Strategy tips, continued (part 2): 8. Do try to keep an eye on opponent's possible VP scores but focus more on what their next phase assignment choice is likely to be, what they might guess about YOUR phase assignment, and how you can best leech actions off them without allowing them to guess (and thus leech off) yours. You can even beat that person who has three 6+ devs, if you play a tight game, leech a lot of free actions, and avoid waste (like dice sitting around for many turns as "goods" but you never get around to shipping them). This is above all an economics game, you want to turn as much profit off every dice as possible every turn. 9. This should be obvious, but ALWAYS spend ALL your money every turn if you can! By spending down to zero, you get a free "income" of $1 from the end of turn phase. If you don't spend down to zero, you miss out on this, which sets you behind your opponents by that much. This can really add up and drags down your efficiency. Plan your dice assignments carefully and think ahead on things like whether to stock or ship, and whether to assign colored or white dice as goods and to which worlds, so that you don't wind up being caught out later. 10. Just as obviously, don't overspend and let your economy grind to a halt. Sure, finishing New Galactic Order on turn 2 is an amazing feeling, but now what? All your dice are in your Citizenry and you're dead broke. You're now stuck spending a couple turns just Stocking to slowly get back online, while your opponents chug steadily ahead. Don't let yourself get crunched - save expensive projects for later on when you can absorb them into your workflow more smoothly. 11. When in doubt between two similar planets, ie., similar cost and dice gained, prioritize dice gained as goods > dice gained in cup > dice gained in citizenry. However, if the planet comes with a dollar and a dice in citizenry, this is actually better than a dice gained in the cup, because it gives you the flexibility of either adding that die or a different die into your cup at the end step. And of course, if a die is placed as goods this is better than going into the cup because you can always Recall it if you choose, which puts it in the cup - but you could ship it instead if you want, giving you more options. The very best combo is dice as goods plus free cash. Hope these tips help someone, and happy rolling! :)
You guys did a great job on this video. Other videos were either way too slow or they try to explain so much in so little time. I might actually invest in this game in the near future. Thank you!
Thank you for this video. It was very easy to follow and cleared up some questions I had after reading the instructions. I just bought this game 2 days ago and my family (of 3) has already played it 8 times. There is a new game store in my neighborhood and I will be checking your reviews for ideas on what to pick up.
@17:28, dad should have shipped to trade, not consume. 3 VP are nice but the cost of it was bringing your economy to a grinding halt with no cash to rebuy dice, plus one die locked up in construction. Trading would have given you $5 off the green world which in addition to your $1 income would have bought back all 6 dice and given you a good shot at finishing the yellow world next turn. Instead next turn you had only one die. You repeated the mistake the next turn (though TBF trading brown isn't as good anyway), going for 2 VP and again leaving your economy stalled out. If instead you had completed the Deserted Alien Library by trading the green good, you'd have gained a yellow good, $2 to rebuy some dice, and could have done a more effective followup shipping turn, consuming the brown for VP and trading the yellow to finish rebuying all dice. You'd have been ahead in VP (a 6 world to her 6 world but +2 VP) and ahead in economy with all dice in cup. Instead you wound up behind because you went for the 3 VP on the green consume and crashed your economy. Though a few turns later, daughter misses a golden opportunity to leech off ship. Since dad produced previous turn, green-on-green, then used his 1 die to buy back a green die, it was obvious he would name ship. She could have named Produce, produced on her blue and yellow worlds with blue and white dice, gotten the free $1 from Consumer Markets, and dictated a die to Ship to either grab VP or a ton of cash off the yellow world all in one turn. His ship phase was plain as day, and he was only rolling one die so there was zero chance he could leech off her produce, so this was a clear opportunity to just get massive leeching advantage. This is an example of how, strategically, putting yourself in a bind (such as by crashing your economy and having to dig back out) gives opponents repeated opportunities to profit off you.
At 37:04, Daughter cost Dad $2 when he had just stocked. That's even more $ he lost on top of forgetting produce power. Thanks for the video! Definitely a very good board game. Pretty much a Race killer as my wife doesn't like Race (i do), but will play this.
This game is awesome, my wife and I are addicted to it and play it all the time. But 3 or 4 players really beats two players if you can find more people to play with. The strategies seem simple at first glance but prove to have a lot of replayability and depth to them, and the mind gaming of other players (think Vizzini in Princess Bride: "Ah, but YOU would have KNOWN I would name Produce, so you would be certain to name SHIP...") is intensely satisfying when you manage to pull it off. ^_^
You scout one die at a time. If you have 2 explorers, you don't draw 2 cards and look at them simultaneously. You draw one, place it, then draw the other and place it.
Are you kidding? This game is really interactive. But it doesn't take the form of direct opposition, it takes the form of mind games and fakeouts. The strongest players are the ones who can "leech" actions off the turn-declarations of other players, without allowing other players to "leech" actions off themselves in turn. There's nothing more thrilling than correctly guessing someone else's intention to announce Produce, so you announce Ship but split your dice between Produce and Ship. End result, he gets only a Produce but you get to Produce + Ship and leap ahead in terms of VP or cash. Score!! :D Of course, if you guess wrong... you just killed yourself. The tension is really wonderful.
