Galaxy Trucker
Galaxy Trucker is an old classic, which has just been re-released, designed by the legendary board game designer Vlaada Chvatil. You are a cosmic haulage expert looking to make big bucks before the universe destroys your ship.
Galaxy Trucker: Quick Summary
Score:
6/10
Number of Players:
2-4
Time to Play:
45 minutes
Fun when there are four of you playing, the star of this game is the ship-building phase, but when playing with two people, the experience falls flat and leaves you wanting more.
What we loved:
Time-pressured spaceship building is awesome, chaotic nonsense that we absolutely loved
There is a seam of humour throughout the game
It can be fun if played with the right crowd
It's a great game for interactivity with other players
What could be improved:
Despite numerous plays over the years, this game just doesn't work in two player
The game is very dependent on the cards dealt for a fun experience
Once the ship is built, the game feels very reactive rather than proactive for players.
Galaxy Trucker - The Review
In Galaxy Trucker, players take the role of space haulage contractors, taking their ramshackle cargo spaceship across the galaxy, picking up resources, dodging pirates and aliens and hoping that their ship will hold together just long enough to make it back to base - all so they can finally earn some moolah!
How to play Galaxy Trucker
Galaxy Trucker has two phases. In the first, players must build their spaceships from a collective pile of parts, one-handed, before the egg timer runs out. Each part must connect properly to the other sections of the ship, and players are trying to get as many lasers, engines, cargo bays, shields and crew compartments as possible while making sure their ship is spacetight.
This is easily the most fun part of the game, manically grabbing ship parts, flipping them over and then cursing because you wanted an engine but you've got yet another laser is great. Each time is different too, and the ships you build are usually heath-robinsonesque shells that won't withstand the first meteor!
Heading out into space
Once players have built their ship, it's time to travel the galaxy - in turns, players draw cards and then react to the situations they unveil. This could be an asteroid or meteor strike and the ships lasers or shields need to provide protection otherwise ship components will start spinning away. The players may face pirates or aliens and their ship will be robbed and shot apart. Or players may actually find a planet or hulk containing resources that can be looted for money at the end of the game.
This is a very reactive phase, and by the time the players complete the final round, they will be lucky to have a ship, cargo and in many cases crew. Whoever has the most money at the end of the game, wins.
The pros and cons in detail
What we loved:
Easily the best part of Galaxy Trucker is trying to build the best spaceship you can, one handed. It's a riotous part of the game, especially if there are a few players trying to build at once. Sometimes it's fun to forget the egg timer and just enjoy building a spaceship - but this then has ramifications for the second phase of the game. The beauty of this phase is trying to get the right part before the other players do, there are strict rules about how components must fit together, which is easy to understand from the instructions. At the end of the time, you usually end up building and absolutely awful space truck - which is in keeping with the whole vibe of the game.
That humour and vibe is another great feature of this game. The instructions are funny to read, the cards describe funny situations and the game overall has a great sense of humour. With the right amount of people, Galaxy Trucker can be a bit of a riot. The level of interaction, especially when building the ship, or watching the ships explode apart, is very good.
What we would improve:
If there are two of you, or if the players you're with are a little sensitive, then moving through the galaxy and taking a beating (most of the cards involve damage in some way), can fall flat and suck the fun out of the game. With two people, usually everyone takes damage every time, which can just mean you're turning over cards and removing bits over and over again, which actually gets boring.
The humour in the game is great, but once you've played it once, you're going to see pretty much the same cards appearing every time and so the jokes get old. Taking the game out once a year means it might retain its comedy value, but after a few plays, it will being to feel very samey.
Most board games work because players can develop a strategy and then proactively change their circumstances in the game. Galaxy Trucker removes that completely, so all of your actions are reactive to the cards that are turned over. This means by the time you get to the end, you feel a little helpless, and not in a funny way. It's an OK time, but not a good time and not a long time!
Galaxy Trucker: A Summary
The first time you play Galaxy Trucker, you will laugh, and love building your ship, and it will feel like a riot, but then the humour becomes stale, the reactivity becomes boring, and you'll be left wanting more. Play this game with more than two players, play it until it's no longer fun and then move on. It's a good game, but perhaps not one that will avoid the clear-out when that inevitably happens.
Expansions and Related Games
Expansions
There are a few expansions available for Galaxy Trucker. Galaxy Trucker: Keep on Trucking, adds new ships, and a "Rough Roads" set of cards that give players more challenges to struggle against. In Galaxy Trucker: Do What? Players can embark on new missions, escort aliens or add extra difficulty with "super cards"
Related Games
Other games from Vlaada Chvatil include the wildly successful party game series Codenames. The alien strategy game SETI: Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence has been extremely popular and scores highly on BoardGameGeek.
Other Games You May Like
Galaxy Trucker: Frequently Asked Questions
Does Galaxy Trucker have longevity?
It's fun, and the first few times you'll play Galaxy Trucker, it will be funny, but over time, without the expansions, it becomes stale and lacks the replayability of other better games.
Is Galaxy Trucker a good solo game?
Galaxy Trucker would make a good solo game. Although the chaos of building a ship with other people would be lost, the second phase travelling across the galaxy would be easy to complete with one person. However, it would mean all damage would hit your ship at maximum level, which could feel a little punishing.
What age would Galaxy Trucker appeal to?
Galaxy Trucker would be great for kids. There are some small pieces, but children over 8 would really dig the humour and the chaotic world-building. Note, however, that children sensitive to having their toys broken will not react well to seeing their beloved ship smashed apart by asteroids!
Transparency Notice
This review contains affiliate links to Amazon, Zatu Games, and Chaos Cards. When you purchase through these links, we earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. This helps support our independent reviews while keeping our content free. We only recommend games we genuinely believe in.