Core Worlds

Barbarian star kingdoms expand beyond the galactic frontier to assault the declining Core Worlds. Players build an Empire by drafting Units, Tactics, and Worlds from a shared Central Zone and adding them to their decks and Warzone. Gameplay uses deck-building mechanics: players deploy Units to their Warzone, accumulate resources to match Fleet and Ground Strength values, and discard cards to launch Invasions and conquer Worlds. The game tracks Empire Points on cards; the player whose cards contain the most points at the end of play wins.

Players: 2–5 best 3
Playing time: 60–120 min
Age: 10+
Complexity: 2.9 / 5

4.7 on LudoyaScience FictionSpace ExplorationHand ManagementOpen DraftingDeck, Bag, and Pool Building

Play it with Ludoya Where to buy it

About the game

Design: Andrew Parks
Art: Maciej Rebisz
Sergey Rumyantsev
Alex Figini
Chechu Nieto
Jim Parks
Publisher: Stronghold Games

Expansions

See them in Ludoya

Core Worlds: Galactic Orders2012

Core Worlds: Revolution2014

Core Worlds: Galactic Orders Promo Pack2012

Core Worlds: Nemesis2021

Core Worlds: Dice Tower Season 11 Kickstarter Promo2015

Core Worlds: The Stronghold2016

Core Worlds: Alternate Heroes Promo Cards2015

Core Worlds: Pre-Game Draft Cards2016

Core Worlds: Champion of Ra2016

Where to buy it

Shop prices and second-hand copies, checked every day.

Compare all prices in Ludoya

Games EmpireOut of stock 67.99 $
Dungeon MarvelsPre-order 45.95 €

On Ludoya's tables

Full stats in Ludoya

19
Plays logged: 31
Players: 2h 52m
Average play: 11
In collections: 7
On wishlists

4.7/10

from 10 Ludoya reviews

Evan3.5
This is a deckbuilding game where everyone gets a nearly symmetrical set of cards, and players take turns either buying cards from a central area of available cards, or spending their cards to conquer planets. Planets sit in front of you and generate money you can spend each turn, or in some cases they give you endgame points. To take a planet, you just need to play cards that meet or beat the defense, in both mans and planes. We played this two player, using both expansions and the promos. We didn't do the round 0 cards, nor did we use the events, but we did everything else. I liked the game a lot, but for my opponent this game flagged his analysis paralysis really badly. Especially towards the end. We also took up a TON of table space. I'm not sure how this would play with more players. I am interested to try this again, but it didn't knock my socks off.
Meeps7.0
Kickstarted the iOS version.
Pahn4.6
Holy mathy, AP-induction. It's a somewhat dry deck builder that I think I want to like more than I actually do. I do like that there's built-in deck thinning (that occurs organically, without having to get a luck of the draw card from the market). I also like that you get to shuffle your new cards into your deck right before endgame. I think deck builders need to use some of these concepts, and some others, to help you cycle through your decks faster, while somehow preventing runaway power inflation. It must be mentioned that the expansion contains content that belongs in the base game.