Robert Austin 'Sol: Last Days Of A Star' Review
Outer space. There is, for what we know, quite a large amount of it. Humankind’s fascination with space more than likely started as soon as the first human looked up to the night sky. An understanding of what each bright speckle was in relation to man may not have come for hundreds of years after, but we sure have not stopped thinking about it since. It sparked an untapped corner of our imagination, creating endless interpretations of what lies beyond planet Earth. In turn, an unknown place so vast is bound to have countless board games modelled upon it, and I am in love with them. I love space themed games. Sol: The Last Days Of A Star is merely one of such games, but it sits near the top of my list.
Sol: The Last Days Of A Star is the first game from Elephant Laboratories, created by brothers Ryan and Sean Spangler. It was successfully funded via Kickstarter in June of 2016 and was released in August of 2017. With double their funding goal met, they were able to create a truly visually stunning game. Its art style is simple yet eye catching, making use of cosmic blackness disrupted by solid colors and the intrusion of a large star on the verge of supernova. Oh, yeah. Did I mention the game is about a sun exploding?
Civilizations have orbited Sol on utopian planets for hundreds of years, harvesting its great power to sustain each society. Finally, the sun has had enough, and, on the brink of being destroyed in the aftermath, these worlds have built arks to propel their peoples away from the ticking time bomb. The catch? The only way to power them is by harvesting more energy from Sol, accelerating its inevitable demise. To do so, players litter the sun with beautifully designed plastic tokens representing different structures or stations. These stations are built and utilized by launching small craft known as sundivers. Sundivers are capable of flying around spaces on the board and are really the main resource in that you need them to do anything productive. Arranging sundivers in specific patterns around the board allows them to be recycled into structures which can then be activated by other sundivers. Activating different stations allows a player to produce energy, transmit that energy to fuel one’s ark, or build more sundivers. One can also build solar gates which allow movement throughout the layers of the game board.
The ships are jettisoned from each player’s mothership. The mothership is a players home base, so to speak, and is unique in the fact that it is constantly moving at the end of each turn. These large ships continuously orbit Sol, meaning one has to take into account potentially being several spaces away from any structures built. Luckily, one is able to exploit another’s structures for a small fee, of course. Generally, the structure’s owner has a chance for a kickback, depending on whether or not the owner can spend the appropriate resources, or if he even wants to. The activating player may take this bonus if the structures owner declines. Using other’s stations and gates is almost vital to successfully navigating the large star.
The ships are jettisoned from each player’s mothership. The mothership is a players home base, so to speak, and is unique in the fact that it is constantly moving at the end of each turn. These large ships continuously orbit Sol, meaning one has to take into account potentially being several spaces away from any structures built. Luckily, one is able to exploit another’s structures for a small fee, of course. Generally, the structure’s owner has a chance for a kickback, depending on whether or not the owner can spend the appropriate resources, or if he even wants to. The activating player may take this bonus if the structures owner declines. Using other’s stations and gates is almost vital to successfully navigating the large star.
Motherships, instability marker, and structures.
“We came here for the explosion though! Where is the explosion?!?!” Glad you brought it up. I briefly mentioned that the board is layered. Two things happen as a result of these layers. Firstly, stations activated by sundivers yield greater rewards the deeper into the star they sit. Secondly, every activation of stations seated within the inner three layers creates instability on Sol, potentially hastening the end of the game. Instability cards are drawn, generally benefiting the activator in the form of cards granting one-use abilities, which change from game to game and offer different levels of interaction with the game and other players. However, the deck is laced with solar flare cards. Each solar flare destabilizes the celestial body and spirals the instability marker down its track, ending the game upon reaching the final space. The winner of the game is whomever was able to transmit the most energy to their ark, giving it just enough distance to survive the ordeal.
Instability and solar flare cards.
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One instability effect and marker, chosen random, every game.
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Now, I know it sounds like a lot, but the game is really simple to learn and, like most games, becomes very understandable within a round or two. With only one of three actions to choose per turn, the meat of the game really lies in “what” and “when” decisions. The game truly is one of a kind though and offers a fulfilling experience every play through. All of these components make the game exciting to play time and time again. The game plays up to five people and, in addition, has solo and co-op variants, truly leaving players with whatever sort of gameplay they desire. An event of this magnitude does make for a bit of a longer game though, especially if one has to teach to new players. Once everyone has had a chance to send off some sundivers and begin orbiting their mothership though, it is a game they will not soon forget.
Along with high quality components, great visuals, excellent rules references and high replayability, the game also comes with a book SOLely…sorry…dedicated to the mythos detailing this catastrophic event. I implore anyone who is a fan of well designed games, games that require constant strategizing, or even just fantastic space themed games, to check this one out. Each supernova will leave you wanting another.
Sol: Last Days Of A Star can be purchased for $60 USD (plus shipping) direct from Elephant Laboratories.
Sol: Last Days Of A Star can be purchased for $60 USD (plus shipping) direct from Elephant Laboratories.
Robert Austin - Husband. Gamer. Musician and music lover. Car enthusiast. Spider collector.