A long time ago in a…Nope, not that either.
So say we all? The spice must flow? Game over man? Okay, that’s enough.
There are lots of space franchise properties. There are even more games based on those properties. This is not one of those games, and that’s just fine with me. Note: I will be talking about only the base game. There are two card-deck expansions and one additional mini-expansion that allows you to add player-specific unique abilities that I won’t talk about here.
What is the game?
This game is all about influence! At the end of the game, the player who has obtained the most influence across the six planetary systems will be the winner. Influence is gained by activating bases that you build on a planet, by recruiting Senators to your cause, or by directly gaining political influence. The game sets up quickly, does not take long to teach, and plays in about an hour, yet provides an intriguing optimization puzzle.
Getting the game to the table
The game starts with minimal setup required. Shuffle six planet tiles and arrange them in a circle (okay, a hexagon). Give each player a set of components in their desired color, then add three starting energy tokens. Each player is randomly dealt a Senator card (more on these later) and uses the two symbols found on the card to place their initial drop ships. Those cards are then sorted back by level (designated by the number of dots on the card) and stacked face-up near the board. There are some other tokens that are sorted and stacked in various places near the planet tiles. (I happen to have the play mat, which I really enjoy.) Determine the first player, add an additional drop ship to the board, and determine the initial position of your mother ship. Altogether it takes only a few minutes to extract the components from the box and be set up and ready to play.
Explaining the game
I find this game to be quite easy to explain. I can typically explain the game completely while I am setting up the board. Every planet has three possible actions – two are commonly available on all planets and one is unique. The two common actions (Drop a ship or Take a card) are quite easy to explain. After explaining those two actions I will then review the special unique action provided by each planet. Three actions make use of the ships you dropped; two others make use of the cards you have collected, and the last provides a way to gain energy.
- Move up to two drop ships: Take one or two ships you dropped using a common action and move them to another planet
- Build a base: Return ships you have dropped and place a base (active side down)
- Activate a base: Flip a base over to the active side to claim the Activation tile which provides influence points
- Recruit a Senator: Use cards you collected using the shared action to collect a Senator with matching icons
- Claim Influence: Use cards you collected using the shared action to collect Influence Tokens or standard influence points
- Gain Energy: Add two energy tokens to your personal supply, adding an additional bonus energy for each Base you have built
At this point it’s time to explain what those energy tokens are for. Remember each player starts with three, and you can obtain more as a special planetary action. On your turn you will:
- Optionally spend two energy to flip your mother ship around (move in the opposite direction)
- Move your mother ship one space (mandatory and free)
- Choose to move your mother ship additional spaces (each additional space costs one energy)
- Take one, two or three planetary actions (must be different, cannot repeat)
- Do any one action and gain an energy (+1)
- Do any two actions with no energy bonus / cost (+0)
- Do all three actions by spending one energy (-1)
That’s basically it! Once you understand the “how” of things, exploring the “why” becomes the fun of playing the game.
Final Thoughts
I like this game! As mentioned above, it’s fast to set up, fast to teach, and fast to play. One of the complaints I have seen is that the game is over too soon! Many games (Yes, that includes you Wingspan) have the same feeling. The game ends just when you are getting everything you need in place. Sovereign Skies ends when any two token stacks (either Activation or Senator) are emptied. When that happens, continue the round to ensure all players have the same number of turns, and then count up points.
There are a few things I didn’t go into here since this is just a First Impression. Senator cards, for example, in addition to providing influence points also provide a one-time bonus action that you can use. Politic cards can be turned in for Influence tokens, which in turn can be stolen by another player should they gain dominance on that specific planet. And other fun stuff. 🙂
I have played the game solo a couple of times (not my favorite, but it’s okay). I have played with two players, which was definitely better than solo. And I have played with four players, which so far is my favorite. Board Game Geek users suggest that the game is best with three players, and while I have not yet played at that count I can see where it just might hit the sweet spot.
The game has enough strategic elements to keep my brain engaged while not requiring a major investment in time. After only a few plays, I am glad that I picked this game up. I will provide a more in-depth review once I have played a few more times.