iOS, Android, PC/Mac
It’s no secret that we here at Stately Play feel that Czech Games Edition can do no wrong. First of all, they have Vlaada Chvatil designing games for them, which puts them one step away from God. Secondly, they created Galaxy Trucker back in 2014 and it reshaped how we thought about digital versions of board games. Not only did they include a lengthy, somewhat open-world campaign, but they also created entirely new rules so we could play the way digital board games were meant to be played: asynchronously. Five years later there still aren’t many apps that match it (and one of the ones that did is also from CGE: Through the Ages), and so it’s time for Galaxy Trucker to spread its wings (made of crepe paper and duct tape, I’m sure). Today it’s made the move to the big screen and released for PC/Mac on Steam.
Do we need a Galaxy Trucker overview at this point? Probably not, but you’re going to get it anyway. You’re a pilot building a spacecraft out of sewer pipes and other junk you find laying about in a pile with the goal of making the most cash. Unfortunately, space travel is a tricky thing and a tad more dangerous than you thought, and odds are you’re going to end up either broke or dead. Most likely both.
One of the things that makes the digital version such a triumph comes from the fact that cardboard Galaxy Trucker is a real-time game. There are no turns, everyone just goes nuts picking through a central pile of tiles and simultaneously turning it into their pile of junk albeit with engines and guns. When first announced it was thought to be a poor choice for the mobile market. We like asynchronous games and there’s no way CGE would make the real-time aspect work (what happens when two people thousands of miles apart reach for the same tile at the same time?).
I already mentioned that Vlaada got around this by inventing a turn-based ruleset that uses action points instead of dexterity. It works better than we could have hoped, but I have to admit that even the real-time version of the game works remarkably well. There may not be another board game app that feels so much like sitting at the table playing the real deal.
Now the game has been released for PC/Mac on Steam and it includes everything its mobile forebear has, including the Alien Technologies expansion. All that and it’s only a smidgen above $6. That’s absolutely insane.
That price is temporary and will only be around for a week, so head over to Steam right now and pick it up. Seriously. Now. Do it even if you own it on both iOS and Android already. It’s good enough that $6 for a version you might only play a couple times is still a great bargain. On top of that, if you wait until next week you’ll have to pay full price (which is only $10 and still a steal).
Now get out there and deliver some red cubes, dammit.
- Galaxy Trucker for iPad, $5
- Galaxy Trucker for iPhone, $5
- Galaxy Trucker for Android, $5
- Galaxy Trucker for PC/Mac via Steam, $6.19
I don’t care much for the game, but CGE knocked it out of the park as far as presentation goes. This is Through the Ages quality stuff, not surprising. I’ll be excited to hear what they may be working on next.
First TtA expansion, then Codenames.
Then Tash-Kalar???