Starlight Stage - Shining Star: Review

Starlight Stage - Shining Star: Review

Information:

Mechanics: Deck Builder, Variable Player Powers, Hand Management
Player Age: 10+ 

Player Count: 3 - 4 Players

Time to Play: 30 - 60 Minutes 
Game Designer: Hironatsu Yamada

Publisher: Japanime Games

Year Published: 2018

BGG Weight: 2.5
Disclaimer: A review copy for the game was provided by the publisher.

Objective:

Today we are looking at the Shining Star expansion for Starlight Stage. This expansion adds 60 more cards, with a mixture of each type, to help keep the game fresh and add in more interesting choices.

New Player:

First and foremost, this expansion increases the player count to five players helping the game have a wider player range.

New Fame Cards:

There are new fame cards that, when purchased, will have more interactions with other players. These include stealing tokens, ending the round early or taking the first player marker. Additionally, there are new fame cards that will refresh the revealed cards that belong to a particular deck. This helps to keep the drafting possibilities open and helps to block other players from obtaining certain cards.

New Idols:

In the original game you could gain tokens when certain idols were played. This expansion increases this kind of possibility by having idols that gain events, multiple tokens as opposed to one, and taking tokens from other players.

There are also new idols that  help players gain fame cards by being  played simultaneously with another idol, however this will shorten your round. This differs to the base game where you could only play one idol at a time to gain fame.

New Event Cards:

There are some event cards that, when revealed, will draw another card from the same deck or a different deck. This helps to increase the drafting options at a faster rate.

There are also events with the cost being two of the same talent (this cost did not occur in the base game) and will give you an achievement that matches the talent spent. Additionally, they will also give you a talent token of one of the other two talents to help you reach a greater idol or glorious fame.

New Opportunities to Manipulate Your Idols:

There are now several new ways to manipulate how long you last during a round. In the original game there was only one event card that allowed you to get more starting idols (more than the original three). Now there are numerous ways to extend your round using idols that return to your hand instead of your discard pile when they are reinvented. There are also fame cards that allow you to recruit a new starting idol and a card that allows you to return a used idol to your hand. Lastly, there is a new idol that when played, allows you to return a discarded idol to your hand.

Final Thoughts:

Pros:
- More engaging and advanced cards.
- Greater player range.
- More opportunities to manipulate the length of each round.

Cons:
- Still no way to play two players.

This expansion is a must if you enjoy the original 'Starlight Stage'. The base game did not have too many advanced cards as it allowed players to learn the mechanisms. However, once you know the mechanisms, I recommend adding this expansion to the game as it adds much more strategy in manipulating the drafting possibilities and extending the length of your round.

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