Review: Space Empires 4X from GMT Games - The Players' Aid

[@Panzersonor1967]

My favorite game. I have close encounters, but this game stands REALLY well on its own.

[@neeleyfolk]

This is my next purchase. My son and gaming group play Talon and I hear they can be used together. But it looks great as a stand only and the solo reviews have been very positive. Thank You.

[@chadvader974]

"I dont have to watch out for my back door" - The Players Aid 2018 :P

[@channingjones]

Thanks for the review. I'm glad I bought such a good game on a hunch a few weeks ago!

[@Conflict_Boardgaming]

"Check feelings at the door"... My type of game!!

[@horrido666]

You guys are the best thing that's happened to wargaming in a decade. Perfect chemistry. Always interesting. Great taste in games. Keep it up.

[@ThePlayersAid]

That was very kind. Thank you for the compliment.

[@DynnysW]

Want to update those interested but not sure (especially cause of the math) - I found this vid because I saw the game on Boardgame Arena and wanted to learn more. Plays very easy and fast online. Can play email or real time or solitaire and...... it does all the math for you. Was able to learn the game myself in a few minutes.

[@Conflict_Boardgaming]

2:42 The "one hour" in the play time description most likely referred to the solitaire scenarios. Those doomsday machines can wreck you quickly!

[@wmarclocher]

21:25 Oooh, "Spreadsheet, the board game." - not to mention auditing your opponents books to make sure their not cheating. Recommend getting counter sleds really helps the "fog of war" part. Solo game is really good.

[@CBs_Bill_from_Montana]

I can’t believe how much fun this game is either. It looks like it would be boring but it’s phenomenal. I did feel like an accountant though when I was trying to keep track of ships that needing to get retrofit.

[@sarthakmishra1415]

Josh is patient. Josh is silent. Josh is smart. Josh strikes when the iron is hot. Be like Josh.

[@FallenDominionStudiosLLC]

Great video, guys! Hope to see you at Gen Con!

[@luggasonic]

are there random events or encounters? at least in the expansions? or is everything determined by the icons on the board?

[@shatnershairpiece]

Ugh. When I saw the bookkeeping sheet and the math, I cancelled my order.

[@ThePlayersAid]

Fair, fair. Not for everyone this one.

[@AlexTheUruguayan]

Yeah it's too bad that the level of fog of war in this game requires it. I don't mind it, especially since it's only a tenth of your playtime (1/4 of your go's though: it's move once, twice, thrice, and then bookkeeping).

[@noeldillabough2153]

Looking forward to the expansion(s) review!

[@euripidesghost2197]

As far as 'glitz' and 'glamor'...just do what most folks do and pimp it up with marbles (for planets), wooden cubes/cylinders/circles/planks for various non-warship pieces (MS pipelines, miners, colony ships). A little hard getting your hands on the first expansion (Close Encounters) right now. System has a lot of flexibility and extensibility.

[@ThePlayersAid]

I really don't think that it needs the glitz and glamor but you know how some gamers are. We think it is fine just the way it is. It is a classic and should reflect that in its components. Thanks for watching.

[@euripidesghost2197]

Really appreciate your content. Thank you for the channel!

[@pelanoreldrich1786]

@@euripidesghost2197 It's got that 50's Sci-Fi, early 70's wargame feel which is cool. The artwork really sells the theme.

[@FreeFragUK]

I'm watching the video at the moment but I'm on the edge of picking this up. How do you rate this as a solitaire experience?

[@davids5195]

I've played this solo many times, and it's quite good. There are several different modes of solo play, but my favorite is where you basically manage three alien players in addition to your own. It's a good bit of book-keeping, to be sure, but it's totally manageable and really gives the feel of a full-on, four-player experience.

[@perplexalot1615]

Another great review. Don’t forget that CE expansion gives you new thicker counters to replace the ones that come in the base game.

[@davedogge2280]

I think 2nd and third editions fix the counter thickness problem. not that it is a massive problem

[@turks1966]

I think the new edition fixes that problem, as the new edition of CE will not include them in it's next printing since they are not needed now. Hopefully CE will hit it's p500 number so it could be reprinted as quickly as possible. :)

[@davedogge2280]

the base game of Space Empires 4x didn't reach the 500 mark and they still shipped me a copy circa end quarter of 2017.

[@francescol.bellman9670]

You tell me after all my clipping?

[@mr.tajtas4259]

Great game. Highly recommended

[@Conflict_Boardgaming]

Just ordered a copy from Cool Stuff!

[@michaelmelen9062]

Space Empires looks interesting. I already have Stellar Horizons though. Is there a reason to own both? Thanks in advance!

