Played this as two player and like the different alien species buffs and the ability to start easy with Humans and easy enemies. So can increase difficulty with more players so real estate becomes the fighting ground. Or add the wormholes and difficult enemies to make it more of a challenge for the two players. The eight rounds make you consider all options for victory early on. But as enemies appear and your opponents empties out the tech you wanted from the tech tray, things can get dicey, especially when your losing money every round trying to keep your burgeoning population feed and watered! (Not literally, but via a simple math of how much did you spend doing stuff vs how many planets and orbitals are making you money.) Setup is pretty easy with each species having its own box of ships and discs and cubes and species board. The Game Trayz make is easy to organise both setup and pack down. Not cheap, but is a deluxe game in a deluxe box, without overly complicated rules. Recommended.

This game takes a frequently unapproachable genre (4X) and boils it down to a pure form. I've played this with groups of hardcore gamers and relative beginners alike, and had an amazing time with both groups. The bite-sized choices stop decision-making from feeling overwhelming, letting your turns each round slowly unfold and combine to create a beautiful web of terrible choices that'll probably come close to bankrupting your space-faring empire. Meanwhile the actual game components are unrivaled. This is what turns Eclipse Second Dawn from a great game to the best in its genre – just about every component is equal parts rule reminder, evocative/tactile mood setter, and storage device.

To immediately get into my “best of the genre” statement: as much as I love Twilight Imperium, I can get this to the table so much more often; it scratches the same itch in a fraction of the time while working with almost any player count (with 2 players, you definitely need aggressive playstyles to keep things interesting though).

I completely recommend this for any group that wants a 4X game, gets excited at the possibility of fully modular space ships you can customise based on your research, and doesn't mind a few dice keeping battles exciting. The only downside is the price; obviously I think it's worth it, but if you have a regular group you play with, maybe ask them to chip in.

Eclipse is so much fun! Played it mostly at 4 players. Plenty of excellent decisions to be made, battles to be fought, and a galaxy to conquer.