Space Empires 4X Solo: Rise Against the Machines! (Small Map; Good Luck)

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In this episode of Solo Playthroughs, Greg presents the channel's first playthrough of Space Empires 4X (designed by Jim Krohn - I say in the video Rodger MacGowan but he was one of the artists) with a playthrough of the Small Solitaire Map version of the Doomsday Machines scenario. The level: Good Luck!...and, wow, are we going to need it! We have 5 rounds to set up an economy in our home systems robust enough to amass a fleet of combat spaceships capable of taking down the first of three machines that will destroy any planet that stands in its way. And these machines have one goal: Destruction of our home planet! And, even if we do, two more machines won't be far behind... A true 4X game, Space Empires requires careful decision regarding technological advancement and shipbuilding along with tight economy management. Will these Doomsday Machines usher in the end of times?
#spaceempires4X #soloplaythroughs #GMTgames

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

NOTE: While Rodger MacGowan is one of the artists of Space Empires 4X, the designer is actually Jim Krohn. Sorry about that and thanks, Jim, for this great game! _____ This video has been a loooong time coming, as the box sat on my shelf for a few months before I found a chance to dig into it. Still a lot more to explore with this game and super thankful for how this channel continues to expand my solo game collection in cool ways! Happy Gaming! Greg

[@Sajatzsiraf]

you shouldn't feel bad - my longest owned but not yet played game I have had for like 4 years... XD

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

@@Sajatzsiraf Oh yeah - I’m pushing 3 years for Rising Sun. I’m generally pretty good at getting solo games to the table sooner than that. The channel helps that for sure. 😀

[@michaelmanekin-hrdy3226]

Thanks so much for playing this game! I bought this old-school beast a few months ago to play solo and just started getting it to the table a few weeks ago. Play throughs of this game are underrepresented online (probably overlooked since it's an older game and janky-looking by blinged-out contemporary non-war-game standards). I have found all your playthroughs (I've watched Mage Knight, Spirit Island, Arkham, Cloudspire, Too Many Bones) to be awesome. They're brisk, but still with super-comprehensive rules explanations and super-helpful strategy tips. And well shot, and NOT boring 😁. Thanks for bringing more attention to Space Empires and providing this playthrough. I really want to like this game and think the determining factor will be whether the Alien Empires solitaire scenario brings it to life more. The Doomsday scenario feels too by-the-numbers, and I'm a little "meh" on the too-long buildup of explore/colonize/mine shit opening act. I'm slow-motion starting my first game of the Alien Empires scenario and hoping I get the rules right and that the supposedly excellent unofficial app is clear to use. Really hoping you get a few more playthroughs of this game online and told myself I won't give up on this game til I do some playthroughs for Alien Empires myself--and I want to make sure I'm doing it right, which is where your playthroughs will come in if you do a few more down the line. Thanks again for all the love and work ethic you put into your channel. Much appreciated!

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Thanks, Michael! It does seem that the DM scenarios are more a great way to learn the mechanics of the game as opposed to a more dynamic solo experience, although I have gotten at least one comment from someone who prefers the DM scenarios over the Alien Empires scenario. :) It feels to me like a puzzle that is fun to crack the first time...but perhaps without a ton of replayability. I'm excited to dive into the rest of this game in the upcoming months!

[@johanlof5893]

Thank you very much for this plathrough. Really appreciate your verbal narrative 😃 Got to get this little beut out onto my table again soon 👍 Please keep up the good job and try to stay safe.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Thanks, Johan! Be well!

[@copelandwoodruff9810]

YAY!!!! I've been looking forward to your SE4X playthrough!! Sorry it took me so long...lots of work June/July. Awesome vid!

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Awesome. Hope the work's been rewarding! I did a livestream of the large map Doomsday scenario and I'm very much looking forward to getting an Alien Empires scenario on the channel at some point - still have a bit more to figure out with that one though. :)

[@copelandwoodruff9810]

@@SoloPlaythroughs Yeah, the Alien Empires scenarios are a head-scratcher! There are a few play-flow files on BGG that really helped me. (IF this, then: THIS, etc.) There's a good vid out there, too, my Blue Botic that is helpful.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

@@copelandwoodruff9810 Yeah - I made an Excel file that I can bring into the livestream that will help the viewer see what’s going on. But it’s a lot. 🙂

[@gilles_jobin]

Bonjour ! Please excuse my poor English. Rules said that each colony/home world can build max 1 Ship Yard per turn. So at 45:38, only one SY can be build on that planet. Un grand mer pour vos playthroughs !

