Galaxy Trucker Board Game - English Version

Well, as one kind Amazon customer said to me after I posted a question "shut up and write a review" I feel that I should!I first saw this game in the catalogue that accompanied Codenames and the small child in me liked the sound of building a space ship only to have it blown apart in space!We have two small children (6&8) and one bigger child (me). We all love this game. The instructions although well written don't fully explain the game, I would recommend heading to YouTube where you will find some really helpful videos to help bring it to life. It is not difficult to understand but the videos explain it better.The game is made up of two parts - build a space ship and then space exploration.I first thought that building a ship would be the easy bit. For us this was the most challenging (in a good way) You have a spaceship template board and you need to lay your components on it. We had a practice run and Mr Smug here managed to build a ship which had no engines! This part really makes you think as you need to make sure you have enough guns, engines, batteries, cargo bays and crew quarters before you head into space.The rest of the game sees you explore space to face pirates, meteors, abandoned ships and space stations and space battles.This is where you can now start to laugh at your opponents as their carefully built spaceships start to fall apart and if, due to an unlucky dice roll, get blown to pieces completely.It is at the higher end of pricing for a board game but when you see the content of the box and the detail put into the game you appreciate the cost.This is a really fun game to play and is loved by all of us. The game says 10+ but as I have said, our 6 & 8 year olds grasped the rules and have enjoyed playing it - or is that just laughing as Mum's spaceship gets blown to pieces on the second mission!

Was convinced to buy this game after listening to Jadedgamercast Podcast - it doesn't disappoint. Everyone in the family loves it, from my 9 year old daughter to my wife, so can't get a better recommendation. Rule booklet is amusing and walk you through the game very nicely, so even your first game is fun and you don't feel like anything is over-complex. Highly recommended to all

This game is fun. It has to be fun, as the alternative is that it hates you and you end up crying in the corner.It's a light game, playable in 20-80 minutes depending on how many flights you want your space craft to take. The first 5-6 minutes are spent in a mad dash to collect random pieces of spacecraft from the box (all of you at the same time), and assemble them on the board in front of you. Your craft might be bristling with guns, thrumming with engines, or echoing from all the cargo holds you've built. And whilst you are allowed to peek at some of the cards you'll be facing on your journey, Lady Luck doesn't like space.After your craft is assembled, you then launch yourself to the stars and (hopefully) your destination. Event cards are then dealt, usually affecting the first player first, but not always. Once the cards are dealt, you've made it! Any cargo you have earn you money, as will the general condition of your craft.And then you do it all again, because it's fun.Despite our group loving this, I had to knock off a star for the price. It is too expensive for the components in the box. Perhaps other games are just cheaper, but I have received much more in a box for far less cost. Still a great game, and if you find it cheap, snap it up - an Anniversary Edition has been released comprising this game, and two of the big box expansions, for around £60-70, so that's an option if you really want to take the plunge.

The game is made of three rounds of two phases each: A building phase and a travelling phase. You build ships in the building phase and then they get destroyed in the travelling phase, at least until you learn to build good, well ballanced ships! Though there is some direct and indirect player interaction, it is one of those games where it feels like you are all playing against the game, rather than against the other players, similar to dungeon lords (a more complex game by the same designer).The building phase appears at first to be a random speed round where you fill up your hull with components, there is a timer that is turned over by the first to finish that time pressures the other players. This keeps the game moving quickly, but oddly it isn't really a speed game. Building a good ship is far more important than building a ship quickly. The building becomes quite tactical after you have played a few times and there is a great deal of strategic play available if you are a hardcore gamer.I wish i had gone straight for the 5th anniversary edition though, which though very expensive for a board game, saves a lot compared to buying the expansions seperately, as i'm sure i will eventually.

Fun game with no downtime. Rush to make a better ship than the other players and prepare for an unknown adventure across space.

This game is really original. You build a spaceship by picking tiles and joining them togehter in a race against other opponents and your design often seems to go wrong. You then fly your ships through space watching it get battered by meteors, aliens, etc. Everyone suffers and you get to laugh a lot at each others misfortune. The quality of the game is beautiful and it is easy to learn. A bit pricy but well worth it.

Great game, simple-enough mechanics with the element of luck involved, helping you to avoid asteroids...or be completely blown apart in the space of a minute. The game gets more tricky with more players as the pieces available to build your ship are less available, but this makes for much hilarity when your ship is held together with minimal tiles. Non board-game regulars would find this easy to pick up and it's suitable for children from age 10 upwards (an estimate!). If only it could be played with more players (you have to buy the expansion packs, but even these only add a 5th player).