Love this game! I don;t own a copy but someone from my game group does. Maybe I should borrow it and teach it to my daughter to see if she likes it (she likes SAN JUAN) to see if I should buy a copy.
I got this game a couple weeks ago and we tried to play and we were like what the heck are we doing wrong here. Then I realize the game came missing a couple sheets of punch outs... I guess this is a well known issue. Thankfully the company is sending me the missing components.
Oh man, its really good. We play board games every Wednesday with 4 people and prior to getting the expansion we found that there were several times where people would get identical starting setups. After getting the expansion though, there are enough permutations of homeworld and starting technology that only rarely do you end up with the same starting scenario. The other thing that is nice is that the "Leader" die gives you a bit more control in the beginning which moves the game forward a bit helping skip those early turns where no one is doing much. The leader die has 2 symbols on some sides and has the ability to go into the cup if it was used for certain actions. I have a gameplay video showing it off (I only have one gameplay video for Roll for the Galaxy and didn't want to bother separating it). Very cool, I hope they add more expansions to it.
so you said this could be your game of the year. have you played a game since that nudged this to second place? btw, i agree , this is a great game and just ordered it
+rbaynosa Ironically we just picked up Tiny Epic Galaxies this week, though it will probably be early 2016 before we feature it on the show, so check back!
Daughter is not playing very economically there around the 31-minute mark, shipping for VPs instead of money. So many unemployed people in the citizenry... Otherwise great play through!
I really like the pace of the video, it's great for first-time players! Thanks for the effort!
+Kristopher Burgess Thanks for watching!
Strategy tips, continued (part 2):
8. Do try to keep an eye on opponent's possible VP scores but focus
more on what their next phase assignment choice is likely to be, what
they might guess about YOUR phase assignment, and how you can best leech
actions off them without allowing them to guess (and thus leech off)
yours. You can even beat that person who has three 6+ devs, if you play
a tight game, leech a lot of free actions, and avoid waste (like dice
sitting around for many turns as "goods" but you never get around to
shipping them). This is above all an economics game, you want to turn
as much profit off every dice as possible every turn.
9. This should be obvious, but ALWAYS spend ALL your money every turn
if you can! By spending down to zero, you get a free "income" of $1
from the end of turn phase. If you don't spend down to zero, you miss
out on this, which sets you behind your opponents by that much. This
can really add up and drags down your efficiency. Plan your dice
assignments carefully and think ahead on things like whether to stock or
ship, and whether to assign colored or white dice as goods and to which
worlds, so that you don't wind up being caught out later.
10. Just as obviously, don't overspend and let your economy grind to a
halt. Sure, finishing New Galactic Order on turn 2 is an amazing
feeling, but now what? All your dice are in your Citizenry and you're
dead broke. You're now stuck spending a couple turns just Stocking to
slowly get back online, while your opponents chug steadily ahead. Don't
let yourself get crunched - save expensive projects for later on when
you can absorb them into your workflow more smoothly.
11. When in doubt between two similar planets, ie., similar cost
and dice gained, prioritize dice gained as goods > dice gained in cup
> dice gained in citizenry. However, if the planet comes with a
dollar and a dice in citizenry, this is actually better than a dice
gained in the cup, because it gives you the flexibility of either adding
that die or a different die into your cup at the end step. And of
course, if a die is placed as goods this is better than going into the
cup because you can always Recall it if you choose, which puts it in the
cup - but you could ship it instead if you want, giving you more
options. The very best combo is dice as goods plus free cash.
Hope these tips help someone, and happy rolling! :)
Very nice crisp overhead shot!
You guys did a great job on this video. Other videos were either way too slow or they try to explain so much in so little time. I might actually invest in this game in the near future. Thank you!
+Eric M Thanks for the kind words and thanks for watching!
Thank you for this video. It was very easy to follow and cleared up some questions I had after reading the instructions.
I just bought this game 2 days ago and my family (of 3) has already played it 8 times.
There is a new game store in my neighborhood and I will be checking your reviews for ideas on what to pick up.
I've been on the fence about this game. Then I saw Space Mall. So I definitely want this game. and any game with a Space Mall.
Keith Lau I love this game. You might also want to check out Among the Stars.
Hi, great video! Do you still like this game as much as you did six years ago or are there any newer games that have replaced it?
@17:28, dad should have shipped to trade, not consume. 3 VP are nice but the cost of it was bringing your economy to a grinding halt with no cash to rebuy dice, plus one die locked up in construction. Trading would have given you $5 off the green world which in addition to your $1 income would have bought back all 6 dice and given you a good shot at finishing the yellow world next turn. Instead next turn you had only one die. You repeated the mistake the next turn (though TBF trading brown isn't as good anyway), going for 2 VP and again leaving your economy stalled out.