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Thanks, Gilles! Yeah - I realized this mistake as I was preparing for my second playthrough. But I appreciate you pointing it out here!

[@erikbergman5810]

I like the look of this game! Back to basics aestethically and instead let the gameplay mechanics shine. I put this on my list to try👍🏻

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

That's a good point, Eric! This is a pretty bear bones approach to aesthetics but it's really functional and still looks decent on the table. Hopefully you get a chance to try it out soon! :)

[@schrankp]

This game shines for me solo. I've played a couple times 4 player and it is LOOOONG plus you have to make sure your relationships are solid with the people you are playing against because this game will strain those relationships. Now that I see you like GMT games, I would like to recommend Ancient Civilizations of the Inner Sea. Another 1-4 player game that shines for me solitaire for many of the same reasons.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Hey, Phillip! I can definitely see this game being a bit more tedious multi-player...especially if your group doesn't like "take that" in games. I appreciate the new rec, too! At this point, I'm guessing the next GMT Game I get will be Red Dust Rebellion, which I pre-ordered going on two years ago. :)

[@peterxu5043]

Good game. Map size is good for almost any table, and mathematical depth is impressive. By the way, wow, you are left hander.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Hey, Peter! And watch out - lefties are taking over the world!! ;)

[@Katoh64]

The game was design by Jim Krohn! Rodger did the graphics. Looking forward to the Alien Player scenario where the game really shines :)

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Thanks, Matias! I had just realized this mistake and updated my pinned comment. Thanks for pointing it out though. 🙂 And yeah - I’m get the sense that the Doomsday Machine scenarios help you the learn the game but I’m excited to dive into the Alien Encounter scenarios!

[@celularantigo8218]

Fun playthrough! But making the Doomsday Machine attack the aliens, wouldn't it make the game easier for you? I mean, you got free stuff to help you. Although it makes sense thematically, I would just make the aliens "give up hope" and the Doomsday Machine would blow their planet up. Regards and thanks for the video.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Hey, Celular! In theory, it could make it easier. But you saw how useless those alien ships actually are when it comes to doing any real damage. 🤣 Considering the DM heals 2 every time it destroys a planet, you’d be lucky to have a lasting hit or two against the weaker DMs. And I would see that as a reward for managing to successfully explore a lot of Deep Space. 🙂

[@celularantigo8218]

@@SoloPlaythroughs Those aliens just hate your scouts, dude. They have such a poor judgement, haha. And this game is so amazing that you have basically a sandbox which you can play whatever way you want. Fun is what matters! Eagerly waiting for your playthrough against the alien empires.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Ha! They sure do! You think those reckless Scouts would learn eventually, right!? :) I still haven't decided whether I'm going to feature the DM large map first, or just jump right to AE. But, either way, I'm hoping to have another Space Empires 4X on the channel soon - probably June!

[@bmrigs]

Thank you for this!!!!!!!!!!

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

You’re welcome! 🙂

[@Anvilfolk]

Love your energy in playing this! Wargamers can be a very dry bunch, but this is exciting! I just brought the game out again to get a couple more plays in. Starting with this one (easier level though!), and hoping to progress to alien empires! I thought I'd point out a couple of things that I believe might be misplays! I noticed you have a new video up but I haven't gotten around to watching that one, so perhaps you caught it for the new one! You bought several shipyards in a single economic phase, but according to rule 8.2.2, you can only build one per planet per economic phase! This means it takes much longer to develop building capacity! I've had to watch this in pieces, so I'm not certain, but did you buy multiple ship size technologies in the same economic phase? Rule 9.1 has a restriction of one level per tech type per economic phase!

