Star Tycoon is a space themed, engine building, economic game that features a fluctuating market. The capitalistic themes are looked at in a tongue in cheek way, and multiple pre-game randomizers keep the game fresh.
I’m a fan of economic games in general, so don’t take it lightly when I say this is one of the best economic games out there, especially if you want something with a shorter playtime.
Disclosure: Thanks to Good Games Publishing for hooking us up with a copy of this space themed market manipulator. Some links in this post are affiliate links, using them costs you nothing extra and helps support this website. As an Amazon associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
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Learn about Star Tycoon
Star Tycoon a tableau building economic game that was originally published by Warp Core Games and later picked up by Good Games Publishing, who we have to thank for providing us with a copy. It comes from the design team of Peter and Alkira Sanderson and features artwork from Michael Dickinson.
The box for Star Tycoon says it plays one to four players, though the box includes components to play with up to six. It is noted in the rule book that they don’t recommend you play with that many players, but the extra components do add to the replayability.
Games of Star Tycoon take over an hour at first but get quicker the more you get to know the game and the cards. Our average game length is under an hour now unless introducing new players. We also have never tried the game at six, and I would guess you are looking at closer to two hours with that many players.
The box lists an age recommendation of fourteen plus but I can totally see some younger players enjoying this game, and the sci-fi theme makes it an easier sell to younger players. Star Tycoon has a medium weight and has mechanics that will be familiar to players of other card based engine builders like Splendor and games with a variable goods market like Clans of Caledonia.
Gameplay involves trying to become the best galactic corporation by conquering planets, building developments on those planets, playing the market, and reaching out to brands.
You can get a good look at the component quality in this game, which includes a very useful resource tray, in our Star Tycoon Unboxing Video on YouTube.
The component quality is solid. There are three types of commodities and these are differentiated by different shaped, thick cardboard tokens. The card quality is good with somewhat small but easy to distinguish iconography. The rulebook is very well written and the box insert works well to keep everything separated.
The best bit though is that resource tray which is designed to use right from the box and can be passed between players during play.
We originally reviewed Star Tycoon on Episode 250 of The Tabletop Bellhop Gaming Podcast, Happy Birthday Bellhop, and I invite you to also check that episode out. There you can hear Deanna and Sean’s thoughts on the game.
Since our initial review we continue to really enjoy Star Tycoon and continue to play it. It’s a regular for our public play game night’s where I include it to show local gamers that economic games may not be as dry and dull as they might think.
How Star Tycoon Plays
At the start of a game of Star Tycoon every player is dealt a random home planet, an Omniforge card which goes on that home planet (this gives you a starting production of two different resources), and a set of three different Corporations. Players choose one Corporation to play, and that corporation lists the player’s starting resources which they collect now, as well as an asymmetric in game ability.
Star Tycoon only lasts four rounds. Each round is broken into three cycles and in each cycle each player will take one turn and each turn they get three actions. Thankfully this is simpler than it sounds and the galactic market board has a tracker that makes tracking these phases easy. We’ve never lost track of where we were. At the end of the fourth round the player with the most points wins.
The majority of points in Star Tycoon comes from players building their empire by adding cards to their tableaus that match the requirements on their starting Corporation and drafted Planet cards. Each Corporation and Planet card lists its requirements and the points you get for filling them.
Points can also be collected by reaching out to Brands, from some Development cards, and for collecting Communications Arrays. Finally, there is a random bonus tile in play each game that awards bonus points for collecting sets. The sets you want to collect could be planets, a specific resources, etc.
Every round of Star Tycoon, except for the first, starts with a random event. These are usually are positive, giving players extra actions or resources, but some will mess with the galactic market which could be good or bad.
The first turn of the game, and after each event is resolved in later turns, is a Production Phase where everyone collects resources. Players look at their cards and take one resource for each icon in a blue production box on the cards in their tableau. The first turn of the game this will just be the players Omniforge, with production growing as players build more Developments.
Next we get to individual player turns, each player gets three of these before the next round and on each turn they get to do three actions in any order. Players can purchase cards, which include Planets and three ranks of Development cards. You can only purchase cards from a full row which can lead to some hard decisions.
When you purchase a Planet it gets added to your tableau. Developments on the other hand are played onto a planet you already have. Purchasing either card type requires you to discard resources equal to its cost. You can also reach out to a Brand with a purchase action, brands provide end game scoring for collecting multiple developments from that brand.
Each Planet has a number of points listed on it and the requirements to earn them. These requirements include developments from specific brands or specific resources that need to be produced there. Note these aren’t limitations, you can play any Development on any Planet, but you won’t be scoring points for that planet if you don’t fulfill the requirements.
