Space Station Phoenix

What a great game! It doesn't look like much with regards to the box and components, and the iconography makes the game look MUCH more complicated than it actually is. But the decisions you have to make really feel meaningful and, because of the way the game is designed, everyone around the table is always invested in what is going on with other players. The game is an easy teach and doesn't take a ton of time to play. Our first play took 2 hours, but that was mostly due to just getting a feel for the nuances and a little AP from it being our first game. I imagine subsequent games will be shorter. The way you mix up the station tiles and ship combos for every game will result in some really good replayability. There are something like 57 different station tiles, but you randomly select them for each game so there will be plenty of variety. Same can be said for the ship combos for each player. Overall we highly recommend this one if you are looking for an easy-to-play yet solidly thinky game.

This is another hit after Beyond the Sun from Rio Grande. You want to build a space station, but you have to take apart your action space ships in order to do so. It lends itself to interesting decisions, including giving opponents money to use their actions instead (and dismantling to deny them using yours).

My gaming group played this game twice within the first week of me getting it. I also played it once with my family within that same week. (4 players all three times.) The game looks overwhelming at first glance, but it was actually simple enough for my 8-year-old to play...and almost win, too. Granted, results may vary--especially where kids are concerned--but nevertheless, once you learn the alien language (i.e., all the iconography), the gameplay is pretty straightforward and also lots of fun, for both kids and adults. Tons of room for expansions, too.