AEG Space Base | Space Exploration Engine Building Interactive Family Dice Game | Blend of Strategy & Luck | Easy to Learn | 2-5 Players | Ages 10+

I picked up this game based on recommendations from some gaming podcasts. I had heard it compared to Machi Koro (in terms of gameplay). Although that is s popular game, I’ve never played it so I can’t really speak on the accuracy of that comparison. What I can say is that I have really enjoyed playing this game. I have played it seven times, now, and have enjoyed every play of it. I’ve played it with both friends and family members and everyone else has liked it, too - even my wife who was really apprehensive about playing it based on the theme. Speaking of theme, the theme of this game is very light and has nothing, really, to do with the game play of the game, so if you, like my wife, see all of these rainbow-colored spaceships and cartoony-looking illustrations, don’t let it put you off. Game play if pretty quick, regardless of the number of people playing. This is the case because everyone can be doing things and scoring points on everyone else’s turn. The game is essentially a card-based engine-building game. For anyone not familiar with the term “engine building,” that means that you are using cards that correspond to dice rolls to score points. By adding to your sets of cards or modifying your cards, you increase your opportunities to score points and start scoring higher amounts of points later in the game. The first person to 40 points wins. I have not, yet, picked up any of the expansions to this game, but I may do so. I think the game is very good, as is, but may get an expansion just to add more players and cards to the game.

Spacebase was a breeze to learn the core concept of the game and play style. The more you play the better the strategy becomes with how you buy and upgrade your spaces. This game is great with 2 (about 30 minutes to play) and works up to 5 without getting overly long in the play time. Essentially, players roll dice, use either the individual dice numbers or the sum of the dice to get money, income, victory points. Players use money to buy upgraded cards for dice slots on their board, previous cards get flipped to gain rewards on other players turns. First player to 40 victory points triggers the end of the game, game ends with the player that goes last in turn order. Overall a really enjoyable game that is not too heavy on strategy to intimidate new to board game players.

Easy to learn and really fun.

Almost everything is great in this game. Almost zero downtime for any player , colorful and easy to learn There is some need for better clarity around some card abilities esp. around ability charging and time for activation - but overall self explanatory... Highly reccomnded for ages 10 and up.

My wife and I have recently taken the plunge into board gaming. I kept seeing this game listed as a good gateway game so we gave it a shot. Really glad that we did. This game is really nice because it keeps you engaged even when it's not your turn. If you are looking to move past the classic board games and begin a journey into high quality board games this would be a smart choice.

I prefer to use Machi Koro to introduce new players to this style of game, especially girls who like MK's cutesy artwork, but game play wise, Space Base is an upgrade over Machi Koro in almost every way. Things I like better: + Can use either both die numbers to activate two 'sectors' or use their sum to activate one 'sector.' (On a 1 and 6 roll, you decide to activate either both the 1 and 6, or the 7.) + Most of the cards are different, but some still produce similar results across the board; unlike Machi Koro and Valeria where each number is locked up in terms of what it can or cannot do. + The cards also do more things that just pay out resources. You can also swap certain numbers, or make it so that your powerful 12-card can get activated on a 7. Or there are cards that can manipulate the dice number that you rolled. Strategies that implement a simple approach will always be competitive, but it is cool that there are other ways to win or catch up. + There is a lot less downtime in the game. This is especially true towards the end of the game, where you claim more rewards on your opponents turns than your own. I played Valeria as well and here are my opinions: 1. If Space Base is Machi Koro in turbo mode, Valeria is MK in hyper turbo mode. 2. SB starts off slower but at a certain point, peoples' engines start to hit their stride and then proceed to score points fast. Valeria starts off faster, but at both of their peaks, SB can have some of the sickest and most satisfying payouts. 3. SB uses cubes on a numbered mat while Valeria uses tokens. There are a lot of transactions going on in Valeria bc you are constantly getting paid out and converting tokens into more of another token. Physically getting paid with tokens is usually more fun, but with Valeria, I found the many transactions almost overwhelming. 3. SB's win condition is a race to 40 points. With Valeria, its 'who's got the most points at the end?' with bonuses awarded depending on who your secret character is. Overall: - I prefer Space Base over both MK and Valeria because I love SB's flexibility in building your tableau. - For people that are into fantasy themes, they would probably enjoy Valeria more, as it involves slaying monsters and such. - Despite the consensus that Valeria and Space Base improve on Machi Koro, MK still has one advantage: player interaction. MK has many more cards that impede your opponents progress. Space Base has only one and it is so OP, that I elected to take it out of the game. Valeria has some player interaction, but its nowhere near MK.

Every player's turn can affect everyone, so you are always engaged in the action. Some cards can be a little difficult to understand but overall there are numerous good choices. The base set really needs extra dice (available separately or in the Command Station expansion) and grids to keep the tracker cubes in place (available from 3rd party 3D printers)

My definition of a good game is a game I don't have to win to have had fun. This is one of those games. Space Base has become a game night favorite with both of my boardgame groups. It is easy to learn the basic mechanics of the game. The complexities come in the purchasing strategies and the special effects of some of the ships/cards. You collect rewards on your turn from your space bases and you collect rewards on other players' turns from your deployed ships. That means you are somewhat involved on every players' turn. As the game progresses and you deploy more ships, you gain more rewards on other turns than on your own, but you can only get and deploy ships on your turn. We usually can complete a game in 1-1.5 hours.