Space Base Board Game Review

Few games have grabbed me as much as Space Base, and although the space required to play is massive, it is some of the most fun I have had all year. In addition, with a legacy game option out now for fans to enjoy, it doesn’t look like Space Base is going to die anytime soon.

In Space Base, players are competing to have the best space fleet, earning as many victory points as necessary, and ultimately winning the game. The game has a small luck component as your currency and points are based on dice roles, but making sure you have quality options across your entire board is up to you, and that is where strategy plays into things!

What makes Space Base intriguing initially is the unique look of the game. When laid out on the table, it does take up a ton of room, and the cards and items are pretty odd looking. Long thin cards are used to represent ships, but they don’t match the size of regular cards.

Once all players have their own colored base and corresponding deck of cards, the game can begin. By using currency earned through dice roles (added to the money you begin with each turn), players can purchase new ships from the centre of the table, putting them overtop ships already on their player boards.

On a players turn, the first thing they will do is role the two included die. Let’s say a player roles a 6. They can choose to activate the blue space on the number #6 slot (from their board) or they can choose to instead activate the blue spot on the #2 card and the #4 card. Deciding which to activate definitely plays into the strategy of the game, so making sure you have good options everywhere is key. Other players get to use that dice role as well, but they will be activating the red space on their cards. Other players can also choose to use the dice how they want.

Collecting currency on other players turns is key to success in Space Base. At the end of your turn, any unused currency is lost (back to the bank) and player reset their currency cube to starting location of 0 (or another number if you upgrade your starting currency space).

Again, it’s important to have a good mixture of cards in your base, as you cannot soley focus on the blue spaces, but must look at the red spaces as well. If you do the match, your red spaces will collect up to 3 times per round (in a 4 player game) while your blue spaces will only activate once.

When purchasing new cards, the card currently in the space is ‘deployed’ and is turned over revealing the red portion that will be earned on other players turns.

With the wide variety of cards – not all explained here mind you – there is a ton of depth here for those looking for a fun, competitive, but deep strategy experience. It took me personally a few rounds to become comfortable with the game mechanics, but once I had a firm understanding of what certain cards did, my strategy became much more refined, and I was much more successful.

Overall, there isn’t a lot to dislike here. Space Base is well thought out, and there are few – if any – aspects that make the game less enjoyable. The biggest hurdle for most people is the time it can take to play. Since selecting ships from the middle of the table is incredibly important, turns can take a while as players determine which move is best for them. Our 4 player game took much longer than we figured, and more than the box said it would. At almost 90 minutes, it became the average length for our games.

AEG has also launched legacy modes for Space Base, and these are an excellent way to extend the life of the game. We won’t be reviewing them in depth – as it would spoil certain elements of the game for you – we highly recommend picking them up as well. What’s awesome is that some of what you’ll find in the legacy expansions will fit into your copy of Space Base going forward, building it up a bit more and making it even more enjoyable!

If you are looking for a fun, strategic, and competitive board game to play this holiday season, look no further than Space Base. It’s definitely a must own in our opinion!