Galaxy Trucker | BoardGameGeek

Reply: Galaxy Trucker:: General:: Re: Two Questions

kreten — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 16:42:34 +0000

SuperSize wrote:
Second question: Have there been any noted differences in quality between the published versions? IF so which version should i seek out? RGG for example?

All versions except first one from Essen 2007 was printed in same companies. So there is no need to look out for some specific version.

Reply: Galaxy Trucker:: General:: Re: Two Questions

thatmarkguy — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 16:31:34 +0000

by thatmarkguy

SuperSize wrote:
Good idea about the timer removal, at least in the first few games to get the hang of it.

The game rules suggest you play the first flight of the first game without the timer.

Reply: Galaxy Trucker:: General:: Re: Two Questions

SuperSize — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 16:20:32 +0000

by SuperSize

Tengine wrote:
I've played with my kids, ages 4 (soon to be 5-teamed up with me or my wife-), 7 and 9 (playing on their own), with a few tweaks. We don't use the timer. I just let them build to their hearts' content. When they're done, we go over their ships together and I let them switch out misconnected pieces.
The game takes longer this way, but it's still fun. My 9-year-old is really getting the hang of it this way, so I'm thinking of including the timer for him in the near future.
All that being said, either I or my wife always end up winning; so I don't believe that it's an even playing field from a competitive standpoint. They are coming along, however.

Hey this is great to hear.

Good idea about the timer removal, at least in the first few games to get the hang of it. Maybe even start with turning it twice when you introduce it? I think the boys would really want to spend that time building their spaceships!

This really helps my decision to buy it now thanks :)

Reply: Galaxy Trucker:: General:: Re: Two Questions

SuperSize — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 16:15:44 +0000

by SuperSize

AnakinOU wrote:
SuperSize wrote:

Second question: Have there been any noted differences in quality between the published versions? IF so which version should i seek out? RGG for example?

The only difference between versions was the first printing vs. second printing. Get the most recent version, and it will be compatible w/ the Galaxy Trucker: The Big Expansion.

Thanks for pointing that out. I will make sure i get the newest version. Cheers :)

Reply: Galaxy Trucker:: General:: Re: Board Warp

Kestril — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 15:17:32 +0000

by Kestril

I turned my warped boards upside down in the box. Problem solved. Or, take out the insert, and place the boards in the bottom.

Reply: Galaxy Trucker:: General:: Re: Board Warp

Squaresville — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 15:10:30 +0000

by Squaresville

My copy came with all the boards quite warped as well. It seems to involve the fact that the ends are supported by the cardboard insert, but the middle is left to sag.

Luckily, with some gentle bending in the opposite direction, I was able to get them completely flat and they've remained that way.

Reply: Galaxy Trucker:: General:: Re: Two Questions

Tengine — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 15:09:49 +0000

by Tengine

I've played with my kids, ages 4 (soon to be 5-teamed up with me or my wife-), 7 and 9 (playing on their own), with a few tweaks. We don't use the timer. I just let them build to their hearts' content. When they're done, we go over their ships together and I let them switch out misconnected pieces.
The game takes longer this way, but it's still fun. My 9-year-old is really getting the hang of it this way, so I'm thinking of including the timer for him in the near future.
All that being said, either I or my wife always end up winning; so I don't believe that it's an even playing field from a competitive standpoint. They are coming along, however.

Reply: Galaxy Trucker:: General:: Re: Two Questions

AnakinOU — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 15:00:29 +0000

by AnakinOU

SuperSize wrote:

Second question: Have there been any noted differences in quality between the published versions? IF so which version should i seek out? RGG for example?

The only difference between versions was the first printing vs. second printing. Get the most recent version, and it will be compatible w/ the Galaxy Trucker: The Big Expansion.

Thread: Galaxy Trucker:: General:: Two Questions

SuperSize — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 14:45:24 +0000

by SuperSize

First off this game looks and sounds like a total blast and regardless of the answers I get to my two questions I will almost definitely get this game for myself.

First question: Have you played this game with kids? If so how young is too young?

I'm thinking of getting this game for my GF's nephews aged 7,9,11,& 13 (yup 4 boys). I imagine it's probably too much for a 7 year old to play by himself but I figure he and his dad can team up -the 7 year old (and the dad for that matter!)would hate being left out - leaving the 9,11 & 13 year old as inidividual players. Sound doable? Of course kids are all different and can pick up games at different ages but they're all averagely smart and play games with their parents already (think monopoly etc). Only problem is i can't really play test it with them to be able to tell myself as they're back in New Zealand and we're still in the UK.

If you answer no - can you recommend any other games?

Second question: Have there been any noted differences in quality between the published versions? IF so which version should i seek out? RGG for example?

love to hear your thoughts

Reply: Galaxy Trucker: The Big Expansion:: Rules:: Re: Stiff Competition and Speed Trap: use batteries?

Grotius — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 14:13:08 +0000

by Grotius

Thanks for your reply. That sounds reasonable to me.

Reply: Galaxy Trucker: The Big Expansion:: Rules:: Re: Stiff Competition and Speed Trap: use batteries?

DaviddesJ — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 04:53:23 +0000

by DaviddesJ

If it's not in the rules, then I would handle it like other events---players declare their firepower/speed in turn, front to back, at which time they have to decide how many batteries they are using.

Thread: Galaxy Trucker: The Big Expansion:: Rules:: Stiff Competition and Speed Trap: use batteries?

Grotius — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 04:49:43 +0000

by Grotius

The new card "Stiff Competition" says that a player who stops at an abandoned ship or station takes fire from any "stronger" ship behind him or her. Does "stronger" account for battery-powered extra weapons, or not? In our most recent game, the player who stopped had less weapon power than me if she expended no batteries, but more weapon power if she did expend her batteries. Is she the "stronger" player? Must she expend her batteries to be the stronger player for the purposes of this card? (I am quite sure she's permitted to count her purple alien, though.)

I have a similar question about Speed Trap, though that card seems easier. The player with the highest engine power gets a "speeding ticket." Again, do we count battery-assisted engines? I assume in this case the answer is no -- the speeding player is not required to expend a battery to speed even more. (On the other hand, I'm equally sure that she is required to count her brown alien.) I saw a similar opinion after doing a search on "Speed Trap" here, but I figured I'd ask again since the question parallels my question about "Stiff Competition."

Thanks in advance!

Reply: Galaxy Trucker:: General:: Re: Board Warp

Tegre — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 21:12:49 +0000

by Tegre

Did you get it from your FLGS or was it an order from an internet company? Any chance of explaining it to whom you purchased it from and getting it swapped out for a version that isn't warped?

As far as being cheeky, I don't think so. It's your game and you just want proper components that won't annoy you. I'd say ask them, worst they can say is no.

Reply: Galaxy Trucker: The Big Expansion:: Rules:: Re: Can u speed up and slow down to use indestructable plating

Glen Oakland — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 08:37:08 +0000

by Glen Oakland

gdapkus wrote:
... I know how those little minds like to find loopholes in the most solid of adult logic. I've had to give way to child logic more than once in playing games with my boys. I don't like to have rules arguments with them when we're playing a game. There's enough of that in getting ready for bed or just about any other daily/weekly activity.

Couldn't agree more.

Reply: Galaxy Trucker: The Big Expansion:: Rules:: Re: Can u speed up and slow down to use indestructable plating

gdapkus — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 20:43:20 +0000

by gdapkus

Glen Oakland wrote:
Cheers for that gags. I suppose my daughter and I did get caught up in the thematic explanation of speeding up and slowing down. Feel a bit daft now.

You should hardly feel daft for having a fun playing a great game with your daughter no matter how you rule it. Besides I know how those little minds like to find loopholes in the most solid of adult logic. I've had to give way to child logic more than once in playing games with my boys. I don't like to have rules arguments with them when we're playing a game. There's enough of that in getting ready for bed or just about any other daily/weekly activity.

Reply: Galaxy Trucker: The Big Expansion:: Rules:: Re: Can u speed up and slow down to use indestructable plating

Alan Stern — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 14:32:14 +0000

by Alan Stern

I like to picture (and explain) the increased coverage for sideways-facing cannons as being due to the forward movement of the ship. The ships are all flying through space so the sideways cannons cover more rows. (It makes sense in my head!) ;)

Reply: Galaxy Trucker: The Big Expansion:: Rules:: Re: Can u speed up and slow down to use indestructable plating

Blind Reality — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 08:16:52 +0000

by Blind Reality

Glen Oakland wrote:
My 12 year old daughter came up with this one, as she had one indestructible plating on the left side of her ship and a large meteor hit the ship on the left just above it. She said, hey if I can speed up and slow down to hit large meteors with my cannons, then why not the same for indestructible plating.

I am sure this is not specified in the rules, so we are now debating whether you could slow down or speed up for both large and small meteors or just large.

Any thoughts?

As others already said this is not allowed by the rules. However, to me it makes perfect sense thematically so a house rule/variant could certainly be made. I like it so much I will probably even try it next time I play!

