It’s time to start the hunt!
The gameplay in Guardians of the Cosmos is very simple. During his turn, the player may move the ship any number of spaces horizontally, vertically, or diagonally. It then fires and hits the first object in the line of sight. It could be a hostile alien or a rival. In the first case, the player recruits the liquidated alien to his pool (number of eyes of the invader = victory points). On the other hand, if it hits an opponent, it takes the least valuable alien from him. In addition, there are command ships composed of two elements, and thus: the first shell only damages the saucer, and only the person who hits the remaining part scores ten victory points. As soon as an entire column is shot down, all aliens move down and another row of invaders appears at the top.
It is also worth mentioning the mine, which is an additional token that circulates around the board. The player may move it one space to the right after attacking. What does she give? It allows you to block the enemy’s line of fire, which means that the player will have to move and not shoot, for example, an alien with five eyes. In addition, you can use the mine to cover your back, and as a last resort it is used to kill one alien.
The game ends when we manage to destroy the entire fleet of enemies, but if at least one opponent breaks through the defense line (reaches Earth), everyone loses. However, when an alien enters a space with a player, it destroys the ship, and it costs ten victory points to repair it.
The rules are simple, but there are some important and interesting details, for example, in the basic variant, you can buy a one-time rocket for victory points (we discard the appropriate amount of aliens), which destroys the entire row. In addition, there are advanced rules, in which we have the option to improve the ship so that it can fire more than one shot in one turn.
Command ships are coming
It may seem that we will move around to shoot down the most precious creature, but this is not always the best tactic. It is worth remembering that the enemy can steal our prey, so you need to protect your back. Moreover, hunting the command ship is not easy at all. Ten points is a lot, but you have to hit the saucer twice, so if we don’t think it well we can help our opponents. In addition, there is a face, seemingly insignificant, and sometimes it can spoil the blood of opponents. We also have the option of investing in a rocket that we will use only once per game. Shoot right away or better wait? The rocket will shoot down the command ship, so it is worth considering when we will use it. In addition, interesting situations sometimes arise when a low-value alien approaches the surface of the Earth. The question arises: Who will be the first to give up hunting the precious invader in order to save everyone’s skin? It is also worth referring to the advanced rules, thanks to which the dynamics of the clashes increases, because we shoot more creatures. In addition, we remove columns of enemies faster, and aliens move down more efficiently.
When it comes to replayability, the layout of the aliens on the board is different each time. In addition, advanced rules can be included. In addition, the situation in the game will change dramatically with each turn, even if we do the same. Much depends on our rivals and the board may surprise us more than once. In addition, one game takes only twenty minutes, and the shooting is so satisfying that the Space Rangers will not get bored so quickly.
Nothing hurts like a shot in the back!
Of course, the Space Guardiansthey are not a perfect game and there are a few things you can fault. Let’s start with the initial setup, which promotes the first player (he can position his ship in the best place to shoot, for example, five in the first turn). In the advanced variant, this is important because you only need to spend ten victory points to upgrade your ship. Putting aliens on the board can be a pain in the ass at times. Their taking off and moving sometimes causes the cardboard to spread to different sides. In addition, it is worth mentioning the lack of scalability (the same number of aliens each time, regardless of the number of players) and a small number of invaders. It is true that it does not bother the basic variant at all, because the game neither lengthens nor ends too quickly. However, in advanced it looks a bit different. To upgrade your ship and purchase all upgrades, you need to spend forty-five VPs, and all aliens in total can only offer two hundred and twenty points. With four players, it becomes clear that not everyone will have time to develop properly or that it will no longer pay off. I have doubts about an improvement, which is the top-up, which I find too expensive. It costs as much as fifteen VP, and allows you to perform two shots with a strength equal to the value of your ship in your round (it is worth noting that its purchase is also a turn loss). There is a question of mine and teammates. Although the orbital bomb has a potential, it will not be excavated in every game, and it is easy to forget to move it on your turn. And then there is the matter of the opponents. If they play conservatively, the game will not be as much fun as in a game where rivals want to risk. After all, moving a ship to a space adjacent to an alien in order to block rivals’ access to the column adds excitement to this game.
It’s time for an upgrade !
The Rangers of the Cosmos look brilliant, but feel a hint of nostalgia. Aliens look cute, especially those with fewer eyes, plus we have classic saucers as command ships. The cover is eye-catching because it imitates old monitors. The only thing I would complain about is the incompatibility of foreign colors. I just don’t understand why the invaders have different colors on the cover than those on the chips. For this I found a minor error in the manual. On page eight, what happens when a fighter collides with an invader, and the following sentence is stated: “Put the mine back in the box and the fighter next to the board.” After all, it seems to me that everyone will easily guess that it was an invader, and not a mine.
Is it worth joining the Space Guardians brigade?
Rangers of Outer Space is a great game, but it would have charmed me even more if it had two more variants. Firstly, it would be interesting if the opponents could bite us back, but more importantly – I regret that after the final destruction of the wave of enemies, you do not fight a boss. Obviously, you can’t completely transfer a shoot’em up computer game to another medium, but Néstor Romeral Andrés has created a great board game variety. Although there are a few elements to stick to, it doesn’t change the fact that shooting is very pleasant in this game. In addition, the negative interaction works great here, which will definitely work for younger players. And with its retro style and satisfying gameplay, it will be able to attract even geeks. After all, sometimes it’s good to take a break from brain-eating titles and shoot strangers just like that.