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Hey Anvilfolk! Thanks for the comment and nice catch with the rules mistakes. In getting ready for Wednesday’s live playthrough, I stumbled into both of those rules and I couldn’t remember whether that was “new to me” or whether I made those mistakes in the this video. And now I know! 🤣 Good news is that I didn’t make these mistakes in the latest video. But glad this is mentioned in the comments now so thanks again!

[@kombainasable]

this is a surprisingly solid solo game! although hunting down expansions being late to the party looks like hell. the GMT preorder system does not look like a reliable way to get previous expansions when the newest drops.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Hey, Jonas! Yeah - I picked up Close Encounters after periodically price checking it for a few months. Replicators has been a bit more elusive for me. Very curious as to the timeline on the newest expansion as well.

[@skippen]

First planet you drew is Bajor (pronounced bAy Jor) from Star Trek: DS9

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Thanks! :)

[@Dragente]

4X means eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, and eXterminate

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Thanks! One of those things that I’ve read a bunch of times but never actually committed to memory for immediate recall. 🙂

[@bryanscollick8305]

So like the Daleks, right?

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Had to look it up but sounds about right! 🤣

[@bryanscollick8305]

@@SoloPlaythroughs I was a big Doctor Who nerd in the 70s!😂

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Awesome! One of those shows that has intrigued me for awhile... Maybe one of these days I'll binge a couple of seasons of the latest production. :)

[@Sajatzsiraf]

More custom art on baggies shenanigans yaaay!

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Ha! I like to give the people what they want!

[@Sajatzsiraf]

@@SoloPlaythroughs I looked into this game like... 6+ years ago and was kind of on the fence, did not end up buying it. I think by now unfortunately my gaming preferences have simply passed this, even though it may very well be a great game. still, I am happy to trick the algo into thinking that this is a cool channel. :D

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

I appreciate the deception! 🤣 It’s funny how game tastes change for sure. I’m pretty sure I would have somewhat disliked this game a few years ago and now I really like it. But I’m pretty much over Scythe and Terraforming Mars (Scythe as a solo game at least and Terraforming Mars in its entirety), which were two of the first solo games I really dove into. It makes the staying power of the elite (Mage Knight, Spirit Island) that much more impressive.

[@pjnorman262]

How do you store everything. I found some chit trays and put each faction into one of those but it takes up so much space. I’ve used an unused expansion box of another game to store half the components for this and that’s just the base game

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Hey, Pete! Space is definitely an issue for this one. At this point, I have the green chits organized in a couple different containers but the other colors are just thrown in some larger containers. I keep the alien ships in the bag you see in the video and the squadron counters + dice in another container. I have all the containers in the base game box with the game board + scenario books + rulebooks + worksheets + unpunched expansion chit sheets in the expansion box. It's not great but it's functional! Of course, I'm going to have to revisit all of this when I finally punch out the stuff in Close Encounters... :)

[@johnathankokoski]

I use the GMT counter trays and yeah, they take up a lot of space but they make it so much easier to set up and play. Since the trays fit nice and snug, I just leave them sitting on top of the boxes (heresy, I know 🤣). With the final expansion sporting a 4” box I’m hopeful I’ll be able to get them properly covered eventually. Helps that I’ve laminated the player sheets and they take up a lot less space than a stack of pads.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

@@johnathankokoski Yeah - I saw GMT selling the 4" box separately. I thought that was weird...until I punched out all the counters from the base game. :) Getting Close Encounters helped a lot. And I'm definitely going to want to laminate some sheets at some point!

[@Hobiecat181]

I removed my question after writing it I felt it sounded snarky and that's not how I intended it to sound.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

No worries. I genuinely thought it was actually a good question. Appreciate you following back though. 🙂

[@ChristopherWalrath]

Good playthrough. I have Replicators. I have never used it are you interested? I am not looking to get rich from it.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Thanks for the comment/offer! I actually hunted down a copy on BGG marketplace for a good price. Love the hexes in there but haven’t played with the new units yet. Now I just need some good storage trays… 🙂

[@ChristopherWalrath]

Gotcha. You are welcome.

[@viarnay]

A kulak is a rich ukranian farmer ;-1

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Good to know! 🙂