Star Tycoon Board Game Review

Being the head honcho of an interstellar corporation is hard work, and that becomes very apparent when you get Star Tycoon down to the table. While the box size might give you the impression this is a light-to-medium weight title, you need to prepare yourself for a fairly long experience with some difficult decision making moments. There are very few board games that I just flat out don’t like, but not many. Let’s see where Star Tycoon falls on that list in this quick review!

In Star Tycoon, players are building out a tableau of cards in front of themselves that earn them resources, and hopefully at some point, some victory points! These cards come from a central area, and are organized into various rows and piles. There is also a market board included in the game where you can swap energy for resources and vice versa. As things get bought and sold, the market shifts left or right, making a single energy cost more resources, or a single resource costs more energy.

Points in Star Tycoon come from all over the place, but you always know if something is giving you points by the traditional victory point icon. That makes tracking where your points are coming from during the game a bit more manageable. This is key, because knowing how you are doing as you play is important, as you might need to alter your strategy to keep up with the Jones’ next door!

Everything revolves around planets in this game, and you cannot purchase buildings without planets. Each planet has a limit to the number of things that can be built underneath it, so managing what you are buying and what you are allowed to place is a big deal.

The game flow is pretty straight forward, and makes playing the game just a bit easier. Each round begins with an event card being drawn and resolved, before players get production from their various buildings. Then players can take a number of different actions like buying cards, trading at the market, and more. It’s easy to understand, but the game does tend to lag a bit for me when other players are taking their turns. With limited player engagement – the market changing is really it – there isn’t a lot to pay attention to on other players’ turners either.

I love building out my company across a bunch of different planets, and there are a ton of fun decisions to make in this game. Trying to get sets of cards to score even more points is something you’ll want to pay attention to, but that can be tough when so much time passes between your turn, especially at higher player counts.

I think there is a lot to like about Star Tycoon, but right now there are other games I personally want to play more. If you are looking for an experience that isn’t light, but also isn’t too complex either, I think this is a great addition to your board game collection. But if you are looking for something with a bit more teeth, I would suggest Beyond the Sun. You get the same space feel, but with a bit more player interaction and decision making going on!