There’s a wonderful board game convention in Nashville in the spring called Tennessee Game Days. It’s been one of the highlights of my year for the last four years, in no small part because I get to discover games I never would have tried otherwise. Fully a third of the games on this list came to my attention because of Tennessee Game Days, but none of them make me as giddy to sit down to as Eclipse, an imperial science fiction game that manages to be massive and streamlined at the same time, and as sprawling a piece of work as anything else out there.
Let’s get this out of the way first: Eclipse will make anyone who hasn’t played it before slightly dizzy when they see it sprawled out before them. It’s huge. Every player has a personal board with their economy tracker, technology tree, ship layouts, diplomacy tracker, and more. Each player has a pile of wooden tokens, a row of cubes, and a pile of ship figures. Oh, and then there’s the technology board, with dozens of tiles indicating plasma missiles, quantum computers, neutron bombs, and a whole host of other bewildering terms.
And that’s where Eclipse stands apart. This massive cluster of details and components somehow falls neatly into place as smoothly and as effectively as any other game I’ve ever seen, with the design of every single component showing how each piece flows into the next, how every one of the many choices dovetails neatly with countless possible strategies. The first time one of my friends played, he shifted smoothly from being confused to launching a multi-tier attack against another player, coordinating his technology development with ship construction to keep the assault hot and steady. Players will adopt wildly different strategies, with one choosing to sprawl across the galaxy, exploring every sector they can reach, while another builds their forces in a handful of strategically invaluable systems, and the amazing thing is that all of these strategies can be successful. Eclipse allows players to develop a play style that matches their own personality.
As the game proceeds through the nine rounds, a unique and detailed galaxy of wormholes, hostile aliens, strange planets, and ancient artifacts will constantly throw up barriers to the player’s efforts. Players will negotiate alliances, betray one another, develop technology to leap across the galaxy and flank opponents, and create a story that they’ll be talking about for days. Once players become comfortable with the rules, they’ll be able to take control of alien empires, each with their own unique strengths and weaknesses, giving the game more replayability than anything else on this list. And, as if that wasn’t enough, the expansion Rise of the Ancients fleshes out the few weak points of the game to make it truly sing.
Eclipse holds a special place in my collection, and it’s a game that I plan out the chance to play for weeks in advance. I would play this on a weekly basis if I could, and I’d do so knowing that a year from now, I’d still be learning new and amazing things about this excellent game.
- Dietrich Stogner
Let’s get this out of the way first: Eclipse will make anyone who hasn’t played it before slightly dizzy when they see it sprawled out before them. It’s huge. Every player has a personal board with their economy tracker, technology tree, ship layouts, diplomacy tracker, and more. Each player has a pile of wooden tokens, a row of cubes, and a pile of ship figures. Oh, and then there’s the technology board, with dozens of tiles indicating plasma missiles, quantum computers, neutron bombs, and a whole host of other bewildering terms.
And that’s where Eclipse stands apart. This massive cluster of details and components somehow falls neatly into place as smoothly and as effectively as any other game I’ve ever seen, with the design of every single component showing how each piece flows into the next, how every one of the many choices dovetails neatly with countless possible strategies. The first time one of my friends played, he shifted smoothly from being confused to launching a multi-tier attack against another player, coordinating his technology development with ship construction to keep the assault hot and steady. Players will adopt wildly different strategies, with one choosing to sprawl across the galaxy, exploring every sector they can reach, while another builds their forces in a handful of strategically invaluable systems, and the amazing thing is that all of these strategies can be successful. Eclipse allows players to develop a play style that matches their own personality.
As the game proceeds through the nine rounds, a unique and detailed galaxy of wormholes, hostile aliens, strange planets, and ancient artifacts will constantly throw up barriers to the player’s efforts. Players will negotiate alliances, betray one another, develop technology to leap across the galaxy and flank opponents, and create a story that they’ll be talking about for days. Once players become comfortable with the rules, they’ll be able to take control of alien empires, each with their own unique strengths and weaknesses, giving the game more replayability than anything else on this list. And, as if that wasn’t enough, the expansion Rise of the Ancients fleshes out the few weak points of the game to make it truly sing.
Eclipse holds a special place in my collection, and it’s a game that I plan out the chance to play for weeks in advance. I would play this on a weekly basis if I could, and I’d do so knowing that a year from now, I’d still be learning new and amazing things about this excellent game.
- Dietrich Stogner
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