Gather your crew of entrepreneurial explorers and blast off to find adventure, mayhem, and profit!
What Is Wandering Galaxy?
Wandering Galaxy is a cooperative adventure game for 1 to 6 players, ages 14 and up, and takes about 60 to 180 minutes per play session. It’s designed by Jerry Hawthorne and published by Plaid Hat Games, with illustrations by Elias Stern, and is currently seeking funding on Kickstarter.
New to Kickstarter? Check out our crowdfunding primer.
Wandering Galaxy Components
My review is based on a copy that I played with the publisher at the Origins Game Fair. Because of that, I do not have a complete list of the components or the rules; however, Wandering Galaxy comes with a whole bunch of stuff in its cargo hold.
- 1 Rulebook
- 1 Location Book
- 10 Character Standees
- 1 Ship Standee
- Character Sheets
- Character Decks
- 1 Engineering Board
- 1 Science Board
- 1 Security Board
- 1 Logistics Board
- 1 Navigator Board
- 1 Operation Board
- 1 Token Bag
- Lots and lots of tokens
- Lots and lots of cards
As you can see from looking at the images, the artwork for this game is amazing! It immediately shouts space adventure and makes me want to grab a blaster and begin. Each character is unique in appearance and all the components are of excellent quality. There is a vibrancy to the images and maps found throughout the components, and I think the artist did an excellent job contrasting the darkness of space with bright splashes of color that really evoke the sci-fi theme. I loved the imagery so much that I chose my character based solely on appearance without reading their character sheet at all. I was already creating a story in my mind for that character before the game even began. When a game can do that, then the artwork is really doing its job well!
How to Play Wandering Galaxy
If you have played Forgotten Waters or Freelancers, also published by Plaid Hat Games, then you already have a good idea of how Wandering Galaxy plays. The biggest difference between Wandering Galaxy and the previous Crossroads games is that this one introduces deckbuilding as a mechanic, but more about that later.
The Goal
In Wandering Galaxy, the goal of the game is to earn enough profit to pay off the ship you got on loan before your threat level maxes out. Sounds simple, but it will require you to fly to the edges of space to accomplish it.
Setup
At the beginning of the campaign, each player will pick a character and then take that character’s player sheet, standee, and starting deck. I selected the diminutive, three-eyed Tremok and named him Bixby. On the back of the player sheet is a short survey that will determine the personality and backstory of your character, and might provide a starting piece of equipment. I got a cool plasma gun. No one messes with Bixby!
Additionally, distribute the various ship stations to the players. Depending on the number of players, you might need to manage multiple stations. These include Engineering where the power and hull of the ship are maintained, Science where life support is monitored and research projects are performed, Security which operates the ship’s armory and weapons systems, Logistics where the supplies are tallied and organized, Operations which manages the crew’s profit and threat levels, and, lastly, Navigation where up to three missions are tracked. Also, organize the various tokens, set up the card market, and put the required starting tokens in the token bag.
Lastly, open the app and start a campaign. If this is a new campaign, you will be prompted to select some sound preferences for your party. Note that there will also be an option to play the game without the app by using an entry log instead.
Gameplay
Wandering Galaxy is an open-world, sandbox game. The gameplay revolves around the location book, where you will make decisions that progress the storyline. Each destination provides you with various options for the crew. Some options are mandatory and at least one person will need to perform that action, while others are optional and even sometimes allow several members to partake. You only get a minute to decide where everyone wants to go, so there isn’t enough time to scrutinize each location and option. But that’s part of the fun as you quickly decide what you want your character to do, not really knowing if you are the best personnel to perform it. Once everyone has a job to do, you resolve each action on the page from top to bottom. This typically involves punching in a number code to the app, listening to the story prompts, and then making a decision and/or a skill check. For instance, the game starts you in Rustport where you need to obtain your ship by talking with Octoff, which I gladly did while the rest of the crew explored the space port.
This is where your character decks come into play. When prompted to perform a skill check you will flip over the top three cards and add up the indicated symbols for that skill check. Additionally, you can add any symbols from your gear and/or use wild tokens that you might have gained. Tell the app your total and see how successful you are. Luckily for me, Bixby’s successful sneaking skills earned him the respect of Octoff’s guard who let me in to talk with him! Sometimes, you might be required to perform group checks where everyone reveals three cards and you add up all the symbols as a team. Since deckbuilding is a core mechanic of the game, there will be opportunities to add cards to your deck while culling weaker ones. You might obtain these by visiting a market, successfully completing a mission, or some other crazy adventure. Very early on, Bixby picked up another plasma gun and was dual-wielding his way through space! In addition to improving your deck, some story points will direct you to mark off spots on your reputation track, earning you more skills or item cards as well. You might even earn a nickname or signature catchphrase. But don’t get too attached to your character though because there is a possibility that the galaxy might claim your intrepid explorer if too many scars are gained. In that case, you will retire that character and create a new one. No one is ever out of the game.
