A cooperative shouting game; what could go wrong?
I remember learning about this game many years ago on a mobile app. What better way is there on long car rides with friends than playing a cooperative mobile game together? This chaotic game has now been brought to life in a simple deck of cards.
The fact of the matter is your spaceship is just falling apart as you are being pulled into a black hole. If you can’t repair your ship in time, it’s all over. Once you fix one thing, another breaks. Will these cascading problems bring your team closer together or tear you apart?
Mechanics & Categories: Card, Family, Party, Cooperative, Memory, Trading
MINIMALISTIC FLAT DESIGN
The combination of dark purple and bright orange is really pleasant. The UI elements are brightly colored and created with simple shapes to look like funky spaceship components you have never heard of.
This game is all about speed, so identifying simple shapes that look distinct enough from others is critical. This could have been done in a boring way with only a circle or square in different colors, yet the designer was able to create complex spaceship parts that stand out from one another.
CHAOTIC STORYTELLING
I’d be in a panic if I was being sucked into a black hole and my ship wasn’t working, wouldn’t you? Spaceteam truly exemplifies this feeling when racing the clock. Though the timer is set at five minutes, you can vary the difficulty and add more pressure! Shouting has never felt more natural, but to make you feel like you are in space, try yelling “centrifugal disperser,” “quasipaddle,” or “moon whisk.”
HIGH-QUALITY CARDS
The game only has cards and a sand timer, so they made the right call to make the best components possible. The cards use futuristic technology, made of synthetic plastic, to make sure they stand up to wear (or tear) as people throw cards across the table and pass them quickly around the table.
LOW COMPLEXITY, HIGH STRESS
Can you read? Great, you can play this game. Even though it says ages ten and up, that’s a legal thing; younger kids can definitely have a blast playing this with families. All you have to do is read what is broken and find the person with the spaceship part that fixes it. Sometimes you might have to switch seats or put your hands in the air, but that’s about as complicated as the game gets.
Things move quickly, so a lot of shouting will be going on that could get overwhelming for some. Make sure your voice is heard so the team can work together to fix the ship! Maybe now is the time to work on your outgoingness.
Final Comments
Whether your group is full of gamers or non-gamer friends, this is fun to start the evening with. It only takes five minutes and is a fun team-building exercise. You can see your group's competitive nature by those who must play again!
There are a few expansions for NSFW or expanding the group to ten players; can you imagine? Spaceteam is more of a social experience and puzzle than a game. There doesn’t feel like a lot of strategy, yet with our friend group we try to think of ways to optimize how well we work together before trying again.
This is a great filler game if you are looking for a silly time with friends or family. Spaceteam might not hit the table often as the feeling of chaos and excitement might wear off by over-playing it. Still, if you can occasionally bring this one out, you will surely enjoy yourself and get the evening started in a fun way.
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Publisher: Stellar Factory
Game(s) Pictured: Spaceteam
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