If instead you had completed the Deserted Alien Library by trading the green good, you'd have gained a yellow good, $2 to rebuy some dice, and could have done a more effective followup shipping turn, consuming the brown for VP and trading the yellow to finish rebuying all dice. You'd have been ahead in VP (a 6 world to her 6 world but +2 VP) and ahead in economy with all dice in cup. Instead you wound up behind because you went for the 3 VP on the green consume and crashed your economy.
Though a few turns later, daughter misses a golden opportunity to leech off ship. Since dad produced previous turn, green-on-green, then used his 1 die to buy back a green die, it was obvious he would name ship. She could have named Produce, produced on her blue and yellow worlds with blue and white dice, gotten the free $1 from Consumer Markets, and dictated a die to Ship to either grab VP or a ton of cash off the yellow world all in one turn. His ship phase was plain as day, and he was only rolling one die so there was zero chance he could leech off her produce, so this was a clear opportunity to just get massive leeching advantage.
This is an example of how, strategically, putting yourself in a bind (such as by crashing your economy and having to dig back out) gives opponents repeated opportunities to profit off you.
At 37:04, Daughter cost Dad $2 when he had just stocked. That's even more $ he lost on top of forgetting produce power. Thanks for the video! Definitely a very good board game. Pretty much a Race killer as my wife doesn't like Race (i do), but will play this.
Race is better though.
This game is awesome, my wife and I are addicted to it and play it all the time. But 3 or 4 players really beats two players if you can find more people to play with. The strategies seem simple at first glance but prove to have a lot of replayability and depth to them, and the mind gaming of other players (think Vizzini in Princess Bride: "Ah, but YOU would have KNOWN I would name Produce, so you would be certain to name SHIP...") is intensely satisfying when you manage to pull it off. ^_^
You scout one die at a time. If you have 2 explorers, you don't draw 2 cards and look at them simultaneously. You draw one, place it, then draw the other and place it.
Looks good, not much player to player interaction though
Are you kidding? This game is really interactive. But it doesn't take the form of direct opposition, it takes the form of mind games and fakeouts. The strongest players are the ones who can "leech" actions off the turn-declarations of other players, without allowing other players to "leech" actions off themselves in turn.
There's nothing more thrilling than correctly guessing someone else's intention to announce Produce, so you announce Ship but split your dice between Produce and Ship. End result, he gets only a Produce but you get to Produce + Ship and leap ahead in terms of VP or cash. Score!! :D Of course, if you guess wrong... you just killed yourself.
The tension is really wonderful.
sounds awesome. Might pick this up later this year
Love this game! I don;t own a copy but someone from my game group does. Maybe I should borrow it and teach it to my daughter to see if she likes it (she likes SAN JUAN) to see if I should buy a copy.
Fernando Robert Yu Sounds like you just told yourself what you need to do. We play the heck out it and really enjoy it.
Dads faction tile let him use 1 less die to construct on diamonds and he never used it.
I got this game a couple weeks ago and we tried to play and we were like what the heck are we doing wrong here. Then I realize the game came missing a couple sheets of punch outs...
I guess this is a well known issue. Thankfully the company is sending me the missing components.
Did you ever get the punchouts, and what do you think now? We love this game (this video is great too)
I did get them and we love this game!
Awesome! With the expansion or not? My group didn't like our first game with the expansion, then fell in love with it after that.
DorkSideCookies haven't tried the expansion yet.
Oh man, its really good. We play board games every Wednesday with 4 people and prior to getting the expansion we found that there were several times where people would get identical starting setups. After getting the expansion though, there are enough permutations of homeworld and starting technology that only rarely do you end up with the same starting scenario. The other thing that is nice is that the "Leader" die gives you a bit more control in the beginning which moves the game forward a bit helping skip those early turns where no one is doing much. The leader die has 2 symbols on some sides and has the ability to go into the cup if it was used for certain actions. I have a gameplay video showing it off (I only have one gameplay video for Roll for the Galaxy and didn't want to bother separating it). Very cool, I hope they add more expansions to it.
so you said this could be your game of the year. have you played a game since that nudged this to second place?
btw, i agree , this is a great game and just ordered it
+rbaynosa Not yet, this is still our #1. Elysium was our #1 prior to this and it's still at #2.
+Dad vs Daughter thanks hope you guys can do tiny epic galaxies soon, and compare it to roll
+rbaynosa Ironically we just picked up Tiny Epic Galaxies this week, though it will probably be early 2016 before we feature it on the show, so check back!
+Dad vs Daughter sweet! may i ask why it will take that long? is there some embargo going on?
Nope, we just have a very full schedule between now and 2016 with no show slots available for it until then.
Daughter is not playing very economically there around the 31-minute mark, shipping for VPs instead of money. So many unemployed people in the citizenry...
Otherwise great play through!
Heh :) I counted 6 dollars (2x3) that dad missed from the Merchant Guild. Could've done with one less turn b4 the victory ;)
Andrey V It happens :-)
Because you HAVE TO. For crying out loud. LOL
sounds boring as hell
Yeah. But it is a really good game.
It is not boring at all to me. Really fun!