Cosmic Colonies Board Game Review

 Last night my husband, 10 year old, and I all played Cosmic Colonies, by Floodgate Games for the first time.  I'll admit, we had this one for a while before we played it.  It sat on the shelf and I'd walk past and say, "I need to play test this one." But the number of components and the recommended age on the box (13+ years) had me worried that it would be overly complicated.  And its hard to get the fam - particularly hubby - to play a complicated game.  After a long day he just doesn't want to burn his brain learning something super heavy.  But Cosmic Colonies is the PERFECT EXAMPLE of a misjudged game!  I wish I'd pulled it out much sooner!  It was a joy to play and not overly complicated at all!  But it was lots of fun!

So here's what I liked:

1.) The theme!  - We're big sci-fy fans in this house, so a space colonization game was a great fit for us!  In Cosmic Colonies, each player is gathering resources to build and colonize your own, personal asteroid!  

2.) The components - the components are really fun!  I added some little kitchen prep cups to hold the different resource tokens and some lunch bowls to hold the building tiles and this really helped keep everything in place!  This also helped me get over the "overwhelmed feeling I had when I pulled out all the components for the first time!  There really aren't that many different components, its just that there are a lot of resource tokens and tiles.

3.) The how to play video on the website! - Although the instruction booklet is well planned out and pretty clear, I always do better when when I can watcha clear, thorough explanation of the rules.  For this reason, I'm always looking for a good video before I play a new game.  Floodgate games was nice enough to share a great how to play video right on their website!  This made starting the game super simple!

4.) Player Count! - I love a game that plays more than 4 because we have more than 4 people in our family.  We don't always play every game together, but its nice when a game gives us that option without having to purchase an expansion.  Cosmic Colonies plays up to 5!  The regular game is geared toward 3-5 players, but there are also a couple of rule changes that let you play it as a two player game!  (And they aren't difficult adjustments.)  There's also a solo mode!

5.) Advanced Mode! - The game comes with a basic mode and an advanced mode (which includes different worker cards).  I love games with this type of variability!  It allows your to cater the game to the whoever you're playing with at the time.  The advanced cards add two abilities for each worker, depending on when you play them.

We really enjoyed playing Cosmic Colonies and can't wait to play again!  The game was pretty straightforward, in terms of gameplay, yet it was chocked full of strategy possibilities.  And all the baggies that Floodgate Games included really help make set up quick, considering how many small pieces there are!  

I received this game, free of charge from Floodgate Games, in exchange for my honest review.