Game Review: Galaxy Trucker

Galaxy Trucker - Rio Grande Games
2-4 Players; ages 10+
1 hour to play
$75

Galaxy Trucker is a great game with a good amount of chance involved, making it a fun board game for all. In Galaxy Trucker, each player is an intergalactic trucker who has to get their ship and as much cargo as possible across the galaxy while racing against the other players. The player who can earn the most space credits (money) by the end of the third race is the winner.

Each game round consists of a two basic phases - build and race. In the build phase, players work in real time to build their ship. Players scramble for ship pieces (tiles) such as cargo holds, cabins, lasers, shields and engines, and place them on their card to design their ship. Once players have completed their ships (the first round you can take as long as you want, in later rounds players are forced to finish within a minute of the first player done), then the race begins!

For each race there is a small deck of cards that represent things encountered during the race. Things such as planets to pick up carge, space pirates who attack your ship, meteor swarms that smash your ship to pieces, and open space where you gun your engines to try to get ahead are all examples of events you might encounter. Once all the cards are resolved, the race is over and money is handed out. Then the players return all their ship pieces to the pile, get a new ship card (bigger and better!) and it all starts again.

The game is well designed to bring new players into the fold easily (the first race is very basic, then additional rules are added for the second and third) and with a rule book of only 16 pages it isn't too overbearing to read and teach.

I would classify this game just beyond a "gateway game". If your players are into games, this is a good one that while involving plenty of strategy - your best laid plans can quickly end with poor luck during a meteor swarm. Great for an evening of fun, entertaining, and low pressure gaming for those who are into board games.

One last note: Don't be intimidated by the price tag! I know $75 is a lot for a board game, but there is a large amount of quality game components in that box, and those experienced board gamers out there will see the justification of the price when they open the box.