Terra Prime

My 11th favorite board game is Terra Prime, which is a "pick-up and deliver" game set in outer space. 

Terra Prime refers to "the home world." Players all start at Terra Prime and fly off into outer space to explore strange new worlds. Unlike the altruistic motivations prevalent in Star Trek however, in Terra Prime each player is an independent contractor hoping to make the most profit by discovering valuable resources and bringing them back home.

Each player has a space vessel at their command. This vessel has limits in range, defenses, and cargo space. As you play, you will sell discovered resources for money. You can use that money to improve your ship. This is vital if you want to explore the furthest reaches of space and survive. Dangerous aliens lurk at the edge of the final frontier, and you will have to be able to destroy them if you want the most valuable loot.

I really have a soft spot for this game. Game play is simple and clean. The theme of space exploration appeals to me, and unlike a great many other space games, players all work separately but together in the service of Terra Prime. You won't be attacking to destroy what another player has built. I don't mind player versus player combat if the game is all about combat, but when the theme is space exploration and trade, that's what I want to focus on. Terra Prime lets me do that.

Terra Prime's satisfying game play loop: discover worlds, gather resources, return home, sell resources, upgrade your ship so that you can go back out to discover worlds ... is so thematically intuitive and natural that it makes Terra Prime a sort of board game comfort food. I enjoy that very much!

That's why Terra Prime is my 11th favorite board game of all time (and space)!! Coming Up Next: we enter my board game TOP 10!!

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