Lightspeed variant ends games before they start

[Duane Roelands]

The lightspeed variant pushes Space Base into a zone where games are often over before they begin. One player gets two or three cards in 1-6 range that give VP, and the rest of the game is an exercise in frustration because the outcome is pre-determined.

I understand it's an official variant, but "official" doesn't mean "good" or "balanced".

Ungreat.

[Northern Rebel]

You can certainly get stronger and weaker starting hands from the lightspeed start, but you still need a strategy and some luck from the dice to bring even the strongest ones home.
Your example of a few 1-6 cards with a rocket can get you there, but they are generally only one or two rocket value cards and you're not getting many coins while you slowly build up your VP tally so you'll be later to the party for level 2 and 3 cards. This leaves you vulnerable to players building a big engine on higher numbers, especially with arrow cards that mean they can get a lot of VP on a single roll, or are getting a big income so they can race past your faster start with colony cards.
I've played plenty of games where I've reached 20ish points due to rockets on 1-6 only to have someone who hadn't scored at all at that point race past me with a big build on 8-9-10:or similar.

[Meeplelowda]

The lightspeed variant pushes Space Base into a zone where games are often over before they begin. One player gets two or three cards in 1-6 range that give VP, and the rest of the game is an exercise in frustration because the outcome is pre-determined.

I understand it's an official variant, but "official" doesn't mean "good" or "balanced".

Ungreat.

Are you complaining about Arena? Because you don't have to play lightspeed outside of Arena.

[Duane Roelands]

[/quote]
Are you complaining about Arena? Because you don't have to play lightspeed outside of Arena.
[/quote]

Just complaining about lightspeed in general. Thankfully, I can turn it off in preferences.

[Palini]

Some don't like lightspeed variant, some don't like the slow start of a normal game. Good thing you can chose which one you prefer or not...

[Fletcheese]

I'm still relatively new to Space Base, but I'm skeptical that Lightspeed increases the luck factor of the game. This game quite obviously involves a lot of luck, but the same luck is present in the opening few turns. The first player may get to buy the best ship or maybe the first flipped ship is the best so the 2nd player gets it, etc. Furthermore one player may hit a bunch of early rolls and get the first buy of the better ships. This possibility is actually reduced by Lightspeed since everyone starts with more ships evening out roll variance a bit.

I think Lightspeed just condenses early decisions and as the name indicates speeds up the game. Ultimately it rewards the players who understand the game the best to pick the best possible combination that they are offered or possibly even bank some money to buy a strong ship on turn 1. Sometimes one player gets the objectively best combination and can ride that to a victory, but that same thing happens without Lightspeed.

[Vapok]

The lightspeed variant pushes Space Base into a zone where games are often over before they begin. One player gets two or three cards in 1-6 range that give VP, and the rest of the game is an exercise in frustration because the outcome is pre-determined.

I understand it's an official variant, but "official" doesn't mean "good" or "balanced".

Ungreat.

Whenever I hear people complain about balance issues like this, I often say to myself, "what are they really upset with?"

In my experience in playing both the normal and light speed variants, lightspeed increases the early stage of the game where you spend 15 minutes rolling dice and not buying anything. You can easily get just as lucky with victory points in the 1-6 spots in normal mode within the first few rounds and then run the game if you are paying attention.

But, also, just because someone has victory points in the early sectors does not predetermine a victory. There are many configurations of boards where I have felt like I was about to win because of early sector passives and then suddenly lose because I either wasn't paying attention to what other people were doing, the You Win card caught me by surprise, or someone got a streak of really lucky rolls in their favor.

I've played a lot of games of Space Base (obviously not more than some of you on here), but also in live setting with friends, and for whatever it's worth, this game is really balanced.

If I had ANY critique about this game or variants, it's that I would like a no-colony variant.

[drizztl]

You can certainly get stronger and weaker starting hands from the lightspeed start, but you still need a strategy and some luck from the dice to bring even the strongest ones home.
Your example of a few 1-6 cards with a rocket can get you there, but they are generally only one or two rocket value cards and you're not getting many coins while you slowly build up your VP tally so you'll be later to the party for level 2 and 3 cards. This leaves you vulnerable to players building a big engine on higher numbers, especially with arrow cards that mean they can get a lot of VP on a single roll, or are getting a big income so they can race past your faster start with colony cards.
I've played plenty of games where I've reached 20ish points due to rockets on 1-6 only to have someone who hadn't scored at all at that point race past me with a big build on 8-9-10:or similar.

This, 100% yes.

I'd like to add, since I haven't seen it mentioned, if you don't like the cards you're dealt with the lightspeed, you can always not buy one, and spend your coins on a level 3 card instead. That, or just don't play the lightspeed variant if you don't like it

[SemiGreatPredictor]

I like to describe the game like this:

It is a river of randomness where you and the other players have to race each other through ever changing shoals and hazards to reach the finish.

There is no "best" strategy because the resources you begin with and what becomes available to you and every other player constantly change not just from game to game but from each players turn to the next player. You have to constantly adapt to what is in front of you to come out ahead but even then it isn't certain because you might have the greatest cards on numbers that just aren't rolled that much during the game no matter what the likelihood is. That might change from one stage of the game to the next so you have to weigh specialization vs covering all the bases so you have to play the game based solely on what you have in front of you.

There was an expression that went around Near the beginning of the Iraq War in response to concerns that the current tank armor was vulnerable.
"You have to go to war with the army you have and NOT the army you wish you had."

That saying is a constant truism in this game.