Space Base Strategy Guide

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sorryimlikethis
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Joined: 16 September 2021, 13:04

Space Base Strategy Guide

Post by sorryimlikethis »

Hi everyone. I've been playing a lot of Space Base recently since it came out in beta here. I know it's a game with a lot of luck involved, but I've been having a bit of success (much more than I expected) and made a strategy guide.

https://youtu.be/bemmAyANIVA

Would love to get some feedback. Do you disagree with anything? Did I miss anything? Is it all just pointless due to the randomness of dice?
Thanks!
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Derrida
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Joined: 16 February 2021, 02:51

Re: Space Base Strategy Guide

Post by Derrida »

I was top 5 earlier today before losing some games.

One thing I think you didn't consider is saving the early 15 gold on rush games, so that you can buy a level 3 card in the first round. In a 4-player game recently, I was able to win through doing that with the 3-card that had 2 rockets on the red side, and the game lasted only 30 rounds. However, in higher player counts this strategy can be countered if players deny you from cards to flip your higher card to the red side.

I also slightly disagree on your point about swap sector cards. The one that can be good is the nine card that lets you swap it for another card with only one charge. That one can be swapped to the 6-slot before swapping again with the 12 slot, allowing you to get a 12-bonus on your 6-slot without too much luck. It does require rolling a 9 and then a 6, but I've won games in 2-player through following that strategy.

Another thing that needs to be considered is the basic breakdown between strategies. These are the main ones I can think of

1) Rush strategy - focus especially on digits 1-6 and then look for rockets. In 4 player games, this is most effective by looking to get rockets on the red side as soon as possible. Save up for colony cards early on (at 10-20 rockets) and try to force the end of the game before anyone else gets something going. This strategy is most effective with higher player counts.

2) Income strategy - look for income cards on the 7 and 8, and focus on maximizing early. Doesn't work in 3-4 player games unless you can flip an income bonus to red early. In the late game, buy colonies to finish out points.

3) Combo strategy - use arrow cards between 7-12 to set up high bonuses on red. This strategy is probably the quickest if set up correctly, but also easily blocked.

4) High-points strategy - use the cards that increase dice to allow you to more often get higher bonuses ranging from 10-12. I think this is too slow as a main strategy, but you can add elements of it if you have a strong card early on.

In any one game, the best strategy will usually use elements of different strategies from those outlined above.
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sorryimlikethis
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Re: Space Base Strategy Guide

Post by sorryimlikethis »

Congrats, with a win rate that high you will definitely be pushing for #1!

I avoided talking about the light-speed variant because I have no experience with it. I removed the option to play with it because I feared I would lose games due to a poor start out of my control (more so than usual). I'm curious on your thoughts actually, do you think it adds or decreases variance? On the one hand one player can start with cards that synergise well together and snowball easily. On the other hand you have plays like you mention where it's possible to ignore the cards and buy a tier 3 card instantly. But reducing the amount of rounds means less decisions so less skill expression.

I mentioned the 9 card slightly when talking about the You Win card, I suppose the safer version is doing that with a point card on 12 instead of the You Win card. It's something I don't personally go for but I can see the appeal and a strategy I should add to my game.

I had a hard time trying to break down the strategies when making the video as I feel they all go hand-in-hand. I feel like Combo and High Points are very similar while Income is just inherently good. The way I look at it is your main decision every turn is: do I buy, or do I save? And if I buy, what is the best card available? If there's the 7 card that gives 2 gold and 1 income and there's ~15 rounds left in the game then it's going to be the best choice by far. I agree with what you said that any game will use multiple of those strategies, that's mainly why I decided to talk about specific cards more than strategies themselves. No doubt there is a lot I missed as there is a surprising amount of depth to the game.

If I were to add to the different strategies on your list I'd include swap sector strategy, saving up for an expensive card early (like the 2 ship that buys extra cards or a tier 3 card like you said), and a similar rush strategy where you try to only put points on 1-6 blue side and save money after that.

Thanks for your feedback, lots of good points.
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Den_Man
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Re: Space Base Strategy Guide

Post by Den_Man »

sorryimlikethis wrote: 24 March 2022, 03:19 I avoided talking about the light-speed variant because I have no experience with it. I removed the option to play with it because I feared I would lose games due to a poor start out of my control (more so than usual).
I've had a few light-speed games where someone flipped an income card on turn one. At that point, the game is already over before it began.
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Lumin_S
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Re: Space Base Strategy Guide

Post by Lumin_S »

sorryimlikethis wrote: 24 March 2022, 03:19 I avoided talking about the light-speed variant because I have no experience with it. I removed the option to play with it because I feared I would lose games due to a poor start out of my control (more so than usual). I'm curious on your thoughts actually, do you think it adds or decreases variance? On the one hand one player can start with cards that synergise well together and snowball easily. On the other hand you have plays like you mention where it's possible to ignore the cards and buy a tier 3 card instantly. But reducing the amount of rounds means less decisions so less skill expression.
I'm not who you're asking, but I'd like to think I'm a decent player with strong opinions on Normal vs. Light-Speed start and the variance and skill in each. I will claim that Light-Speed games have more skill and player agency while not increasing the variance.

