A Visual Playthrough: Episode 5

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Welcome to episode 5 of A Visual Playthrough!

This time I’m deep into space, looking for a galaxy to inhabit. Being the Space Commander, a lot depends on me. Got to secure the planets, suns, and the zones in between with the limited resources I have.

Already done with the first out of the six rounds, where I rolled six D6 and allocated them to secure (or at least try to) planets by connecting them with the exact numbers I denoted to them. And so far, not a bad start.

5 planets secured, a big zone worth 10 points secured. Would have loved to lock in some suns though. Also couldn’t secure a couple of planets and lost them along the way as a penalty. Hope that doesn’t come back to haunt me later... Oh wait, it will.

The round has been fruitful in terms of bonuses. Got a couple from rolling two 5s, and then another one from unlocking a bonus ship from the blue zone.

See the illustration below to get an idea of what I’m talking about.

Now, time for round 2. This game keeps tightening its grip every round by reducing one die each time, so for this round I’ll be rolling 5 dice. Got to allocate them smartly. Here we go.

Dice roll: 3, 4, 4, 5, 6

Any value between 1 to 4 can be used to connect and secure planets. I’m sort of glad they’re not 1 or 2, since those can be tricky to place, especially early on. The 5 can only be used to get bonuses, while the 6 can act as any value between 1 to 5. That’s going to come in handy.

Alright, got to be smart with this.

5 = Five calls for a bonus ship. I’ll unlock the one that lets me secure a planet without writing a value on it. If only I had that last round, ah...

4 = Placing it between the two suns labelled ‘3’. Want to line things up to secure both along the way.

3 = Dropping it on the Saturn-like planet right next to those suns. It connects to both, so this could help me lock them in, maybe even this round.

What you have to understand is, I’m not placing numbers just for the sake of it. The number I place on a planet must match the EXACT number of connections it has. Not more. And if it ends up less, that’s a penalty waiting for me...

Now, thought I’d use the 6 at the end, but nope, using it right away.

6 = Turning it into a 1 and connecting it to a sun. There you go. First sun secured!

4 = Using one of my bonus ships to reduce it to a 3… and that locks in my second sun. At the cost of leaving one planet unsecured though. Hopefully worth it.

Allocation of all the dice in a nutshell:

End of round 2. A couple of suns secured. 4 planets secured. 3 new zones formed and activated. Lost one planet since I couldn’t secure it.

Bonus-wise, I’m still holding on to a few. Might need them for the final rounds.

Not a bad start?

Having played the game multiple times, I’ll admit I’m off to a decent start. But I won’t let that fool me. The last few rounds get tight. Round 3 will have 4 dice. Then 3. You know where this is heading. It all comes down to ONE die in the final round.

And it’s not just the dice. The planets and suns I’ve already secured? They’re done. Locked. I can’t use them anymore. So the space I can work with keeps shrinking, along with the dice pool.

Which means every single placement starts to matter even more.

Got to use the bonuses at the right time. Too early, and I regret it. Too late, and I might not even get the chance.

Gah… this game is good.

PS: Is Space Commander underrated? Hell yes. It’s a compact game that demands smart decisions in the best way possible, and I don’t see enough people talking about it. If you liked what you saw, check out the campaign and show it some love. And if you want a deeper dive, I’ve broken it down in my full review on the blog.

- Tas.

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