In Space, no one can hear you purr… yeah it doesn’t have the same ring to it. However, in board game terms it is the ringing endorsement of the quest by Felines to conquer space. The premise? Well humans are gone. Vanished due to an unexplained illness, war or maybe wiped out by these purring beauties. The cat empire now has its sights set on the solar system and beyond!
MLEM SPACE AGENCY
Age 8+ / Players 2-5 (best 4)/ Time 45 mins tops
In this family board game your objective is clear. Take your ship to the furthest reaches of space. Each player has a board with a colour representing cat astronaut. These have 6 tokens and they sit in a rocket ship about to go to the stars! One player starts and has 6 dice to roll to match up that specific spaces required dice roll. Roll a number its discarded (unless you have no dice and then you get one no matter what!). Roll a rocket flare and you are able to roll that again! If you fail to roll the right numbers, its rocket destroyed and over with. Taking the helm of a rocket, you are trying to get as far away as possible. Once you get to a point that you are happy with, jump off the rocket and score for the place! Trust your cat instincts or some of the help that your token offers, like always roll a 1, bail out even if the ship crashes or step off a ship one above or below the space! and bail out before things go up in flames. There are awards for those who land on the most planets, moons or get the furthest. Add to this expansions that add hours of fun for all…
REVIEW
Reiner Knizia and Joanna Rzepecka are board game names. That’s my way of saying they are known and they are trusted in what they do. Seeing the reviews of this online and the BGG rating, you can see that there is a sense that this is a game not of their best or most worthy. I disagree, as did the team. MLEM is a family game. It is a game of Pushing your luck certainly (I love the expression, push your luck. Its so tinged with excitement) but also familial joy. What I really enjoyed with MLEM was that it translated this into an ability for the game to be ‘ramped up’ if needed. So a sense of simplicity and adventure for children, translates to a layered range of game play. Some might feel it is to diluted by the art work and easy introduction, but it is there that the game should be applauded. This is because it is MLEM hook. It covers enough of an age, complexity and entertainment range that players dig in and player. The game has width, thanks to its extra components, delivers thrills and in the end is a real treat for gamers.