First published in 2007, the card economic strategy of indirect interaction "" has been reprinted in Russia three times already. This time the Hobby World publishing house has released a fully localized version with an updated design.

The kit includes:

5 maps of home worlds;
109 maps of worlds and developments;
36 action cards;
28 victory point tokens;
Rules of the game;
4 reminders.
As a bonus, there were five zip-lock packages in the box (you can put tokens in one, what to do with the rest is completely incomprehensible).

The quality of the publication does not raise questions. The memos are made of thick cardboard, the rules are printed and translated correctly and without double meanings, the cutting of the tokens is also surprisingly neat, without unnecessary shifts. The main disadvantage is thin cards that crease categorically quickly. They obviously do not interfere with lamination or packaging in plastic cases.

Among fans of board games, Fight for the Galaxy is a cult project. Five add-ons (the last one came out in 2015, seven years after the original), three reissues only in Russia, a version for smartphones... In terms of popularity, its variation “Heads Over the Galaxy” can compete with the original, where cubes are responsible for performing actions.

The plot of the game is extremely simple: humanity, having mastered nearest space, discovers the technology of an extinct alien race. The lag in technology no longer holds back the predatory ambitions of people, and they begin to expand into outer space. The lightness of the plot in creating the atmosphere of space travel is compensated by the visual design: the illustrations by Mirko Suzuki evoke nostalgic associations with the covers of translated science fiction of the seventies.

Economic strategies have always had a high barrier to entry, and Scramble for the Galaxy is no exception. Without experience with similar projects (more complex Master of Orion, more similar Puerto Rico, Dominion, etc.), you will need to play at least two or three games to get involved in the process. But even then there will be subtleties that you will discover by referring to the rules over and over again. Over time, the already fairly high pace of the game will increase (do not confuse it with the duration, it always varies from half an hour to an hour), and that very indirect interaction between the players will appear: everyone will stop playing their solitaire and start using each other's mistakes.

From two to four players can fight for the galaxy (additions will expand the number of conquerors to six). The goal of the game is to build a more developed empire of 12 game cards, that is, to play not so much for speed as for depth (victory is determined by counting the number of victory points on the laid out cards and in the tokens collected by selling goods or colonizing planets). Having started building an empire from one starting world, each player chooses the phase of action that best suits the cards in his hand (research replenishes his hand, development allows you to build certain technologies, development - to capture the planet, consumption - to sell goods produced on planets, for points or cards). The cards in hand also play the role of local currency: certain actions require the discarding of a certain number of cards. However, for example, you can conquer a planet for free, by force - the aggression points marked on the planets and technologies are responsible for this.

Different selected phases are played in turn, the same - only once, but with the preservation of turn bonuses, unique for each set of phases. At the end of the turn, the phases are returned to the player's hand without going to the discard pile.

The main difficulty that arises in the first games is to remember the meaning symbols. So, the color of the halo around the planet indicates the type of bonuses imposed on the goods produced on it, and the color of the numbers in the circle of a particular world indicates the number of points needed to capture or purchase it. It is difficult to keep in mind what bonuses at what moment give certain cards. But in this case, the kit comes with four double-sided memos at once, allowing you not to tear one rule for four.

If you wade through the jungle of rules rich in nuances, a gambling gleam begins to appear in the eyes of most players. Despite the lack of direct interaction, the competition in Scramble for the Galaxy is understandable: who hasn't dreamed of feeling like Emperor Palpatine? The most important factor in tabletop replayability is in place: each game is varied, and for advanced players there is a complicated duel mode. The most subtle point here is the issue of publishing in Russian at least the most popular first three additions. Unfortunately, the situation with them is still not clear: back in January, they were in the plans of the publishing house, but they have not yet appeared on store shelves.

You can buy the Scramble for the Galaxy board game at Hobby Games stores or on the Hobby World website.

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Game description

The long-awaited re-release of the Russian version of the board game Fight for the Galaxy!

Video review of the board game Fight for the Galaxy from Igroveda!

