I do have some gripes about the Rulebook. I do find that the printing is rather small and cluttered, and would have preferred some more spacing out between different sections of the book. However, on the plus side, it has some very good examples of gameplay broken down between 4 fictitious players to give you a better sense of how Eclipse plays out. And I do wish that there was a separate handout available detailing researchable Techs for easy access rather than having to search for the Rulebook every time you need a reference. Eclipse - 2nd Dawn for the Galaxyis a new release of 2020 and it replaces the classic 2011 versionof the game. Research – You can spend some of your science points to research one of around 40-50 different technologies. These range from upgrades to your spaceships to economy upgrades and new structures that can be built across your systems. Which brings us to… With that being said, when I first became aware of Eclipse : Second Dawn for the Galaxy a few years ago, I already had Twilight Imperium IV in my collection. However, given how long that game can be, I decided I needed a “short” 4x game to scratch the itch whenever the urge to play such a game came about without needing to commit an entire day to it. I was forced to choose between The Silver River and the 2nd version of Eclipse at the time, and in the end went for the Silver River due to the significantly lower price point and the somewhat innovative idea of fighting Space monsters. And I wasn’t disappointed in my choice in the least.

Eclipse: Second Dawn of the Galaxy vs Twilight Imperium 4E Eclipse: Second Dawn of the Galaxy vs Twilight Imperium 4E

In my wife’s own words, I can tell if a game is good if she keeps on coming downstairs to the game from her at-home job to take turns all day long. Eclipse provided such an experience for her, despite her initial misgivings. Color me surprised. This massive box of goodness is a new version of the much loved 4X game Eclipse. Starting off with a basic fleet of ships and a unique race of aliens (or the blander humans), you will forge your way across the galaxy, exploring new locations and upgrading your technology to create a unique faction. Combat is another animal altogether. Eclipse is clear with its stakes. Your ships are weak and you have to improve them. How you do it is up to you, but you need superior firepower, armor, accuracy - or all three. With the dice generally being more receptive to generating hits (with only one of the die’s six sides guaranteeing a miss), when you initiate a fight it’s because you know what’s coming. Eclipse: Second Dawn for the Galaxy is a revised and upgraded version of the Eclipse base game that debuted in 2011 that features:

Thirdly is the way combat works. A fairly simple initiative system means fast, light, but well armed ships get their shots in first and unless you have a well armoured fleet, you could be down by half your force before you even get to roll dice. That said, if you do go for the light option, you’d better hope the dice gods are smiling or you’ll simply fire everything and once the smoke clears you’ll be looking at an unscathed enemy ship just as it turns its guns on you. Travel between various sectors/hexes in this games requires warp portals between two hexes be aligned. If the symbols for warp portals do not line up, you need to find an alternate way to get to your destination. These differences in approach show even more starkly in other areas of the games. The nature of Eclipse as a structured game comes from the way it resolves its rounds, especially in stark comparison to grandpappy Imperium. Eclipse is honest with you: eight rounds and no more. Over those eight rounds, you grind for tech, control territory and participate in glorious battles to win. Twilight Imperium is far more snarky. Sure, it says, you can win by winning fights and controlling territories, but the mercurial objectives revealed slowly round after round say otherwise. Twilight Imperium has a working but inelegant storage solution, a vast improvement over the options given by other Fantasy Flight titles like Arkham Horror. Even so, setup will still take you at least 45 minutes to an hour, as you pull out the customised cardboard chits for each of the base game's 17 factions and either set up the galaxy yourself or add another stage to the game - building the galaxy in a delightful cut-throat minigame, one that sets up the galaxy as a boon for you or a bane for your friends. Twilight Imperium wants you to be champing at the bit to play, which is very distinct from Eclipse’s approach. With all that said, and taking into account the price (not cheap, but with the length of play and quality and quantity of components), if you think you have the friends to play this with then buy it. It’s a great game and will absolutely justify the price. Even if you only get it off the shelf a couple of times a year, that’ll be well worth the epic science fiction event that takes place everytime you do.

Eclipse - 2nd Dawn for the Galaxy | Lautapelit.fi Eclipse - 2nd Dawn for the Galaxy | Lautapelit.fi

Upgrade – Once you’ve researched upgrades then you can use them to improve your ships. These might be improvements to weapons, engines, shields or a number of other aspects; all of which will improve your fleet’s chances when they get to grips with the enemy. Combat, while it still uses dice to determine hits and outcomes as is traditional, nevertheless manages to offer up something new in allowing a good advantage to the Defender in battle situations. Moreover, it is especially nice that while it is more typical in other games to have players trade hits and damage at the exact same time, in Eclipse, if you manage to destroy an enemy ship first, they will never even get a chance to fire at you! Influence - You can add an influence token to a system next to one of your own. You can also remove a token from one of your systems if you think you might have overreached yourself. Because for every action you take there’s a double cost of influence and money which means that every decision you make needs to be geared towards a very clear goal. Are you going for tech? Great! Better hope that no one invades! Are you building towards a military victory? Better get those ship upgrades right or you’ll be very embarrassed when your armada collapses in the face of the enemy defence fleet. The second edition of Eclipse (now subtitled “Second Dawn For The Galaxy“) carries on from where the original left off with a narrative taking place after the events of the first edition. To this end there is a new piece on the board alongside all the different factions in the shape of the GCDS (Galactic Centre Defence System), a Death Star like space station at the very centre of the map. This doesn’t have a significant effect on gameplay but does make travel through the centre of the Galaxy a lot more hazardous than previously! The Way To EmpireThis new edition features new components and thoughtfully revised content, incorporating material from former expansions to create the best possible updated version of the game. Rules: Because the streamlined nature of the gameplay really made it addicting for us. It flows with grace through each of the 8 game rounds. And although the pacing starts the experience with little to no confrontation, by the time the end of the game comes, there is the potential for a gloriously climatic battle.