This is a series of posts where I play 100 boardgames.
Game: Gaia Project
Designer: Jens Drögemüller & Helge Ostertag
Year: 2017
Country: Germany
Publisher: Feuerland Spiele
Gaia Project is a scifi-themed reimplementation of Terra Mystica, a game I also played recently. The players each represent a species seeking to make the galaxy livable for their people, gaiaforming (to use the game’s terminology) planets and building mines, trading stations and other infrastructure to provide resources. As a game, Gaia Project feels like Terra Mystica 2.0, pretty much the same game except better.
One interesting difference between the two games is that the theme and the gameplay seem to fit together better in Gaia Project, where the interstellar perspective suits the goal of making different types of planets livable. And of course, what type of planet is livable depends on the species you’re playing.
Gaia Project is an eurogame where you manage resources, conquer territory and build a production machine. Although there are randomized elements in the game’s setup, once the game is going on, there are no secret elements and no unpredictable events beyond those stemming from player choices. This means that it is possible to calculate your choices many moves in advance and for a player who likes doing that, this game is a treat.
The design of the playable species is asymmetric so that they have their own powers and abilities, some unlocked by building an advanced structure. Typically, the best strategy with each species is to lean into the loop provided by their unique benefits.
The game is played in six rounds during each of which the players take turns taking actions until they run out of possible moves to make. Then the next round starts, beginning with an income phase which grants more resources. Sometimes this leads to a situation where every other player has passed but one is still making action after action because they had a surfeit of resources.
Reminiscent of civilization games, there are a series of research tracks (the equivalent of Terra Mystica’s cult tracks) which give you more and more capability as you increase each of them. This is one of the game’s biggest areas of improvement compared to it’s predecessor, as the tracks are now sensible and cleanly tied to core actions.
One interesting mechanic is that if you build close to the other players’ planets, they benefit every time you build or improve. The proximity goes both ways, so if they afterwards build something on a planet that’s close to your new colony, you benefit in turn. In this way, the basic metaphors of the game tend more towards progress, development and mutual support rather than war and conflict. You can make moves to deny areas to others, but the board didn’t feel excessively crowded at least with three players.