Each Development lists what it does for you right on the card. The majority of Developments have a blue production box and generate resources. Other Developments provide points, smuggling opportunities, and some even allow you to steal resources from other players.
If you don’t have the resources you need to buy something, you can take the Trade action.
One of the highlights of Star Tycoon is it’s market board, which tracks the current prices of each of the game’s resources and how the market fluctuates as you buy and sell goods. Each trade action allows you two transactions, but only one transaction per resource type (which is tracked by flipping the trade marker over to it’s X side once a trade is completed).
Another way to get resources during your turn is to run your Omniforge. Each Omniforge is unique and produces a different set of two resources. While this sounds a bit like a wasted action it can be very useful at times.
Still don’t have the resources you need for that card you want? You can always Reserve a card. This way you can hold onto it and pay for it on a later turn, Splendor style. The reserved card must come from a full row and each player can hold one reserved card at a time.
Smuggling is an action that is unlocked as soon as a Development card with a Smuggle action on it enters play. When you choose to smuggle you can activate any two Smuggle cards in play. These can be yours, face up cards in the market, or in an opponent’s tableau. If you use an opponent’s Smuggle card you have to give them one energy. Smuggling can be a great way to gain and sell goods without having to worry about the current market value.
Don’t like the cards on display? Take the Refresh Action to wipe a full row and replace it with new cards. While this is not an action we see people take often, it can be very useful if you are looking for a specific planet type, resource, or brand of Development.
There’s one other option open to players in Star Tycoon, one that doesn’t cost you one of your actions, and that is to take out a loan. This gets you five energy but you have to pay back one energy each production phase or the bank confiscates your Omniforge production for the round. You can pay back a loan at any time by paying five energy or if you can afford to take the hit, keep it for a loss of five points at the end of the game. You can even take out more than one loan but have to pay the interest for each one you have and each loan you still have at the end of the game is worth negative five points.
After all, what’s an economic game without the ability to bury yourself in debt?
At the end of each round, after each player has taken three sets of three actions, there is a discard phase. Players must discard down to seven or less resource tokens and for each token discarded the market value drops by one. At the end of the fourth round players add up their scores and the player with the highest score wins.
While all of this is going on players need to remember that each of their corporation gives them a special powerful rule breaking ability. When you first read these they seem rather powerful, until you realize that they are all equally powerful. They include things like being able to buy from non-full rows, being able to run anyone’s Omniforge not just your own, getting a free reserve action each turn, and more.
Star Tycoon also includes a solo mode. A solo game spans over three plays with each game having a unique victory condition based on your starting Omniforge’s number. If you win a game, you start the next game with a new homeworld, Omniforge and Corporation and will end up with a new goal. You need to win three games in a row to win the solo game. If you lose any of the three games you need to start over and try again.
Finally there are optional rules to allow trading and negotiation between players during the game. I personally found that the game really opened up when using this and recommend you include these rules after your first couple of plays. However, if your group doesn’t like open trading, the game does still play great without it.
Star Tycoon is one of the best economic games I’ve played
Despite what that game overview may lead you to think, Star Tycoon is a is a very smooth and elegant engine builder with a strong economic element. It’s oddly thematic with its tongue in cheek look at capitalism. You are not playing the good guys here and I adore things like the fact you can reach out to brands for sponsorship.
That theme and the way the actions work leads to a very logical gameplay flow that just makes sense once you see it in action. This game has a great flow, which I find is pretty rare in economic games.
One of the things this is most evident and a big highlight for Star Tycoon is it’s elegant and easy to use market. When we were first learning this game I expected the market to be a major part of the game, and while it’s important, and does impact the game, it’s not the big thing I thought it would be. I was worried we were getting a new Planet Steam, but instead ended up with something more on the level of Exchange, and that’s a good thing to me.
Another aspect I really appreciate in Star Tycoon is the design work that went into the components, art and graphic design. The iconography is clear and everything is also colour coded. What I like even more is that the various types of commodities are differentiated by shape. You can clearly tell the difference between energy, resources, and illicit goods. The iconography on the cards matches this making it clear when a card is referencing resources, or energy.
I will say, that my usual card game complaint stands: the iconography could be bigger. A lot of space is wasted on art and flare. This is mostly a problem in regards to card cost, which you need to be able to see across the table. The cost is, unfortunately, the smallest set of icons on the cards.
One aspect of Star Tycoon that may turn some players off, is the fact there are some rather “mean” cards. Most of these are cards you can purchase with illicit goods that let you steal resources from other players. In addition this is a game where people will draft the cards you want and will change the value of goods just before you go to market. While this does lead to a large amount of player interaction, people who don’t like negative interactions may be turned off by this aspect.