Buy the board game Scramble for the Galaxy

Reviews and comments (64 )

Feedback | Andrey Topal | 04/18/2017

and localization of additions is planned in Russian?

Answer from the store Igroved: Hello Andrei. Unfortunately, we do not have any plans from the publisher of the game to localize its add-ons.

Feedback | Nicholas | 04/13/2012

For those who are looking for the game and can't find it:
There is a "Print-and-Play" version of this game on the internet, even with the first expansion translated. Search;)

Answer from the store Igroved: Thanks Nikolay.

Feedback | Artemy, Moscow | 03/13/2012

And so, the game itself went out of circulation, and the add-on was never localized? Too bad, it's a good thing...

Answer from the store Igroved: Yes, unfortunately it is.

Feedback | Anton, Yekaterinburg | 23.11.2011

Is the publisher not publishing the game at all? Or no comments - just no and that's it?
And then here in all sorts of bookstores and desktop stores, it seems to be worth it.

Answer from the store Igroved: Doesn't print at all. If this game is found anywhere, then this is the remnant of the previous edition.

Feedback | Pestin, Moscow | 28.10.2011

When will she come out?

Answer from the store Igroved: Unfortunately, we don't have any information about this yet.

It’s not in vain that the inscription “Cult board game” flaunts on the box. " Fight for the Galaxy»/ Race for the Galaxy has won many awards since its release in 2007 and has already experienced the second re-release in Russian, which came to our review.

Rules

Galaxy Scramble is a card-based economic game for 2-4 players in which they compete to build the greatest galactic civilization. Players use one deck for all, in which Worlds and Improvements are involved. At the same time, cards can be used in different ways: as part of your empire, as goods, or as a currency. In the process, each player tries to score as many victory points as possible: they are formed by consuming goods, with the help of certain developments, they are brought by some cards of Worlds and Improvements simply by the fact of being in the empire. The Galactic Race ends when someone collects 12 cards in front of them or removes the last Victory Point token from the table, and the player with the most points wins.

How is the extraction of valuable victory points?

There are five phases in the Scramble for the Galaxy board game: Study allows you to draw additional cards from the deck, during Developments you can pay and implement a useful ability, in the phase Development you can add new worlds to your sector (by paying or attacking), in the phase consumption goods can be exchanged for cards or victory points, and Production adds new goods to the corresponding worlds.

But the peculiarity of the game is that not all phases will necessarily recoup. At the beginning of the round, each player secretly chooses one of the actions, then everyone is revealed and those phases for which at least one action was chosen are played in order. At the same time, the phase is mandatory for everyone, but players who choose it consciously will receive a certain bonus.

After that, the players discard excess cards from their hand, and a new round begins.

Impression

You will not take the game with a swoop. From the first time the rules are a bit difficult to understand. The cards don't make life easy either, at least in the beginning: almost no text on them, just numbers, circles, colors, weird symbols. It's scary for a beginner, to be honest. Checked. But after a few games, the opposite helps - a quick glance at the card is enough to understand its function and possibilities. And this is also verified.

Like so much in Scramble for the Galaxy, the game's world is extremely abstract. As such, there is no plot: certain empires, rebels, aliens without any explanation and artistic descriptions. certain food illustrations are provided for the flight of fancy, since they occupy the bulk of the cards. The work done by artist Mirko Suzuki is very reminiscent of the covers of sci-fi books of the 70s, looks ridiculous in places, but charming enough and allows you to fill the game with a little life/background. Perhaps this is at the mercy of the players, after all, the game is focused on economic and strategic aspects.

Actually, the essence of the game is to build the right strategy for collecting victory points: Worlds, Improvements and Developments require serious resources, you won’t be able to buy everything and you will have to clearly understand what is better to focus on in this moment. And this should also be taken into account: thanks to the element of chance, the situation can change every round.

At the same time, there is almost no interaction between players in the game. Of course, they compete with each other for the speed of creating an empire, indirectly influence through the phases (their presence or absence), but it is impossible to really influence the actions of other players, their resources or Worlds (by the way, as it was in "").

