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Eclipse

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Eclipse

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4.4 out of 5 stars Based on 7 Customer Ratings

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"Awesome Space 4x - There is a reason it's in the BGG top 10"
5 stars"
Purchased on Mighty Ape

I agonised over this versus TI3 for ages and went round and round with all the reviews out there. I finally committed to Eclipse and I am pleased to say that I couldn’t be happier. The advice that finally tipped me into the Eclipse camp was “Both are great, get this one first. If you have more time and want more of a challenge… then upgrade to TI3”.

My gaming group is only really available on week day evenings which limits the time to 3–4hours at a stretch. Our first game took three of us 3hours to get 2/3 of the way through. This means that a 'first time around’ game is closer to 1.5hours per player, much higher than the 30min per player the box suggests. I’m pleased to say, this time drops dramatically after the first game(s) as the decisions and mechanisms become more familiar and game lengths of 30min per player are more likely. It will help if you can carry out the basic set-up before your buddies arrive and I would most certainly recommend bagging all the items (cubes and ships etc) for each player colour into one bag per player (these baggies are even provided with the game!).

Some of the most scathing reviews say that this is “too euro”, but I also see a similar amount wishing that this was more co-op or had the fighting element removed. While it’s resource engine is the core and is at least as good as “Powergrid” in its own right, add some fighting, exploring and tech and each part of this game would be a reasonable game in its own right. The fact that you can tilt the balance to suit your alien race, play style, game situation or political goals is awesome. After all, that is what 4× games are all about… and Eclipse does all four very, very well.

While I have yet to play (or felt the need to play) the expansions, I think it’s important to note that they also tend to rank highly, especially “Rise of the Ancients”. You want more politics… here’s how to play alliances. Want some more tech- Here’s some weird ancient gadgets and developments. Want more aggressive 'barbarian’ ancients… here’s some hives! Want more players- Here’s some additional ships and races allowing you to play 9players!- Need a quicker game, here’s how to play with more than one person at a time. Add the 'Ship Pack’ expansion to allow you to theme your mini space ships in accordance to the various alien races from the original box, beef up the “Galactic Centre” space station or add a fun new, deeper 'turn order’ mechanic as well as the upcoming (end of 2015) “Shadows of the Rift” and you can make this deep game even deeper!

After being such a huge fan of 4× computer games over the years (Civ etc) I’ve been wanting a board game to be able to play with mates over the dining room table, and this is it! While there is obviously a Civ branded board game I wouldn’t want to lose the depth that Eclipse brings to the table in such a neat package. I will admit that I am still interested in TI3 but would have to say that I just don’t know when I would have time to play a longer/deeper game… or get a bigger dining room table.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
"Great game ... But you need to set some time aside"
4 stars"
Purchased on Mighty Ape

It's a great game but there are a lot of complex rules – it could be improved by a fastplay version. But my friends (fans of D&D and Magic the Gathering) enjoyed playing it for a good 6 hours which constituted one game!

Description

A game of Eclipse places you in control of vast interstellar civilizations, competing for success. You will explore new star systems, research technologies and build spaceships to wage war with. There are many potential paths to victory, so you need to plan your strategy according to the strengths and weaknesses of your species while paying attention to the other civilizations' endeavors.

In the core of Eclipse, there are innovative resource management and action selection mechanisms. Even though you explore space and take over new sectors on the common game board, all the production and resource management is done conveniently on your own player board. The upkeep cost of your civilization rises rapidly as you take more actions and the area you control increases. This creates an interesting balancing problem and restrains the exponential growth of the civilizations.

Eclipse is an epic empire building game that even with full player count can be played under three hours. Euro-type game mechanisms offer a smooth gameplay and minimize the downtime. Nevertheless, Eclipse has a lot of details and theme woven seamlessly into the game. For example, you may design your own starships: each player has four ship types that they can build and design as they will. The technology tree also has a new, non-linear system.

Eclipse has seven different species for you to choose from. Each player can either play as Terrans (ie. humans) or one of the unique alien species. Each species has different characteristics and abilities. The modular board and the dynamic technology tree ensure that each session of Eclipse is unique!

Release date NZ
March 12th, 2012
Brand
Manufacturer
Series
Number of Players
2-6
Play Time
60-180 minutes
Recommended Age
14 years or over
Themes
Board Game Type
Board Game
Board Game Requirement
Base Game
Box Dimensions (mm)
410x285x95
UPC
6430018270036
Product ID
19756539

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