The Broken Meeple - Shackleton Base - Board Game Review - Is The Moon That Exciting?
Shackleton Base is a midweight Euro board game where players place astronauts on the moon to perform actions and score points by satisfying the needs of three corporations chosen from a pool of seven. Each corporation has unique rules and components, adding variety to the gameplay. The game is praised for its replay value due to the different corporation combinations, but criticized for its bland artwork and lack of player interaction. The game is tight on resources, requiring strategic planning with limited actions. However, it suffers from a lack of player aids and complex rule referencing, which can hinder gameplay. The solo mode is easy to manage but lacks competitive interaction. Overall, while the game offers some innovative mechanics, it falls short in player engagement and scalability.
Key Points:
- Shackleton Base features a unique mechanic where players satisfy the needs of three corporations, adding variety to each game.
- The game is resource-tight, requiring strategic planning with only 18 actions available per game.
- Criticized for bland artwork and lack of player interaction, making the map inconsequential in lower player counts.
- Lacks player aids and has complex rule referencing, which can hinder the learning curve and gameplay.
- Solo mode is easy to manage but lacks competitive interaction, making it less engaging.
Details:
1. đ˛ Introduction & Game Hype
1.1. Game Hype and Reception
1.2. Game Design and Features
2. đ Gameplay Mechanics & Strategy
- The main objective is to earn the most victory points by satisfying the needs of three randomly selected corporations out of seven, each with unique rules and mechanics.
- Players utilize astronauts in three colors (blue, yellow, red) to gain different bonuses and abilities, with a limited number of 18 actions available per game.
- The game involves a shuttle phase where players draft shuttles to determine turn order, starting resources, and the astronauts available for the round.
- In the command track phase, players use astronauts to build bases, purchase project cards, and trigger corporation-specific actions, with a focus on the reputation track for bonuses.
- Players can swap astronauts via the lunar Gateway for strategic advantages, such as acquiring needed colors for actions or generating income.
- An area majority mechanic affects base building rewards, with players potentially paying more if others have majority control in certain areas.
- Strategic building of structures on player boards offers in-game and endgame rewards, influenced by the color of astronauts used and the type of structures built.
- Corporation-specific project cards provide special bonuses and endgame scoring opportunities, with resource management playing a key role in acquiring these.
- Reputation track bonuses offer high rewards but come with significant maintenance costs at the end of each round.
- The game consists of three rounds, with players managing maintenance costs and income from buildings and cards while optimizing astronaut placements for discounts and bonuses.