The board game contains 5 home world cards, 109 world and development cards, 36 action cards, 4 rulebooks (very useful), and 28 victory point tokens (various sizes and denominations of 1, 5, and 10 points). Cards are thin and can wear out during play, you might want to consider projectors.

In the original, three add-ons were released at the time, which added new maps, a solo mode, an increase in the party to six players, the ability to capture other people's worlds and new ways to win. But they did not come out in Russian, and at the moment it is not known whether they will appear, meanwhile the basic set is being reprinted for the second time. At the same time, the “backs” of Russian cards are made with a localized logo. As you understand, if you want to find and buy add-ons in English somewhere, combining them with the Russian base can be a problem.

Verdict

The game is not easy, in any case, mastery will not come from the first game, it requires a thoughtful approach. "Fight for the Galaxy" is not a casual game, but a serious economic simulator in the shell of space science fiction, and that's why the game is good. Recommended for seasoned players and those who are hungry for more.

Humanity settled on many planets, which then went their own ways of development. Someone developed industry, someone culture and art, someone tourism ... Someone "took the warpath", and someone undertook to improve human nature through genetic experiments. Gradually, people no longer had enough space, but then the hyperdrive was invented, and each world that had developed by that time began its policy of galactic colonization.

In its process, artifacts and planets of ancient galactic races were discovered. The discoverers studied them and put them to their service. Were made and their own discoveries, both genetic and technological. Naturally, this led to the fact that the activity of humanity that entered the galactic expanse increased dramatically. Entire empires appeared - and, of course, there were those who were dissatisfied with these empires!

Political ambitions, combined with technological growth, have led to strained relations between the galactic states that were once a unified humanity. The explosive expansion has led to the fact that even the whole Galaxy began to seem small. Border conflicts began, some of which were overtly political in nature, and some were simple raider seizures for purely predatory reasons ...

Game history

"Struggle for the Galaxy": original and Russian editions, as well as three additions

After the hype of the board game "Puerto Rico"(happened in 2002) it was decided to release its card version. It was supposed to be based on the mechanics of choosing roles, each of which gave some bonus to the player who chose it.

Projects for such a game were developed by several designers, and the final preference was rather predictably given to the version from Andreas Seifert (the author of "Puerto Rico"), which went into circulation under the name "San Juan"(2004). And this whole story could have remained an insignificant episode of the board game business if Thomas Lehmann, a little-known and not very successful author, did not participate in it.

Although his project was rejected, Tom did not lose heart. Taking some ideas from him, he combined them with his older ideas from "Battle for the Stars" ("Duel for the Stars" is a space-themed collectible card game that Lehmann developed in the 1990s, which was also not published). So was born Race for the Galaxy, released in 2007 ... and turned out to be noticeably more successful "San Juan"!

In the next three years, three additions to the game were released, and Tom ceased to be little-known and not very successful. 2009 was marked by two notable events: the game was localized (under the name "Fight for the Galaxy"), and the publisher Rio Grande Games gave official permission to release a computer version of the game using the original design.

The essence of the game

As it is easy to understand from the game legend, we are talking about the construction by several players of their own galactic states. Everyone starts with a single starting world, which gives an advantage in one area or another.

The old Earth, for example, has long ceased to produce something and has turned into a kind of mixture shopping center and the galactic exchange. The warlike inhabitants of New Sparta do not like to work or trade, but they are great specialists in the military field. The population of the system, whose star is about to turn into a supernova, volunteers will help to colonize any planet suitable for life, regardless of any effort and cost ...

The game has two types of maps, which are divided into worlds and technologies. These names are somewhat arbitrary: for example, a giant warship of the Ancient Races is quite suitable for settlement and belongs to the worlds, and both organizations (at least the Institute for the Study of the same Ancient Races) and individual specialists (for example, a diplomat-negotiator) are considered technologies.