Reply: Galaxy Trucker: The Big Expansion:: Rules:: Re: Can u speed up and slow down to use indestructable plating

Glen Oakland — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 07:39:26 +0000

by Glen Oakland

Cheers for that gags. I suppose my daughter and I did get caught up in the thematic explanation of speeding up and slowing down. Feel a bit daft now.

Reply: Galaxy Trucker: The Big Expansion:: Rules:: Re: Creativity bonus bogus class 1A

Glen Oakland — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 07:35:13 +0000

by Glen Oakland

Thanks Devin

Reply: Galaxy Trucker: The Big Expansion:: Rules:: Re: Creativity bonus bogus class 1A

Excalabur — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 05:00:54 +0000

by Excalabur

Yes.

Reply: Galaxy Trucker: The Big Expansion:: Rules:: Re: Can u speed up and slow down to use indestructable plating

gdapkus — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 14:38:20 +0000

by gdapkus

Following that logic, I should be able slow down or speed up to choose which component to have it hit. This could have save my 3a ship from being blown in half last time I played. I wish I had thought of it.

Seriously though, let's not get confused here just because something is in the rulebook doesn't make it a Rule. The rules of the games are pretty clear on how each of the components should work. The hull plating is a completely different type of component and SHOULD be have different advantages and limitations, and by the rules it does. Mechanically, the weapons were given better coverage on the side to give you a reasonable chance of covering your ship's sides against large meteors, especially pre-expansion.

The explanation of speeding up and slowing down is not a Rule, it's just a thematic explanation of why it works the way it does. Similarly, Devin has extended the thematic explaination. No it's not in the rules, but speeding up and slowing down isn't a rule.

All that said, house rule it any way you want. As long as you and your family have fun, it doesn't really matter. I just have a pet peeve against people trying to justify something by pointing out that it's not in the rule that they can't.

Reply: Galaxy Trucker:: General:: Re: Board Warp

romanodog — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 12:38:39 +0000

by romanodog

Mine were a little curved so what I did was gently bend them the opposite way a little bit and then set them on a table with a bunch of big heavy books laying on top for about a week. They're mostly straight now.

Reply: Galaxy Trucker: The Big Expansion:: Rules:: Re: Can u speed up and slow down to use indestructable plating

Glen Oakland — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 12:12:11 +0000

by Glen Oakland

I agree, but it doesn't say anything about lining up in the rules, it says the ships slow down or speed up. That is where the idea comes from. I like the idea of slowing down or speeding up so your indestructible plating can bounce a large meteor off. We may house rule it.

Reply: Galaxy Trucker: The Big Expansion:: Rules:: Re: Creativity bonus bogus class 1A

Glen Oakland — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 12:04:29 +0000

by Glen Oakland

So if say all three of you have different orientations, you all get the bonus? Would that be true.

Reply: Galaxy Trucker: The Big Expansion:: Rules:: Re: Can u speed up and slow down to use indestructable plating

Excalabur — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 11:50:50 +0000

by Excalabur

You may not. It doesn't say you can in the rules, you can't do it. Fin.

Thematically, cannons have much more range than, well, a wall, so you have more time in which to get things lined up.

Reply: Galaxy Trucker: The Big Expansion:: Rules:: Re: Creativity bonus bogus class 1A

Excalabur — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 11:49:43 +0000

by Excalabur

No, it really is the way it says in the rulebook. What is "normally"? The 1A has no given "normal" orientation, after all.

If you pick differently than everyone else, you get a bonus. That's creative, or unique, or what have you.

Thread: Galaxy Trucker: The Big Expansion:: Rules:: Creativity bonus bogus class 1A

Glen Oakland — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 10:58:54 +0000

by Glen Oakland

Can't understand who gets the bonus. Rule states; if your ship is oriented differently from all the other ships that completed the flight, you get a creativity bonus.

So if two people finish oriented sideways and the third person finishes oriented normally, the normal one gets the bonus.

Where's the sense in that. The person oriented normally gets the bonus, even though they haven't been creative.

Surely the rule meant to say, anyone who finishes oriented differently from the norm, gets the bonus, or am I missing something.

Thread: Galaxy Trucker:: General:: Board Warp

Liggur — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 07:46:16 +0000

by Liggur

I recently got the RGG version, and all the play boards are warped.

What is the best way to flatten/un-warp them?

Would it be cheeky to ask for a replacement set from RGG, its not unplayable, it just irks me that for the price we in the UK have to pay for this game, that the componants would be in good condition.

Thread: Galaxy Trucker: The Big Expansion:: Rules:: Can u speed up and slow down to use indestructable plating

Glen Oakland — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 07:03:00 +0000

by Glen Oakland

My 12 year old daughter came up with this one, as she had one indestructible plating on the left side of her ship and a large meteor hit the ship on the left just above it. She said, hey if I can speed up and slow down to hit large meteors with my cannons, then why not the same for indestructible plating.

I am sure this is not specified in the rules, so we are now debating whether you could slow down or speed up for both large and small meteors or just large.

Any thoughts?

New Image for Galaxy Trucker

tasajara — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 09:25:20 +0000

by tasajara

Chris (cdefrisco) and his pile of money after a 2-player game

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File: Galaxy Trucker:: Galaxy Trucker Quick Reference

Ajax — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 16:54:20 +0000

by Ajax

Galaxy Trucker Quick Reference for Board Game: Galaxy Trucker ]]>

Reply: Galaxy Trucker:: Reviews:: Re: Choose Your Own Adventure review of Galaxy Trucker

edmeadows — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 04:24:25 +0000

by edmeadows

I love it! I only wish I'd thought of it first. Very clever...

I hope you decide to write more like this. I certainly will look forward to reading more!

Edit: of course, I said this before I looked at your existing reviews and realized that you've already been doing this for a while. Boy do I feel dumb! :modest:

Reply: Galaxy Trucker:: Reviews:: Re: Choose Your Own Adventure review of Galaxy Trucker

Speedracer513 — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 03:05:38 +0000

by Speedracer513

I love the format of this (and your other) review(s)

And I couldn't agree more with your assessment of what people this game is for.

(GG tip for you sir!)

Review: Galaxy Trucker:: Choose Your Own Adventure review of Galaxy Trucker

ragingoptimist — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 14:28:56 +0000

by ragingoptimist

You are confronted by a sketchy looking man on the street wearing a trench coat and holding a mace. "I got something you might be interested in," he whispers to you. Before you're able to run for your life, he says " A board game." Your desire for games being a touch stronger than your desire for self-preservation, you inquire about the game. "The game is Galaxy Trucker. Do you handle pressure well?"
A) My middle name is pressure. Well, it's actually Winford, but I'm having it legally changed to pressure. Go to #1.
B) I can handle pressure in my games. Go to #1.
C) I once cried during a game of Carcassonne because it was too intense. Go to #2.

#1 "So you think you can handle the pressure, eh? What are your thoughts on games being difficult?"
A) Let the game do its worse. I will laugh and beat my chest. Go to #3.
B) I can handle some trouble, but I don't like it much when the game seems stacked against me. Go to #5.
C) I hate anything bad happening to me during a game. If I build a ship, I don't won't to watch it get smashed to bits. Go to #2.

#2 This game is not for everyone. The weak, the fearful, the easily shaken, the soft... these people should not play this game. You will frantically build a ship with a timer bearing down on you and then watch the game cruelly tear apart said ship before your eyes. If that doesn't sound fun, stay far away.

#3 "So stranger, would you being willing to pay 50-75 bucks to own a game with a ton of great components?"
A) For a good enough game, I would pay anything. ANYTHING! Go to #4.
B) That's a lot of cash, but a really great game with nice components could be worth it. Go to #6.
C) I dunno. That's a bit too high. Go to #5.

#4 I think you might need some help.

#5 "Are you willing to try a game that is unlike any you've played before?""
A) I'm always looking for new games that are daring and fresh. Go to #6.
B) I could go either way. Go to #7.
C) I don't like games that are unlike anything I've ever played. I prefer games that easily fit into one category and don't mix mechanics from other games. Go to #2.

#6 You must buy this game. It is one of my all time favorites, and its daring blend of real time building, strategic decisions, intense theme, and the visceral fun of watching the ships get ripped apart by the game combine to make a wonderfully fresh and enjoyable game. No two games are alike, the game plays very fast, and it scales beautifully from 2-4 players (5 with its expansion.) A must buy it my book.

#7 There are two types of people that won't do well with this game. One type is gamers that don't like pressure. If you suffer from analysis paralysis and like to take 10 minutes to think about your next move, this game will destroy you. You have to think fast and the clock is bearing down on you the whole time. If that doesn't sound fun, run away now. The other type is folks that don't want to spend a lot of cash on a game. I think this game is worth every penny of its price, but make no mistake that this is a lot of money for a bunch of plastic and cardboard. If you aren't one of these types of folks, lean towards buying this or at least trying it out.

Reply: Galaxy Trucker:: Sessions:: Re: Galaxy Trucker, or "Why should I buy this infuriating game?"

