Star Realms Review - with Tom and Melody Vasel

[@so0meone]

I was at a local Smash Bros tournament and this game was being demo'd. I played a game of Star Realms with one of the other guys in the tournament while we waited for our bracket matches to start, we both ended up buying the game on our way out.

[@whimsy6072]

Me and my girlfriend had never really played a card or board game before. We went into a game shop and asked for a good entry level 2 player game; and this is what they recommended. And it was perfect. The game is a lot of fun, its fast, anyone can understand it, and it is a perfect entry level card game.

[@Boosterisanicecat]

+James Claywell How the heck is that even possible. Neither of you has ever played a board- or cardgame before? Insanity!

[@Matt_Sorensen]

James Claywell same here ha

[@cartoon80s90s]

The art in the game is surprisingly well done. Colorful and very detailed. It's also very easy to take with you because of the small size.

[@EricLucero]

Star Realms is my favorite game of 2014 so far. The standard 2-player game is the best way to play this game, but the included variants add a lot of versatility. Essentially they are all Magic: The Gathering multiplayer games that have been adapted to work with this game (you have 2v2 2-Headed Giant, 3v3 Emperor, 1vMany Archenemy, in addition to the standard free for all). There is also solo and co-op play vs a boss enemy. The included authority cards are a poor way to keep track of what essentially is your life, but they work and they keep the game highly portable. I recommend using two 10-sided dice or a life counter app on your smart phone instead. A second printing is on the way (so don't pay those high prices), and ann expansion is planned to be released after the summer.

[@LeftyHangsLower]

My girlfriend and I just use the calculators on our phones to track Authority. Simple fix :)

[@briancrocker3377]

I initially played this game digitally. It was fun, but tough in the single player missions. The artwork is what convinced me to pick it up physically. It's really well done.

[@bbblackwell]

Fantastic artwork, and you gotta love the speed and portability.

[@geektome4781]

Doesn't the first player only draw three cards?

[@ty_sylicus]

Cute review and I absolutely love the quick to play and easy to learn nature of Star Realms.

[@katsuro76e]

played this at a game night. me and my son got so addicted to it we played it every night for a week. If you play ascenion you will be great at it.and the 4 player game is fun as well.

[@F4R207]

Great, simple deck building game. Friends love it. Such a good introduction to the mechanic. Also a lot of fan made variants on how to play the game, like factions for examples. All in one (per two players) box that don't cost much at all. Brilliant product and so far it's been our favorit of the year.

[@Tennethums1]

Star Realms serves as a no frills introduction to deck building games. It's very easy to learn and play. While I enjoy it well enough I feel it necessary to describe my experience with it having played it quite a few times and as one who defines himself as "a gamer". First of all, Star Realms is probably 70% luck and 30% strategy. Not only is your Trade Row beholden to the luck of the draw but your hand is as well. In addition, there are cards you'll want to buy. Period. If you think you're going to construct a deck of just Federation and Blob factions then you can forget that strategy right now as you'll encounter situations where you HAVE to buy other factions (thus reducing your chances of "combos"). Instead, learn the cards from each faction that are "must haves". Basically, those cards that make the best use of each faction's strength (Blob-Damage, Star Empire-Draw cards, Machine Cult-Scrapping cards and Trade Federation-Health). At this point the decision making starts to become...well, non existent. Sadly, long before this you'll come to the realization that the game pretty much plays itself. You draw five cards, reveal them and do what they say. That's it. Where the game REALLY falls short is in the ability to maximize what you have in your hand. In Magic the Gathering your decision to attack or save your creatures to block can be the end of you. In Star Realms there is no decision making. None. In fact, play with your hands revealed, it doesn't make any difference. I've found you win about as many games as you lose in the end. Assuming both players have the basic (very basic) understanding of what cards to buy. A good variant on the game is to KEEP the cards you dont play and then draw up to 5 after that. In this way you put the strategy back in the game.

[@keithpreston3951]

This game really is awesome. It's fast, it's simple enough to be a great introduction to deckbuilders, and let's face it, beating the other player into submission is a much more satisfying way to win the game than having bought the most victory points. Also, it's nice and compact: I can stuff it in the side pocket of my backpack and be ready to play anywhere!

[@Liopot68]

Just played the Cthulhu variant of this game. Great and funny deck-builder!

[@C0ldIron]

Played it the other day at the flgs and I got to say it is now my favorite deck building game.

[@timg7954]

This is an awesome game - fun for experienced and great for teaching those new to the hobby Love it!

[@brandonzappala8508]

Whoa... pre-hat with melanie! instant like!

[@Sourcelighteer]

I ditched the idea of getting this at first. You've convinced me to pick it up

[@selwyn75you]

A great, fast deck builder. Plays great with 1 vs the Solo Challenges, 2, and 3+ (with attack left). Be warned that it ramps up REALLY fast.

[@soren123]

This game looks like a lot of fun. I've been looking for a second deck builder to go with Arctic Scavengers in my collection.

[@superkidofuh]

Tom forgot to mention that the faction abilities work anytime in your turn. Unlike legendary where playing cards in order matters, star realms you can play your cards in any order for the faction ability to activate.

