Review: SETI – Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence

Introduction & Overview

Lead a scientific institution tasked with searching for traces of life beyond planet Earth. By launching probes to investigate nearby planets and moons, directing telescopes toward distant star systems, and developing your team on Earth, you will explore the Solar System and beyond, searching for signs of life outside our planet.

This is how SETI: Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence is presented to us, a design by Tomáš Holek (Galileo Galilei, Tea Garden). First published in 2024 by CGE in an English version. The illustrations are done by Ondřej Hrdina, Oto Kandera, Jiří Kůs, Jakub Lang, Michaela Lovecká, Jiří Mikovec, Jakub Politzer, Petra Ramešová, František Sedláček, Petr Štich, and Josef Surý.

It will be published in Spanish by Devir (the game has language dependence on the cards). It allows for games of 1 to 4 players, with a minimum suggested age of 14 and an approximate duration of 40 minutes per player. The MSRP is €64.95. For this review, a review copy of the English version from CGE was used.

Important: if you already know the game and/or are only interested in my opinion about it, you can go directly to the Opinion section. The Content and Mechanics sections are especially intended for those who do not know the game and prefer to get a general idea of how it works.

Go to Personal Opinion

Components

Inside a two-piece cardboard box (lid and bottom), measuring 37.5×27.5×7.5 cm (the size of a large rectangular box like Through the Ages), we find the following elements:

• Solar System Board (cardboard)
• Technology Board (cardboard)
• Planet Board (cardboard)
• 3 Solar System Discs (cardboard)
• Sun (plastic)
• 4 Sector Boards (cardboard)
• 48 Technology Tiles (cardboard)
• 12 Technology Bonus Tiles (cardboard)
• First Player Tile (cardboard)
• 2 Rotation Markers (cardboard)
• 4 Double-sided End-of-Game Scoring Tiles (cardboard)
• 30 Credit Tokens (cardboard)
• 30 Energy Tokens (cardboard)
• 70 Data Tokens (plastic)
• 4 Player Boards (cardboard)
• 32 Probes (8 of each color) (wooden)
• 120 Markers (30 of each color) (wooden)
• 4 Publicity Markers (1 of each color) (wooden)
• 4 Scoring Markers (1 of each color) (wooden)
• 4 100/200 Point Tokens (cardboard)
• 216 Cards (63.5×88 mm.):
  • 138 Main Deck Cards
  • 4 Income Cards
  • 19 Solo Mode Cards
  • 10 Mascamite Cards
  • 15 Exertian Cards
  • 10 Oumuamua Cards
  • 10 Centaurian Cards
  • 10 Anomaly Cards
• 7 Mascamite Sample Tokens
• 2 Exertian Milestone Tokens
• 17 Oumuamua Exofossil Tokens
• 4 Centaurian Message Tokens
• 3 Anomaly Tokens
• 5 Alien Race Boards
• 5 Alien Race Reference Sheets
• 4 Reference Sheets
• Rulebook

How to Play

SETI: Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence is a design in which each player represents a space agency in search of extraterrestrial life. To do this, players must obtain samples through various means. The first is by scanning the solar system, which will allow them to place markers in the sectors where Earth is located; once a sector is filled with signals, an area majority will be evaluated, and the player who placed the most signals will obtain the information. The second is finding remains on the planets of the solar system. For this, they will have to launch probes, making them orbit around planets (providing significant benefits) or landing them to obtain extraterrestrial life samples. The third way is data analysis. The main way to obtain this data will be by sending signals. This data must be deployed on a player board, and once the chain is completed, a data analysis action can be resolved. By obtaining these samples, players will place signals on one of two alien races, and when at least one signal has been placed on each type of sample for a race, that race is revealed, bringing its reward mechanism into play when obtaining samples. These are most of the common actions that players will activate in alternating turns over five rounds until everyone passes. The other two key main actions of the game are playing a card (which will allow resolving actions or establishing goals) or acquiring technology tiles that will improve the performance of the previous actions, with the main way to get these tiles being the accumulation of enough notoriety on a track. Every time a player gets one of these tiles or the first player passes in a round, the solar system will rotate. It is composed of three concentric rings, with one of them rotating one position depending on a small roundel that indicates which one must turn (when a ring turns, the smaller rings on top of it will also rotate with it). The game ends at the end of the fifth round, proceeding to a final scoring where players evaluate their missions and common scoring criteria that have been activated during the game upon reaching certain point thresholds.

Key Concepts

Let’s start with the Solar System Board. This shows in its central area a series of concentric discs with the Sun as the axis representing the solar system. On the first disc, we have Earth, Mercury, and Venus. On the second disc, we have Mars. On the third, we have Jupiter and Saturn. And on the outer disc, Uranus and Neptune. Surrounding this, we have eight sectors representing nearby galaxies, each with a small arc where data and markers will be placed. Surrounding this area, we have the victory point track with spaces numbered from 1 to 100. Some of these spaces are highlighted to trigger various processes. To one side, we have the publicity and technology area, with a track numbered from 0 to 10 for publicity, an area indicating which disc will rotate next, and an area to place all the technology tiles, showing the effect of each one. On the other side, we have the alien races area (with spaces to place signs of life) and the planets. Each planet has bonuses for orbiting and others for landing, both on the planet itself and on its moons.