Flashcubes — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 21:20:57 +0000

by Flashcubes

This is a great game!!! we play it as often as we can, however since there are so many games out there I do not get it to the table as often as I would like. To echo some comments, I have never won a game yet, I get last place most of the time, and yet it is one of my favorite game out there. No other games brings the laughter of getting killed like this one other then maybe Formula D when someone blows their engines on the final turn or hit damage on the track and get and DNF :laugh::laugh::laugh:

Reply: Galaxy Trucker:: General:: Re: Glue damage?

joshp — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 04:18:30 +0000

by joshp

Just heard back from Jay. The good news: he's going to fix it. The bad news: he says he will ship the replacement components in about a month. Oh, well. Beggars can't be choosers.

Reply: Galaxy Trucker:: Reviews:: Re: Why My Wife Doesn't Like It (#1)

Chris Sjoholm — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 23:55:42 +0000

by Chris Sjoholm

dklx3 wrote:
My wife's game tastes include the following:
- Not losing something she already has
- Not being time pressured
- Not having to learn it for the first time

My wife has all of those and adds "Not being interfered with". If you can mess up what she wants to do in a direct manner, she doesn't like the game.

EDIT: I wasn't thinking about Galaxy Trucker in particular when I added this comment, just the general case. But Galaxy Trucker is another game I play with my kids, not my wife. My youngest son (age 6) just beat his older brother and me in a game using board IIIA (his idea) when our ships broke apart on the weak central connection but his didn't. Ouch.

-- Chris

Reply: Galaxy Trucker:: General:: Re: Glue damage?

earache — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 23:24:49 +0000

by earache

Jay takes care of business -- I have no doubt that RGG will make it right. Know though that he is most likely at Origins and you may not get an answer until next week.

Reply: Galaxy Trucker:: General:: Re: Glue damage?

Ghool — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 23:07:58 +0000

by Ghool

Looks like it got wet to me.

Thread: Galaxy Trucker:: General:: Glue damage?

joshp — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 21:42:44 +0000

by joshp

I recently got a copy of Galaxy Trucker for my birthday and I was quite disappointed at the production quality. In my copy, it seems that quite a few of the components got stuck together. Whether this was caused by some glue used in manufacturing or due to humidity is hard to tell. Has anyone else had problems with sticky or stuck together components?

The rulebook pages were all stuck together and ripped when opening.

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The entire deck of cards was glued into one giant wad of cards. Once I got them fanned apart, they all showed damage around the edges. The Phase III cards are now so damaged they would be considered "marked."

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Two of the Phase I/II boards were glued together and ripped when separating.

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I've contacted Rio Grande Games and I'm looking forward to seeing if they can replace these components.

Reply: Galaxy Trucker:: Reviews:: Re: Why My Wife Doesn't Like It (#1)

Skythian — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 15:18:12 +0000

by Skythian

Whenever we break out Galaxy Truckers after awhile, or if there are new players involved, or if there's a skill disparity, we mostly do away with the time limit with ship building. This gets rid of the pressure and allows less 'puzzle-minded' players to compete a little more effectively.

Convoy order can really be determined randomly in this case after everyone is happy with their ships. Yes, there's a good advantage of being first in the order, but I'd much rather lose a fun game and be able to play it again then win and know it jsut became a dust collector! Besides, after a few plays invariably everyone gets better at the ship-building thing and the time limits can be re-introduced.

Oddly enough, my wife is a really terrible ship builder and still loves this game.

Reply: Galaxy Trucker:: Reviews:: Re: Why My Wife Doesn't Like It (#1)

dklx3 — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 13:38:59 +0000

by dklx3

My wife's game tastes include the following:
- Not losing something she already has
- Not being time pressured
- Not having to learn it for the first time

Let's see.. miss, miss, miss. I never even introduced this one to her. And per number three, i am VERY choosy about what I do introduce as it already has a strike against it.

Reply: Galaxy Trucker:: Reviews:: Re: Why My Wife Doesn't Like It (#1)

UnknownParkerBrother — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 00:09:29 +0000

by UnknownParkerBrother

Sounds like this is mostly just a problem of skill disparity / speed between you two. You're much better at it, and finish your ship quickly, which irritates her. And it sounds like only her ship gets beat to crap, and yours sails through just fine.

Maybe you just should have sandbagged for a bit until she got better at it. :)

Reply: Galaxy Trucker:: Reviews:: Re: Why My Wife Doesn't Like It (#1)

EgorjLileli — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 23:53:25 +0000

by EgorjLileli

There you go. I would LOVE to play this!!

Reply: Galaxy Trucker:: Reviews:: Re: Why My Wife Doesn't Like It (#1)

Palpatine — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 23:44:00 +0000

by Palpatine

I happy to say that my wife loves this game. The puzzle building aspect at the beginning, and the adventure cards and seeing how her ship fares during the game is something she likes. She even had many ideas for an expansion.

Reply: Galaxy Trucker:: Reviews:: Re: Why My Wife Doesn't Like It (#1)

ziph4 — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 23:20:41 +0000

by ziph4

Great session review. But I feel kind of sad for you.

I usually play this game with 4 persons, and I also noticed that the men usually finish earlier than the women. I've read somewhere that men tend to be better in rotating geometrical figures in their head, which saves them time in tile placing, while women tend to rotate the tiles more often manually, which makes them loose time.

Reply: Galaxy Trucker:: Reviews:: Re: Why My Wife Doesn't Like It (#1)

cferejohn — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 22:44:59 +0000

by cferejohn

The best part of this game is watching your ship get the crap beat out of it. If you don't enjoy that, then yeah, you aren't going to like this game. Personally I giggle with the childlike glee of a kid kicking over a sandcastle when my ship is knocked to pieces.

Reply: Galaxy Trucker:: Reviews:: Re: Why My Wife Doesn't Like It (#1)

ctb123 — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 22:29:28 +0000

by ctb123

Great perspective in your review. I too am struggling to find games my wife will enjoy, so I really appreciate what you wrote.

Reply: Galaxy Trucker:: Reviews:: Re: Why My Wife Doesn't Like It (#1)

blindspot — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 21:37:38 +0000

by blindspot

Ya work with what ya got, right? I like your angle for a review. I could see this becoming a nice series of reviews. There's a mood, however, coming through your review in which I see you all bright and shiny and enthused about a new game and your wife with a dark rain cloud over her head. It must be hard playing under those conditions. Well, if you are willing to write about it then I'm willing to read it. I hope you hit some winners once in a while.

Reply: Galaxy Trucker:: Reviews:: Re: Why My Wife Doesn't Like It (#1)

JonJacob — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 21:12:43 +0000

by JonJacob

I love this game and find it even better with the expansion, because once you learn to build a good ship they rarely fall apart, the expansion fixes that one up good.

However I wouldn't even try to get my wife to play this game, she would hate it instantly . No worries for me though as I play it at lunch with my buddies there and we have a blast...

You may find that with a different game group your choices for style of game will increase dramatically and you won't need to talk your wife into games she doesn't want to play.

Review: Galaxy Trucker:: Reviews:: Why My Wife Doesn't Like It (#1)

YellowLab — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 20:58:11 +0000

by YellowLab

Introduction
My wife is a self proclaimed "non-gamer." Despite this proclamation, she does play games with me - Agricola and Twilight Struggle have hit the table. After twelve years of marriage, you would think that I would know her likes and dislikes well enough. Yeah right...

Since my wife is my main gaming partner, and with no other gaming group around, nearly every game that we play is a purchase. As of June 2009 I have 43 games marked as "Previously Owned." This list only includes games purchased and played at least once - many others have passed through my collection not even played. With all the great reviews out there, instead of adding another "This Game is the Greatest Piece of Printed Cardboard and Molded Plastic On Earth" review, I thought I would take another tact: the "Why My Wife Doesn’t Like It" (WMWDLI) review.

Games reviewed in my WMWDLI series have had limited play, one or two plays at most. There isn’t much sense in playing a game with your wife when she abhors playing it. The reviews follow a similar format. The first section provides a little background information as to why I purchased the game and why I thought this would be a hit. The next section talks about our game experience. The final section points out reasons why things didn’t work as expected and the fate of the said game.

My Thoughts
I originally saw this game at the Chicago Toy and Game Expo in November 2008. I didn’t think too much of it - the cover looked goofy and it was fairly expensive. However, I found my self reading more and more reviews and session reports about this game. The reviews were glowing and the session reports seemed to convey a sense of good times being had by all even when their ships were being blown apart.

I downloaded the rule book and had a blast reading it. (Side Note: this is one of the funniest and well written instruction sets for a game that I have found.) What a novel and innovative idea for a game. Reading the rules along with the reviews and session reports, I got a general feeling for the game: quickly build a ship and fly it through a space course picking up goods and avoiding dangers. Take it seriously and you would not have fun. Just take everything in stride and laugh about it all. My wife is always telling me her favorite type of game is a "fun" game. This seemed to fit the bill.

