• HOME
  • GAMING NEWS
  • MOVIES & TV SHOWS
  • TECH
  • CARS
  • DISCUSSION
  • REVIEWS
  • MMORPG
  • BOARD GAMES
  • eSPORTS
    • League Of Legends
    • DOTA2
    • HALO
    • CS:GO
  • MOBILE
GameSinners
  • GAMING NEWS
  • MOVIES & TV SHOWS
  • TECH
  • CARS
  • REVIEWS
  • PC
  • PLAYSTATION
  • XBOX
  • NINTENDO
  • MOBILE
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Contact US
  • RSS

BOARD GAMES

Tiny Epic Galaxies – Condensed Star Matter

Tiny Epic Galaxies – Condensed Star Matter
Peter Mallick
Peter Mallick
May 27, 2016

Tiny Epic Galaxies is an ambitious dice game about planetary colonization and development. The term ‘dice game’ is somewhat misleading. Most dice games usually take the Yahtzee mechanism as is. That is roll for up to three times and then use your dice. Tiny Epic Galaxies however intertwines dice rolling and action taking within a player’s turn. You can re-roll dice at any time before or after taking an action. This opens up a lot more options and sometimes complicates decision making.

The goal in Tiny Epic Galaxies is to get points by colonizing planets. The player who reaches 21 points will signal the final round after which remaining players take their turns and finally tally their scores.

tiny-epic-galaxies-03

A colony in dispute

The technicalities of managing tiny epic galaxies

On your turn you will be spending dice actions to either:

Launch ships – Move ships to, from or between planets in order to activate planet abilities or begin colonization.
Advance – Advance ships on the colonization track. Colony tracks come in two varieties (Diplomatic and Economic)
Gather Energy – Get energy, which can be spent to re-roll dice.
Gather Culture – Get Culture, which can be spent to follow up actions.
Colony action – At first it allows you to spend energy/culture to upgrade your empire. Later it can activate the powers of the planets you have colonized.

tiny-epic-galaxies-04

The actions (and player colours)

Each action is done in sequence, and all other players can follow up on them. The follow up mechanism raises the bar on interactivity. Players not only compete at colonization but also use each other’s dice to take actions. Not to worry though, you can always forfeit an action if you see that others might take too great an advantage from it. Additionally, following up an action costs one Culture, which is a moderately scarce ‘resource’. This being the case, the active player should usually wait a few seconds until every other player decides whether to follow up. This can drag on, especially at larger player counts.

tiny-epic-galaxies-01

Galaxy mat

The game supports 1 to 5 players. You read it right. Tiny Epic Galaxies has a solo mode. In it you will be competing against a Rogue Galaxy which acts rather differently than a player. It offers some interesting challenges. There are 5 rogue galaxies with varying difficulty. However, I did not found them very difficult so to speak. A decent opponent is usually much more challenging than a dummy galaxy in this case.

The essence

Although it might sound convoluted, the gameplay is actually straightforward. The planet abilities vary wildly in power and effects. Some regress opponent ships on the colony track while others  steal energy. These keep things interesting and generate some tight decision space, especially when there are more players in the game. That’s why I do recommend playing with 2 or 3 until everybody becomes accustomed. I personally see it as a three player game. 3 players ensure  that things move along quickly and there are enough interesting decisions to be made.

The Tiny Epic series from Gamelyn Games has gathered a lot of attention since its first instalment (Tiny Epic Kingdoms). Through the power of crowd funding, Scott Almes and his team managed to produce interesting games with a considerably small footprint. As anyone knows, playing a board game requires a bit more space than a coffee table. Well, Tiny Epic Galaxies can almost fit on a coffee table. Not only that but is also the best in the series.

Related Itemsboard gamedice gamegamingsci fi
Click to add a comment
BOARD GAMES
May 27, 2016
Peter Mallick
Peter Mallick

ts. I am a tabletop game enthusiast. I have transitioned from video games since I discovered ones made of plastic, wood and cardboard. I'm now very picky with what video game I chose to play.

Related Itemsboard gamedice gamegamingsci fi

More in BOARD GAMES

An Introduction To Linux LPIC Level-1 Certification

Morgan SandersJune 27, 2018
Read More
Resident Evil 2 board game

Resident Evil 2 Board Game Funded On Kickstarter Within An Hour Of Launch

Mike GuarinoSeptember 26, 2017
Read More
shadows over innistrad eldritch moon spoiler

Spoiler Season is Underway for Magic: The Gathering’s “Eldritch Moon”

Christian BurneyJune 27, 2016
Read More

Method and Motivation: Exploring the Human Element in Video and Tabletop Games

Matt AmendaJune 24, 2016
Read More
bora bora

Bora Bora – Polynesian Point Salad

Peter MallickJune 15, 2016
Read More
clash-of-cultures-03

Clash of Cultures – A more perfect Civ

Peter MallickJune 7, 2016
Read More
Origins Convention logo

Last call for Origins early bird badges!

Peter MallickJune 1, 2016
Read More
Oil Painting, not from Merchants & Marauders

Merchants and Marauders – A guide to plundering

Peter MallickMay 31, 2016
Read More
Spiel des Jahres logo

The nominees for Spiel des Jahres 2016 are in

Peter MallickMay 26, 2016
Read More
Scroll for more
Tap

Game Deals

Follow @GameSinnersLive

Advertisment

  • Popular

  • Latest

  • Comments

  • WhatsApp gives users an ultimatum: Share data with Facebook or stop using the app
    WhatsApp gives users an ultimatum: Share data with Facebook or stop using the app
    TECHJanuary 6, 2021
  • Cut your monthly budget: Replace Netflix, Hulu and more with free subscriptions
    Cut your monthly budget: Replace Netflix, Hulu and more with free subscriptions
    TECHDecember 28, 2020
  • Microsoft is reportedly added to the growing list of victims in SolarWinds hack
    2020 had its share of merorable hacks and breaches. Here are the top 10
    TECHDecember 28, 2020
  • Awesome gifts for teen girls in 2021
    Awesome gifts for teen girls in 2021
    TECHJanuary 6, 2021
  • iOS 14.4 and iPadOS 14.4 hit supported devices today
    iOS 14.4 and iPadOS 14.4 hit supported devices today
    TECHJanuary 26, 2021
  • Don't Do This Or You May Brick Your Tesla Model Y
    Don’t Do This Or You May Brick Your Tesla Model Y
    CarsJanuary 26, 2021
  • 'Serial' Season 3 to Become HBO Limited Series
    ‘Serial’ Season 3 to Become HBO Limited Series
    Movies & TV ShowsJanuary 26, 2021
  • Apple releases iOS 14.4 with iPhone camera improvements
    Apple releases iOS 14.4 with iPhone camera improvements
    TECHJanuary 26, 2021
  • Niantic تصدر أول عرض دعائي للعبة الواقع المعزز Harry Potter – شبكة الاخبار العربية التقنية says:

    […] المصدر […]

  • Niantic تصدر أول عرض دعائي للعبة الواقع المعزز Harry Potter - قيمراوي says:

    […] المصدر […]

  • PokeBall Plus How to Activate the Secret Feature to Make Pokemon Go Easier to Play – Mark Swarrts says:

    […] New Pokemon: Lets Go Pikachu/Eevee Official Trainer’s Guide &…

  • Best Dentist Games in 2018 - GameSinners says:

    […] are apps (mostly games for Android) but they help…

Follow @GameSinnersLive
GameSinners

Real Gaming and Tech news and Honest Game Reviews

Copyright © 2017 GameSinners.

The nominees for Spiel des Jahres 2016 are in
Merchants and Marauders – A guide to plundering
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.Ok