by Horrid Beast
IntroductionNot since Cyclades has a game risen so rapidly up the echelon of the BGG Geek Ratings and after only 1 year has moved into the top 5 with the once untouchables, Puerto Rico, Through the Ages and Agricola firmly within its sights. If ratings continue at the current trend then this boardgame could be entrenched as the second best of all time by this time next year. BUT, does Eclipse have the staying power? Or will we be making comparisons between it and Cyclades in 5 years time? I guess we will know soon enough.
The game play and rules have been well discussed and at length on numerous other review threads so there is no need to reinvent the wheel in this regard. This review will concentrate on my own experience with the game, what I like and dislike, as well as where I think the game developers got it right and where there are shortcomings. I also want to take some time trying to redefine exactly what game type this boardgame should be categorised as.
Uploaded by Angrod Vardamir
Components
The first thing I look at with any game of this type is the components because let's face it, games like these are socially acceptable toys for adults and teens. The first thing I picked up were the star-ships. Boy oh boy was I disappointed. The ships for me were reminiscent of the Jetsons. The ships look like something from the early Cold War period. My two year old nephew would love them as he has a real bug infatuation at present and if I put one of the cruisers on a leaf he probably wouldn't know the difference. I am not alone in this. A gentleman I have played with actually snipped off the outer wings of all the ships. I have to say that although not a great option, it did go some way to improving the look of them. As much as people hate comparing Twilight Imperium III (TI3) with Eclipse the comparisons are indeed inevitable. These games are the most popular titles within the rather large category of 4X (yes I know that if you play TI3 it is more like 3.5X as the exploration is not quite the same as other games even when playing the 'Distant Suns' option). Just look at the difference between each games ships below and judge for yourself.
Uploaded by Noshrok Grimskull. TI3 ships in action
Both images uploaded by Phil Shimmin. If only the ships looked like these...
I have seen some Geekers voice their approval of the Eclipse ships over the TI3 ships in various threads but I think the evidence above should rest my own case for those who are either on the fence or unaware. I do understand that Lautapelit is a small Finnish gaming company and does not have the resources that FFG has, but it is a point to consider all the same, and this review is not a heinous plug for little David against the industrial giant Goliath that is FFG. I am just calling it as I see it.
The next thing I noticed was the ugly artwork. The drawings just do not do it for me. The colours are bland and to be honest the box is the best part of the game for me in this respect. It kind of has a steam-punk feel to it but worse. I just don't think the artist (Ossi Hiekkala) pulled the whole look off. The pictures on the race sheets, VPs and technology chits are likewise insipid.
Uploaded by Carlos Paiva
Before I opened the rulebook I envisioned a tasty back story outlining a crisis of epic proportions that paves the way for the supposed epic space battle that is about to being. Instead I read a paltry 134 words of nothingness. There is also next to no background information on each race which is very different from TI3 in which you can flip the race sheet and read some neat histories. Juxtaposing this with TI3 reveals an epic imbalance between each games plot and theme.
Gameplay
Time
Eclipse definitely plays faster than TI3 but there is significantly more downtime. In a 6 player game you can be waiting around to do something for 30 minutes depending on how familiar your game group is and how AP prone they can become. I think TI3 has a slight edge over Eclipse in that you do have a chance of taking a turn when another player uses their strategy action (by utilising the secondary ability). Eclipse definitely plays faster than TI3 but not by all that much. A game of 6 players took about 5-6 hours whereas a TI3 game with the same amount would only play a touch longer with no dawdling. A three player game of Eclipse would definitely play faster than a 3 player game of TI3. The shorter playing time will certainly guarantee Eclipse more fans but I still do believe that many of TI3's low scoring ratings have come from people who have never played the game.
Races
The human races are exactly the same but the aliens are vastly different. Just as in TI3 there are better races than others. This could prove to be a stumbling point for hardcore europhiles who like games to be played on an even keel. An example is the Orion Hegemony having extra power sources on their ships. This race definitely has an edge with military technology upgrades. The Mechanema are the other war like race who do begin the game at an economic disadvantage but have ship movement, tech upgrade and building actions that are superior to most of the other races. Although not as pronounced as TI3 in regards to balance issues (it is well known that the Tribes of Yssaril are way out in front advantage wise in that game) some races do get a decent upper hand on other rivals. This tends to be a foreign concept in the Euro genre and I am still surprised that more europhiles have not shed more posts on this issue. For example, an Orion Hegemony strategy will likely be to build plasma missiles on both their cruisers and dreadnaughts as they have the power capacity to be able to do so before other races (more on this later).
Both images uploaded by Angrod Vardamir. Another assortment of status-quo human players...