Articles that influenced my decision:
DKahnt Review
Omararnaout Review
fehrmeister Session Report

Our Play Session
Once the game was ordered, I anxiously awaited the delivery. I tried hyping up the game experience with my wife prior to its arrival. It showed up one cold January day and I carefully punched out all the pieces. Usually, games sit a couple of days before they get played; however, this was an exception. That night, after the kids were put to bed, I got this game set up. I went over the rules and we started playing the training mission. After a time, I had felt I put together a pretty good ship and I looked at my wife’s board. It was not even half full. Since I was done, I helped talk through things she could do. I should have known better because she doesn’t particularly like me to "suggest" in that manner. Finally, she just said that she was done (little did I know, this meant she was done with Galaxy Trucker). We went through and checked our connections and took off. The first mission is used to get your feet wet so nothing out of the ordinary happened. In my opinion, it was kind of boring.

After that, we cleared off our boards to go for the first real mission. The cards were set up and the ship tiles were mixed. During the build phase, I took some time to look at the card stacks so I had some idea of what kinds of perils our ships would face and tried to build appropriately. My wife did not. Again, I was done fairly quickly and turned over the timer. I looked at my wife’s board - again, not many pieces were placed on her ship. When the timer ran out, I just sat there and watched her build. Finally, she looked at the timer and noticed it was empty with a sour look on her face and stopped building. When we looked at our connections she had misplaced a part which I said she could fix. Being a rules stickler, she took out the offending part and the three other parts that were now illegally placed. Not a good start...

I don’t recall the exact details of our first flight. The only thing I remember is that after we had been attacked and my wife’s ship took a beating, she sarcastically remarked as I was turning over the next card, "Let’s see what other shit is going to happen to my ship." Now, I knew she was in a foul mood as my wife rarely swears. I told her that we didn’t have to continue and could put the game away. It wasn’t worth getting upset over it. But, of course, she would have none of that.

I don’t even remember the next couple of flights. I kept trying to end the game, but my wife was in a dour mood and plugged through it all - despising every minute of it. When we were (finally) done, she got up and left the table. Leaving me to clean it all up. I packed it up never to be seen again.

Why it didn’t work
I think there are a couple of things working against Galaxy Trucker for my wife. First, my wife loves theme in her games. However, the theme has to grab her, and that is a finicky thing. This one obviously didn’t grab her; she felt like she was playing a puzzle with cardboard pieces waiting for action cards to tell her how to take her puzzle apart. Second, I don’t think she appreciated her hard work in putting her ship together being taken apart so easily. I tried to build this aspect of the game up before it came and mentioned it to her during the game. This is why I wanted to put it away earlier because she was taking it too seriously and it wasn’t fun. Finally, my wife is not spatial (She is special, not spatial). Tile laying games such as Carcassonne are more of a chore than a game. These three things stacked the deck against Galaxy Trucker for my wife.

Fate:
Traded here on the ‘Geek as part of a combo deal for Timber Tom, Bohnanza, and Felix: The Cat in the Sack. Bohnanza has become an instant hit.

Reply: Galaxy Trucker:: Rules:: Re: Question on resolving ship strengths

dornfm94 — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 17:55:41 +0000

by dornfm94

Thank both Adam and Chris for the answers. Exactly what I was looking for.

Reply: Galaxy Trucker:: Sessions:: Re: Galaxy Trucker, or "Why should I buy this infuriating game?"

rayito2702 — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 04:27:16 +0000

by rayito2702

MattDP wrote:
How did the games ever take you that long? Most of my sessions have ended within an hour, often including teaching time!

My experiences are the same as the original poster. I played it once and the only fun part was building the ship. Turning the cards over took forever.

Prior to playing I figured even if I played poorly it would be fun to watch my ship get pulverized. My ship did get pulverized, but in excruciatingly slow motion. Paint dries faster. That experience killed my desire to play again.

Reply: Galaxy Trucker:: Rules:: Re: Question on resolving ship strengths

cferejohn — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 22:06:30 +0000

by cferejohn

dornfm94 wrote:
...and finally, it was a single picture of determining who had the least amount of cannons on the left, and two meteor strikes on the right.

The card is "combat zone".
I think you are misinterpreting here. That icon means to determine who has the fewest cannons overall, not on the left (the gun I think just happens to be pointing that way). Every forward facing gun counts as 1, every backwards or sideways facing gun counts as .5 (just like for Pirates, Smugglers, etc.).

Oh and yes, whoever does have the fewest guns takes the full penalty. If there is a tie, the person currently in front takes the penalty.

Reply: Galaxy Trucker:: Sessions:: Re: Galaxy Trucker, or "Why should I buy this infuriating game?"

tibbs2 — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 19:07:36 +0000

by tibbs2

As you play more and get better you'll find your ship rarely takes damage. Then you need to buy the expansion. Also in the expansion there is debt and loans.

Reply: Galaxy Trucker:: Rules:: Re: Question on resolving ship strengths

asmiles — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 18:09:33 +0000

by asmiles

Compare once. Penalty to be suffered is 2 meteors.

Thread: Galaxy Trucker:: Rules:: Question on resolving ship strengths

dornfm94 — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 17:57:22 +0000

by dornfm94

My wife and I just played our first game of Galaxy Truckers and came up with one question that I would like clarified if someone can help.

We got what I think was a Combat card of sorts, and we had to go through and determine who had the most crew members (the person with the least lost 4 days), then I think it was engines (the person with the least had some other penalty), and finally, it was a single picture of determining who had the least amount of cannons on the left, and two meteor strikes on the right.

Now the arguement was over the following... do we resolve who has the least amount of cannons for each meteor separately, or do we only resolve it once, and the weakest gets hit by both meteors?

If I'm not clear enough I'll get out the game pieces tonight and ensure that I'm using the correct terminology.

Thank you,
Matt

Reply: Galaxy Trucker:: Sessions:: Re: Galaxy Trucker, or "Why should I buy this infuriating game?"

DasViktor — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 14:28:51 +0000

by DasViktor

MattDP wrote:
How did the games ever take you that long? Most of my sessions have ended within an hour, often including teaching time!

I don't know. Our games have a way of doing that.

Reply: Galaxy Trucker:: Sessions:: Re: Galaxy Trucker, or "Why should I buy this infuriating game?"

MattDP — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 12:00:08 +0000

by MattDP

How did the games ever take you that long? Most of my sessions have ended within an hour, often including teaching time!

Reply: Galaxy Trucker:: Sessions:: Re: Galaxy Trucker, or "Why should I buy this infuriating game?"

Unicorniclops — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 08:35:13 +0000

by Unicorniclops

For this game I prefer to ease the newb into the game by making the first round of the game completely untimed. after each person is done with thier ship they can check it and repair it if necessary by giving thier place number back. Since it's my game, and I am the host, I will help the newbs that are building thier ship for the first time. after everyones done we will ahve a quick chat about it then go on the journey. after the first round its every man for themselves and the timer is in.

Reply: Galaxy Trucker:: Reviews:: Re: Galaxy Trucker: Trucks...in...Space!

cipiii — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 06:29:36 +0000

by cipiii

What a wonderful review! I can't believe no one has replied! I've been considering getting this game for a while to fill that laugh-till-your-sides-split niche.

Thanks again for a wonderful review!

Reply: Galaxy Trucker:: Sessions:: Re: Galaxy Trucker, or "Why should I buy this infuriating game?"

Furunkulus — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 02:22:04 +0000

by Furunkulus

I agree with both of you. I have never played a game where there wasn't a ton of laughter as someones ship gets blown apart. This game is just plain fun. There are not many games out there that can make you laugh while it's kicking your teeth in.

Reply: Galaxy Trucker:: Sessions:: Re: Galaxy Trucker, or "Why should I buy this infuriating game?"

clloyd09 — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 01:15:35 +0000

by clloyd09

DasViktor wrote:
To me that is the mark of a good game: to have enjoyed it even if I lost miserably.

Great write-up on Galaxy Trucker. And your quote sums up exactly how I feel about games in general. It's an excellent measure of a game.

Session: Galaxy Trucker:: Sessions:: Galaxy Trucker, or "Why should I buy this infuriating game?"

DasViktor — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 22:26:29 +0000

by DasViktor

This session report covers not one but three games that my group played. I thought it best to describe my feelings for the game and what I learned over the course of three games.

The first game. 08 May 2009 Four Players. Game time: 2 hours
Scores: 33, 27, 8, -14

This was the standard version of Galaxy Trucker--no expansions. My ship survived rounds one and two, but was destroyed on round three by pirates, meteors and a trip through a combat zone. By the time my ship went through all that, it was just a single column of components with a laser at the front.

My score was negative fourteen points as we carried our losses with us. Which the FAQ said debt does not carry to the next round.

What I learned in this game was:
1. Remember universal fittings can fit either of the other two types of fittings. One would think this is obvious, but newbies forget little things like this especially when there is a timer going.
2. It is not always good to be in front. I found it was better to let someone else be in front so they can possibly defeat the pirates or the slavers.
3. Ships get destroyed easily. Best to be well armed.

The second game. 21 May 2009 Four Players. Game time: 3 hours
Scores: 70, 58, 53, 32

This game time ran a little longer as we did one practice round for a newbie so he could get the feel for the game.

For the "real" game, we used the New Technology expansion, which includes boosters that make engines, lasers, and shields more powerful--sometimes to the point of destroying the component when used.
This was a great game, although I still came in last, again. My ship actually survived all three rounds.

