Great review. Thanks. Useful detail, all the key points covered. Watching and finding out what's in each game is almost as much fun as playing a game.

Just finished our first game, which was a two player game, And wow it was amazing it was tricky to learn but worth the effort, can't wait to play again.

Thanks for the review Cody.

Great review. Loved the dramatic music set to the game. Reminded me of being at Epcot.

My two favorite recent acquisitions are Eclipse: Second dawn for the galaxy and Abomination: The heir of Frankenstein. I never owned the origional Eclipse, so this was my first dive. They have put alot of thought into the organization of this box. I'm not sure I would play this if I had to keep it all in zip locks.

Thank you Cody. You expressed my thougts so well. I really really love this game. So much that it was the first Kickstarter that I backed. Unfortunately, I still did not get it due to Covid-related issues - no worries. Cheers!

Yeah, we don't have a company for a game with such length as TI4 so this is a fantastic alternative; we bought it immediatelly upon release :)

can't wait for retail. I waited and missed it on KS. great review Cody. Wish you would have talked more about those things they streamlined.

Eclipse is one of the all-time great designs. It is incredibly elegant. Yes - with experienced players it should play at 45 min. a player. This does not include set up and clean up time.

Just got it, played three games over three days. Excellent and very fun!

I did it, I finally chuckled at one of your jokes. Great review of this game. I look forward to breaking out my copy when my group gets together next!

Cody you're an unrecognized musical genius. You've invented an entirely new musical genre, mime music!

I am so much of a TI4 fanboy, we manage to have 4-6 player games every 3-4 weeks, so although I guess I would like this game .... I am not sure if I want to get it:))) Good to have luxury problems. So, thank you pointing out thats a different beast and obviously great. Bests to Texas

Cool review! Time for the ultimate question: Eclipse vs Star Trek Ascendancy?

How would you compare this to Space Empires 4X? They both seem to have a strong focus on exploration and economy.

Is the song in the beginning the cities skylines theme song!?!

The only thing what keeps me back to buy this game that I have Forbidden Stars and my wife didn't spek english... I have translated Forbidden Stars and Battlelore 2 but man it is time consuming.

The size of that table at 0:58!

Only when talking about TI4 can a 3 hour game be considered ‘quick’. Haha

This looks really interesting, I haven't tried Eclipse yet. Have you been trying tabletop simulator during the lockdown? SUSD did a video if you haven't heard of it.

Great review, Cody. However, you do conflate a couple of game components and mechanics. Discovery tiles and Reputation tiles are not the same thing and work quite differently (@ 7:15). Discovery tiles are NOT drawn from the black bag - they are placed on the center of some sectors and can be claimed either when exploring or when defeating non-player control of that sector (Ancient / Guardian / GCDS). These tiles are two-sided, and when you collect one you choose which side to use: an immediate in-game bonus (ships, ship upgrades, resources, etc.); or as 2VP for game end. The tiles you draw from the black bag are Reputation tiles, and they are part of combat resolution. These are one sided, with values from 1 to 4 VP on the face and a black back. Following combat (and your performance therein) you draw one or more of these tiles, keep the one with the highest value, and place on your mat (face down) to add to your score at the end of the game.

Is there any conceivable way that this would make for an interesting solo experience? I'm guessing no, but it looks so good...

Great review. How does it compare to Space Empires 4X according to you?

Would you say the Kickstarter is worth chasing over the retail?

jezzz just bought the 2nd expansion for the 1st edition looool

Cody, I have the original, all expansions and promos. Is this worth getting? I don't think I'd be able to use so much of what I already own.

Score: Eclipse 2d down played 20 times a year and TI4 played once a year > Happiness / Price ratio winner is ... ECLIPSE!

Really want to play it, but the thing that pushes me away is that really dry design of tiles. It just looks like void without anything in it? exept iconographics, which is not enought when we talk about epic 4x strategy

Missed out on the KS; game won't be available for retail sale until Summer 2020, unless the joy sucking Covid virus pushes the date back even further. I think you demonstrated some real talent in that silent rendition of "Believer", and perhaps should consider a career in Kabuki Karoake, because as you know, a mime is a terrible thing to waste.

:)

I think Neil Diamond wrote the song.

Did they fix the plasma missiles? They were way too powerful in the original. It was just a race to who got them first. Kind of sucked how busted they were. Otherwise a great game.

First one suck! Missiles were OP

I would concur that TI4 is a superior game. So much grander and much more epic.

Follow standard Imperial procedure and dump this game before going to lightspeed.

This game needs a trance / techno beat not this classic orchestra shit.

Don't do that foolishness again 😒

Do you discriminate against all gamers?