Last year, the heretofore relatively unknown publisher Czech Board Games created quite a stir at the Spiel in Essen with the release of several quality games, including Graenaland and the award winning Through the Ages. Suddenly the company and its star designer, Vladimir Chvatil, were stars, and gamers were eagerly awaiting his next creation.

Chvatil is back with two new designs, but these are being released by another Czech publisher, Czech Games Editions. One of his new releases is Galaxy Trucker, a light-hearted romp through space, with players furiously constructing their ships and then enduring a series of adventures that can either prove profitable or result in severe damage to their spacecraft.

First, let me state that I have a pre-production copy. The artwork appears finished, but the components are basic. I understand the finished version will include better components. Still, the game was perfectly playable, so only some of the aesthetics will change in the final production.

Each player receives a board upon which he will construct his ship. A large quantity of tiles depicting various ship components are mixed face-down, and eight adventure cards are mixed.

The game is played over the course of three turns, with each turn having three separate and distinct phases. During the first phase, players will construct their ship by simultaneously grabbing tiles from the center and either placing them onto their ship, or returning them to the pile face-up. Each tile depicts a particular component, including batteries, cannons, engines, crew cabins, shields, storage holds, etc. Further, each tile side will have from zero-to-three connectors. These connectors must match exactly with connectors on adjacent tiles, with the exception of the “three” connectors, which are universal and can connect to any other connector.

The main challenge of the game is during this first phase. Players must construct their ship so that all placement rules are followed. Plus, they must try to make their ship reasonably diverse, with a good mix of components. Finally, they must also attempt to minimize the number of “exposed” connectors; i.e., those connectors that are not connected to an adjacent component. These exposed connectors are susceptible to being destroyed by meteors, and also can cost a player potential bonus points in phase three.

Once a player is satisfied with his ship, he grabs one of the number tiles still available. This will determine the player’s starting position during phase two. Generally, it is best to grab the lowest number available, as the player will be ahead in the race. This is beneficial when players encounter planets and abandoned spaceships and stations during phase two, as the leader has the first opportunity to take advantage of these situations. During the first turn, the incentive to grab a low-valued number is the only pressure to complete one’s ship quickly. This changes during turns two and three, when a sand timer adds additional pressure.

Once all players have completed their ships, their ship pawns are placed on a central board in an order based on the number tiles selected – lowest to highest. The race is on! The lead player then reveals adventure cards, and each are dealt with one at a time. These cards can cause ships to be subjected to meteors, space pirates, saboteurs and other nasty occurrences. Players can fend off certain attacks with properly placed cannons or shields, but the larger threats can only be avoided if they miss outright, which is dependent upon a dice roll. If a player’s ship is struck by meteors or enemy cannon fire, the usual result is lost ship components. This can often result in sections of a ship becoming disconnected, in which case those components are also destroyed. Destroyed pieces are set aside and will cost the player cosmic credits during phase three.

Other events are more beneficial. Planets allow players to land and claim the goods listed. Usually only three players have the opportunity to do this, so the player in last place will generally not be able to take advantage of these lucrative opportunities. Abandoned ships and stations also give players – in turn order – the chance to send the required number of crew to take control of the ship and gain the goods or credits available. Only one player can take advantage of this opportunity. Taking advantage of these opportunities does cost days, which causes players to lose spaces on the racetrack.
Lost ground can be recovered if an “open space” adventure card is encountered, which allows players to move forward a number of spaces based on their engine strength. Double engines do require batteries to power – as do double cannons – so it is wise to make sure your ship contains several battery compartments.

Once all of the adventure cards have been handled, players land and gain their rewards in cosmic credits. Bonuses are earned based on the players’ finish in the race and for the best looking ship, which translates into fewest exposed connectors. The bulk of the credits usually come from the goods players successfully deliver. Credits are lost for ship components that were destroyed during the flight, but only up to a stated maximum.

The second and third turns are very similar in structure as the first turn, but do have a few important differences. The ships are progressively larger, and a timer is introduced as an incentive to assemble ships at a faster pace. Players can set aside two components for future use, but if they are not used, they will cost credits at the end of the turn. Further, stacks of adventure cards are pre-assembled and may be examined during the ship assembly phase. This gives players an idea of the perils they will face during phase two, but at the cost of valuable time that could be used assembling their ship. Further, a handful of additional adventure cards are added to the mix prior to the second phase, so players will not know all of the adventures they will encounter. There are more adventure cards in the final two turns, extending the length of these two turns a bit.

