Empires of the Void (2012)

The galaxy is at war. The Pyrious Empire is struggling to mantain power, and a few young alien races see this as a golden opportunity to expand their horizons. But who will join them in the imminent struggle to become the next galactic superpower?

In Empires of the Void, two to four players compete to expand their empire in a vast, diverse galaxy. Each time a player reaches a new planet, he must decide whether to conquer it and strip the land of its resources, or befriend the natives and obtain their special ability. With 7 starting alien races to choose from, and 15 more to conquer or befriend on a variable board, no two games will be the same.

The game uses an action point system and exciting dice-rolling combat with plenty of tactical decision making (similar to Nexus Ops). There are 19 technologies to research that break the rules and change gameplay. Players must use negotiation and trade, even when it is not their turn, which ensures that there is very little downtime. A random event deck helps build the story of the game, as each round something new happens, usually galaxy-wide. A game lasts around 2 to 3 hours and has intuitive rules which are easy to teach.