There are lots of dungeon crawl games set in space; Imperial assault, Zombicide Invader, and AVP: The Hunt Begins to name a few. So what makes Star Saga, by Mantic Games, stand out and be worth your consideration? I have a few reasons why it made my collection and perhaps it will fill a niche for you as well.
First off, let’s talk setup. Most of these games require extensive setup. AVP the hunt begins can take 20 min or so with all the counters and specific tiles needed. Same with Imperial Assault, Zombicide and so on. Star Saga, is very much like Hellboy, the tiles don’t interlock, and are very generic so finding the exact tile is not needed. You only need the right size to build the map. In addition, Star Saga includes 3-d terrain while the other games require purchasing them separately. I think the game looks awesome setup. The 3-D tables, cabinets and such make this game pop when set up.
Thirdly, the game has very high replayability. The base game comes with 6 mercenaries and can be played with 1-5 players. Players can play a single mission or can play the campaign story included. The campaign, like Imperial Assault, allows players to gain experience and upgrade their characters. They also earn Victory Points, which can be traded for credits to buy better gear to use in the next missions. I play solo a lot, so having a solo mechanic built-in is a big appeal to me. The sole engine for the Nexus deck is smooth and does not decrease the challenge in any way. Each mission has a set up the Nexus deck, like Hellboy, it increases the challenges adding in more difficulty as the game progresses.
Secondly, Star Saga works with a simple set of mechanics. Players take their turn by moving and taking one action. Actions can be shooting, close combat, or interacting with items on the board, such as a crate to look for loot. Actions are performed by rolling a set of customized dice; Like Imperial Assault, both the attacker and defender roll a number of dice and compare the results. If more hits get through the defense roll, the minion or mercenary takes damage or fails the test to hack a computer and so on. This makes the game so easy to bring out for new players, that it can easily be considered a great intro game to dungeon crawlers. The Nexus or dungeon master uses a deck of cards to assist with their actions, much like Imperial Assault. Each card in the Nexus deck can be used in three ways, so every card can have value for the Nexus player. They can use the special ability, discard it for an extra activation of a minion, or use it for its reinforcement value. There is nothing more frustrating when playing as the DM and being bottlenecked with a deck of useless cards that you cant use, Star Saga was designed to take care of this issue.
Star Saga, like the other games in its type has expansions. One of them really makes the game unique than a lot of the others in that it is a character generator, allowing players to make their own mercenary to use in addition to allowing the Nexus player to create customizable missions. This is the only game of its type that I know of that does this, and basically turns this board game into an RPG as well.
To play, players pick a mission, follow the set up by building the mission map, preparing the Nexus deck, placing the minions in the first area, and selecting their mercenaries. The mission book guides players when certain triggers are made, like opening a door or setting off an alarm, etc. A turn is in 3 phases; Mercenaries, Nexus and clean up.
In the mercenaries phase, the players each move and take one action. After all, mercenaries have activated, the Nexus player will use their cards to take actions and activate their minions, or call for reinforcements. The mission determines how many minions the Nexus player can activate per turn. Finally, in the cleanup phase, players reset their characters, and any cards they have used. The game continues until either victory condition is met by either side.
In a sea of space games of the Dungeon crawl type, it is refreshing to find one that brings some unique elements to the table and I am glad that I invested in this one myself.
Go to Mantic Games for more information on the world of Star Saga.
Written by Ed Carter
