This game is really fun.  I’ve played it solo mode many times and had a ball.  Just this last Sunday, I had an amazing game where I just barely stopped a Red Alert then was able to Warp out for a out an win.  So satisfying!  I have also played with a group and everyone had the same reaction:  That was fun and I’d play it again.

A Few Negatives

There’s just a few very minor negatives.  First,  I’m already a little worried about the cards: I’ve been playing a lot and they are showing just a touch of wear and tear.  My friend Charlie says “That’s a Great Problem to Have!   You play some much the game starts to show!”  True enough, but if the cards were linen-coated, I think the game would last longer.

In general, the game has tremendous replayability: there’s 18? different roles, and every role does something very different.  The cards come out differently, which means you have to decide what to handle and what to attack based on what cards you have and what Alerts have come out.  So, there seems to be a great deal of replayability there.  My only complaint is that there seem to be two things I do every game, and I have to because they make all the difference!  Get the torch and put out the upgrade that reduces shield damage by 10%.  Every single game, it’s been clear that I had to do both of those things or I would have lost.  The other tools aren’t quite as useful, and the same with the other upgrades.  So, that cuts into replayability a little.

Sometimes the blocky art on the standees is hard to distinguish, especially in a game with more players.  I like the art of the aliens, but they also seem to blend together.  I wish the characters were easier to distinguish on the board.  But you know, the clear standees is very thematic and cool.  I do like it overall.

Final Thoughts

In spite of the few negatives, this is probably my favorite game of the year.  I like the theme (Yes, we all know it’s Star Trek), it’s a fun co-op with a good amount of replayability, the game is good solo (esp. if you use my rules from Part II), and everyone I have played with likes it as a group game (it even played well as a 5-player co-op!).  The components are pretty good: I do like the look of the aliens and the standees feel very thematic.  I wish the cards were linen-coated.

And there is a lot of strategy here.  You don’t always do the same thing on your turn.  You have to decide as a group how to proceed.

A game that plays well solo and a co-op, especially 5 players is a win.  This game gets an 8/10 for me on BoardGameGeek.  It may still go higher!  I really like this game.

After thought: Expansions

There are some expansions available for the GamesCrafter version of the game, but they are not yet available for the AEG version.  Just be careful, if you get an expansion (there are 3? for the GamesCrafter version, none yet for the AEG version) to get the right one.