Exploration
Exploration is completely randomised through a tile draw system. In my game, I played Mechanema and was unlucky enough to not draw any dual resource systems or Ancients. My neighbours also tweaked their tiles so that I could not have any diplomatic relations with them further hampering my economic situation. This really stunk! I drew stuff all whilst the Orion Hegemony player drew a dual resource system and three ancients tiles (exactly the sort of thing I was looking for, but more on this a bit later). I have to say that this sort of randomness can really throw a game into king-making chaos (as was the case in that game). I think it would have been better if each player at least got one of each type to even things out and I think if the game was placed under more play-testing scrutiny the developers could have found this and fixed it. Unfortunately such is not the case and this element of the game is broken in my opinion. If you want to keep the Euro tag on this game then something has got to give in this regard. Considering this I would also be ticked off if this occurred in TI3 but in order to save time our game group opts for me to pre-build a galaxy in which I am last to choose where my home system tile is placed.
Uploaded by Angrod Vardamir
Tableau
My first impression of the tableau was that it took up a heck of a lot less room than TI3 which is fantastic. The race sheet is well organised for the game mechanics and kudos should go out to the developers for this. A problem I had was all the disks and cubes lying around. I am not much of a fan of having so much in front of me because I tend to speak with my hands and will knock things over (no I am not of a Mediterranean background). At least if I knock TI3 command counters/fleet markers I have a good idea of where each was because of the symbols on them. But, replacing the cubes can be annoying. Others who I played with viewed the cubes and disks in a starkly different context. They saw the beauty in this mechanic because of the way they 'worked' to take systems and resources in a rather "elegant" (their words) fashion. These guys were Europhiles, so it makes sense that they would look at things from such a perspective. For me personally, I would have preferred to have seen a chits and dial system. The dials could represent your resource allocation and resources left whilst the chits could have been placed in each system and upon each planet. I just think this could have cleaned things up a bit, and whilst you are reading this have probably already understood that I prefer Ameri-trash to Euros. I like cool implementations that make things easier and easier on the eye. I love the resource wheel in Ora & Labora and I love the combat dials in Rex. These features have been done well stream lining each game and they look really neat. I have mentioned dials before on other threads and have received negative responses so maybe I am in the minority on this point.
Uploaded by Josh Jenkins
Uploaded by Scott Everts. This tray would be a must purchase for clumsy people like myself!
Uploaded by Fernando Robert Yu
Economy
The economy function in this game is definitely synonymous with the Euro system. It works really well and is quite tight. The problem is I want lots of ships and I want them now. TI3 allows me to build dreadnaughts on my first time if I wish but you have next to no hope in Eclipse. Europhiles will likely love the tightness in this game, I just didn't. I want a massive star-fleet so I can march next door and whack my neighbour if I feel like it. The other thing I found too restrictive is that moving just one or two ships costs an action which costs resources. Probably more realistic but not more fun in my opinion. Again you are probably shaking your head at me which is fine. Just as I am entitled to my opinion your opinion counts as well.
Uploaded by Scott Everts
Uploaded by Scott Everts
Uploaded by deeug deeug
A recent thread also shed some light on an emerging strategy called the 'Deliberate Deficit Strategy (http://boardgamegeek.com/thread/850555/deliberate-deficit-st...). It smells like the 'Starvation Strategy' often deployed in Stone Age. This is sure to irk some people as one can bend the rules in their favour to gain an extra advantage in a single turn. It will be interesting to see where this unearthed strategy will take the game in coming months.
Technology
A key differentiation from TI3 is the technology draw. Instead of having a tech tree, Eclipse utilises the draw to ensure that there is greater variety and thus greater replayability. Although it seems less credible than a tech tree I think the developers have instituted an excellent mechanic here in the guise of maintaining a proper Euro concept not too much different to Caylus' building draw. I must confess that I do like the TI3 tech tree as well. I think both systems serve the purpose of the meta-game.
There are some problems with the tech draw. Players can miss out on various technologies and critical junctures of the game. It also creates further imbalance issues. As I mentioned the example of Orion Hegemony gaining plasma missiles before, this can lead to an over powered opponent as will be further discussed shortly.
Combat
Similar to TI3 the combat is a dice fest. I don't mind that at all as it can create a few surprises and introduces an element of risk that is not always prevalent in Euros. The problem with combat stems back to my previous point on technology. As I have already mentioned the Orion hegemony player teched up his ships to a very high point whilst I did not get any love from the exploration draw. I spent three boring hours getting down to the Galactic Centre Hex and when I finally arrived the Orion Hegemony player was waiting for me. I sent in two dreadnaughts and a cruiser to take on his three cruisers. Unfortunately he had accumulated enough plasma missiles to be able to roll 36 dice before I could even fire off a shot at his fleet when I moved in. As you have probably already figured out I did not even get to roll in the combat. His missiles tore my entire fleet to shreds.