If you read the rules they mention how you need lots of every component, in a tongue-in-check way. So that's how I built my three ships. Only problem was that while I was considering how many shields, lasers, and engines I could get away with, I forgot to put cargo containers on my ship.

What I learned in this game was:
1. Cargo is the best way to rack up the victory points.

The third game. 28 May 2009 Three Players. Game time: 2 hours
Scores: 97, 76, 39

Once again we used the New Technology expansion. I actually had my game on for this game and won.

I had all three aliens onboard and used the Manager Card for the Cyan Alien, which gives +1 to the abilities of the other two aliens.

I used the "indestructible plating" pieces whenever I could get them.

Another thing I found that helped was to look at the event cards. I was able to anticipate what we would come up against and build my ship accordingly. This worked out well as we came up against pirates and slavers in round three. I was able to defeat them and get the credits.

I learned my lessons from my previous two games. I had lots of containers for cargo and plenty of lasers.

What I learned in this game was:
1. Look at the event cards so you can build your ship accordingly.
2. It is better to be last on the launch pad with a well-built ship than to be first with a space-heap.
3. Use those aliens!

In summation:
This game is infuriating for newbies. First there is the frustration of building the ship, then there is the destruction of the ship. However it is a lot of fun. I was amazed how fun the game was, even when I lost so badly. To me that is the mark of a good game: to have enjoyed it even if I lost miserably.

There is a learning curve to it. If you have played once and you are on the fence, give it another try.

Include the expansions slowly. The Big Box expansion is worth the money. It includes all the expansions, which is what I questioned when I saw the various expansions listed on BGG.

My group really likes this game, although we tend to shy away from games with dice. But the randomness in this game is not overbearing and is an appealing factor.

My buddy Ken said it best when he summed up this game, "It is mad fun!"

Reply: Galaxy Trucker: The Big Expansion:: Rules:: Re: Can you use engine boosters again.

Glen Oakland — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 22:29:22 +0000

by Glen Oakland

Cheers for that Christian.

Reply: Galaxy Trucker:: Reviews:: Re: Pure, unbridled, space fun

Shampoo4you — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 17:14:53 +0000

by Shampoo4you

smileyz wrote:
Shampoo4you wrote:
Strategy and Balance :star::star::star::nostar::nostar: : As with many of my favorite games, this is where the trouble is in paradise. The majority of the game depends on your decisions (how you build your ship and what decisions you make in space), but a lot also depends on the random cards placed in the deck, as well as on the dice rolls. It's no chess-style game of strategic fairness, far from it. But the fun factor more than makes up for this.

You can look at 3/4 of all the encounter cards during the ship building so you can prepare for oncoming encounters.

I actually don't like time constrained games and I'm no good at visual tinkering, but I really enjoy Galaxy Trucker. :)

Yes, but several random cards also go into the deck. Also, the dice rolls themselves (from asteroids and whatnot) justify the rating, imho.

Reply: Galaxy Trucker: The Big Expansion:: Rules:: Re: Can you use engine boosters again.

VeaaC — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 12:25:06 +0000

by VeaaC

The Engine Booster only destroys one boosted engine. You can of course use it again if another engine is attached. You only have to wait until you come out of the hyperspace.

With regards to the diplomat: In the German version it is clearly stated, that you can use him to skip the actions of one enemy ( that means pirates, slavers... ) or one row of the battle zone. So I would say that you cannot escape the meteor showers.

Thread: Galaxy Trucker: The Big Expansion:: Rules:: Can you use engine boosters again.

Glen Oakland — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 10:30:17 +0000

by Glen Oakland

If you have two engines, one attached either side of the engine booster, can you use the engine booster a second time. I know you can with the cannon booster, so...

A second Q. May sound a bit daft, but can the diplomat be used to escape meteor showers?

Reply: Galaxy Trucker:: Rules:: Re: Can I still take fire in combat zone without crew

Glen Oakland — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 23:13:38 +0000

by Glen Oakland

thatmarkguy wrote:

There's absolutely nothing in the rules about negating your cannons if you have no crew to man them. And generally speaking, when trying to figure out how things behave in a game, rarely is there any benefit in rationalizing how things would work in real life.

Your cannons fire, because cannons always fire and there's no game-rule-stated dependency on crew in order to make them fire. And you can choose whether or not to use batteries to make your double cannons fire. Yes, even though there's no living crew to actually carry out your will.

.
It's funny that, because when I posted another Q about losing all crew on last card of round to slavers, it made sense in real life that you would not finish the race(land),even though you had finished the card(almost). I guess that understanding tricky/perhaps ambiguous rules also comes down to experience. I know that most people who have answered my rules Q's this past year or so have been board gaming for much longer and I expect have come across so many rules scenarios that when faced with ambiguity, their experience just allows them to cruise over it.
However for this mere mortal, still learning the tricks of the trade,I get caught out quite a bit.I relish the day when I will be bestowed with board game wisdom. If I hang around BGG long enough maybe it will happen. For now though, I have to prepare for my next flight.

Thanks a lot for your answers, I really appreciate it.

Reply: Galaxy Trucker:: Reviews:: Re: Pure, unbridled, space fun

JonJacob — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 21:24:02 +0000

by JonJacob

Nice review, short and fun to read.

This has to be the most fun I've ever had with a Euro. I can't think of another Euro that feels so fresh and focused on fun over strategy. It's so much fun it's almost an AT game (big space theme, some luck... just missing more interaction and slightly higher production values... although it looks great as is), as a matter of fact it gets props over at F:AT so that just goes to show ya.

The expansion really, really adds to the replayability. Especially once you think you can always build good ships.

Reply: Galaxy Trucker:: Reviews:: Re: Pure, unbridled, space fun

smileyz — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 20:03:18 +0000

by smileyz

Shampoo4you wrote:
Strategy and Balance :star::star::star::nostar::nostar: : As with many of my favorite games, this is where the trouble is in paradise. The majority of the game depends on your decisions (how you build your ship and what decisions you make in space), but a lot also depends on the random cards placed in the deck, as well as on the dice rolls. It's no chess-style game of strategic fairness, far from it. But the fun factor more than makes up for this.

You can look at 3/4 of all the encounter cards during the ship building so you can prepare for oncoming encounters.

I actually don't like time constrained games and I'm no good at visual tinkering, but I really enjoy Galaxy Trucker. :)

Reply: Galaxy Trucker:: Reviews:: Re: Pure, unbridled, space fun

unixrevolution — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 19:29:57 +0000

by unixrevolution

Awesome review. I quite agree, and Galaxy Trucker is close approaching the point where I'm willing to give it a 10.

We do have one player in our group, though, who hates real time games because he's no good at them. For him, Galaxy Trucker fails forever, but that's his problem, not the game.

Review: Galaxy Trucker:: Reviews:: Pure, unbridled, space fun

Shampoo4you — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 18:47:08 +0000

by Shampoo4you

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Galaxy Trucker is simply a blast. The meat of the game is played in real time, which is a feature that will be very refreshing to most of us board gamers.

Galaxy Trucker is also one of those few games that are fun to lose. Seeing the beautiful ship you carefully constructed blown to bits by asteroids and pirates, you won't be able to stop yourself from erupting into laughter. Of course, your opponents will be laughing even harder.

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Fun Factor : Some of the most fun I've ever had in a game. Building your ship is intense. Flying it through space is less intense, but still a lot of fun. Still, I had to subtract half a star because it's just not quite as fun as building and you'll spend more time in space than building.

Theme : The theme (goofy space theme) is great and goes well with the game. I'm not a huge fan of the art style so I subtracted half a star. They could have been a little bit more modern and stylish with the art, but I know I'm nit-picking.

Strategy and Balance : As with many of my favorite games, this is where the trouble is in paradise. The majority of the game depends on your decisions (how you build your ship and what decisions you make in space), but a lot also depends on the random cards placed in the deck, as well as on the dice rolls. It's no chess-style game of strategic fairness, far from it. But the fun factor more than makes up for this.

]]>

Components : Full marks here. Everything is beautiful and works well. A couple of nitpicky things: The red and green are too close in terms of color. WHY do game companies do this? Do they not realize that red and green color blindness is by far the most common?

Also, while I love the batteries, they are easy to lose. You learn to dread dropping them.

Consistency : As I've stated, one of the few games that's fun to lose. Building a ship is always fun. Completing a mission is satisfying. Seeing your ship go down in flames is satisfying in a very different sense.

Replayability : The game goes a tad long for a light strategy game. This may make players a little wary of it, and it might not hit your table as often as you might think because of this. Also, setup and break down is a pain and fairly time-consuming.

The game itself is very replayable. No experience will be quite the same. In fact, every play will be very different. There's not a lot of repitiveness here.

Overall : This game is tied with Agricola for my highest rated game (9.5). I've yet to find the perfect board game, but this one comes damn close. Happy (space) trails, cowboy.

Reply: Galaxy Trucker:: Rules:: Re: Losing last crew member on last card...

