Starship Interstellar

I’ll say it plainly: I was very negatively predisposed towards Starship Interstellar. The designers meant nothing to me, I had completely passed on it during the Kickstarter, and it only ended up in my collection because the recent haul had been poor and the surplus was in danger of becoming shoes(tm). It was such a poor haul that the game almost immediately got its turn for shrink-wrap removal and a play. And, to my surprise, it rewarded me.

The manual is good, but demanding. There are quite a few things that need to be explained carefully to the players, ideally with examples rather than a dry “you’ll see as you go.” If nobody has read up beforehand, I would easily allow 40+ minutes for the teach. This is not one of those games you open and simply start pressing buttons in; everyone at the table needs to understand what is happening, otherwise the first encounter can become rather awkward.

At its core, it is honest action selection: players choose actions and try to contribute to building the mothership that will save humanity, while the sun gradually pulls everything towards the centre. The interest does not end with choosing an action. There are some neat, original tricks too, such as the pass token: the earlier you pass while the others keep playing, the more the bonus you will receive gradually improves. So when you leave the round is a real decision, not just a chore.

The interaction, at least in the way we experienced it, came mainly from the race for points and from reading the others’ tempo around passing. With four players, the first game will certainly last three to four hours, perhaps longer. Even so, the game manages to have plenty of substance without becoming tiring or causing cranial injuries, as other games of comparable length and weight can.

Overall, we had a blast. The points battle lasted almost until the end and, even better, it was followed by discussion of possible openings and strategies — always a good sign when a heavy game has just finished. The Kickstarter expansions also look particularly interesting, with Antimatter seeming to me to be the best one. I did not expect to say it, but Starship Interstellar earned its place on my table.