SETI: Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, one of last year’s most popular board games, is getting its debut expansion. Publisher Czech Games revealed the Space Agencies expansion on April 30, and it will reportedly be available at Spiel Essen in October.
SETI is a eurogame-style strategy board game where one to four players search for life beyond Earth. It’s a balancing act where you must regularly update your equipment on Earth so that you can make the most efficient and valuable discoveries out in space.
You’ll spy signs through your telescope and send probes to survey and collect samples from distant planets and moons. SETI‘s many cards can be used to specialize your research too, netting you additional bonuses. Whoever can make the biggest scientific discoveries will find themselves on the path to victory.
SETI has been a constant talking point in online forums since release, and it’s currently nominated in four categories for the 2024 Golden Geek Awards. Fellow space board game Arcs is up for five awards, so SETI might not be the most out-of-this-world title of last year, but it’s certainly one of the best board games of recent months.
SETI: Space Agencies apparently allows you to “re-think your approach to the search for alien life with new asymmetric organizations”. Czech Games says in a BoardGameGeek forum post that each organization offers unique abilities and starting conditions that “reshape the game experience”.
“Encounter three new alien species, each with their own unique twists, and add over 40 new project cards that seamlessly integrate into the main deck”, Czech Games adds. “Quick Start cards, designed for use with the organizations, let you skip the slower opening round and dive straight into the action. Plus, the new Signal Tokens offer fresh options to enhance your scanning strategy.”
After its Essen debut, the Space Agencies expansion will apparently hit retail sometime in Q4 2025. If you can’t wait til then, here are some space board games and couples’ board games to tide you over. You can also share your hype with other tabletop fans in the Wargamer Discord.
Source: Wargamer
