Eclipse

In my search for the best space game, I’ve explored many board game galaxies and finally settled on The One.

Eclipse is an epic space odyssey in which we explore the galaxy, build a stellar empire and create a powerful fleet to fight for dominance in space.

Eclipse Exploration

Let’s start with the biggest downside of this game. Through exploration, we’ll add new tiles, shaping the appearance of the Eclipse galaxy. This will provide connections between individual systems, and we’ll even be able to strategically place them to block off rivals. Because a nosy neighbor is a bad neighbor.

These initial explorations are very important because they’ll allow us to expand our empire. However, if we encounter aliens on the tiles early in the game, it will significantly hinder our start. There have been games where someone unluckily drew new tiles, and for several rounds, their empire literally stood still. Unfortunately, you have to take it in stride and hope that the next systems will be free of alien forces, or prepare to pacify the unwelcome tenants.

Euro Development

The first few turns of the game will involve exploring star systems. In subsequent turns, we’ll expand our infrastructure. We’ll build new cube factories to increase our supply of resources and cash. We’ll develop new technologies to improve our basic actions and install numerous upgrades on our ships.

An interesting economic mechanic in Eclipse is how many actions we’ll be able to take in a round. Because it will really depend on us and our financial capabilities. By moving more action tokens, we’ll increase the tax we’ll have to pay at the end of each round. We’ll also lose action tokens when colonizing new systems. If we can’t afford to pay the tax, we’ll have to move out, and this can also affect our overall income. We’ll constantly have to balance what we want to do with what we can actually afford. Just like in real life.

It could even come to the extreme situation where a player is eliminated because they can’t afford to pay their taxes. This is a fairly rare occurrence, but you should know your limits and watch out for other players who can really throw a wrench in your economy.

Your own ship, but with your own upgrades

For me, the biggest advantage of Eclipse is the ability to build your own unique fleet. Because even though every player has the same ship models, we can customize them however we want. They can be armored fortresses that fear no cannons. They can also be typical glass cannons with massive firepower but no defense. It all depends on us and the components we install.

Thanks to this freedom, the asymmetry of the fleet grows with every element installed. It also means that every battle will be different, depending on what we’ve built. By adding new items to our ships, we can also respond to our opponents’ moves, countering their strategy and fleet specialization.

It’s simply phenomenal, and that’s exactly why I keep coming back to Eclipse.

Eclipse Armada

Once you’ve built your own fleet, it’s time to test its capabilities on the battlefield.

All battles are resolved at the end of the round. This allows you to respond to your opponents’ moves. You can also wait for the right moment to raid someone’s home base, for example, when they can’t afford to spend another action disc.

We’ll use dice for combat, and their type will depend on the composition of our fleet. The stronger the ships, the redder our dice will become, which will give us more hits.

The battle is divided into several phases. First, our missiles will fire. This is a single salvo of missiles designed to thin out the opponents’ fleet. Later, we’ll take turns firing lasers at each other, hoping for favorable dice rolls. The results will also be modified by our ships’ components. That’s why combat will be a true test of our fleet-building skills.

Of course, combat is random, and not everyone may like that. Especially my friend, who always had terrible luck with the dice. I’ve never seen anything like that in games before. Well, that’s just how it is.

What shouldn’t be random, however, is the reward for winning. Depending on which ships we destroy, we’ll draw victory point tokens. We’ll always keep only one of them theoretically, the one worth the most points. However, as is often the case in Eclipse, not everything is equal. On the one hand, this motivates us to keep fighting in hopes of better rewards. On the other hand, though, when we keep drawing ones, it’s enough to make you want to scream.

Space Aliens

Another major strength of Eclipse is its asymmetrical factions. As you know, I love games where I can play as someone different every time.

In this space-themed 4X title, we can take on the role of the Terrans (ordinary humans) or take command of one of the alien races. I’d call the Terrans the default option, while the aliens shift the character creation sliders in a certain direction. Playing as them grants special abilities for the entire empire and our ships. We’ll also start with different technologies, and all these differences will generally steer us in a certain direction in the game.

Game Duration and Number of Players

The biggest surprise for me is that Eclipse is fast-paced. The game doesn’t drag on for hours on end, and it doesn’t feel as tedious as other games with similar themes…

My wife and I play for about an hour and a half, because we have to factor in time to pet the cat so it doesn’t do a “cat-meteorite” like it used to. But that’s a story for another time, because the trauma of searching for pieces under the couch still lingers.

In a larger group, everything goes just as smoothly, considering that we play action by action and our turns are quick. I remember once talking about our six-player game and bragging that we finished in three hours. It turned out, however, that it took us over four, and I simply didn’t write that down because I was having so much fun

To keep this short, I’ll just say it runs best with 4 players, and that’s that. Though I’d still be happy to play with my wife. This time, though, without our cat.

Graphics and Quality

I still remember it to this day when I went to buy my Eclipse. My hands were shaking, my wallet wouldn’t open, and I didn’t know what to tell my wife when I got home. It took me a few weeks to make the decision to buy it, but finally I said, “FUCK IT!! I’m getting it.” Unfortunately, my decision to buy the game for 500 zł(120 euro) opened up a whole new level of gaming purchases for me. The kickstarters kicked in, and
that was the moment when it was already too late for me.

But back to the point. I know why I had to pay so much money for this box. Plastic ships, tons of dice, tokens, and everything organized just like the bit set in my drill. You know that meme with the guy excitedly grabbing his face? That’s exactly how I felt when I saw it all. It was worth paying for this quality. I don’t regret a thing.

It’s just a bit of a shame that the player boards are so thin and don’t have notches for the action discs and technologies. That would have been a guaranteed home run.

Summary

Eclipse is my one and only true cosmic love. Well, maybe on par with Voidfall, but hey, you can have a euro-lover pretending to be an 4X. Just for every occasion. Our love is very turbulent, full of emotion, moments of ecstasy with every roll of the dice, every shot fired, and every step toward building our own place in the galaxy. This isn’t Twilight, where the only sign of emotion is a stern look or holding the hand of some emotional vampire who can’t sit still at the table for a few hours.

Every date with Eclipse promised that it would be something epic, fast-paced, and something I’d be able to hold in my heart for many years to come.

Final verdict: Eclipse, you’re awesome, and that’s a fact!

Pros
Building your own fleet
Accessible rules
Space battles
Fast gameplay
There’s an economy, but let’s focus on the combat
Asymmetrical aliens

Cons
The exploration is fun, but sometimes a bit uneven
The combat is also fun if you pull a four out of the bag