Players: 2-4
Playing Time: 1-2 hours
Difficulty: 4 (of 10)
The Components
The base HeroCard Galaxy game comes with:
- 1 gameboard
- 2 figures
- 114 cards
- 1 rule book
Each expansion comes with:
- 1 figure
- 34 cards
Gameboard: A small two-panel board printed with various 3-D space graphics. It's mainly a card holder, with 3 discovery queue spaces (used for upcoming discoveries) and 4 discovery space spaces (used for current discoveries).
Figures: Each player gets their own plastic figure, printed in their own player color. Each shows the ship of that particular race. They're well-detailed and brightly colored.
Cards: The game comes with a variety of cards, including 22 technology cards, 20 discovery cards, and for each player 30 action cards and 3 attribute cards. Each player also gets a pair of reference cards: 1 for the HeroCard system, and 1 specifically for HeroCard Galaxy. They're all printed full-color on medium-weight cardstock.
The cards all feature art by Gregord Benedetti. It largely looks like computer-generated 3-D art and it's done quite well. It's clear, bright, and attractive.
There's a lot of good utility work on the cards, that makes them easier to use. For example each player has attribute cards which limit how many action cards he can play. The three different attribute types are clearly color-coded , with the limits shown to the rights of the attribute cards and the costs to the left of the action cards, so that they can line up when played to the table. The action cards also make great use of icons at the top left of each card which show you the general power of every card in your hand when you fan them.
The discovery cards are the only cards that don't fit the attribute/action dichotomy. They each show a planet in one of five colors.
Rulebook: A 28-page full-color glossy rulebook. It's a bit awkward because of its arrangement into a quickstart for the HeroCard dueling system (which isn't actually that useful), then a full description of the HeroCard Galaxy game, then a full description of the HeroCard dueling system. A larger problem was the insistence in the rules (and in the game) to use awkward, made-up terms. Calling it a "twist" to turn a card and an "unwind" to unturn it just seemed silly. Players got even more confused by the "restricted" actions, which are ones that you can only do on your turn (as compared to "fast" and "exclusive" actions). Said one wag, "So we should call betting in Poker a restricted action, since you can only do it on your turn."
I muddled through the rules and everyone else muddled through the terms with just an occasional issue, but they should both have been clearer.
On the whole HeroCard Galaxy has good quality components with very nice art and great utility. The only component issues are with the rules and the terminology, and those will evaporate after a few games, so I've given HeroCard Galaxy a full "5" out of "5" for Style.
The Gameplay
The object of HeroCard Galaxy is to collect a set of 4-5 planets through discovery and attack.
The HeroCard System: HeroCard is a card dueling system that's intended as a general mechanic for board games. TableStar Games currently has four games in production using the system: Galaxy, Champion of New Olympia, Rise of the Shogun, and Cyberspace.
The basic mechanics center on each player playing a "Hero" who is defined by three attribute cards, then playing action cards throughout the game and especially in duels.
Attributes. Each Hero has three attributes: Mind, Body, and X, where X is a system specific attribute. In Galaxy it's Xenoscience. Each attribute has a value. For example the three attributes for the Cosmic Cult are: 5 Body, 6 Mind, and 9 X. These act as limits for cards played.
Actions. Actions cards each have a Body, Mind, or X value. When they're played they're placed next to the appropriate attribute. The value of all action cards next to an attribute can never exceed the attribute. It's thus a limit (or if you prefer a resource) for card play.
Cards are either "fast" (play at any time), "restricted" (play only on your turn), or "exclusive" (play only on your turn, and only once per turn). Most have to do with combat, but there are some cards that can have general good effects on you or bad effects on your opponents, and that you can play outside of combat. For example, the Cosmic Cult has "Ancient Lore" [2M], which lets them retrieve a card from the discard while the Mechagen has "Interference" [6X], which slows down an opponent's resource recovery.
