Miami Dice - Episode 65 - Empires of the Void

[@trickykid3000]

Any comparison between this and Exodus Centauri??

[@winterplum]

Whew! I am SO glad that this game turned out to be what I had hoped. In its kickstarter stage it looked promising. When I recieved the the game and opened the box I thought that the thick cardboard components were brilliantly colorful ...almost too good to be true. Were the lovely components in this game compensation for mediocre gameplay? Well, both of you have made it official...that it is indeed fun. Thank you for this review... I am happy this has the Miami Dice seal of approval.

[@TheDawitchy]

Joe Steadman may disagree with the ASL comment you made. I like Eclipse a lot, and now you've peeked my interest. Unfortunately I have Twilight Imperium and Space Empires 4x as well, so I'm not sure how many space games I'll need.

[@Toxilium]

Sam, do you prefer Empires of the Void or Exodus? Very curious

[@jfnovotny]

Art work looks great, my kids like it especially. Can't wait to pick up a copy.

[@Evac156]

Thanks for the review. Looks like the kind of game I would enjoy, but would never get anyone else to play. Unfortunately, most of my game-playing friends like much simpler games. Agreed, the two-sided pieces with no difference between the two sides seem to be a missed opportunity. I also note that the overall board is hex-shaped, but has two gaps on the outer edge. I wonder if there are plans to expand to six players, but that would probably spread the available planets too thin.

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

I hate Eclipse, so no problem bashing that game! :-) I got to play this last night in a two player and I LOVE this game. It's so simple, but you've got plenty of variety and different routes you can take on the tech tree and style of play. However we were using the Print and Play expansion to the game so I can see that the base game alone has some issues. I hear it's in reprinting though, does that mean we'll see this expansion included now and some new stuff thrown in?

[@spacehybrid]

I liked the look of the game up to 4:45 when the words Victory Points came up. It seems a majority of games require victory points to win instead of achieving a faction specific goal. However despite my own VP objections the game does look fun, perhaps the "diet" version of Twilight Imperium.

[@SamHealey6]

@TERRYPINKONA1: I don't know what you're talking about...that level of "immaturity" goes all the way back to episode one of The Dice Tower...I personally watched it being recorded on many occasions...;)

[@rogernagel1041]

Would like to see their impressions of version 2.

[@FMD-FullMetalDragon]

This game is now on my wish list to get. :)

[@wroot_lt]

I wonder, does Tom really get a lot of emails about the pronunciation? :) Haven't played Eclipse or this, but this game sure looks more exciting than dozens of chips on the Eclipse player board.

[@zmann4444]

Great review! I can't find this game anywhere! Is it even out yet, some sites still say pre-order.

[@pjpaella]

Love these guys. We enjoy Eclipse but something is a little off with the game. I'll certainly give this a try.

[@BoyInFrance]

Tom do you still rate this game as highly as you did? it fell of your list pretty quickly and it's not in your BGG collection today.

[@suntzugames]

Hehehe, great review guys.... Nice game... well, it'll leave us Space Game developers with some more thinking to do... trying to differentiate our games from this one, eclipse and twilight... *phew* Have a good day :) Best regards SunTzuGames

[@josiahburkhardsmeier3119]

Eclipse bashing?!?!?!?! I didn't hear any bashing. Tom even said he liked the game and Sam is entitled to his own opinion! (so don't get offended when people say they don't like somthing you like!) As for immaturity, check your feelings on that at the door, there's akways some tomfoolery (pun intended) in these reviews, I think it helps keep it lively!

[@SamHealey6]

@Tretiakov: Well, okay...EotV is what Eclipse should've wanted to be...if it knew what was good for it. :)

[@Draffut2003]

The one time i played TI3, we spent a few hours trying to learn the game, played, screwed up half the rules, and never opened it again.

[@CLAREROMVoid]

Finally a space game that tries to do it right, nothing like Twilight Imperium... Gameplay is about fun, and not to learn many and many rules. The game has to have a touch of its theme, sci-fi, warfare, space exploration for example, but if it commit too much to it the game end up like a rulebook with nearly 80 pages taking too much just to have fun.

[@Jinstarro]

I don't really get what's all the hate about Eclipse? o0 Where does that game or the developers ever state it is a wargame in space? Sure it does have the economy element, but I have been playing some rounds eclipse and they were completely different. In one game we all turtled and teched and had one epic fight in the centre in the last round. In another game we had fights breaking out as of round 3 continuing throughout the whole game until the end. If there was a thing I really dislike about Eclipse: It is the ship miniature design (TI3 is way better, even than the ship pack one (still ugly imo), but thats not a big problem as you can just buy other miniatures. And the luck of random techs being drawn and some people getting the better techs more quickly. But for that there are countermechanisms in the game like diplomacy and alliance and other than that I find it excellent, especially with all the ship modification possibilities! Empires of the Void seems just like another game, only with slightly rule variatons, some might prefer, other won't. As well as some prefer TI3, others say its too complicated and takes too long. Thats why all these games exist: to try and meet everyones taste ;)

[@alistajanalistaja]

Eclipse bashing ? .. You heard that first on Miami dice ! BGG rank #5 ;)

[@Lordmordisquitox]

Artwork is not my style. The game sounds great but don't write Eclipse off as there is an expansion coming out this year. Personally I played Eclipse once before and thought some of the ramdom setup work, surrounded by alien ships and had to fight my way out versus someone finding technologies and no obstacles to his expansion, no wonder why he won.

[@Tretiakov]

Empires of the Void looks like a simple war game with a pseudo-diplomatic element. You attack (quick income, greater risk) or ally (more work, stable planet). Finally you just duke it out on who controls more planets. Every action in Eclipse requires you to consider the implications for your empire. Expansion and war are resource consuming and you better be sure you want it before you act, as a simple move action can destabilize your entire development. EotV is NOT what Eclipse wanted to be.

[@maestro7058]

You messed up the names! whahahahahah

[@kroen]

Starcraft: The Euro Version. Pass.

[@nydaloth]

Nine years later it’s proved that Sam was wrong when he says that this game is what Eclipse wanted to be. Reality is quite the opposite, today after nine years Eclipse is solid, was almost always in print, can still be purchased with most of the expansions, and it’s going trough it’s second edition which is highly praised. On the other hand Empires of the Void was never easy to get, was not successful when it came out, was expensive, and have been out of print for a long time. So it’s proven that EotV wishes to have been Eclipse. Sams review and his bold impulsive statement at the end of the video, are simply wrong. Sam is better as part of Mythic Games and not the Dice Tower.