At the start of each game, two Alien Race Boards will be placed randomly, remaining hidden until they are discovered. The anatomy of these boards is similar, showing three columns, each associated with a type of extraterrestrial life signal and allowing players to enjoy a specific benefit. Each space can only be occupied by a single player.

The Technology Tiles will allow players to resolve enhanced actions and/or with discounts. There are four technologies across three types: those associated with probes (orange), those associated with scanning (pink), and those associated with data analysis (blue). Each technology tile has a bonus on its back that will be obtained when claimed, showing on its main face the same effect as indicated on the main board. Upon obtaining a technology, the solar system will rotate.

The main way to get technologies will be using publicity points. These are tracked on a track on the main board using the Publicity Markers. Each player will obtain publicity points, for example, when visiting planets or comets with their probes. If a player has accumulated a high enough publicity level, they can spend the corresponding amount to obtain a technology tile they don’t already have. Publicity points can also be used to get cards.

On top of each stack of technology tiles, a Technology Bonus Tile will be placed, so that the first player to obtain a specific technology will also receive a bonus of two victory points.

Players will have a Player Board that will mainly serve to accommodate technologies and act as a reference sheet when resolving different actions. On the top row, we simply have the spaces to place technologies related to probes and scanning, while on the bottom row, we have a reserve space for up to six data tokens plus a row representing the data analysis matrix consisting of six spaces, some with bonuses, on which the corresponding technology tiles can be placed.

Data is represented by translucent blue tokens with a raised binary code. Players can obtain this data in various ways and will accumulate it in their reserve space, from which they can move it to their matrix at any time as an auxiliary action. No more than six data tokens can be stored in the reserve space, although room can be made by placing them in the matrix; only if data is obtained and there are no spaces available in either the matrix or the reserve space will it be lost.

The other two fundamental resources in the game are Credits and Energy. Both will be used to resolve basic actions, though they will also be used to resolve action effects. At the start of each round, players will gain resources and can exchange them at a 2-to-1 ratio.

Let’s talk about the elements that players will place on the main board. First, we have the Probes, which will start on Earth when they are launched into space and can move across the solar system. The idea is to move them to planets so they can become satellites and remain in orbit, or rovers to land on the planet. In both cases, the probe ceases to be considered a probe, since each player can only have one active probe in the solar system (although one of the technology tiles allows having two).

The second is signal markers. One of the main actions in the game will be scanning the galaxies close to the Milky Way. To do this, players will place Markers in the corresponding sectors in exchange for obtaining data. Each time a sector is completed, the player with the most markers will get a reward. These markers will also be used to indicate the life signals obtained during the game and to track progress on certain missions and on the final scoring tiles.

One of the key elements of the game is the Project Cards. These show an effect on their bottom band (which can be a mission with a specific objective, triggers when resolving certain actions, or end-of-game scoring), a credit cost in the middle left area, a discard benefit in the upper left corner, a sector to use when scanning in the upper right corner, and a potential income on their bottom band. Players will get cards as income, by spending publicity, and when passing at the end of each round. When passing, a player cannot have more than four cards in hand, having to discard the excess, even if they draw more cards later.

Each player will start the game with an Income Card that establishes a minimum income. Under this card, new cards can be tucked whenever the player achieves a tucking effect, placing a card from their hand tucked into this column, which will allow them to get the income immediately as well as at the end of each round.

Obviously, the goal is to try to accumulate as many victory points as possible. These will be tracked using the Scoring Markers. When these markers reach certain spaces, they will trigger specific processes.

Finally, we need to talk about the End-of-Game Scoring Tiles. When players reach certain scores, they will get the privilege of marking one of these tiles. Each one refers to a criterion that will be evaluated at the end of the game, providing the amount of points marked by the player multiplied by the number of times they meet the criterion. The circular spaces only accept one marker, while the elongated spaces accept markers from multiple players.

That is enough to get started.

Setup

1. The main board is deployed by assembling the various boards, placing the sun in the center of it, and threading the discs. The sectors and the discs in sectors must be aligned.
2. The alien race boards are shuffled and two are placed face down in the corresponding spaces (the elements specific to the races are left in the box until they are needed).
3. The project card deck is shuffled and left face down to one side, revealing the top three cards to form a row.
4. A general supply is formed with the energy, credit, and data tokens.
5. The galaxy spaces are filled with data.
6. The technology tiles are placed face down in each space, placing a two-point token on top of each.
7. Four small stacks of as many cards as there are players in the game plus one are drawn from the deck and placed in the upper area, putting one of the rotation markers on top of the first deck.
8. The other rotation marker is placed on the rotation area in the indicated space.
9. The golden scoring tiles are shuffled and randomly placed on one of the edges of the board.
10. In games with fewer than four players, neutral markers (of a color not in use) are placed on the 20 and 30-point spaces.
11. Each player chooses a color and receives:
    • A player board.
    • An income card.
    • 8 Probes
    • 30 Markers.
    • A microphone (placed on the value 4 space of the publicity track).
    • A victory point marker and a 100/200 point token, left near the main board.
12. The first player is chosen randomly and receives the moon tile.
13. The first player places their victory point marker on the 1-point space. The remaining players place their scoring marker on the next space going clockwise.
14. Finally, each player takes 4 credits and 3 energy tokens from the general supply, draws 5 cards, and tucks one of them under their income card, immediately obtaining the corresponding income.