Dueling. In a duel an attacking player plays a Base Attack card, potentially followed by Attack Mods. Base Attacks are almost always Exclusive, meaning that only one can be played a turn. His opponent will play Base Blocks and Block Mods. Every one of these cards (attack and block) has a value. Some have special powers as well. A duel will go back and forth wth each player playing cards until they're both done. This could be due to card exhaustion or due to resource limitation. Then whoever has the higher value of cards played is the winner of the duel.
Order of Play. The core HeroCard game has a simple order of play: discard and draw; clear up to three cards from your attributes (meaning that you free up those resources for reuse); and take actions (usually combat) or refresh your hand. However, each individual game can slightly change those base actions.
Galaxy Decks: There are four decks of cards for Galaxy. The Cosmic Cult and the Mechagen come with the base game, while the EGG and the Crab are each available as booster sets, either to change up play or to allow for more players.
Here's some notes on each:
Cosmic Cult. B5/M6/X9. A simple but strong combat deck. Has ways to eliminate opponent's base attack value and to double own attack mod value. Can also quickly add cards to hand and clear X cards.
Michagen. B8/M4/X8. A relatively simple deck with a variety of good numbers. Has some ability to interfere with opponents and to clear cards. Uniquely has some "Restricted" Base Attacks, which thus allow player to attack more than once in a turn.
Crab. B9/M6/X5. A versatile combat deck. Has some high-powered [7] cards for both attack and defense. Can also convert some attacks to blocks and some blocks to attacks, and further has a few opportunities to play an extra attack on a turn.
EGG. B4/M8/X8. A combat deck dependent upon opponent exhaustion. Has methods to make it harder for an opponent to clear cards, and then has attacks and blocks which take advantage of uncleared cards than an opponent has out.
Playing Galaxy: Galaxy uses the HeroCard duel system as the core of conflict for planets.
Setup: The board is laid out and three planets are placed in the discovery queue. Each player places their piece in an empty discovery space.
Then each player lays out their attributse and take an initial hand of 7 cards. Note that each player has their own deck of cards matching their Hero.
Order of Play: On his turn a player does the following:
- Discard
- Draw
- Clear
- Action
All steps except Action exactly match the normal HeroCard rules.
Discard: The active player discards as many cards as he wants.
Draw: The active player draws up to 3 cards, to a hand max of 7.
Clear: The active player clears up to 3 cards which have been played to his attributes, freeing up resources for him to play new cards.
Action: A player can take as many actions as he wants, subject to certain restrictions. He may only move once a turn, and he may only take one Exclusive action (which includes Attack, Claim, or Technology).
The actions are:
Move (1x). A player may: move his piece among the spaces on the discovery board; or from his discovery board to his own Control Row (this is where he places cards he claims or wins through attack); or from his space to an opponent's Control Row (going clockwise or counterclockwise around the table, stopping as soon as he hits an enemy planet); or from any Control Row back onto the discovery board.
This essentially makes it easy to get to newly discovered planets or to protect your own planets, but means that to attack enemy planets you have to telegraph things a bit by going into your space first (and thus giving opponents a chance to react).
Discover. If a player has his piece on an empty discovery space he can pull the first planet from the discovery queue and place it under him. (The end of the discovery queue is then filled.)
Garrison. If a player has his piece on one of his own planets (in his Control Row) he may "garrison" it, placing cards under the planet to be used in later defense. This can include special "planetary defense" cards which come from the Technology deck.
Claim (exclusive). If a player was on a planet in discovery space at the start of his turn, and no one else is there, he claim it. He places the planet (with his piece still on it) in his Control Row, either to the right or left of his curent planets.
Discover (exclusive). The active player draws 4 cards from the Technology deck, then places two back on the bottom.
The Technology deck has a number of action cards, plus some planetary defensive cards. Once you draw them they become part of your deck for the rest of the game (meaing that once you discard them, when your deck reshuffles, they'll get shuffled back in).
