In the expansion review series, we take a look at a game expansion to discuss whether it is a necessary purchase/addition to one’s collection.
This review is a breakdown of the Beyond the Black expansion for Tiny Epic Galaxies. Beyond the Black introduces several new components to the game: Pilot cards, Hangars, and Exploration cards. To set up for a game with the expansion, things are done as normal with a few additions. The deck of Pilot cards is shuffled, and a market is created above the row of Planet cards. Each player receives a Hangar mat with 4 Advanced Ships, and the Exploration cards are shuffled and placed face-down on the Exploration mat. A handful of new Planet and Secret Mission cards are included in this expansion, and are shuffled into their respective decks. Pictured below are some of the expansion components.
The gameplay with the Beyond the Black expansion is essentially identical to that of the base game, with two new action options. On your turn, when you have rolled your dice, you have the option to Hire Pilots. These Pilots will take control of an Advanced Ship from your Hangar mat, and will provide special and powerful abilities in the game. In order to Hire a Pilot, you must pay the dice cost for the specific type of Advanced Ship for which you are hiring. Take the Pilot card and place it on your Hangar mat, on the corresponding Advanced Ship. You then replace one of your normal ships with the new Advanced Ship, to be used throughout the rest of the game. Not all Pilots can control every ship, so you have to strategize on which Pilots to hire.
The other new action option is Exploration. On your turn, when you roll a “Move a Ship” action, you may move a ship to the Exploration mat. Exploring uncharted space could result in helpful discoveries (gaining resources) or dangerous consequences (usually losing resources). Once on the Exploration mat, you have the option to take any face-up card from the Exploration row, if there are any, or you have the option to reveal the top card of the Exploration deck. If you reveal the top card and it is a green Discovery card, you may choose to take it and reap the rewards, or you can choose to push your luck and draw another card hoping for something better. If you draw a red Danger card, you must immediately take it and suffer the consequences, thus ending your turn. The Exploration row can only ever have 3 face-up cards at a time, so knowing when to push your luck or when to take a safe card is key.
The game continues in the normal fashion, with these additional actions, until a player has earned 21 or more VP. Along with the base game VP, the expansion allows players to earn VP for hired Pilots and Exploration cards. When the game end is triggered, players will then score their Secret Mission cards and VP earned from Exploration cards, and the player with the highest total is declared the winner!
Official recommendation: If you’ve read our review of Tiny Epic Galaxies, and it’s newest iteration, Tiny Epic Galaxies Blast Off!, then you’ll know that we absolutely love this game. The gameplay is excellent, the theming is on point, and the mechanics are engaging. That being said, is the Beyond the Black expansion necessary? If you, like us, are serious fans of the base game, I would say yes. This expansion builds upon the great elements of the base game, and provides even more opportunities for strategy in your gameplay. Should you hire this Pilot now, and for which Advanced Ship? You’re allowed to replace Pilots in future turns, but what if you replace someone and then regret it? How far are you willing to push your luck to Explore uncharted space? The benefits are nice, but the consequences can be brutal. The gameplay is elevated by the inclusion of these new elements, and is not bogged down by unnecessary additions. When first introducing this game to people, I would probably just use the base game to build an understanding of the gameplay. But beyond that (see what I did there?), I would highly recommend grabbing a copy of the Beyond the Black expansion to include in your future plays of this awesome little space game.