[@Conflict_Boardgaming]

Re-watching. Been thinking about breaking it out onto the table again. We haven't played for a few years.

[@-Ambos-]

Hey I really like your videos. I know this is very main stream, but for people who are new to all of this it would really help to see a top 20 games of all time video. It would help to get an overview and to set all these games in some kind of relation to each other.

[@snikta564]

Great video! I'm defenitly getting this game. Are there any other good war games using the same or similar system but in an other setting? It feels like this could be fantasy or fictional early 20th century as well. I'm looking for 3+ player wargames.

[@turks1966]

Do you guys have the first expansion Close Encounters? If so what are your thoughts on it what it added and how does it effect the play of Space Empires 4X? Enjoyed your reviews guys thanks again. :)

[@ThePlayersAid]

We have it, but have no yet played it - wanted to just give the core game a try. I've briefly looked over it. It adds a lot of new units, a LOT of unique race cards (which I'm very excited for) and then extra alien tech you can acquire. We'll get it played and then do another video for sure.

[@ThePlayersAid]

We do own it but have not played with it yet. We will get to that someday, hopefully sooner rather than later. I also have the Replicators expansion to explore.

[@cazmaestro]

Hi guys I really like your videos I am just wondering whether it will be possible to consider explaining the games mechanisms earlier on in the video. The reason I say this is because sometimes your comments and thoughts on the game are a bit difficult to understand before you've explained the mechanics. Otherwise really like the videos :)

[@Mr.Bassman]

Hey gents, i'm looking for a medium-weight space themed 4x game in the same vein as this one but better suited for solitaire play are there any that come to mind? Thanks for the great reviews!

[@ThePlayersAid]

Honestly, not really. This is the best in that it has full solo mods with different AI systems. Others like Eclipse, or TI4 just ain't it.

[@arekkrolak6320]

every group has its Josh :)

[@ThePlayersAid]

Josh wins every time :'-(

[@davedogge2280]

and the expansions .. !! two of them now I think.

[@Dr_Lindan]

I looked at it once and put it back on my shelf. The "zero-flavor", i.e. the completely nondescript nature of empires, ships, technologies etc. put me off. May have to give it another chance some time.

[@sharingmatters]

I don't get why it has to be so ugly. Design like from the 80'. But I will still give it a chance.

[@TheHallbjorn]

@@sharingmatters Yeah I just bought the fourth printing and they are very committed to that terrible cover art.

[@MikeStoddart]

Does it play solo put of the box? Designed for solo as opposed to playing other side?

[@ThePlayersAid]

The latest edition of the core set has the doomsday bot solo module in it, unsure about earlier editions, but I believe so as well.

[@pelanoreldrich1786]

@@ThePlayersAid I believe both the base and each expansion has solo scenarios.

[@ReallyVirtual]

It also works with GMT's other space game Talon.... :)

[@christopherlynch3314]

On the tactic of trying to purposely get your scout ships killed, you can scuttle ships anytime you want.

[@Abydos01]

Ar this game has any connection with the pc game with similar name ?

[@AlexTheUruguayan]

Only thematically and (probably) inspirational.

[@lastburning]

They couldn't figure out how to implement fog of war without secret bookkeeping. It's not 100% a deal breaker for me but I don't like how easy it is to make rules mistakes without the opponent ever noticing. Cheating would be easy as well. The BGA version fixes this though. I know it's *nothing* special but I have been trying to make a tabletop game that focuses on fog of war without having these flaws. It's important to me that a player can spot his opponent's rule mistakes/cheating. This requirement is limiting but I think it's good board game design. Video games can provide stronger fog of war elements when you really want them.

[@bradlittman2761]

Try it epic style with two maps. I love this game too.

[@ThePlayersAid]

We have a second copy in order to try this one day, I'd like to play 4 player first then dive in to an epic game. Hard to find lots of players though!

[@ThePlayersAid]

We would need to get a bigger table!

[@pelanoreldrich1786]

@@ThePlayersAid Maybe VASSAL, epic 8 player would be cool with CE and Replicators and all the chrome over 4-5 sessions.

[@georgesarris7606]

I found this game very similar to Stellar Conquest, I'm still undecided which one I like more. Maybe the expansions will bring more meat to the game and tip my decision towards Space Empires, since the base game is very easy. I'm still undecided about buying this game, maybe if GMT brings back the sales for us P500 buyers, I'll pickup a copy.

[@barker262]

'No huge plastic miniatures..' Good cause I hate all that crap.

[@charleshixon1458]

Is this guy related to Alex Jones? He sounds and looks like him.