A new board game releasing in 2025 looks like the ultimate grab for science geeks. Crafting the Cosmos comes from the minds of David Gordon (co-designer of Finspan) and fellow tabletop creative TAM. In this strategy game, you’ll play as “interstellar architects” in charge of designing their own universe and populating it with life.
Many of the best board games come with a space theme, so Crafting the Cosmos already has a captive audience waiting. It’s not clear exactly when this title will be released, however – BoardGameGeek lists its launch day as March 21, but most retail sites still have it up for pre-order.
Designed for two to four players, this strategy board game promises around one to two hours of gameplay. Each round, you’ll take turns completing two distinct phases.
First comes the energy phase, where you shift energy tokens around a central board to gain the most useful resources possible. You’ll then need to spend as many of these as you can in your craft phase to build a galaxy teeming with life.
The goal is to place Nebulas on your personal player board, then surround them with the right mix of stars (helium, carbon, or oxygen) to make that Nebula ‘complete’. You can later surround a finished Nebula with Proto Life and/or Stable Life, which helps you create Advanced Life (a serious point-scorer, but only if you’re quick). It’s possible to spend your turn moving stars around the player board, converting Proto Life into Stable Life, or playing energy cards to unlock extra actions and perks.
Resource management is top priority when constructing a universe, and this fact is reinforced by the shared End Phase all players perform after finishing their turns. Here goal cards are drawn that reward points to players with large stocks of a particular resource, Nebulas with a particular quality, or the most stars in a particular corner of their player board.
There’s a huge number of these resources to consider, but early playthroughs on BoardGameArena suggest that this board game is far simpler than it sounds on paper. BoardGameGeek currently gives Crafting the Cosmos a complexity rating of 2.5 out of 5.
User reviews suggest the game is fairly approachable, with unique resource selection mechanics and plenty of engaging tactical decisions. Some lament that the theme is not very well-married to the mechanics, and there are some concerns that the game’s components – while delightfully tactile-looking – could cause plenty of fiddliness.
For more tabletop suggestions, be sure to check out our guide to the best couples’ board games. If you follow us on Google News, we’ll also make sure you’re up-to-date on all the latest board game announcements.
Source: Wargamer
