GMT Games | Space Empires 4X | Board Game | Ages 12+ | 1 to 4 Players | 180 Minutes Playing Time

Product Information

A unit without an Attack Strength (a ‘non-combat’ unit such as a Colony Ship, Miner, MS Pipeline, or Decoy) may not enter a space that contains a face-down system marker, enemy unit, or enemy Colony unless a combat-capable ship also enters the space (from the same or a different starting space). It was probably not the best scenario to start with because Doomsday Machines are really only a small part of the standard two- or multi-player game. As it’s been quite a while since a major war game company has published a “space war game”, we were looking forward to the release of GMT Games’ Space Empires 4X, and got it on the table soon after publication.

It would be simpler to start all technologies from the same number, be it 0 or 1, or simply rename the starting point 'start level' and continue from there with number 1 for all of them. After leaving the Lost in Space hex, the counter is removed and the hex remains empty for the rest of the game. On the other hand one of my opponents wound up with a donut empire with nearly all his habitable worlds spread out on the perimeter of his local space. Free time for gaming is such a precious commodity that players will not squander a minute of it on something that does not “grab” them on the first play-through. Blue’s total Attack Strength is 6 (5 inherent Attack Strength and +1 Attack Tech level) and Yellow’s total Defense Strength is 4 (2 inherent and +2 Defense Tech) making the “To Hit” number 2.

But I’d like to believe that in our space wandering future, upgrades will be made via software updates and/or portable upgrade kits. Nor are there multiple races and abilities, everyone starts out with exactly the same capabilities, and starts on equal ground. Only going to battle will reveal what units you have , and at any time a player may look at their own group markers to see what you placed there, as chances are you are going to forget from time to time. e., an unexplored space), a Nebula, or Asteroids, unless the unit begins its turn adjacent to the space and moves into the space as its first move.

If you can somehow get over the pieces behind difficult to move (or peek at, when viewing your own ships), the game is fantastic, offering options that really are not available in ANY 4X game that I have played. Some other considerations not addressed in the example include “terrain” such as Asteroids and Nebulae which neutralize Attack Tech and Defense Tech benefits (respectively) and therefore could have had a considerable impact on the sample battle. If a unit (ship) lands on an unexplored space it must explore that system and apply any effects immediately.

Simon Kriese, reviewing from Spieletest, was also complimentary to the game, praising its strategy, simple rules, engagement, and solo variants, but criticised the component quality. As with any game of this sort, the best place to fight battles is in your opponents' grounds, with their colonies facing destruction, not yours. In this example, the “To Hit” number is 6 (8 – 2), so Yellow must roll a 6 or less to score a hit (note that a roll of “1” always scores a hit regardless of the “To Hit” number).