UnknownParkerBrother — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 16:57:33 +0000

by UnknownParkerBrother

Yup, no Buck Rogers left, no bucks. :cool:

Reply: Galaxy Trucker:: Rules:: Re: Can I still take fire in combat zone without crew

thatmarkguy — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 14:15:47 +0000

by thatmarkguy

Glen Oakland wrote:
In the rules it states that if giving up you cannot withdraw from the race until all effects of the card have been dealt with.So if in the second stage of a combat zone I lose my last remaining crew due to having the least boosters, do I then in the next stage of the combat zone have to take the proceeding cannon fire, because even if I had the most cannons, how wound I man them. So is it like a default? My crew less ship automatically qualifies for cannon fodder. Or am I considered out and the remaining player with the least cannons is fired upon?

There's absolutely nothing in the rules about negating your cannons if you have no crew to man them. And generally speaking, when trying to figure out how things behave in a game, rarely is there any benefit in rationalizing how things would work in real life.

Your cannons fire, because cannons always fire and there's no game-rule-stated dependency on crew in order to make them fire. And you can choose whether or not to use batteries to make your double cannons fire. Yes, even though there's no living crew to actually carry out your will.

Reply: Galaxy Trucker:: Rules:: Re: Can I still take fire in combat zone without crew

azuredarkness — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 14:07:14 +0000

by azuredarkness

Galaxy Trucker rules wrote:
If this happens in a Combat Zone, you cannot withdraw your ship from the race until all effects of the card have been dealt with.

This means that you only give up after the entire card is resolved.

Thread: Galaxy Trucker:: Rules:: Can I still take fire in combat zone without crew

Glen Oakland — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 12:37:39 +0000

by Glen Oakland

In the rules it states that if giving up you cannot withdraw from the race until all effects of the card have been dealt with.So if in the second stage of a combat zone I lose my last remaining crew due to having the least boosters, do I then in the next stage of the combat zone have to take the proceeding cannon fire, because even if I had the most cannons, how wound I man them. So is it like a default? My crew less ship automatically qualifies for cannon fodder. Or am I considered out and the remaining player with the least cannons is fired upon?

Reply: Galaxy Trucker:: Rules:: Re: Losing last crew member on last card...

PaleHorseRider — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 12:12:12 +0000

by PaleHorseRider

jearles wrote:
If you didn't make it all the way to the end (past the Slavers) with at least one human crew member remaining on board you have to give up - no bonus and half-price for goods.

That is my interpretation as well...You only finish the round and land after the last adventure card has been resolved. Thus if the last card forces you to give up (no human crew, no engines in open space, etc) then you have to give up and don't reach the destination.

Reply: Galaxy Trucker:: Rules:: Re: Losing last crew member on last card...

Glen Oakland — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 11:45:12 +0000

by Glen Oakland

jearles wrote:
You didn't make it to the end (past the Slavers) with a crew member left, so you have to give up.

Yes, that was what my eldest daughter said, her having had to give up some time earlier than us; thus I found her judgment a little bias.

Thanks John.

Reply: Galaxy Trucker:: Rules:: Re: Losing last crew member on last card...

jearles — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 11:39:18 +0000

by jearles

If you didn't make it all the way to the end (past the Slavers) with at least one human crew member remaining on board you have to give up - no bonus and half-price for goods.

Thread: Galaxy Trucker:: Rules:: Losing last crew member on last card...

Glen Oakland — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 11:24:10 +0000

by Glen Oakland

This one has niggled me for a while now. It happened again today. Both my daughter and I were the only players left, and on the last card of the round, - Slavers - we both lost all our remaining crew. Do you reckon we have to GIVE UP and so get no bonuses and half credits for goods etc, or do you reckon we made it and can collect the full bounty.

Reply: Galaxy Trucker:: Rules:: Re: Space ship markers on flight board and future rounds?

Griffin09 — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 01:34:12 +0000

by Griffin09

Larry and Neil thanks for your help and quick reply. We've only played twice and had great fun. Now we can try again with the correct rules!

Reply: Galaxy Trucker:: Rules:: Re: Space ship markers on flight board and future rounds?

landaras — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 01:26:46 +0000

by landaras

Mark,

Each round is distinct and separate, with you only carrying over your cosmic credits earned to date. Remember, at the end of each round you land and unload your ship.

If someone is the second to complete their ship in Round One, completes the Round One journey in fourth place, and is the first to complete their ship in Round Two, they will begin Round Two in first place. The actions of Round One are simply irrelevant to determining start order in Round Two or Three.

- Neil

Edit: I see Larry beat me to the punch while I was composing my reply.

Reply: Galaxy Trucker:: Rules:: Re: Space ship markers on flight board and future rounds?

larryjrice — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 01:25:49 +0000

by larryjrice

1. Spaceships start over in the next round based on order of completion of building spaceships in that round. Note that there is more space separating each ship each round.

2. Flight launch markers are used each round. As each person finishes building their ship, they grab the marker of their choice.

In your example, if you finish building your ship first in the second round, you get to choose which spot you want to start in the second round. Where you finished the previous round means absolutely nothing relative to the next round.

Thread: Galaxy Trucker:: Rules:: Space ship markers on flight board and future rounds?

Griffin09 — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 01:16:06 +0000

by Griffin09

I'm probably missing this in the rules but, what do you do with your space ship markers that are progressing on the flight board when you go to the next round? Do all players markers remain where they are or do you start over with the next round? Do you use the flight launch number markers for more than just the first round? If so and say you are third on the flight board but, finish building your ship first on the second round what happens? I'm sure I'm making this way too difficult. Help me!

File: Galaxy Trucker: The Big Expansion:: Galaxy Trucker: The Big Expansion parts list v1.0

Elstree — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 00:59:06 +0000

by Elstree

Galaxy Trucker: The Big Expansion parts list v1.0 for Board Game: Galaxy Trucker: The Big Expansion ]]>

New Image for Galaxy Trucker

bocachankla — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 19:20:57 +0000

by bocachankla

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New Image for Galaxy Trucker

duckizz — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 15:34:11 +0000

by duckizz

Hand drawn Spacemen!

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New Image for Galaxy Trucker

duckizz — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 15:23:31 +0000

by duckizz

My boxed compartment + face-painted Spacemen! :)

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Reply: Galaxy Trucker:: Rules:: Re: PIRATES

monkeyboy157 — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 17:46:50 +0000

by monkeyboy157

DuckAndCower wrote:
You must fire all your single lasers and add your purple alien to your laser score. You can choose whether to fire double lasers if you want to tie.

Another misunderstanding that you seem to have is that you have to stop for the loot. You can bypass it if you want.

Thanks for the replies. I re-read the rules and found in the FAQ where it says your single canons all fire. You're right, we didn't realize you could just beat them and skip on the loot if you wanted, we will definitely play that way now. I find that I usually need to re-read the rules after I have a couple of plays to get everything right. Some things I just miss because there are a lot of things to remember, other things I miss because I don't understand how things work yet. In my re-reading of the rules I found a couple of things we had been doing wrong and that will be fixed with upcoming plays. Thanks again for all your help. This site rocks.

Reply: Galaxy Trucker:: Rules:: Re: PIRATES

DuckAndCower — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 20:05:18 +0000

by DuckAndCower

You must fire all your single lasers and add your purple alien to your laser score. You can choose whether to fire double lasers if you want to tie.

Another misunderstanding that you seem to have is that you have to stop for the loot. You can bypass it if you want.

Reply: Galaxy Trucker:: Rules:: Re: PIRATES

byronczimmer — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 20:03:25 +0000

by byronczimmer

monkeyboy157 wrote:
Another follow up question. If I can beat the pirates, but I know I don't want to stop to loot them, can I choose to tie them so they go on down the line? This came up in our game today. The enemy had power of 4, I haven't played enough to remember which card that is, and the leader had 5 single lasers. He knew he didn't want to stop for the loot, so he said he would just use 4 of his lasers. Then the card came to me and I tied them with my only 4 lasers, then they went to the last guy who lost to them. Is this legal, or does he have to beat them, assuming of course he has enough single lasers because I realize he doesn't have to power up his doubles.

Single Lasers always fire.
Double Lasers require power.

Reply: Galaxy Trucker:: Rules:: Re: PIRATES

thatmarkguy — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 20:02:16 +0000

by thatmarkguy

All your single lasers must fire.

If you want to pick and choose which of your double lasers fire (each pairing either fires or doesn't-fire, you can't make it only fire one barrel) and use that to force a tie... more power to you. But single lasers aren't optional.

Reply: Galaxy Trucker:: Rules:: Re: PIRATES

monkeyboy157 — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 19:52:56 +0000

by monkeyboy157

Another follow up question. If I can beat the pirates, but I know I don't want to stop to loot them, can I choose to tie them so they go on down the line? This came up in our game today. The enemy had power of 4, I haven't played enough to remember which card that is, and the leader had 5 single lasers. He knew he didn't want to stop for the loot, so he said he would just use 4 of his lasers. Then the card came to me and I tied them with my only 4 lasers, then they went to the last guy who lost to them. Is this legal, or does he have to beat them, assuming of course he has enough single lasers because I realize he doesn't have to power up his doubles.

New Image for Galaxy Trucker: The Big Expansion

yosz — Sun, 31 May 2009 09:04:14 +0000

by yosz

Box cover with Vlaada Chvatil's autograph (this black "thing" below ti...