Another problem lies with the defence capabilities of Star Bases. These are relatively cheap and can pack a serious punch if upgraded satisfactorily (see http://boardgamegeek.com/thread/867632/super-powerful-space-...). This can lead to a stalemate match up not dissimilar to the Western Front of World War I.
Victory
Probably my biggest gripe (along with the exploration draw) is the VP Draw. Epic actions/moves are not rewarded fairly. Therefore the best player will not always win which is very different from any other Euro I have played. You can also trade in your VPs for upgrades and resources and these can differ widely as well.
Price
Eclipse has been hovering around the 110 AUD or 100 USD. This is quite expensive for any boardgame and is even more expensive than TI3 (100AUD or 70 USD). Considering the component quality and what you get in a box I have to say that the value is packed in the IT3 coffin box.
Euro-trash or Waro?
One of the terms being thrown around for the Eclipse game genre is 'Euro-trash' (for those who are unfamiliar with this term it is a combination of a 'Euro' and 'Ameri-trash'). Euros generally Such games emphasize strategy, downplay luck and conflict, lean towards economic rather than military themes, minimal player interaction and usually keep all the players in the game until it ends. For the most part Eclipse fits such except for a couple of factors. Firstly, the is a truck load of luck in Eclipse. There are dice and tile and VP draws. Secondly, there is a good smattering of player interaction. Therefore, the Euro tag is largely merited in my opinion.
The Ameri-trash tag on the other hand, is considerably more questionable. Whenever the Ameri-trash tag is thrown around I immediately think 'theme'. Yes these games do generally include more luck and often conflict but theme really comes to the fore. For me Eclipse is kind of like the equivalent of the Simpson Desert if theme were a landscape. It is still as dry as any other popular Euro. There may be a some brush here and there but for the most part it is almost non-existent. Just take for example a comparison of the modern Ameri-trash flagship Twilight Imperium III. You open the rulebook and immediately you are thrown into a space opera story from Mahthon Iq Seerva or you choose your race and then flip it over and read their lengthy history. For me, Eclipse failed to deliver within this aspect. There is no back story and only a short paragraph on each race within the rulebook. As already mentioned, the artwork and ship design also seem second rate which further lets Eclipse down from an Ameri-trash perspective.
Another gaming paradigm has manifested in the hope of trying to categorise this popular game. The term is 'Waro'. The term Waro denotes a Euro style game that contains conflict. I think this definition is more accurate but has not quite . I would hazard to implement the term 'Push Your Luck Waro' or 'Drawo' (a Waro with draw mechanics, notice war appears backwards within this term) because there is just so much luck in this game from dice rolling and blind component extraction.
Conclusion
Well if you made it this far you can probably see that my review has been quite negative. I am not the first to have done this (e.g. http://boardgamegeek.com/thread/804480/eclipse-a-pros-and-co...).
There certainly are plenty of things to think about before making such a large purchase. Maybe some, many or all of the problems I have mentioned will be mitigated via future expansions. TI3 had some teething problems as well and required an expansion to set things straight. I am still adamant that more play-testing would have been helpful for the developers to have created an even better game than Eclipse in its present form.
Is there really room for both TI3 and Eclipse. I would say no. I think this game has largely created an "us" and "them" barrier within the gaming community. There will be some people who could own both and enjoy both, but, they will be the minority. There is significant investment in both games therefore preventing people accessing both titles.
I think some Europhiles will hate Eclipse because of its randomness. Lovers of Caylus like games beware. However, for the large part, most Europhiles I know who have played Eclipse love it, so at least give it a try to see what you think. On the other hand, people who love Ameri-trash might find the game a little dry like I have.
I have to admit that I was looking forward to playing this game and was left bitterly disappointed. I actually felt that this game was the most over-rated game of 2011. I miss all of the strategic actions from TI3 like Assembly and Trade not to mention the mercenaries, mech units, flagships, warsuns, etc etc. Maybe if I played Eclipse first my opinions on the game may have been starkly contrasted.
Will I play Eclipse again? Probably not. I would prefer to play TI3 any time. I am not sold on the whole Euro-trash/Waro/Drawo boardgame type yet either. Another game I feel is the most over-rated game of 2012 is Lords of Waterdeep. This game could also be placed in the Euro-trash/Waro/Drawo category. Maybe there is a pattern developing here? Maybe meshing the two styles together is guaranteed to fail from my point of view? Whatever the case, I hope that a game comes along and nails it at some point (although I must confess that Lancaster has come mighty close to doing a brilliant job of meshing a Euro with an excellent theme). Once again, only time will tell...