Attack (exclusive). Finally, the active player can attack. Note that this is usually an Exclusive action, but might not be if you have cards that allow otherwise.
If your piece is on a planet in discovery space, and there are opponents there, you can HeroCard duel to drive your opponents from the planet. If you win they move elsewhere in discovery space, and you move the planet to your Control Row.
If your piece is on a planet in an opponent's space you must defeat the planet's owner to take that planet. You may or may not defeat any other opponents there; if you do they must leave, but it's not required to take the planet.
There are a few rules for when cards can be played. If your piece is involved in the conflict, you can play cards from your hand. If the planet has garrison cards, the owner can play those cards. If a planet has a player's piece and he has garrison cards there, then he can play from both places. Note that you can't defend your planet at all if your piece isn't there and it doesn't have a garrison. (The attacker may play any base attack and win.)
Some attacks will involve multiple defenders. In this case all defenders have to block the attacks that the attacker makes. Any individual who does not is driven off the planet.
Winning the Game: The planets come in 5 different colors, of which there are 4 each. The object is to collect those planets in certain sets: either 4 of one color; or 2 of one color and three of another; or 1 of each color. The first player to get an appropriate set of cards in his Control Row immediately wins.
Relationships to Other Games
HeroCard Galaxy is a conflict game where the main gameplay centers around antagonistic interactions with other players. Between the SF theming, the unique aliens, and the need to grab planets, it in some ways reminds me of Cosmic Encounter.
It's also a customizable card game very much in the CCG mold. You can change up the attributes of a Hero and you can also mix in other cards to its set. You can even take cards (or Heros) from other HeroCard games. if you want your superheroes and samurai fighting over the fate of the galaxy, you're welcome to.
Finally, looking at the victory conditions, HeroCard Galaxy is a set-collection game, or as I like to put it "Rummy where you can punch your opponents in the face".
The Game Design
HeroCard Galaxy ultimately centers around the conflict of the HeroCard dueling system. I think it's a fair system. There's some opportunity for strategic play (mostly centering around using the strengths of your Hero) and some opportunity to decide when to stand and when to fight, but once you get into a duel proper it's often just decided by who has the better cards.
The strong point of the HeroCard system proper is its clever resource management system of attributes and actions, which does add some additional difficulty to core decisions.
Wrapped around that is the Galaxy system of play which is well done and adds some additional strategic depth to the game. You're trying to figure out the path to least resistance for grabbing your desired planets and you're constantly making and remaking meaningful plans as you do.
I do have some concerns with the game. It's got some sharp edges, mainly centered around the fact that players can slow the game down by playing in certain manners (mainly by not getting planets out through discovery). I also suspect that it works better for 2 players than 4, because victory gets harder the more players you have, and simultaneously you become unable to get to larger swaths of the board (thus limiting your opportunities for collecting sets).
I'll also comment that HeroCard Galaxy makes a classic mistake by putting the drawing of wordy cards at the start of the turn rather than the end. This probably accounted for 30-45 minutes of our 2 hour game, as players regularly had to sit and read their new cards before they take their turn. (This would get better through multiple plays.)
With that all set, it's worth noting that HeroCard Galaxy is very much an American-style game, with knock-down-the-winner gameplay which revolves around planets moving back and forth until someone is lucky enough or strong enough to grab ahold of the set all at once.
However, given that style of play HeroCard Galaxy is a fine entrant to the genre, with good opportunities for strategy, simple but extendable mechanics, and ultimately a pretty high fun factor. I've thus given it a "4" out of "5" for Substance.
Conclusion
HeroCard Galaxy is an American-style game centered around CCG-like decks and an attempt to conquer the galaxy (or at least a specific set of planets within). The gameplay is strategic and well-themed and is generally much better-designed than most American games. If you like Cosmic Encounter, Munchkin, or others, this is a similar style of game that allows for solid gameplay.
