Race for the Galaxy

[RichardD]

Why hasn't this game got it's own thread?

It's fast become my most-played game of the last 5 years or more). OK, Heroscape will still be the game that I take with me when I get stuck on a desert island, but Race for the Galaxy is the game that I'll be playing on the boat on the way there.

It *feels* like a collectable card game, without the stupid outlay of money or time to learn everything. There are many, many ways to win. Lots of different powers and combos. And the head game, where if you can get inside the minds of teh other players, you'll do much better than by just playing your own game.

The one drawback is that the first game or two can be very confusing, as the cards overload you with information. Then it takes a few more games to get the hang of what you're actually supposed to do to score points. And it's only after a dozen games or more that you start to appreciate the ways that the game can allow you to be really quite clever.

But that's a *good* thing in my book - a game that I'm learning more about - and enjoying more - the more I play it.

[Hahnarama]

Why because it's our secret.

I've been raving and playing it since Feb.

[ej]

I've been loving this game since one of members joined our board game group. First 4 times I played I had no clue what I was doing. Second 4 times I played I understood it, but still didn't have enough familiarity with the cards to adequately plan a strategy or properly react to cards I drew. Then I bought my own copy and played several solo games before we played our own little tournament. So yeah, RftG is definitely one of my favorites. The delays in getting the expansion out is aggravating.

[RichardD]

You can say that again. Especially as a friend of mine was platytesting with exp 1 AND 2 a year ago!

[RageAngel]

Got this for Easter, bought expansion a few weeks later. Have been playing this with my wife and kids (Ages 8 and 6, the rest really are too young to play) at least every other night if not more.

I see on BGG the 2nd expansion has been delayed until July.

[DrRansom]

Ok.. commence checking out of game..... NOW!

[SlikkRikk]

I LOVE this game ... you guys hit the nail right on the head on this one. It's just outstanding how a deck of cards can give you so much enjoyment and replayability.

[RichardD]

Confession time - I STILL love this game, and continue to play it at least once a week. However, it's no longer my "most played" game, because Dominion leapfrogged it earlier this year (thanks to over 800 games played online in the last 6 months!).

Is Dominion better than Race For The Galaxy? Nope. It just scratches a slightly different itch, the deck construction itch (blame Magic: the Gathering, and to a lesser extent, HS army selection). But I still think that Race is a brilliant game, and if I was picking a top 5 of games, Race would be in that list along with HS.

Because some of the time you're playing the cards, and some of the time you're playing the opponents, Race has - for me - the qualities of some classic card games like poker and bridge, where the playing environment is rich enough to occupy you for a very long time.

[RageAngel]

We are playing more often with the draft, which gives you a limited experience of constructing a deck.

It's really only good for 3 players that way, not enough cards for 4 and 2... well a 2 player draft seems rather moot.

[LordRaidor]

Originally Posted by RageAngel

...It's really only good for 3 players that way, not enough cards for 4 and 2... well a 2 player draft seems rather moot.

I liked RftG so much I crafted a complete re-theme of the game into the 'Doctor Who' universe to get my kids interested... ^_^

As for the draft, the next expansion will add enough cards to make it feasible for 4 players. If you want to draft decks in a 2-player game, try a 'burn and pass' variant. Have each player draw 6 cards at a time instead of 5. Then, have each player pick 1 card to keep (add to his deck), AND one card to BURN (tossing it face-down into the discard pile), then pass what's left to their opponent. Continue this until the draw deck is gone, then shuffle the ash heap (discards) into a new (second) draw deck. Draft through the second deck normally (as the rulebook states) to finish building your decks. ...It's still not perfect, ...and takes longer to draft, but at least you can preserve the mystery of what you're keeping and what you're burning until your deck is half completed.

That said, my group doesn't actually draft decks very often at all. Instead, we prefer to draft STARTING HANDS instead. When playing with a common draw pile (NOT if you're drafting decks), deal out 6 cards to each player as usual. Instead of just keeping 4 and tossing 2, have each player keep 1 card and pass the rest to the player on their left. Now looking at the new cards, each player again keeps 1 and passes the rest left. Continue this process until all players have 'kept' 6 cards and there are no more to pass. THEN, each player looks at the 6 cards he now holds and decides which ones to keep for his starting hand. ^_^

We really like drafting starting hands this way, and I highly recommend it.

If you are drafting starting hands for 2 players, you kindof combine the two variants I just described above. Deal each player 10 cards. Have each player keep 1, burn 1, and pass the rest. Rinse and repeat until each player has 'kept' 5 cards and there are no more to pass. Players then select their starting hands out of the 5 cards they have. This is also a very viable variant, and helps overcome the 'bad first draw' deficit quite a bit...

...Can't wait for the "Rebels vs. Imperium" expansion to come out (hopefully) this summer...

^_^
-LordRaidor-

[Drumline3469]

My buddy picked up a few games for his birthday and this was one of them. I picked up the strategy of it after a few runs through it. One of our friends, however, still thinks the best way to acquire cards is to explore every round...

[wdgrant]

Originally Posted by Drumline3469

My buddy picked up a few games for his birthday and this was one of them. I picked up the strategy of it after a few runs through it. One of our friends, however, still thinks the best way to acquire cards is to explore every round...

Just produce, consume and laugh your way to victory. He'll eventually come around.