Lastly, the story will sometimes prompt you to pull tokens from the token bag. Depending on what is drawn, the result can be beneficial or detrimental to the crew and their ship. Throughout the game, you will be able to add tokens to the bag to increase your chances of a successful draw. Some tokens will be permanent, which means that even if you pull them, they go back in the back afterward, while others are only a temporary bonus and will be removed if pulled.
In addition to the location book, there is the galaxy map where you can track your current missions by placing colored circles corresponding to the mission cards on the navigation station. You use this map along with the ship standee to fly from location to location. During flight you can also manage the aforementioned ship stations. For instance, once you leave Rustport and start traveling, it will require three power to move to the next location. Whoever is manning the engineering station will decrease the power level by three and move the ship to the next spot on the galaxy map. Each station has different options for working the ship, which range from gaining more power so that you can travel farther to performing research projects or maintaining the ship’s life support system. There’s even a secret cargo hold in case you have to hide some illegal supplies. While in flight, players will choose what tasks to perform on the ship in order to keep their new hunk of junk in orbit.
While you can choose to go anywhere on the map in Wandering Galaxy, the game will provide you with leads through the use of missions. You start earning missions from the get-go. We had two by the time we left Rustport. The missions range from a simple pick up and deliver to performing a more nefarious act for someone. However, Wandering Galaxy does not tell a linear story, so don’t feel that you need to follow those initial missions. If you choose to fly in a different direction, you are bound to come upon new adventures and opportunities to pocket some space bucks. But note that you can only track three missions at any time, so manage your resources and ship accordingly because while making a name for yourself, you will also be making enemies, depending on your decisions throughout the game.
Game End
For my demo, I played through the first location of Rustport and then we flew through the stars to the Scion Nebula, where one of our missions was located. That is where we stopped, but that little bit of play was exhilarating. As you can see from the image below, some locations include mini-maps that you have to navigate in order to reach your goal. The game continues with you wandering through the galaxy and chasing down missions until you have enough profit to pay off your ship… or your threat level reaches its max and your past catches up to you!
Why You Should Play Wandering Galaxy
I am a fan of Plaid Hat Games and what they do. I was happy for them when they regained their independence from Asmodee several years ago. I enjoy the personalities of the company and am a regular listener of their podcast. I have also played a fair amount of their games and enjoy the themes, goofiness, and fun that they inject into each product. Wandering Galaxy continues that tradition with excellent storytelling, a fun adventure, and a well-produced game. If you have already played Forgotten Waters or Freelancers and enjoyed those, then you won’t go wrong with Wandering Galaxy. Having now tried all three of these games, Wandering Galaxy is my favorite of the three, although I would happily sit down to play any of them. For me, the deckbuilding mechanic makes Wandering Galaxy stand out above the rest. I really like how it allows you to customize your character by focusing on building your deck around cards with specific symbols or actions. I also like the bag-building mechanic as well. Together, these give you a strong feeling of control and mitigation over the story while still allowing for randomness and mayhem to ensue.
As previously mentioned, Wandering Galaxy uses an app; however, there will be an entry log option that you can use instead. I would strongly encourage anyone to use the app though. Plaid Hat Games has created a wonderful app using professional voice actors and sound effects, and it’s injected with Plaid Hat’s unique sense of humor. The app truly immerses you in the game, bringing to life the personalities of the NPCs and the atmosphere of the game. Wandering Galaxy is about the story and adventure above all else. It’s not about min/maxing your character and succeeding on every skill check. Failures will introduce funny results and new storylines that you might not have expected. While the entry log will suffice, I truly think that you will be missing out on part of the experience. The app also opens up opportunities for additional scenarios to be introduced in the future, allowing for more replayability.
Wandering Galaxy also introduces a solo mode where your character gets sidekicks so that you have enough ship personnel to place on multiple location book actions. As a busy dad, I always appreciate when a game incorporates a solid solo mode so that I can experience and enjoy it by myself if I want. That being said, I do think that Wandering Galaxy plays best with a group. The fun of the story and randomness generated by individual decisions around the table is what is at the heart of the game. Wandering Galaxy is a social experience at its best where the highs and lows of the adventure are shared with a crew of people.
One last thing that I would like to point out is that this is Plaid Hat Games’ first crowdfunding campaign, and if you are interested in learning more about why they are taking this game to Kickstarter, you can check out this conversation by the company’s owner, Colby Dauch.
I hope you take a chance on Wandering Galaxy and find your own adventure among the stars. I know that I will!
For more information or to make a pledge, visit the Wandering Galaxy Kickstarter page!
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