Players: 2

Time: 20min

Colony Warsis a deckbuilding game in theStar Realms serieswhich is both a standalone box set for two players (featuring an 80-card trade deck, as in the original) and an expansion for the baseStar Realmsset that allows it to be played as a four-player game.

In Colony Wars, as in Star Realms, players will start with a fleet (deck) of 10 basic ships, and can spend Trade to acquire more powerful ships and bases from a central trade row of 5 cards. This row is continuously replenished by random draws from the trade deck. Many ships and bases deal Combat damage which you can use to attack your opponent and/or destroy their bases. When you reduce your opponent’s Authority to zero, you win.

Star Realms is easy to learn, especially if youre familiar with deck-building games, but its a game that takes time to master. Each time you play, the game is filled with various strategic decision points. Should I take the best card for me or the best card for my opponent? Should I focus on taking cards of a particular faction or on taking the best card available? Should I be focusing on acquiring more Trade or more Combat? Should I attack my opponents Base or their Authority? These are just some of the many choices youll be faced with. New players neednt agonize over these choices just to play, but as they become more advanced players, they will find this depth of strategy leads to great replayability.