In turn, among the worlds you can find planets with production capacities and resource reserves. What they produce or extract can be sold and / or spent on various needs of the state. Provided, of course, that the state has trade opportunities or these very needs.

Some cards - both worlds and technologies - carry keywords, denoting their relationship to certain realities common in science fiction: TERRAFORMING(transformation of the planets), UPLIFT(hello from David Brinn and his famous Ascension series) IMPERIUM/REBEL(imperials and rebels - well, how can you not remember « Star Wars» ?) and so on. Such maps can interact with each other according to the laws of the genre: the imperials are at war with the rebels, genetically bred soldiers help to fight, mining is facilitated on the transformed planets...

In general, the interaction of cards and their effects is the basis of the game. It can be very complex (especially when using extensions)... but it's not enough to play the cards on the table - you still need to make the built chains of effects work!

The life cycle of galactic states consists of several phases - up to six (more precisely, five and a half) in each round. Each player himself chooses what he needs at the moment, takes the appropriate card from a special set, and puts it in the middle of the table. After everyone has made their choice, the cards are turned over and the phases that will be played this time are revealed.

Key Point: All unlocked phases will have a place for all players (with one exception, more on that below), but each player will have a small bonus to their chosen phase. Let's see what features and bonuses there are (the phases always work in the specified order, their names from the official localization are in brackets):

1. EXPLORE(“search”) - getting cards into your hand. Two bonuses are possible for the player who has chosen: either search deeper, or keep more for himself.
2. DEVELOP("Improvement") - drawing technology cards on the table. The player who chooses plays cheaper.
3. SETTLE("development") - a draw on the table of world cards. The player who chooses at the end of the phase draws a card from the deck. A special case represent military worlds: to master them, you need to have the appropriate military power (“onslaught”) ... and when playing with add-ons, you can try to conquer a foreign world!
4. TRADE("trade") - strictly speaking, is not a separate phase. It is played only by those who choose it. Each such player can sell one of his resources for several cards. The remaining resources (if any) are consumed (see next phase).
5. CONSUME("consumption") - players exchange their available resources for victory points and cards. The exchange is made according to the possibilities that the cards previously played on the table provide them. The player who chooses gets more victory points.
6. PRODUCE("production") - on worlds with production capabilities, there are resources available for sale and consumption. The chosen player can "find minerals" on one of his worlds.

It is important to remember that any of the cards played on the table can change the conditions for wagering any of the phases for its owner! For example, there are cards that allow you to sell more. There are cards that allow you to "improve" cheaper ... well, and so on.

The game ends when at least one of two conditions is met: either someone has played 12 or more cards on the table, or the “victory points bank” has been emptied (its size depends on the number of players). Points - both scored by consuming special tokens, and indicated on cards played - determine the winner.

When only two people are playing, it's easier to track your opponent's moves. Therefore, for two, a special version of the duel game is provided, which is more complicated than the usual one: on each turn, you can declare not one phase, but two at once. Properly acting and adjusting to the actions of others, you can develop very quickly! If there are more than two players, then keeping track of everyone, of course, becomes problematic. But, on the other hand, more players means more declared phases, so the dynamics of the game do not suffer.

It should be noted that used in Race for the Galaxy cards carry a lot of conditional pictograms showing bonuses to game phases. Their abundance and variety can scare away a beginner, but you should not panic: the notation is thought out extremely well and is learned very quickly. Non-standard effects are also duplicated by text.

base game

The basis of the game (actually, Race for the Galaxy, localized in 2009) is designed for 2-4 players and is the best way to get acquainted and learn. Of all the options that can be built with add-ons, "base" is the least controversial (if that word is appropriate here) and the most, let's say, simple.

But for getting to know the game mechanics, the base is perfect. There are all the possibilities for building and operating chains of effects, and the symbols on the maps cover almost all conceivable situations in the game, so you can easily master and get used to them.

The foundation is all the more good for learning as some of the included cards are specifically labeled as "learning starter sets". Give them to beginners - and the first two or three moves will be quite obvious; for these moves, beginners will more or less get used to the gameplay, and then you can continue for real.

