Top 5 Epic Sci-Fi Board Games
We’re reaching the end of my favorite themes. So let’s jump into the sci-fi board games. I own fewer sci-fi board games than I do, say, fantasy, so that’ll be easier in terms of a list. But Sci-Fi is a genre where I feel like there are plenty of epic games and a lot of great ones that are epic in different ways. Fantasy might have more Lord of the Rings or Hobbit style going on an adventure, whereas Sci-Fi might do things a bit differently.
Top 5 Epic Sci-Fi Board Games
5. Battlestar Galactica
Let’s start out with a different type of one. Battlestar Galactica (BSG) is a hidden traitor game. But it is built into an epic package where the humans are trying to evade the Cylons (robots) who have attacked. They leap from place to place and take actions around the ship to drive off the Cylons that seem to be one step ahead, in that they can always catch back up.
But throughout the game, it happens twice, players are given hidden roles. You might start out thinking you are a human and then half way through become a Cylon. And you are guaranteed that half way through the game, players might become Cylons, but at the start you might have none. And you still won’t trust the other players because they might be a Cylon.
4. Star Wars Rebellion
Star Wars Rebellion is called Star Wars in a box and rightfully so. This is a cat and mouse game of the rebellion trying to gain enough support and take enough subversive actions to take down the empire. The empire is playing a game of hide and seek with the rebel base so they can destroy it taking care of those pesky rebels once and for all.
It’s truly a galaxy big game that feels like Star Wars. Your story might be a little different but it takes from the original trilogy and lets you play it out your own way. Does the empire capture Han Solo instead of Leia? Will Kashyyyk get blown up by the Death Star? You control that story as you play through the game.
3. ISS Vanguard
This one is more of that space grand adventure. And you can watch some of the game over on Malts and Meeples YouTube Channel. I’ll have the first video down below. But ISS Vanguard is about what’s out there in deep space.
Humanity has decoded a secret message buried deep in our DNA. It was coordinates for a galaxy that was cloaked. Hidden far away from Earth, humanity works together to find those coordinates. When you get there, it’s a dying galaxy, and you need to figure out what happened and why you were sent there. You do that by exploring planets. But at the same time you need to maintain and improve your ship so that you can properly deal with the challenges to come and explore everywhere.
2. Clank! In! Space!
Now back to a smaller game, Clank! In! Space! is a deck building game and push your luck. You are thieves breaking into the ship of Lord Eradikus. He has a lot of treasures, but he certainly doesn’t want you stealing them. So while you are racing in to steal them you make noise that will tip him off. And when you tip him off and he activates, he draws cubes from a bag. Those cubes might be his color, which nothing happens, or it might be dealing damage to you.
This game offers that epic feel as you try and figure out how noisy you want to be, noisy cards are better but the more likely Eradikus will draw your cubes and knock you out. But also with being how noisy, how far do you want to push into his chambers to get the best treasure. A close treasure is worth fewer points. But the longer you are in the ship, the more chance for clank and noise to happen.
1. Stars of Akarios
Finally, we have Stars of Akarios. This is another one that I played in Malts and Meeples. And you can watch the first mission of that below. But this is another big box space game. And it’s an interesting one because it is split into three parts. There is tactical ship combat, there is space exploration, and there is planetary exploration.
The big thing you do most of the time is the tactical space combat. That is a a puzzle of using dice to position your ship so that you can flank the enemy and hit for more damage or are more likely to hit. While trying to keep them from being able to do that to you so that you can survive. And how and when to best utilize some things that don’t have unlimited uses for their best effect.
Space exploration is simply moving from space location card to location card. You come across points of interest, and you maybe can interact with them. It’s not a major part of the game. But the planetary exploration is an interesting puzzle as your characters are spending energy to find new missions and new bits of story to interact with on a growing planetary board as you explore around.
Final Thoughts on Epic Sci-Fi
I know that I’m missing one game that would likely make the list. I need to play Nemesis still because I think that could be another amazing experience for this list. It offers the Alien movies in a box, which is great sounding. Or SHEOL I think is sci-fi in nature as well.
But there are a lot of good epic space games out there. Games that I’ve owned that I didn’t mention would be things like Star Wars: Imperial Assault. It offers a good Star Wars story adjacent to the original trilogy, at least out of the box. It’s down on the map versus bigger space picture like Rebellion. Or I thought of a silly game like Galaxy Trucker. It’s space trucking and hoping your ship doesn’t blow up. But it’s a fun time that can lead to great stories as your ship will blow up.
What are your favorite epic sci-fi board games?
Send an Email
Message me on Twitter at @TheScando
Visit us on Facebook here
Support us on Patreon here
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.