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Reply: Galaxy Trucker:: General:: Re: How many people look at the cards during building

IronMoss — Fri, 29 May 2009 03:54:08 +0000

by IronMoss

For what it's worth . . . I never look at the cards.

I just try to focus on building a good, solid ship and being the first one to finish construction.

My thinking is that there is always a few cards that you can't look at - thus, you don't have perfect knowledge of what's coming anyway. However, while my opponents are looking at cards, I can grab a few key pieces of spaceship and (almost always) be the first one complete. Once I'm complete and they're "on the sand timer", it's not uncommon to catch one or more players with an unfinished ship (or sub-optimally) finished ship. Plus, I get a head start to be the first ship to the destination.

I haven't played enough games to have statistics on whether mine is the "right" approach, but it works for me.

Reply: Galaxy Trucker:: General:: Re: How many people look at the cards during building

Chipacabra — Fri, 29 May 2009 03:40:28 +0000

by Chipacabra

Looking at the cards is what gives you interesting choices during ship building, and provides most of the real player interaction.

In any given trip, especially in round 3, there's probably not going to be enough of SOMETHING to go around, be it lasers, engines, crew, or cargo space. If you don't look at the cards, you don't know what the shortage is going to be. When you DO look at the cards, and you realize that you need more than your fair share of lasers, the real fun begins. How fast are you going to burn through tiles, discarding ones that might actually be useful fits, searching for more lasers? Is it worth taking lasers that don't fit perfectly, just to be sure you get them, or to deny them to others? Can you still get the basic necessary other tiles while you're focused on the lasers? If you get your lasers early, is it worthwhile to push the timer, even if the rest of your ship is uncertain?

Reply: Galaxy Trucker:: Rules:: Re: beginner question

djbcrawford — Thu, 28 May 2009 22:39:55 +0000

by djbcrawford

I call it checking if anything falls off on take off.

Reply: Galaxy Trucker:: General:: Re: How many people look at the cards during building

jimolideen — Thu, 28 May 2009 17:30:12 +0000

by jimolideen

dcorban wrote:
jimolideen wrote:
All ships need to have cannons and engines

No they don't. Not if you look at the cards and see few/no "open space" cards or "pirates", etc. ;)

Touché :)

Reply: Galaxy Trucker:: General:: Re: How many people look at the cards during building

dcorban — Thu, 28 May 2009 16:39:58 +0000

by dcorban

jimolideen wrote:
All ships need to have cannons and engines

No they don't. Not if you look at the cards and see few/no "open space" cards or "pirates", etc. ;)

Reply: Galaxy Trucker:: General:: Re: How many people look at the cards during building

jimolideen — Thu, 28 May 2009 14:47:33 +0000

by jimolideen

My observations are based on the players trying to win, not make the cutest or wackiest ship.

So are mine. Its not always the case that the same ship is the best ship. All ships need to have cannons and engines but it is better to build the ship which is quick and easy to build given the tiles you have turned over than to mess around trying to build the perfect all rounder.

Anyway, you enjoy playing the game your way. We enjoy playing it ours. I was just giving my answer and jsutification to "How many people look at the cards during building?"

Reply: Galaxy Trucker:: General:: Re: How many people look at the cards during building

dcorban — Thu, 28 May 2009 13:58:17 +0000

by dcorban

My observations are based on the players trying to win, not make the cutest or wackiest ship.

Reply: Galaxy Trucker:: General:: Re: How many people look at the cards during building

jimolideen — Thu, 28 May 2009 12:55:41 +0000

by jimolideen

That would suggest everyone is just making the biggest, most well-rounded ship possible. Doesn't sound as fun as making a tight, focused ship and moving the timer along to put pressure on the other players.

So you're saying that looking at the cards is the more effective way of winning and it's the more fun way of playing. So doesn't that mean that everyone should and will look at the cards. So the playing field is even and instead of everyone building well rounded ships, instead everyone is focusing on building similar ships with the same specialisation. In the meantime up to five people's hands and arms are reaching across the table up to 3 more times each to grab the cards.

Besides we don't all build well rounded ships. Sometimes we aim to build the fastest or strongest ship. Other times, people just build their ship as quickly as they can in order to put pressure on the others and to make sure they get the 1 chip.

Thread: Galaxy Trucker:: Variants:: Evasive Maneuvering with Maneuver Jets

Shijuro — Thu, 28 May 2009 10:27:30 +0000

by Shijuro

Requires: Base game
This variation provides more active choices to the players during the flight phase. It also provides some additional considerations not only for placing Engines, but also Cannon (or Plating, from Galaxy Trucker: The Big Expansion) and the number of batteries. It reduces the difficulty slightly, so it may be used to moderate the effects of Galaxy Trucker: Rough Road Ahead or other expansion challenges.

During the building phase:
You may place engines pointing in any direction (i.e., rear, left, right, or forward), but only engines pointing rear count toward the engine strength. Note that each exhaust must still open into an empty square or edge of the building zone.

During the flight phase:
When resolving Meteor or Cannon fire, a player may pay 1 battery token to perform an Evasive Maneuver, shifting the roll 1 column in the direction one of the engines is pointing (as if the ship was nudged in the opposite direction).
The direction of the Evasive Maneuver is chosen BEFORE the column is determined for Cannon Fire, and AFTER the column is determined for a Meteor.
This maneuver can be used to decrease the likelihood of Cannon Fire hitting a critical or exposed system, or to ensure that an incoming Meteor will avoid an exposed connector or be lined up with a cannon (or plating, from Galaxy Trucker: The Big Expansion).

Clarification:
Any engine may be used as a Maneuver Jet; a single battery token is used regardless of whether a single or double engine is used.
Only one Evasive Maneuver per Meteor or Cannon Fire may be used, shifting a maximum of 1 row or column.
Once the maneuver has been executed, it cannot be cancelled (e.g., it's possible that it actually makes things worse for incoming Cannon Fire)
An Evasive Maneuver may result in a Meteor or Cannon Fire now missing completely; it is also possible that it may cause a miss to hit.

Examples (ship template I):
Incoming from the front, Large Meteor: After rolling for the column (a 9), a battery token is spent to activate a right-pointing engine, shifting the impact to column 10 (a miss!). A left-pointing engine could have been used instead to shift the impact to column 8 where a double Cannon could have blasted it (but at the cost of another battery point).

Incoming from the left, Light Cannon Fire: Because the foremost piece was already destroyed (leaving nothing in row 5), the player chooses to activate a forward-pointing engine to make a hit less likely (rolls of 6 or less will now miss completely). Unfortunately, the roll is 10 which would have been a miss but now becomes a 9, a hit. Bummer. Too bad we don't have shield coverage.

(Edited for clarity and spelling)

Reply: Galaxy Trucker:: General:: Re: How many people look at the cards during building

AstroLad — Wed, 27 May 2009 06:09:27 +0000

by AstroLad

jimolideen wrote:
Yes, it means that we play a less skilled game than everyone else but we already find it a bit finickity during the building phase with everyone's hands and arms in the way searching for tiles. Its bad enough when people are reaching over to flip the hourglass. The faffing around with the cards would be a bit much.

Ditto that. I don't peek in Catan Card and I don't peek here. I find such peeking to be immoral.

Reply: Galaxy Trucker:: General:: Re: How many people look at the cards during building

dcorban — Wed, 27 May 2009 05:46:28 +0000

by dcorban

Reply: Galaxy Trucker:: General:: Re: How many people look at the cards during building

jimolideen — Tue, 26 May 2009 20:40:34 +0000

by jimolideen

Our gaming group never has looked and I don't think we ever will. We have plenty of games that involve careful planning and analysis. Galaxy Truckers is a game that we all just play for light entertainment. When I explained the game rules to our group I said that there is a rule which lets you look at some of the cards in advance but we all agreed to scrap it. We suspect that its more fun to have everything as a surprise.
Yes, it means that we play a less skilled game than everyone else but we already find it a bit finickity during the building phase with everyone's hands and arms in the way searching for tiles. Its bad enough when people are reaching over to flip the hourglass. The faffing around with the cards would be a bit much.
We've all played enough now that we do just fine without looking (usually). That being said, the Big Expansion is arriving soon and then we'll probably be getting pounded all over the place again like the good old days.:D

New Image for Galaxy Trucker

jbrinx — Mon, 25 May 2009 12:35:03 +0000

by jbrinx

Galaxy Trucker - Montando un aparador

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Reply: Galaxy Trucker:: Rules:: Re: (This might be a) dumb question about turn order.

MrBoffo105 — Sun, 24 May 2009 15:27:13 +0000

by MrBoffo105

Thanks a lot.

Reply: Galaxy Trucker:: Variants:: Re: more than 4 players?

uigrad — Sun, 24 May 2009 14:06:30 +0000

by uigrad

I played with 6 players last night. We had the big box expansion, and figured that it would give enough pieces for 6 players for round 1 and round 2, but not for round 3.

Since one player (my brother) was new, and we didn't want to take time to explain the rules, we decided to have him sit out and watch for the first round, and since we only had five, we decided to do round 3 first.