Another difference is the increased bonuses for finishing the race in one of the top positions, as well as having the best ship. Thus, there is an increased emphasis on winning the race. After three complete turns, the player with the most cosmic credits is victorious.

As mentioned, the most, and truly ONLY strategic aspect of the game is the construction of the ships during the first phase of each turn. Players must carefully gather and assemble components, ensuring that they have a good mixture and that they fit together legally. This aspect of the game is very similar to Factory Fun, the puzzle-like game from Cwali and designer Corne van Moorsel. The tile grabbing aspect is a bit more forgiving, and there isn’t that overriding time pressure forcing players to act at lightning speed. Still, being the leader in the race is quite important, so there is no room for dallying too long.

Sadly, the remainder of each turn is virtually devoid of any strategic or tactical options. Players must endure or take advantage of whatever is triggered by the adventure cards. The only real decision are minor – whether to land on planets, send crew to abandoned ships, or power double cannons or engines. These are minor decisions, and usually the choice is obvious. Phase two is little more than a fun ride, watching what happens to your ship as the adventure cards are revealed. There is nothing a player can do to affect the outcome short of being lucky. While it is fun to see what happens, the absence of any control is frustrating. Players are merely along for the ride. Phase three is merely the payoff phase, so it adds nothing to the game in terms of choices or strategy.

I won’t deny that I’ve enjoyed my playings of the game. The ship assembly process is the most enjoyable, with the remainder of the game being little more than a roller coaster ride. Yes, it is fun, but unless the games are designed to be short fillers, I tend to want more meaningful choices in the games I play. Beyond the first phase, those choices are absent. Indeed, they really aren’t all that many deep choices in the first phase, either. Galaxy Trucker is a light, fun game, but as such, it lasts too long. The second and third turns feel much like the first turn, and there really isn’t anything to build on. Each turn begins anew, with little to distinguish one from the other.

I give kudos to the designer for creating a novel game that is fun to play. Sadly, like the turns, each subsequent game feels much like the first game. There doesn’t appear to be enough here to give the game longevity. It appears to be a novelty that will lose its luster after just a few playings. My interest is already waning, which is not a good sign. Galaxy Trucker may have taken us where no game has gone before, but, sadly, there doesn't appear to be much in that part of the galaxy to warrant further exploration.

"Graenland and the award winning Through the Ages"
Perhaps you could add the games to BGG, since they don't seem to be in BGG

Anyway, thanks for the post, although a single post of it would have been enough, rather than a double post.

Here's the link to Through the Ages: A Story of Civilization.

Graenaland has been in the database for quite a while.

Ah, but not its misspelled cousin, Graenland. That one has a tighter economy on vowels.

Hey, Greg, it sure IS a filler game! When my "normal serious game" lasts about 4 hours, then a 1 hour game must be a short filler :o)

But seriously - yes, the second phase is a ride. It seemed to me to be more fun than "now you all count points for your ships". Players love to see the thing they have created working :o)

However, I am sure there is a bit more depth in the flight phase than it seems to you. When experienced truckers are playing, they all usually have relatively well working ships, and then these small decissions in the flight phase might win or lose the game. You spend one more battery during the first Free Space event - and you find yourself unable to defeat Pirates near to the end of the flight. You give up two crew members for a few credits - just to see your ship being destroyed later by a Combat zone because of that. You lose few days landing on a planet to load some goods - and thus miss great opportunity because of that. It is easy to earn or to loss 10 credits because of a single decission - and the difference between players at the end is often less.

Although it may seem random what happens, don't forget you can take a look at most of the prepared cards while building the ship. Of course there is enough randomness, but it just makes the choices less obvious ("I remember there are enemies with strength 7 in the deck so I can afford to spend this battery and still narrowly defeat them - but did I take in account the "Meteors from right" I have seen there, that can destroy one of the guns on the unprotected right side of my ship?")

The flight has 8 to 16 cards. My experience is when the choices are obvious, the cards are solved very quickly. When they aren't, they are interesting and can have great impact on results. Of course, there is a problem with players that have to think even in the obvious cases - just avoid them when playing this game :o)