Solarius Mission

EvEvanstar5,9

This is point salad in space. The thing that's really compelling about it aside from the unusual theme is that just like most point salad games, high value scoring comes from focusing in on one or two things, but here the game gives you intense efficiency incentives to spread out and wind up scoring less for everything. Despite the shared central board, with competition for spaces, and the die drafting mechanism, the game does feel a little multiplayer solitaire, which can be a good or bad thing depending on what you prefer. The action options are all really interesting although remembering it all can be difficult. The player board has some reminder information, but not enough to cover all you need to retain, so a better player aid would be a very welcome addition to the game. Once learned, it does all make sense, but don't expect to understand what a good action looks like until towards the end of your first game. One thing I have to mention is that the disk components in the game are ludicrously small. The spots they go seem like standard size... the disks that came in the box are so small they HAVE to be a manufacturing mistake. ☆ Art, Iconography and components functional ★ Clever or interesting mechanisms ★ Reasonably low downtime between turns with mildly AP players ★ Multiple plays stay interesting ★ Low or mitigatable luck elements ★★★☆☆ Raw enjoyment