SYNDICATE: An Interplanetary Conquest Board Game

In terms of flavour, SYNDICATE: An Interplanetary Conquest Board Game had things that appealed to me. Its production also initially suggests that the people behind it knew what they were doing. It is a shame that, much like Apogee, which had completely disappointed us before, that strong first impression ends up being almost the most functional part of the game.

At its core, the game has me using my player’s asymmetric powers in an interplanetary conflict. The problem is that my progress does not seem to depend enough on decisions or sound planning: I need the right card to arrive and the die to cooperate before I can feel as though I am finally doing anything meaningful.

Rather than building an interesting confrontation, player interaction becomes a festival of instability. The asymmetric powers are completely uneven, there is no serious catch-up mechanism for anyone who falls behind, and the event deck lands on the game with all the predictability and calm of global events over the last three years. In other words: none.

The one positive is that, at certain points, the situation gets so bad that I nervously laugh and carry on while looking at everyone’s ruins. The core ideas had merit, and with a little more work this could have been something charming. As it stands, though, I find it almost unplayable, and I would not recommend it to anyone at any price.