewards: Each non-active player takes rewards for deployed ships only. They will also use each single die or the total of both dice.

Buy and Deploy a Card: Optionally, the active player may buy one face-up card in the shipyard or colony, paying its cost and setting their credit cube to zero. Then, they deploy the ship in the matching sector.

Refill: Replace any purchased card from the respective deck.

Gain Income: The active player sets their credit cube to match that of their income cube.

End Game: Check to see if any player has 40 or more Victory Points. If so, finish the current round.  The player with the most points wins!

Continue Game: If no one has 40 Victory Points, the next player in turn rotation becomes the active player and the game continues.

Space Base has just the right mix of mechanics to give it staying power for a family and friend game night. I believe many people can successfully play this game at younger ages than stated. Each game is a new space adventure as card drafting builds varying tableaus between players.  The dice play adds a bit of chance to strategy planning and gives everyone opportunities to find new rewards.  I highly recommend bringing this adventure to the table!   For 2-5 players in a 45-to-60-minute game session. ~ Marsha