Space Movers 2201 Review

A rag tag group of spacefarers find themselves pulled into a galaxy spanning conflict. It’s a common setting, but what sets Space Movers 2201 apart is its dedication to the theme and player involvement. This cooperative game focuses on the narrative and has players zipping through space completing various objectives all while avoiding notice by authorities.

Each player takes on the role of one of seven different characters. Each character has a special ability and a specific die that they can roll when challenges come up. The players also set up an objective deck. There’s a standard deck of five objectives which directly continues the plot of the comic book included with the game. But in order to increase variety after your first play, there is also a set of randomized objectives that can be used for increased replay value.

Often, the objectives will have you going from one place on the board to another. You might need to pick up or deliver special cargo or take other specific actions as detailed by the card. To do that, you’ll need to fly efficiently. Spaceships don’t run on your hopes and dreams. Instead, you need to keep it stocked or you’ll stall out and lose the game. And keeping your ship fueled also means taking side jobs and running cargo in between completing objectives.

While a straight line from one point to the other might be the ideal method of travel, it isn’t always possible in Space Movers. You see, depending on your actions, you may attract the attention of the Universal Oversight, a corrupt galactic government that doesn’t look too kindly on your less-than-legal cargo shipping. If one gets on your tail, you’ll be hunted down and could land yourself some time in intensive questioning.

Space Movers has all the hallmarks of a good cooperative game. These include randomized events, challenges that accumulate from round to round, and many more ways to lose the game than win it. But those are rather standard in the genre; this title contains a unique twist that really emphasizes teamwork.

That interesting aspect of the game is the way skill checks work. Whenever you need to accomplish a task, the game will have you roll a number of ten-sided dice. But rather than shaking them up and rolling them together, you shoot just one at a time. Why? Because you don’t check for success until all dice are rolled. So if you roll a 2, maybe you throw your next die right at it and try to bump it over to a 7. In fact, even after all dice are rolled, you can throw a blank six-sided die to try to bump any final failures.

Think of it like trying to start the hyperdrive, it starts sputtering, and then you smack the panels to get it to finally boot up and start going. That’s how space equipment works, right?

Best of all, the skill checks aren’t merely rolled by the player whose turn it is. Instead, different players are assigned different skills and they roll whenever those skills are used. This is a fantastic innovation – especially for a cooperative game. Each time a check is called for, several players get to gather and participate. This keeps everyone involved and makes for an interesting and exciting experience with each check.

Space Movers does a great job of giving players “ownership” over the outcome of the play. In some cooperative titles, one or two players might space out or let more experienced gamers direct them. But in this title, that’s less of an issue. After all, only they can roll the yellow die and succeed! Keeping everyone involved and excited about the game can be a challenging feat for some cooperative titles. Not so here.

While the skill check system is brilliant and an exciting addition to the game, the rest of the experience is less innovative. Cards are drawn from turn to turn that either provide opportunities to deliver cargo (and get necessary supplies) or result in a negative event – like the UO taking notice and sending a ship to intercept. None of it is bad at all. In fact, the game moves along nicely. But compared to the awesomeness of the skill check system, it’s a little more conventional.

Still, that shouldn’t be read as a huge negative. In fact, the game generally excels. This is a cooperative game that fits up to seven players, and it does so in a way that keeps everyone involved. It’s just that the skill check system is so interactive and fun, that it sticks out as this fantastic innovation, and makes everything else pale in comparison. In a sense, it’s a complaint that the game has only one awesome aspect instead of multiple.

If you are looking for a cooperative game that gets everyone emotionally invested in the game and regularly pulls players to their feet in anticipation, then Space Movers may be one to look into.