Cats set off to conquer space in this very fun game

What is a board game? MLEM Space Agency ?

Cats are now masters of the Earth. And they don’t intend to stop there, and are sending their best “chastronauts” to conquer new planets. But be careful that they do not cause “disasters” and cause the rocket to crash.

Accessible from 8 years old, for 2 to 5 players and games of 30 to 60 minutes, it is a game of stop or even (risk taking, “push your luck” in English) of throwing the dice, strongly influenced by chance and generating a good atmosphere around the table.

Published by Rebel Studio, MLEM Space Agency is a game by Reiner Knizia, illustrated by Joanna Rzepecka, and sold at the price of €27.95 at Philibert.

How do you play it?

The game revolves around several trips into space, in which players try to go as far as possible, and land on a moon or a planet before the rocket crashes miserably.

In each round, a chastronautof each player boards the rocket, starting with the captain of this trip. Each feline has a particular power, which can possibly be used during the journey, or bring in more points at the end of the game (being able to land one square further away, or despite the explosion of the rocket, scoring double the points ‘he is on a planet or a moon, etc.).

The journey begins from the surface of the Earth, and will last several turns, moving further and further away, and stopping either when everyone has disembarked, or when the rocket has crashed.

Each turn, the captain rolls the dice. The goal is to make at least one face required by the location where the rocket is currently located. Box 5, for example, requires at least a 1 or a 4 to be able to start from there. If he succeeds, he removes all the dice of at least one of the values ​​(all 1s or all 4s in the previous example), thus constraining the number of dice and therefore the possibilities during the next throw, and the rocket advances as many squares.

After each move, players have the opportunity to unload their chastronauts . If they’re opposite a planet, there’s room for everyone. But at the end of the game, the more cats there are, the more points you earn. On the moons, however, there is only one place: first come, first served.

THE chastronauts still in the rocket continue their journey. Until everyone has disembarked… or the rocket explodes, because no die matches the requested values. But all is not lost: the cats thus exploded return to their players, who can play them again during a next round.

The game ends as soon as a player has unloaded all his cats, or the rocket has crashed for the eleventh time, and the highest score wins.

Note that the game offers some variations of rules and equipment, to bring a little variety to your games.

Why play MLEM Space Agency?

MLEM Space Agency undeniably reminiscent of the excellent Celestia . But where in the latter we had a little control thanks to the use of cards, MLEM Space Agencygenerates significantly more atmosphere around the table thanks to (or because of, depending on your point of view) the chance introduced by the dice.

Both games use the principle of stop or go, and depending on your affinities, it is better to turn to one or the other to avoid duplicating. But if your group of players is really a fan of this mechanic, take both to vary the pleasures.

Let’s start with what’s annoying. If graphically the game is very successful, it should still be noted that the three chastronauts of the cover are a bit botched, even creepy. Especially since the addition of cats to the theme adds absolutely nothing. Simple astronauts would have been more than enough. And then, above all, why such a title, unpronounceable and incomprehensible?

But beyond these ultimately secondary considerations, it should be noted that the game is particularly successful. As long as you are not allergic to the chance of the dice. If this is the case, flee immediately, each part would be too painful for you.

But this randomness has a definite advantage: it creates atmosphere around the table. When the captain succeeds at the last minute the dice roll goes well. When we room the others who crashed miserably when we have just disembarked from the rocket. When we gently make fun of the captain who has just missed an improbable dice roll. Etc. It squeals, it laughs, it’s told, and that’s what we’re looking for in this type of game.

Especially since the rules in no way hinder this good atmosphere. They are simple and fluid, with variations offered at the end of the booklet to add a little extra complexity and a little diversity.

We also appreciate the different powers of our chastronauts, which provide a little control in all this uncertainty, and still allow you to make choices. And then, as in all games of this type, the very essence of the mechanics pushes us to our limits: we know perfectly well that we should stop, but we want to go further, we want to believe that the dice will be in our favor, we feel that this time it is the right one, the probabilities are with us… or not.

If in the first parts we might regret that the cats left in a crashed rocket come back to our base, in the end it is rather a good idea. Otherwise, the games would have been much too short, and the players would have taken fewer risks, would have disembarked earlier, and the game would ultimately have been less fun.

If you are looking for a stop game or even fun, without any hassle, and which creates a good (more or less depending on which side of chance you are on) atmosphere around the table, MLME Space Agencyis a good candidate. Beyond the cats and the incomprehensible title, the material is very cool and the theme fits perfectly. A very good game, just as much to play with family as between friends.

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