Another potential problem with Star Tycoon can be AP or analysis paralysis. When looking to purchase a card you have a market of twelve cards in play (three planets and nine developments at three different levels), that’s a lot of options. Then there’s opportunity to reach out to brands. You also have the ability to wipe any of these rows before purchasing a card and the ability to reserve a card.
Plus there’s the fact that things can change a lot between turns. Even with three players both the card and resource market can change significantly, making it hard to plan head. Add this to the fact that getting the right resources can be hard, figuring out how to be able to afford what you want becomes a puzzle and sometimes that takes time to figure out.
That said, the same puzzle aspect that causes the AP is a bit part of what I enjoy most about this game. It’s that same feeling I get from playing Lost Ruins of Arnak. I love figuring out how to eek out just enough resources to buy that perfect Development, figuring out what resources sell at the end of one turn so you can buy that big thing next turn, or being able to purchase a Planet and completely fill it with matching Developments in one turn. This is what keeps me coming back for more.
Another aspect of Star Tycoon I really appreciate is the variability and replayability. There are six starting Planets, twelve Corporations, six Omniforges, and six different end game bonus tiles. That alone is enough to make sure each game is different. Along with that you also have the event deck and the fact that the Planets and Developments come from randomized decks of cards.
All of this leads to every game we’ve played of Star Tycoon feeling different. One game there’s a race for Planets, next it’s everyone reaching out to Brands early, then there’s the tight game where it seems no one has enough resources and the market is running high.
Overall, we are all really digging Star Tycoon. At this point I consider this game a true hidden gem as I don’t hear or see anyone else really talking about it. It’s been a big hit with family, friends and the local gamers who have tried it at our events. I know a wide range of hobby gamers with different skill and experience levels have been enjoying this game.
This is a game that gives you a bit of the feel of a bigger engine builder and economic game while being approachable enough I can see considering it as a next step to Splendor or even Catan. It’s also a great game for sci-fi fans who aren’t interested in trading cattle or sheep.
If you like tableau building card games you need to check out Star Tycoon and the same goes for engine building fans. This is a very tight game that has a strong puzzle feel, where you are to trying to get the most of what you can with limited resources. It also gives a good feeling of growth round after round as you build your resource engine.
Stock market game fans should also check out Star Tycoon. While the market here is simpler than many heavy economic games, playing the market can be key to victory. While you aren’t going to need your calculator this will fill that buy low sell high itch.
The only people I think should be wary of this game are people who don’t like negative player interactions, including take that actions and hate drafting. This game can get quite nasty, and once you open it up to open negotiation there’s almost certainly going to be someone who will take advantage of the no deals are binding rule.
FAQs
How big an impact does the market have on Star Tycoon
Star Tycoon is more of a card driven tableau building, engine builder than it is an economic simulation. While you will need to play the market to get the resources you need to build what you want, this is not a stock trading game. The market is more of a tool to use and market fluctuations tend to impact all players giving no single player a huge advantage. You can’t win just by buying and selling, you need to be building your tableau.
What other games is Star Tycoon like?
The tableau and engine building in Star Tycoon reminds me most of Splendor. You gather resources to buy cards that give you more resources to buy better cards, eventually letting you buy high value cards to really up your score.
The market is dead simple, buy something it’s value goes up, sell and it goes down and it reminds me a bit of Exchange in its simplicity. I’m also reminded a bit of Clans of Caledonia‘s market.
How much math is there in Star Tycoon?
Despite being an economic game, Star Tycoon is not a game where you should need to pull out a calculator. The math is basic stuff. Most of the time you are just multiplying the number you have of a resource by it’s current value to figure out how much you have to spend to buy it or how much you get if you sell it. Even with that the highest possible value transaction is four to one.
I have to give a shout out to Good Games Publishing for showing us another hit game. It’s been a while since we’ve talked about them, but, so far, we haven’t played a bad game from them. Be sure to check out our Unfair, Guild Master, or Land vs Sea reviews to learn more about their games.
Due to consistently publishing great looking, thematic and mechanically engaging games Good Games Publishing has become one of our favourite publishers. Do you have a publisher you trust to put out games you know you will enjoy? Is there a company out there where you will try any of their games even without knowing anything more than who published it?
We want to know who that is for you! Leave a comment below!
- Rule the Galaxy as a Tycoon: Step into the shoes of an interstellar business mogul in Star Tycoon! Build your empire, outsmart your rivals, and dominate the cosmos.
- Strategic Planet Development: Strategize your way to victory by claiming sets of planets and enhancing them with production facilities and other buildings. Every decision shapes your destiny in the vastness of space.
- Navigate the Galactic Exchange: Master the art of supply and demand in the Galactic Exchange, where fortunes rise and fall. Timing is everything – seize opportunities to buy low and sell high to maximize profits.