You can and should immediately notice that additions to the game cannot be used without a basic set. They only expand the game, but do not allow you to build a game set from scratch. Note also that at the moment none of the add-ons has been localized yet.

First addition. "The Gathering Storm"

Translating the name of this add-on is not so easy. In its basic meaning, it means a storm about to break out, but there is also some hint of a second meaning - a sharp increase in grasping activity. On Russian sites (online stores, etc.), the first add-on is most often mentioned under the name "The clouds are gathering".

It quite accurately conveys the idea: according to the gaming legend, humanity has not yet reached military conflicts, but it is already actively starting to prepare for them. The production capacities that work for the arms race are sharply increasing, and the artifacts and technologies of the Ancient Races discovered during research are being attracted with might and main for military purposes. In the political arena, the newly-minted galactic states begin to measure their ratings...

The main innovation is in the game goals. The set includes several tokens, from which a certain subset is selected before the start of the game. These tokens announce tasks for the players, and completing each one is worth victory points.

Tasks are divided into two categories: "priorities" and "excellence". The former require you to do something before all other players (for example, to be the first to gain bonuses to all game phases); the second proposes to have something in quantities larger than others (for example, more than all - and at least four - producing worlds). The “superiority” token, by the way, can be transferred to another player if he surpassed the current owner in the required indicator!

Of course, the add-on contains new cards that bring the gameplay in line with the legend. Also in the box you can find additional starting worlds and phase selection cards that make it possible to play with five people, blank cards for implementing your own ideas, and - most unusual - a set of materials for a solo game against a “robot” with a clever and cleverly arranged algorithm of actions (description which occupies a large part of the rules booklet).

Second addition. "Rebel vs Imperium"

Mankind is taking the next step in its galactic evolution: individual rulers have increased appetites and imperial ambitions. In response, "freedom fighters" appear ... and looking at all this, some people are also not averse to snatching a planet or two from their neighbor. There would be an appropriate army.

The main innovation of the second addition is captures, allowing you to appropriate a foreign world. True, there are still few predatory cards (only three, one of which is one-time - military conflicts are still rare), but this possibility can already decide the outcome of the game. Especially if the capture is done correctly, so that if successful, one of the game goals will be fulfilled.

It is still possible to stay away from conflicts. It is enough not to get involved with the Empire or the rebels (i.e., not to play the appropriate cards on the table) and not to get into an arms race (i.e., to maintain your military power at zero or negative). You can even play with prohibited captures (in the rules, the author recommends applying such a ban once in every second game). But in general, this addition gives the game a pronounced aggressive character, and lovers of peaceful coexistence will most likely not like it.

If you are a fan of aggression, then especially for you, the rules offer the scenario "Rebels against the Empire." It is played with two players, with each player representing one of the opposing sides. Starting worlds are set accordingly initially, and imperial and rebel aggression cards are added to the initial distribution. Further quote: “Captures are allowed. Good luck to you!"

Since military power becomes a very significant factor, the add-on kit includes scoring rulers on which each player can set it aside with special markers: it is desirable that everyone can see who is how strong.

The bundle also includes cards for a sixth player (although playing with six players is already a dubious idea), new objective tokens, materials for adapting solo play ... and, of course, additional cards.

By the way, the increase in the deck (and it becomes noticeably thicker with two additions) led to a small addition to the rules. Now, at the beginning of the game, everyone gets not one starting world, but two: military and civilian. Looking at the cards that came into your hand, you need to choose one of them and keep, and discard the other.

The second addition can be used in the absence of the first, although the author does not recommend this - you will have to abandon the game with goals.

Third addition. The Brink of War

"On the Edge of War"... it is here, according to the game legend, that humanity is located in the third expansion. Tom Lehmann himself wrote that he imagined a situation roughly corresponding to the autumn-winter of 1939: the great powers were solving their political problems with might and main, and local conflicts were already blazing across Europe ... but the newspapers talked about a "strange war", and no one - almost no one - did not realize that this was the beginning of a world war.