After finishing Round 3, we added my brother, and went back to round 1. For the finishing bonus, we decided to make two first places, and two second places, so the bonuses were 4-4-3-3-2-1.

We followed the 5 player rules for the best looking ship. Basically, if 2 or more players tied for the best looking ship, they each got the complete bonus. If there was a solitary best ship, then they got the bonus, and everyone tied for second also got the bonus.

For planets, we said that 2 planets could be used twice (5 player rules would say only one planet could be used twice). The second person to use a planet would get one fewer blocks. This applied to other cards that had multiple lines of choices (for example space billiards).

For pirates and smugglers, we did the standard 5 player rules. The pirates or smugglers had to be defeated by two different players before they would stop attacking. The first time, the player would get the full reward. The second time, the player would get the reward minus one credit or minus one block (the player chooses which block). If one pirate was defeated but the second had not been, and a player failed in attempt, then the player would take the penalty, reduced by one.

For the card that gave penalties to the weakest player in each category, we followed the 5-player rules exactly. The penalty actually applied to the lowest 2 players, but the second to last person only received the penalty reduced by one. If the penalty was laser fire or asteroids, then the first large laser blast or first large asteroid was removed.

For sabotage, the weakest player was sabotaged in the normal way. The second weakest was sabotaged also, but only 2 attempts were made with dice instead of three. This was the same rule from the original 5-player rules.

Since there were not enough ship boards, some of us chose to use 1a ships instead. This worked fairly well. One of us had to make believe for their starting piece. All players that chose to use a 1a ship and finished with a unique flying angle, they received the standard bonus of 2 credits for flying their ship at a unique angle.

After playing round 1, we went to round 2. Once again, some pilots chose to use the 2a ships. Since this seemed to be a huge detriment, it was decided that the players could add together all engines for cards that required this, with the exception of free space. For free space, we played with the original rules, which said that they would count up engines separately for both halves of the ship, and then use the lower number. We decided that for the best looking ship bonus, anyone who finished with 2 ships would be above anyone that played the standard ship or finished with only one ship.

All in all, it worked pretty well, even if the game did go a little bit long.

New Image for Galaxy Trucker

Barad_the_dwarf — Sun, 24 May 2009 11:20:33 +0000

by Barad_the_dwarf

My wife helping out some new players

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Reply: Galaxy Trucker: The Big Expansion:: Rules:: Re: 'Bad Luck' Rough Road Card

Bowmangr — Sun, 24 May 2009 07:32:26 +0000

by Bowmangr

tibbs2 wrote:
I'm beginning to think you may be right here after re-reading the rules on this. I'm still not 100% on this so I sent a geekmail to Karel and we'll see what he says.

Any answers on this one yet??? :what:

Reply: Galaxy Trucker:: Rules:: Re: (This might be a) dumb question about turn order.

chaddyboy_2000 — Sun, 24 May 2009 06:42:07 +0000

by chaddyboy_2000

Not only can a ship not land on another ship, but you also do not count spaces with other ships when moving. Spaces with other ships are always jumped over without counting them.

Reply: Galaxy Trucker:: Rules:: Re: (This might be a) dumb question about turn order.

Drez — Sun, 24 May 2009 06:37:43 +0000

by Drez

Somewhere in the rules it states that when you are moving a ship, if it ever lands on a space with another ship, it skips over that ship. Therefore, you will never have 2 ships on the same space.

Thread: Galaxy Trucker:: Rules:: (This might be a) dumb question about turn order.

MrBoffo105 — Sun, 24 May 2009 06:23:33 +0000

by MrBoffo105

Is it possible, after many encounters, to have multiple players on the same spot on the track? If yes, who goes first when certain adventure cards come up? Sorry if this is in plain sight in the rules.

Thanks in advance.

New Image for Galaxy Trucker

Purple — Thu, 21 May 2009 15:28:17 +0000

by Purple

Back of the box (Dutch/French QWG edition)

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New Image for Galaxy Trucker

Purple — Thu, 21 May 2009 12:47:56 +0000

by Purple

Box cover (Dutch/French QWG edition)

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New Image for Galaxy Trucker Compatibility Pack

pethulhu — Tue, 19 May 2009 16:52:34 +0000

by pethulhu

comparison of card sizes: 1st edition left, compatibility pack right

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New Image for Galaxy Trucker Compatibility Pack

pethulhu — Tue, 19 May 2009 16:36:24 +0000

by pethulhu

the complete compatibility pack

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Reply: Galaxy Trucker:: Rules:: Re: Giving Up

AnakinOU — Mon, 18 May 2009 15:05:55 +0000

by AnakinOU

The last game I played was a 4-player affair with all the components from Galaxy Trucker: The Big Expansion. The Deja Vu card coming up in round 3 pretty much meant everyone was giving up.

Reply: Galaxy Trucker:: Variants:: Re: Business Cards

The Warp — Mon, 18 May 2009 03:46:45 +0000

by The Warp

They are in the files section here for Galaxy Trucker (under Business Cards). But you can also print a more updated version at Artscow.com here: http://www.artscow.com/ShareAlbum.aspx?Key=c9rzlxrr

You'll need to load The Warp's Galaxy Trucker album, and you may need to do some zooming out and stuff to get the cards properly formatted before you order them.

Jack

Reply: Galaxy Trucker:: Rules:: Re: Giving Up

DaviddesJ — Mon, 18 May 2009 03:46:02 +0000

by DaviddesJ

byronczimmer wrote:
At what point is it beneficial to VOLUNTARILY give up?

If you know you're going to be forced to give up later, after taking more damage (which costs you money).

Having no engines when you know there's at least one more Open Space card in the deck could produce such a situation.

I've never voluntarily given up. Once you know the game a little bit, I think it's really only likely with the Rough Road cards.

Reply: Galaxy Trucker:: Rules:: Re: Couple of Rules Questions

MajorOracle — Mon, 18 May 2009 02:27:00 +0000

by MajorOracle

Thanks!

Reply: Galaxy Trucker:: Rules:: Re: Couple of Rules Questions

fattylumpkin — Mon, 18 May 2009 01:56:52 +0000

by fattylumpkin

The +2 bonus always applies as long as you have engines left firing.

As far as stuff enemies leave behind, you don't have to take the goods. It's your choice.

Thread: Galaxy Trucker:: Rules:: Couple of Rules Questions

MajorOracle — Mon, 18 May 2009 01:51:32 +0000

by MajorOracle

If I have the brown alien on my ship, am I allowed to use his +2 bonus on an Open Space adventure card, or is his bonus only for comparison cards (like Combat Zone)?

When you defeat Pirates, Smugglers, etc., do you have to take the goods and suffer the 1 flight day penalty. Or can you choose not to take the goods in order to keep your position on the Flight Board?

Thanks.

Reply: Galaxy Trucker:: Rules:: Re: Giving Up

tech7 — Mon, 18 May 2009 00:53:19 +0000

by tech7

byronczimmer wrote:
I understand the the following conditions FORCE a player to give up:
0 Human crew
0 Engines in an Open Space Card
Getting Lapped

At what point is it beneficial to VOLUNTARILY give up? I can think of only one, which is a situation where you believe you have a lot of cargo but won't be able to make it, in which case you get half credit.

Any other situations?

There was one for me with the expansion. Since I knew the game pretty well I usually play with a handicap, I draw some of the crazy roads cards that only count for me. One of these was the antiversum (makes little into big asteroids and vice versa) and during buildup I saw a lot of asteroids in the deck, but no cargo. I build my ship around a shieldbooster in the middle of my ship which was connected to two shields. (And of course enough energy). The first card during the flight was a sabotuer which immediately destroyed my shield booster :( At that point it would have been cheaper if had given up, since after that my ship was nearly defenseless and I had to pay a lot for missing parts. Great game :devil:

Reply: Galaxy Trucker:: Rules:: Re: Giving Up

byronczimmer — Mon, 18 May 2009 00:36:27 +0000

by byronczimmer

Those pesky rules say that if you give up you get half your cargo value, no position bonus and no 'pretty ship' bonus.

Reply: Galaxy Trucker:: Rules:: Re: Giving Up

MK-Ultra71 — Mon, 18 May 2009 00:34:30 +0000

by MK-Ultra71

If you give up you shouldn't get any at all. Otherwise you can load up on cargo and bail part way throught the game.

Thread: Galaxy Trucker:: Rules:: Giving Up

byronczimmer — Mon, 18 May 2009 00:15:10 +0000

by byronczimmer

I understand the the following conditions FORCE a player to give up:
0 Human crew
0 Engines in an Open Space Card
Getting Lapped

At what point is it beneficial to VOLUNTARILY give up? I can think of only one, which is a situation where you believe you have a lot of cargo but won't be able to make it, in which case you get half credit.

Any other situations?

Reply: Galaxy Trucker:: Variants:: Re: Business Cards

krakenfan69 — Mon, 18 May 2009 00:00:56 +0000

by krakenfan69

Did these ever become available as a downloadable file? They look great and would be a fun addition but I can't seem to locate them on the Geek. Awesome work.

Thanks,

Kraken Fan #69