Jump Drive: Review
Introduction:
The space franchise of Rio Grande is back, this time players aren't rolling or racing through the galaxy. No this game is much faster as players are perfecting their engine to enter Jumpdrive. The game holds a similar essence to race to the galaxy but compacted into a fast paced engine builder which will only last a few rounds/turns. On a turn players will build either planets, developments or one of both. There will then be an income phase granting points and cards on every built card. First time a player reaches or exceeds 50 points the game ends and the player with the most points wins.
Game Anatomy:
The game is 90% made of cards. These cards will be either a development represented by a diamond or a planet represented by a circle. To play these cards, the cost in the top left has to be played through discarding other cards. Each card will have an amount of points and cards that will be gained during the income phase of a round. They may also contain additional benefits or card synergies. In the top left of the card there may also be military, chromosome or explore symbols.
Some cards will also synergise with other cards creating specific strategies and combos.
Developments:
If a development is played by itself in a round the cost of playing the card will be reduced by one.
Every player will start the game with a survey card on the side. This survey will award the player a military, two explore symbols and an additional card in each income phase. If the starting cards aren't creating an engine, the survey is perfect to start the player's engine and it is also cheap.
Planets:
Planets come in various colours which some effects will relate too. If a planet is played by itself, its player will gain an additional card from the deck.
Some planets have a red border. These planets don't require discarding cards to play, instead they require a military value of equal or higher value in the players tableu.
Points:
Points come in 1,5, and 10 intervals. Every income phase players will get points from any card that gives the player points in their tableu. The first player to 50 points ends the game and whichever player has the most points will win.
Setup:
- Deal every player seven cards and have every player discard two.
- Place all points tokens within reach of all players.
How to Play:
The game will last several rounds, each round will have players amplifying their engine. A round consist of each player simultaneously doing one action. Playing either a development or planet by itself and gaining that benefit, playing both a planet and development while gaining no additional benefits or lastly doing an explore action.
To do an explore action a player, places their explore token. That player will draw two cards plus any amount of explore symbols they have (there are three on this tile). They will then mix these cards with their hand. Then choose an amount of cards to discard equal to the amount of explore symbols they have (including the token). This gains the player two cards and also lets them adjust their hand, it can be quite effective when the player isn't focusing on high card drawing through the income phase.
At the end of each round players will gain the points and income (card draw) at the bottom of each card in their tableu. Each player can only hold a max of ten cards at a time.
Final Thoughts:
- Various synergies throughout the deck for varied play styles.
- Maintains the atmosphere from 'Race to the Galaxy".
Jump Drive carries across the soul of Race to the Galaxy. But, in a compact and faster package. In Jump Drive simultaneously players determine if they can play a development or planet and gain a bonus either reducing the cost by one for developments or gaining an additional card for planets. If players have enough r sources however they will play one of each card type (gaining no other benefits) or manipulate their hand by doing an explore action if they have nothing exciting to work with.
Jump Drive is a filler weight version of Race to the Galaxy that will finish in under 10 rounds (turns), in this game players are really focused on how to maximise their engines to reach the 50 points first. If you are a fan of engine optimisation games, I find that Jump Drive excels at boiling down the optimisation puzzle to its core, creating a challenging and fast puzzle that is a perfect way to scratch the itch between other games.
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