But that doesn’t make Gaia’s artwork dull. Unsurprisingly, the prevailing color in space is black. Although the basic principles remain, each adds its own twist to the rules and has special abilities that will thoroughly change the play style. On the other hand, the gameplay asymmetry of the factions is superb. Keep in mind this is a space-themed eurogame, not a thematic or 4x space game. The game offers no background on why they look like they do (“Oh, my guys look like birds!”)¨, where they come from, and why they want to colonize so badly. Thematically speaking, the factions themselves are a bit of a letdown. The main routes of points-amassing are round goals, end-game goals, and your scientific progress. Victory is therefore decided solely on victory points. Surprisingly, the factions thrive if there are others in the neighborhood (this gives bonuses at upgrading and charging power), so the expansion is a balance between looking for open space and still staying close to others. There’s just the competition for planets. There are no space battles, spying, trading, or other direct player interaction. The whole process of colonizing is a peaceful affair. On top of that, there are Gaia planets that can be used by everyone and transdimensional planets, which must first be transformed into Gaia planets by undertaking a large project – Gaia Project. The other planets must be terraformed to your liking. They are set to colonize the universe, comprised of seven basic planet types, but only one kind is habitable for your faction. In Gaia Project, you play as one of 14 factions. Although it was a German edition, the gameplay is completely language-independent. Playing time: 1-3 hours, depending on player countĬomplexity: heavy The game was kindly provided to us by Feuerland Spiele. Factsĭesigners: Jens Drögemüller, Helge Ostertag I think this gives this review extra value, especially for players that have not been in the hobby that long. Therefore I can review and judge Gaia Project as a game on its own, without any prejudice. I have the “privilege” of learning the games in the “wrong order”. So a direct comparison is in order.īut not my review. Most of the Gaia Project reviews I’ve read start by using Terra Mystica as the cue. Is Gaia Project rightfully among the all-time best board games? Introduction to Gaia Project Board Game Review It’s the second edition of an excellent game, boarding perfection. In this Gaia Project Board Game Review, read about one of the more complex strategy games on the market.

Gaia project