[@Justdave1472]

A very fast, very easy game to play. I have taught a few people how to play since I learned and it is a popular choice among my gaming friends. It's small size does not diminish from the amount of game you get in the box.

[@Dungyfan007]

Great review! I just bought a copy!

[@steviev2504]

Fast, fun, and easy to learn. I love the space theme too! It was really cheap on Amazon and Coolstuffinc... but not it seems to be out of stock or triple the price :( Hopefully it'll get cheaper again soon

[@evansj18]

I ran into the same problem - I was waiting for Fairy Tale to come back into stock at CSI and as soon as it did Star Realms sold out. According to the blog on the star realms website a second printing will be hitting retail sometime in July so look for it then. (the blog also hints at an upcoming expansion but no word on whether it will be kickstarted or just straight up retail)

[@JonathanAnglin1]

I played this at Origins with the game's graphic designer, Vito Gesualdi, and won (suck it Vito!). He would have won on the next turn though, so it was pretty balanced. I liked it. It's only $15, small, fast; a great backpack game!

[@rjtopper68]

I got this from the Kickstarter. It is extremely quick to pick up and to teach others. It's a great in between game if you need a break from some of the longer games out there. It sets up quickly and play varies, but is also fairly quick. I got an extra one from my Kickstarter, If they're out, I guess I should put it up for sale. :)

[@Gustave154]

i can't find this game anywhere its sold out lol

[@Runehorn]

very nice looking, very fast, very easy, very portable, very fun!

[@minuteman7897]

I like star realms colonies a lot too

[@KushKubeCid]

Thank you

[@rashellbrown322]

I love this game!

[@FierceSmurfN8r]

This game is awesome!

[@patcraig3631]

Do you need to play your entire hand?

[@briancrocker3377]

Pat Craig Yes, you play all your cards. If you have more trade units than you can use, the excess goes away (if you have 4 trade but can only buy a 3 cost unit, for example, and no 1 cost units come out after you buy it, you don't hang on to the excess trade, it goes away/is wasted).

[@Gieli0]

why should you get this if you own ascension?

[@Afterword.]

I've played this, Ascension, and Legendary. Unlike Ascension and Legendary, this game is very portable and MUCH easier to set up/take down. It's also easier to teach and learn than Ascension and Legendary. This makes it great for those new to the genre. It's also very quick. Most of all, it allows you to directly attack your opponent/opponents and (assuming you play with 3+ players) play in different modes. There are other reasons, but those are the main ones. I love all three deckbuilders, and each has something to offer. In a nutshell: Ascension is PvE, Legendary is co-op PvE, and Star Realms is PvP

[@asyncritus]

Don't listen to Tom - Ascension has awesome artwork. :)

[@TheRmm1976]

Agreed, I love the Ascension artwork, especially the Eric Sabee stuff

[@onlythistube]

I would not t call this a thematic game. Nice artwork, just not very well linked to gameplay, mechanisms or function... Not enough for me.

[@TheSkizzfan]

The only think I don't care for are the Authority cards. When you wife is constantly shellacking you it can to tough to keep track with the cards. I have used a MtG life counter on android and it works very well.

[@MrBlitzNZ]

This game is so much better Ascension.

[@pierrewhite2062]

Boom boom boom boom boom boom boom

[@ghostlightx9005]

Ascension is better. Star Realms plays the "matching faction" combo trigger mechanic too strongly. Same crap that ruined the Marvel Legendary base game for me. The combos (and thus the best cards to buy) are made far too obvious. I think they fixed that somewhat in the "sequel" Cthulhu Realms. In that game, stocking up in one, maybe two, faction colours max, for the combos is less important, and I prefer it because of that.

[@KAM1138a]

I Kickstarted this game, and got it some time back, played it and thought it was a decent game, but VERY basic, and really not an inspired design in any way. So, when I started hearing all this Buzz, I thought "Why?" I'm not sure what people are seeing in this game. It is a ground level deck builder, and I'm not sure why this game commands the attention of anyone past a few plays. It just doesn't have that much to offer. It looks nice, and is simple, but that's not really a set of features that's going to bring this to the table very often...or to be honest, ever again. I respect Tom's opinion, but in my view--the world REALLY doesn't need a clone of a simplistic game.

[@PierreCarette]

Too much randomness for a deck builder in my opinion. Same problem with ascension, dc etc...

[@F4R207]

That's pretty much what comes with card games, but you can change that, add more trading rows, like one fan made version; Factions, for example where each player chose a deck with only one faction set and a personal trading of that faction, and the leftover sets are put in a additional communal trading row.

[@andrewpotts6312]

This is a very poor game. Its 85% pure luckwith very limited decision making. Just played 30 odd games over a weekend and the last 15games we started predicting after 5 turns who would win. We got it right 13 out of 15 times. Terrible. The only two we didn't was when the someone got a extremely lucky run of cards later in the game. It a simple luck fest.

[@andrewpotts6312]

revised my view a little after playing with a different opponent. I parked my brain (1st xp of card deck building games) and realised this is a pure tactical game with zero strategy and a large slab of luck, I started to enjoy it a little. But 64th best game on BBG though.............. lol

[@THBbon]

NEARDS