The space race is on! Will your satellite be launched into orbit, or will you be left behind in the space dust? You may be working together to operate the rockets, but don’t be fooled. Only one can be a rocket science success! Time to find out if you have what it takes!


What Is It?

A hand management game where players share the task of moving rockets around the board by playing a card and moving one rocket forward that many spaces. They are attempting to reach the target orbital velocity on their turn to launch their satellite into orbit. Players can see if their opponent has even or odd cards in hand by the color on the back of the card, but never know exactly what numbers they have, or if they’re holding onto a decelerate card to move backwards. More rockets come out every round, and the target orbital velocity changes as well, so players have to adjust their strategies to adapt to these variations. After 5 rounds, the player with the most deployed satellites is the winner!


Who Is It For?

  • 2 or 4 players. I prefer it at only 2, but it still works at 4, it just changes the length of the rounds potentially.
  • Ages 10+
  • Players with interest in science / orbital velocities

Components / Quality

Some nice components in this game – the rockets, satellites, and satellite holders are all nice quality plastic pieces, the satellites also slot into the holders with ease. The game board is sturdy quality, simple but attractive look, and all the spots are clear.

The cards are the worst component, unfortunately. They are thin and hard to shuffle because they kind of stick together, and the even and odd cards are also cut slightly differently.

The box is a good size for what’s in it, with nice cover art, and the rules are straightforward and easy to learn from, plenty of examples and images. Plus, the rules also have some science facts (the physics of orbital velocity) which is neat for those who want to learn more!


Variants

Advanced – Adds the EMDrive rule – you can play double cards (i.e. two 5’s) to move double the number of spaces (so you’d move a rocket 10 spaces with that example). Plus, it can stack with the “boost” rule from the regular game which is getting x2 movement if two rockets share a space before you move one (x3 if there are 3 rockets, et cetera). It’s not a huge change to the game, but it can make for some big moves if you get set up well.


PROS

  • The different colored cards for even/odd was unique. Could try to plan around what your opponent has in hand, and also strategically play cards, since you see what you’ll be drawing by what’s on top of the deck
  • The boost can lead to big, exciting turns, so you have to be sure not to set your opponent up too well
  • Simple rule set; easy to learn
  • Plays quickly with easy & quick set up
  • AI game available online to try it

CONS

  • Heavy randomness with luck of the draw; can try to hedge your bets, especially because of the odd/even colored cards, but can still come down to lucky draws a lot
  • No point in finishing the game once someone has 3 wins, which just feels disappointing that it can end early. You can play the last 2 rounds, but it won’t change the outcome
  • Tiebreaker seems so random to me, doesn’t really seem fair that if each side deploys the same number of satellites the tiebreaker is just whoever won the most recent round, especially since the game is luck heavy

Final Thoughts

The game is easy to learn, doesn’t take long to play, and has a smooth flow. Unfortunately, even with knowing how many of each number/decelerate cards are in the deck, it still felt heavy on the luck. There’s a little strategy in what you choose to play when, but sometimes you’re left with no choice other than to set your opponent up in the scoring area. I can see families or younger gamers enjoying this because of its simple nature, or even see it being used in science classes as an example of orbital velocity. It wasn’t great for me, but I definitely think others out there will enjoy it.

My Final Ratings:
Overall Game – 5/10
Difficulty – 2/10
Aesthetics – 6/10
Replay Value – 3/10

Additional Information:
Designers – Pratap Ramamurthy, Swetha Ganapathi Raman
Artist – Giovanni Spadaro
Publisher – Self-Published
MSRP: $19.99
Website

*I was provided a copy of this game to do this review*

If you like what I do, consider Supporting Me.

If you like what I do, consider Supporting Me.