#2: Race for the Galaxy (Mark's Top 50 - 2020)

Race for the Galaxy

BoardGameGeek

• rank: 50
• rating: 7.76

Print Status

• in print

Why It's On The List

• After you climb the iconography mountain to figure out the game, Race for the Galaxy is an amazing adventure in hand management & reading your opponents' mind - made even better by clever card design & interaction as well as great sci-fi art.

Tips & Tricks:

• Learning Race for the Galaxy can be a bit of a chore - of course, since I've ranked it #2 on my list, you know I think it's worth it - but there are some things you can do to make it easier.
• First, don't add any of the expansions.
• Second, the first time you play, play two games in a row.
• The first game should be open-handed & use the preset hands from the base game.
• The second game can be "normal".
• Third, don't get obsessed about winning your first few games. Use them (they're short!) to explore the gamespace & see how cards can work together.
• There are five expansion sets available for Race for the Galaxy, all of which add numerous cards to the deck:
• The Gathering Storm (which adds a fifth player, goals & a robust solitaire system)
• Rebel vs. Imperium (which builds on the previous expansion, adding a sixth player & rules for takeovers)
• The Brink of War (which builds on the previous two expansions, adding prestige & the prestige/search action)
• Alien Artifacts (Alien Artifacts does NOT build on the previous expansions but instead is meant to be combined solely with the base game. It adds a fifth player & a new mode of play in which you explore the Alien Orb.)
• Xeno Invasion (the newest expansion - again, a stand-alone addition to the base game that adds the potential for a non-player adversary attacking all players.)
• Between the iOS app powered by Keldon's AI and the version of Keldon's AI online, I'm comfortable estimating that I've played Race against an AI over 2k-3k times.
• My favorite way to play is 2 player advanced with goals & prestige... and no takeovers.

Extras

• I'm surprised how little I've written about Race for the Galaxy - evidently, I've been too busy actually playing the game to blog about it!
• This is the fifth of five Tom Lehmann games on my top 50 countdown!