Review: Space Alert

Space Alert by Vladimír Chvátil published by Rio Grande games is a co-operative game of survival and communication. The players must work together to survive a perilous journey through space by moving around the ship, firing rockets and lasers, raising shields, shunting power, activating battle bots and short range fighters, and keeping the computer working. The game, best played with 4 or 5 players, is played in two phases – the action phase and the resolution phase. During the action phase players must simultaneously listen to the alerts from the ships computer (played on a CD and indicating threats to the ship) and communicate with one another to plan their actions in response to the threats. During the 10 minute CD track, players plan their 12 moves with cards they lay down on a track. When the CD has finished players may not change their plans and the resolution phase begins. During this phase of the game each player performs his/her planed actions in order to determine the outcome. If the players have planned well, their ship will survive.

The game does a really good job of creating a sense of tension during the action phase. The challenge comes in trying to communicate with one another and also listen carefully to the CD track. The tension is further heighted by the limited time to plan. The game also has great replay value. Although the 10 mission tracks on the CD are the same each time, the treats are randomly drawn from a deck of cards, as are the potential actions and the “threat tracks” that determine the actions of the various threats. The game components are well done and look good and the theme is fun.

While playing with the CD is best, the game also includes cards that indicate where threats arrive from and at what times so that you could play with a stopwatch and the cards if you didn’t have a CD player. The resolution phase probably takes about 15-20 minutes (once you get the hang of it). Some people find this phase of the game boring, but I believe it is fun if you keep everyone involved instead of just letting one player resolve everything.

You will like this game if: you enjoy co-operative gaming experiences, you like a challenge and don’t mind losing the first several times you play, you have fun thinking and talking fast, you like a game that’s over relatively quickly (30-45 minutes per play – including set-up time).

You will not like this game if: you don’t like speaking up, you become easily frustrated with your friends, you want to win every time, you like to take a long time to think strategically.

On a personal note: I move to Atlanta to start a new job at Georgia Tech soon, so feel free to contact me if you enjoy table-top gaming and live in the Atlanta area. Keep your eyes open for more board game reviews soon.