Starship Captains is a fun board game. Players become starship captains going on missions in space. They command a crew with different skills. Players complete missions and upgrade their ship.

The game creates an exciting galaxy to explore. Players voyage to stars and planets. They find new technologies for their ship. This lets them travel very far in space.

Starship Captains is for 1-4 players. They work together as captains of a starship. Players use their crew’s skills to balance jobs on the ship. They go on missions to discover galactic secrets. Players collect alien tech to improve their ship. They must navigate threats in space to become the best captain.

Gameplay Overview

In Starship Captains, each player commands their own starship and crew. Crew members have skills in movement, combat, research, or repair.

Players can equip tech upgrades on their ship. Upgrades provide bonuses and abilities.

On their turn, a player takes one of three actions:

Activate a Ship Room:

• Red Room: Move ship up to two spaces
• Yellow Room: Attack adjacent pirates
• Blue Room: Gain a tech upgrade
• Gray Room: Repair damage

Complete a Mission:

Be the first player on a planet to complete its mission. Spend crew members matching mission colors to gain bonuses. Completed missions score points.

Pass: Do nothing.

Used crew go to the back of your queue. On later turns they return to activate again.

After all players pass, the round ends. Players refresh crews. There are four total rounds.

The player with the most points at the end wins!

Game Experience

Starship Captains is hard to define. It blends map movement, mission completion, upgrades, and resource management.

The queue worker system is smooth and satisfying to use. Sliding out crew at round’s end feels neat. The queue adds some decision making but isn’t too complex. There’s always a use for any crew color.

With short 4 round playtime, actions stay fresh without becoming repetitive. There are enough decisions each round without any major engine building. The 45-60 minute playtime fits the game well.

There are various scoring options – reputation tracks, pirates, tech cards. But missions provide the most points. To maximize scoring, completing missions is key.

The tech cards bring nice variety and rule breaking abilities. However, some cards are clearly better than others. End game tech cards also don’t scale well at higher player counts.

Despite some quirks, Starship Captains delivers a smooth space adventure. Missions, map movement, upgrades, and crew management combine into an enjoyable cosmos voyage. There’s satisfaction in captaining a starship and crew through the unknown.

How Does It Play?

Starship Captains plays well at higher counts. But the solo mode feels lackluster despite unique components. The AI and passengers have minimal impact. It becomes a beat your own score endeavor.

That said, solo play flows quickly with enough decisions each turn. Managing crew actions is key without being too limiting. Upgrading cadets to commanders feels essential – their power is immense. But their strength makes them obvious choices rather than interesting ones.

Pirates and ship damage pose obstacles, but rarely feel consequential. Pirates can often be avoided entirely. Damage handicaps early snowballing, but perhaps excessively. There may have been better options than starting every player with 7 damage.

The crew queue offers smooth tactical play, while missions and tech offer long-term planning. Balancing immediate actions versus setting up future turns is compelling. Random elements like card draws inject variability without excessive luck dependence.

Despite some quirks, Starship Captains delivers straightforward spacefaring. The solo mode functions, but lacks the immersion and interaction of multiplayer. Overall an enjoyable voyage, but one perhaps better shared with others.

Starship Captains Game Review

Starship Captains is a fun space game. Players are starship captains going on missions. They command crews and upgrade ships.

Gameplay is smooth. The crew queue works well. Moving on the map and completing quests is satisfying. Turns go quick but offer hard choices.

There are many ways to earn points. But missions give the most. Tech upgrades and reputation help too. Pirates pose little threat though.

The solo mode is fast. It lacks multiplayer interaction though. Beating scores gets repetitive. AI is very basic.

The production is very nice. The pieces and cards have great art. Rules are simple to learn too. Games only last 4 short rounds.

Starship Captains is best with others. The solo mode works but is bland. Managing crew and ships stays fun over multiple plays. This is a solid space game for fans of the genre.

What is BoardGameGeek?

BoardGameGeek is a website for board game fans. It has pages for most published games. Users can read and write reviews of games.

The Starship Captains page shares info about the game. It has descriptions, pictures, videos, and files. Fans have written over 100 reviews.

As of early 2023, Starship Captains has a rating of 7.1 out of 10. Over 4,000 users have added it to their collections. Many discuss and rate the game on the forums.

The BGG page lets fans learn all about Starship Captains. Reviews help players know what to expect. It’s a great resource for the board game community.

FAQ’s

How do you play captain’s ship?

Players captain starships on voyages through space, managing crews and completing missions to score points.

Who is the captain of the Starship?

Each player assumes the role of the captain, overseeing their personal starship and making command decisions.

How many rooms do Starship captains have?

There are four main rooms that can be activated on a starship: movement, combat, research, and repair.

Conclusion

Starship Captains delivers a smooth and straightforward spacefaring adventure. Players take the captain’s chair, commanding crews on interstellar voyages. Missions, upgrades, crew management, and map movement blend seamlessly into an enjoyable experience.

While the solo mode functions adequately, Starship Captains excels as a multiplayer title. The lack of interaction and decision making in solo play leaves it feeling stale quickly. But managing starships and crews stays engaging over multiple plays with others.

With approachable rules and short playtime, Starship Captains makes an accessible space romp. Fans of sci-fi themes should beam aboard for an entertaining voyage across the stars.