Astra Review

boardgamequest.com:

We review Astra, an area control board game published by Mindclash Games. Astra is a new lighter style game from heavy game publisher Mindclash Games.

Mindclash Games is known for its heavy Euro entries, like Anachrony and Trickerion, which are among my all-time favorite games. Recently, though, the publisher dipped its toes into lighter gaming with Astra, published under the newly created Mindclash Play sub-brand. These games are meant to offer Mindclash’s signature depth of theme and strategic play in a smaller, more accessible package. We know they can do complex games well, but how do they handle game experiences geared more towards casual gamers?

Astra is an astronomy-inspired, midweight strategy game from Mindclash Play designed by Patrik Porkoláb and Frigyes Schőberl with Eszter Krisztina Sas for 2-5 players that plays in about 45-60 minutes.

Astra’s gameplay is straightforward, making it easy to teach and get into quickly. A player turn is broken into 3 phases: the optional Ability phase, the Action phase, and the Discovery phase. Once you’ve claimed discovered constellations, you can begin your turn by using any of your unexhausted Constellation cards. These abilities will provide resources like extra Stardust and Telescopes, or they’ll allow you to perform useful special actions like marking stars or increasing your Wisdom or Pouch size.

The Action phase is where most of the gameplay occurs; you can either Observe or Rest. Observing allows you to mark stars on the available Constellation cards by spending Stardust. You generally must mark a star adjacent to the one you just marked, which usually prohibits a player from completing an entire constellation on their own in a single turn. So, you’ll need to decide where and when to strike in order to ensure that you are the one to complete a Constellation card if you really need it. Telescopes can be spent if you want to take extra Observe actions on the same turn, which opens up the door for marking stars on