Review: Lift Off

The box

Lift Off

Players: 2-4

Publisher: Queen Games

Year: 2000

Action games are centered around action during the gameplay. Strategy games are all about the plan that the players have. This German game combines these two aspects. Let’s see how these two elements play out.

Several cards

The gameplay revolves around preparing missions for the colonization of several players. First there is the ‘preparing’ phase and then the ‘settling’ phase. Five in the case of two or four players or six in the case of three players. Players play their cards simultaneously in a certain order. Blue cards must be played first, these are preparations for the mission. Then a yellow lift off card needs to be played, which launches the space ship. Finally, the red cards can be played, which are the results of the preparations. Players draw a card and assign these facedown to one of the five/six planets or discard them by putting them aside and not using them again or placing them at the bottom of their deck. Then they draw a new card and assign this to a certain planet or discard it. This continues until a players deck runs out and everyone quits playing. The game moves on to the second phase, where the missions take off and points can be scored. Planets give various points when they are colonized or mined.

Three player set-up

 Some of the planets that can be contested

Here the order of cards is important, as illegal cards are removed from play. For instance, playing a red card before the yellow lift off card, where only blue cards are allowed, removes that red card. Colonization attempts on planets that have no yellow lift off card are immediately invalid, and thus no points can be scored. Points can be won, either by colonizing a certain planet or by resources from it. Then all cards are shuffled again and a new round is played. The scores carry over and after three rounds, a person with the most points is declared winner.

However, that’s not all, as certain cards allow special abilities. There’s a red card that allows you to steal a blue card from the opponent, while there is also a blue card that specifically prevents beforementioned red card stealing from you.

What I like about this game is that there’s a certain tension. Do you play as fast as possible, denying your opponents the chance to plan out their turn accordingly and have the benefit of forcing them to quit preparing, even though they might have several cards left. Or do you plan properly and accept the risk that you can’t play all your cards? Putting your cards back on the bottom of your deck means they come back later, but do you really want this? Do you focus on all the planets or is there a specific one or two where you need to win? It’s refreshingly complex and plays fast.

The bottom half  of the box sliding into the top part

It’s a bit strange that only two score cards are supplied, while the game can be played with four players. The box also is much bigger than necessary and the bottom half tends to slide into the top part. These are not huge detractions, but they feel a bit weird. Also, there’s a huge benefit if you are the first to have finished your deck. While it’s understandable, it may yield to someone basically throwing their cards down one after another and then hoping they have won.

The verdict? This game is fast and enjoyable. It’s complex and there’s a certain amount of strategy, but it’s not overly complex. It’s a welcome addition to every collection, but not a necessity.