In Normal start, the player has zero choice over their opening level 1 card and starting money. This card costs between 2-4 gold and can be quite bad for starting up an engine. I find the green sum-boosting cards and 1vp cards for sector 1-6, and the 4 gold cost 3vp+arrow card on sector 12 to be various levels of bad compared to pretty much any other level 1 card when starting a game.

Conversely, I think the arrow cards for sectors 7-11, the sector 1-6 cards with 2 gold, and some of the income cards are all good draws for an opening card.

The differences among these level 1 cards snowball starting on turn 1 in a Normal game. Now with a Light-Speed start, I think it's agreeable that the game is accelerated by approximately 3-5 rounds. So whatever snowball and variance there is to start a Light-Speed game, should be compared with those aspects of a Normal game that's already on round 3-5. If you look at Normal games that are on turn 3, 4, or 5, I think there are similar amounts of snowball differential and variance, so that's why I think Light-Speed doesn't increase variance.

Then, in a Light-Speed game, players get to choose almost exactly how much money they'd like to start with between 0-15 (therefore choosing what level of card they'll be most likely to buy on turn 1,) and if they draw bad early cards they can choose to not purchase them and almost always get compensated by being able to buy pricier good cards off the board in the first round. I think the starting card agency moves the game substantially towards skill on the skill-variance spectrum: it requires good knowledge of what combination of cards to buy early in order to produce a solid engine.

I think your comment that fewer rounds = fewer opportunities to express skill comes from a good place, but I would argue that players get the same number of opportunities to express skill because the first 3-5 rounds worth of decisions all happen at once.
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sorryimlikethis
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Re: Space Base Strategy Guide

Post by sorryimlikethis »

Den_Man wrote: 25 March 2022, 21:01 I've had a few light-speed games where someone flipped an income card on turn one. At that point, the game is already over before it began.
That was one of my worries, either an income or even a point card being deployed round 1 can make it seem like an uphill battle.

Lumin_S wrote: 25 March 2022, 22:51 I'm not who you're asking, but I'd like to think I'm a decent player with strong opinions on Normal vs. Light-Speed start and the variance and skill in each. I will claim that Light-Speed games have more skill and player agency while not increasing the variance.

I think your comment that fewer rounds = fewer opportunities to express skill comes from a good place, but I would argue that players get the same number of opportunities to express skill because the first 3-5 rounds worth of decisions all happen at once.
I like this take, really Light Speed is just compacting those decisions into the first round instead of spreading them out. And at the same time there is naturally variance in any game given the starting card anyway. Even though you are properly compensated for how much you do or don't spend I feel like not spending anything would be a pretty big disadvantage, although I'm aware this would not be the case too often. The biggest concern for me would be when you get cases like Den_Man said and you immediately start with 2 cards on the same number. Someone deploying a rocket on #6 from the start would honestly feel impossible to come back from. In a regular game the player has to buy the tier 2 #6 card and then wait for another #6 to be able to deploy it, which can be denied if already there or not show up until much later. If given it as a starting combo there is no risk involved.

Having said that it's something I need to try before debating on it too much. It's quite likely being able to make good starting combos consistently will outweigh the downsides of an opponent snowballing with no counter play. It's a great conversation to have, thanks for your input.
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PegasusDragon1
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Re: Space Base Strategy Guide

Post by PegasusDragon1 »

Den_Man wrote: 25 March 2022, 21:01
sorryimlikethis wrote: 24 March 2022, 03:19 I avoided talking about the light-speed variant because I have no experience with it. I removed the option to play with it because I feared I would lose games due to a poor start out of my control (more so than usual).
I've had a few light-speed games where someone flipped an income card on turn one. At that point, the game is already over before it began.

Why
pjt33
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Re: Space Base Strategy Guide

Post by pjt33 »

PegasusDragon1 wrote: 04 February 2023, 01:39
Den_Man wrote: 25 March 2022, 21:01 I've had a few light-speed games where someone flipped an income card on turn one. At that point, the game is already over before it began.
Why
If you flip the income generator in slot 4 then you will get, on average, 15 income for every 36 turns taken by someone else. If you do that before the first round, that's about 15 income per round by the end of the game just from your starting cards. But then there's the feedback loop that early income gets you better cards. You should easily be picking up level 3 cards and colony cards before anyone else.
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mturton
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Re: Space Base Strategy Guide

Post by mturton »

My opponent has the -3 VP card. How do I counter that? Is there a specific counter?
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sorryimlikethis
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Re: Space Base Strategy Guide

Post by sorryimlikethis »

mturton wrote: 26 June 2023, 23:38 My opponent has the -3 VP card. How do I counter that? Is there a specific counter?
If you have a link to the replay I can take a look.
The card is annoying for sure, but even now I think it's still overrated by most players. I would be much more scared if they had a card that gave them 6 rockets on a 7 roll, for example.
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