SPACE INVADERS: THE BOARD GAME Review with Tom Vasel

Tom Vasel takes a look at a deck building game based off the SPACE INVADERS video game!

Intro: 0:00
Overview: 1:16
Final Thoughts: 7:10

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[andyrausch]

Have you played Under Falling Skies? Now THAT is Space Invaders!

[joeweber]

I have to agree. I backed this on Kickstarter and just got my copy. The game *looks* cool. They have all of the graphics and fonts to make it feel like the video game. But the game play is not that great. This will probably sit on my shelf as a decoration because the box is cool, but it is unlikely to hit the table again.

[IronSalamander]

I kickstarted this as I am of an age where this arcade game was an important part of my childhood. And later of course, on my Atari 2600, Commodore 64 and so on. It was very late, the box it came in was zero protection and while my copy of the game was in decent shape, I'm lucky apparently; on top of this, the rule book is very poorly written just as you say, and having to peel the stickers off the bunkers killed my thumb, it was highly annoying and some people are missing them. The cards are indeed a hot mess and I had to go through them methodically to make sure everything was ok.

I backed this mostly for nostalgia, not going to pretend otherwise. I'm not happy with how they've handled the campaign and the game itself just doesn't inspire. A few years ago I KSed Starcade which is a little box of cards and tokens and cheaper and faster than this and I feel it's a better game too.

I'm not pleased with what I got and I didn't even have any problems unlike a lot of the people on the Kickstarter. This is the worst campaign I've ever backed, which shows I'm pretty lucky as at least I got the game. Very disappointed in this game and I wonder if Taito is unhappy with their name being on this product. I want to reiterate that the rule book is horrible, it's that bad. Good review Tom, I would keep people from this one which is a sad thing, but needs to be said.

[MichaelB-jwpo]

I'm not sure how you mess up a Space Invaders board game. It seems like it should be simple to convert the mechanics of the video game over to a nice, simple board game. Why does it have to have all of this competitive deck building nonsense?

[RPDekka]

So glad I tapped out of the Kickstarter.

[vonwoolf]

Flipships is the Space Invader for my gaming group :-)

[mabos]

Oooo 😱😱
Tom played solo again? I just too much happy for that

[kaneklenko]

Can’t say much yet, but something may be coming soon that you’ll enjoy more.

[Calistake]

So, Under Falling Skies did Space Invaders better than Space Invaders did 👍

[psyoptic]

If you want good board games that feel like Space Invaders, play Flipships or Under Falling Skies (1 player)

[willburke]

I think this is a result of under fallen skies releasing and people saying "oh this is a board game version of space invaders." So the people with the property rights to space invaders went for a cash grab and obviously had played dominion.

[PetrVojtech]

Interested in Space Invaders board game, have a look at Bossin' Space!

[Bodyknock]

The Battle at Kemble's Cascade seems like a much better board game version of a Space Invaders style game. (It's actually more like Galaga than Space Invaders but close enough.) The board is made of rows that actually scroll down toward the bottom and you have a big boss ship that comes in at the end.

Or there's Under Falling Skies which is Space Invader-ish, shooting aliens coming down toward your base using dice management. (Between these two games I'd say Under Falling Skies is the better one, but Battle at Kemble's Cascade is decent enough. 😄 )

[soogymoogi]

I don't know who saw Space Invaders and thought the mechanics of Dominion would fit well on it... personally I see something like a flicking game or a co-op deckbuilder maybe, like an Aeon's End sort of thing but you're shooting up a wall of little guys instead of one big bad. Big miss here it sounds like.

[ntmetroid]

Think I’ll stick with Under Falling skies. That is pretty much the perfect board game implementation of space invaders

[gnobahdi]

Fortunately, I can count on one hand duds I've backed, including this one, but I really need to change the way I make my decisions to back a game. I should stop being lazy and read every rule book to get an idea of what I'm getting in to. I've only done that one or two times. Even when they offer to play it on Tabletopia, I never go to play it.

[richardviguurs]

If you want Space Invaders, better play Under Falling Skies. That's a great game!

[Feldingor]

Wait, wasn’t Space Invaders: The Board Game called Under Falling Skies? I’m confused…

[Paul-ropy]

Thanks for your honesty, . Agree with others here, Under Falling Skies is a great alternative

[Lost]

That's disappointing to hear. I backed this on kickstarter but haven't had a chance to play.