Like any Catan game, the winner is the first player to reach a set number of points, in this case 15. For example, taking a “friendly” action might backfire! (It’s the unexplored depths of space, what did you expect?) Additionally, when players establish trade stations at alien outposts, they earn “friendship cards,” which provide helpful bonuses going forward. You encounter an alien do you give them resources as a gift (and if so, how many?)ĭepending upon the player’s decision, the outcome may be good or bad, and it’s not always obvious which it will be.You receive a distress call from another ship do you respond?.Normally, encounters give the current player a choice, such as: When this happens, a neighboring player draws and reads aloud the top card of the encounter deck. If a black ball falls, however, it signals an encounter. A blue ball provides 1 speed, a yellow provides 2, and a red provides 3. The red, blue, and yellow balls are used to determine how fast players’ ships can move each turn. The large rockets have a number of colored balls inside them, and whenever a player wishes to move on the board, she “rolls” her rocket by shaking it, causing 2 balls to fall into the engine cone. This leads into another aspect that makes Starfarers interesting: encounters.
#Starfarers of catan upgrade#
During the game, players can upgrade and customize their rockets, adding boosters to make them faster, cannons to make them stronger, and freight pods to increase their transport capabilities.Īs they explore the board, players may come upon ice planets, space pirates, or alien outposts. The numbered production tokens outside the colonies begin face-down, meaning players won’t know how “good” a planetary system is until they reach it.Įach player also has a giant, plastic rocket ship that represents the smaller ones on the board. Throughout the game, players build and pilot rockets to explore these unknown sectors. The rest of the board represents deep space, with planets ripe for discovery. Players begin at the edge of the board, on the “Catanian Colonies” (basically, planets that have been explored/settled). In addition to this, however, it offers a ton more content (and chrome) that makes it stand out from the rest of the series.įirst, Starfarers includes an exploration aspect.
The core framework of Starfarers remains the same as any Catan game: players collect different types of resources, trade them with opponents, and use them to develop a network of colonies in a race for victory points. Now, 20 years after its original release – an eternity in hobby gaming terms – what has become a “grail game” for many is back with a shiny, updated version.Ĭatan: Starfarers builds on the series’ basic game system, so for the sake of this review, I’m assuming the reader is familiar with the original. Many years ago, I was lucky enough to find the long-out-of-print Starfarers of Catan for a decent price, and I played a TON of it. It is largely responsible for the explosive growth of modern tabletop gaming. Love it or hate it, there’s no denying the towering influence of the Catan series. It is a great game for anyone who has played Catan. This game takes the classic Catan system and builds upon it, offering exploration, alien encounters, and incredibly cool plastic rocket ship pieces.
Or we encounter alien folks and start lucrative trading, while pirates and wormholes are a constant challenge.Catan: Starfarers is an updated reprint of the highly-regarded but long-out-of-print Starfarers of Catan. But maybe we discover barren ice planets. Maybe we can find planets with good ore or carbon deposits. The undiscovered universe lies before us and the new variable game plan brings even more variety. This completely revised reissue of the classic "The Starfarers of Catan™" contains atmospheric illustrations, refined rules and redesigned game components. Twenty years ago, the settlers have already started into the depths of the galaxy to discover unknown planets. Equip yourself against the lurking danger of space pirates. Increase your resource production to build new transport ships and spaceports. Along the way, you befriend alien civilizations who might become valued trading partners.
You and your fellow Catanians travel in spaceships to distant planetary systems in search of more resources. Finally, a jump to the stars has succeeded! It is the middle of the 3rd millennium.