Yes, conflicts are still local in nature, and there are not so many of them - but there are already more, noticeably more than before! If earlier aggressive maps allowed only military worlds to be captured, now civilian planets can also be subjected to aggression. If earlier only rebels and imperials allowed themselves to capture alien planets, now any galactic ruler with strong army may try to implement such a policy. Finally, if earlier it was aggressors who captured other people's worlds, now there are technologies that allow them to be ruthlessly destroyed. Yes, the real Death Star has appeared in the game!

On the other hand, there are also opposite trends in the political arena: in the third addition, it is possible to build your strategy on a negative military power, and even block other people's captures - moreover, directed against any player.

But the most important innovation is a new game resource called galactic prestige. Here it is easiest to give the floor to the author:

“Prestige is something like the relative authority of individual players' empires and is earned either by playing special cards on the table or through certain abilities as the game progresses. With the help of other abilities, prestige can be turned into the possibility of capturing other people's worlds, obtaining certain benefits, or simply converting it into hand cards and / or victory points. In addition, prestige in each round gives a bonus to the player with the most prestige, and at the end of the game it is converted 1:1 into victory points.

By the way, the symbols of prestige on the cards appeared in the previous addition - then the rules suggested ignoring them for the time being.

Each player is now entitled to a special "super card". Using it, he can either get a “super bonus” to one of the phases, or look through the deck in search of the card he needs (in total, nine categories of cards are available for such a “deep search” to choose from) ... but this can only be done once in the entire game . As you can see, the author is aware of the problem of deck growth and provides players with a means of dealing with it.

Accordingly, the set includes tokens for playing with prestige, new game objectives, materials for expanding the solo game, "super cards" for players, and new game cards (including several starter worlds with extremely interesting features!).

To use the third addition, both previous ones are required - this time it is stated categorically and without any reservations.

Gaming accessories

It is strongly recommended that at least the phase selection cards that each player is entitled to wear in the protectors - they are constantly picked up, moved over and placed on the table. One set per player includes nine cards (seven of which are always needed, two are required only in duel play), and one more is added by the third expansion.

All cards are 63x88mm, the standard size for most collectible card games.

The base game contains 150 cards (114 main ones, including 5 starting worlds; in addition, 4 sets of 9 cards for four players). The first expansion contains 49 cards (1 replacement; 22 playable, including 4 starting worlds; a set of 9 cards for the fifth player; 17 blank cards). The second expansion contains 54 cards (1 replacement; 44 playable, including 3 starting worlds; a set of 9 cards for the sixth player). The third expansion contains 55 cards (1 replacement; 48 playable, including 4 starting worlds; 6 single-use cards for six players).

Some people prefer to count victory points at the very end of the game, and some people like to keep score right during the game (in order to constantly see the leaders and laggards - this is not prohibited by the rules). If you are one of the latter, then you will need some kind of device such as a counting track with chips according to the number of players.

A complete game set with cards dressed in protectors is conveniently and comfortably placed in the box of any of the add-ons, which is very practical when carrying.

Computer incarnation

Keldon Jones wrote the PC version of the game, which was officially approved by the publisher. Rio Grande Games, although in itself it does not have an official status. The game is distributed free of charge and is available for download at .

The current (at the moment) version 0.7.5 implements all three add-ons, it has both a game against artificial intelligence and against live opponents over the network (requires a connection to the server, the game "via LAN" is not possible).

Keep in mind that artificial intelligence is very strong, and it is very difficult to beat him. Unfortunately, there are no settings for the difficulty level yet.

Exploration, Development, Improvement, Trade, Consumption or Production? What do you need? Which of the former colonies of the Earth will settle down more firmly in the vastness of the galaxy now that the jump drive has appeared? Who will reveal the secrets of the mysteriously disappeared Alien Lords? Who will be the first to lead their empire to the heights of power and prosperity?

Description

Game phases