We are ready to begin!

Game Flow

A game of SETI: Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence takes place over five rounds. In each round, starting with the first player and continuing clockwise, players will alternate taking action turns.

On each turn, the active player must choose one of the following options:

• Launch a Probe. The player returns two credits to the supply and places a probe from their personal reserve on Earth. If the player already has a probe in the solar system, they cannot launch another (unless they have the technology that allows having two probes in the solar system at the same time).
• Orbit a Planet. If the player has a probe on a planet other than Earth, they can convert it into a satellite to orbit around it in exchange for one credit and one energy token. The player places the probe in the orbit of the corresponding planet and obtains the rewards indicated in the planet’s orbit.
• Land on a Planet. If the player has a probe on a planet other than Earth, they can convert it into a rover and land it on the planet in exchange for 3 energy tokens (2 if there is at least one satellite orbiting, regardless of which player it belongs to), obtaining the rewards indicated on the planet. If the player has the corresponding technology, the cost is reduced by one energy token in either case.
• Scan. The player spends two energy tokens and one credit to perform a scan in the sector where Earth is currently located (or in one of the sectors adjacent to Earth if they have the corresponding technology), placing one of their markers in the signal area of the corresponding sector and receiving the data token that was in that space. Additionally, they can place a second signal in a sector with a color matching one of the three cards in the supply row, discarding that card. If the player has the corresponding technology, they can pay one publicity point to scan in the sector where Mercury is located. And if the player has the corresponding technology, they can pay one energy to deploy a probe or, alternatively, move one of their probes one step for free. If, when placing a marker, it is the second one in the sector, the player scores 2 victory points. If a sector is completed, the player with the most markers will leave one of them on the sector’s arc (receiving the corresponding reward), the second player will leave one of their markers, the rest of the markers are returned to their respective owners, and the sector is replenished with data tokens. In case of a tie, the player with a marker furthest to the right is considered to have the majority.
• Analyze Data. If the player has six data tokens in the top row of their data area, the player can spend one energy token to analyze data. They return all data from their row and obtain a blue alien life sample.
• Play a Card. The player pays the corresponding cost of the card and applies its effects. If it is an immediate-effect card, it is discarded. If it is a mission, it is left in the player’s area.
• Develop a Technology. The player spends six publicity points and chooses a technology tile that they do not yet have on their player board. They obtain the reward indicated on the back of the tile (and 2 victory points if they are the first player to choose that type of technology) and place it in the appropriate space on their player board. Additionally, the solar system must be rotated.
• Pass. The player proceeds as follows:
  • Discard Cards. If the player has more than four cards in hand (including alien race cards) at the time of passing, they must discard the excess.
  • Check Rotation. If they are the first player to pass, the rotation marker will be on the card deck for the next round. The solar system will rotate in the usual way, and the rotation marker will be placed on the next deck (except in the fourth round, when it will be set aside since there are no more decks left).
  • Draw a Card from the End-of-Round Deck. The player takes all the cards from the end-of-round deck of the current round, chooses one, and adds it to their hand, returning the rest to the corresponding position for the current round on the main board.

Additionally, each player can resolve a series of auxiliary actions during their turn:

• Move a probe using energy (at a rate of one energy per movement to an adjacent sector, keeping in mind that 2 movement points are needed to exit an asteroid field).
• Discard a card to obtain the reward in the upper left corner.
• Spend 3 publicity points to draw a card.
• Exchange two energy tokens, two credits, or two cards for one energy token, one credit, or one card.
• Place Data. If the player has data in their storage, they can place it from left to right in their data matrix. If the player has data analysis technology tiles, they can place a data token in one of the lower spaces at any time, provided the upper one is occupied by another data token.

The round ends when all players have passed (only one card remains in the round deck, which is discarded). After this, if we are not in the fifth round, we proceed as follows:

• Income. Each player receives credits, energy, and cards according to their income column.
• First Player. The first player marker is passed to the player sitting on the left.

Finally, a new round begins.

When at least one life sign of each type is placed on a race, that race is discovered. It will be read to the players how they work, and the appropriate cards will be distributed based on which players collaborated in their discovery. From this moment on, each time a life signal is obtained, a marker can be placed on one of the options allowed by the race to obtain its benefits.

Game End

The end of the game is reached at the end of the fifth round. A final scoring is conducted in which each player scores:

• The points indicated on the end-of-game mission cards according to their criteria.
• The points corresponding to the scoring tiles that the player has activated according to their criteria.
• The victory points provided by the alien races.

The player with the most victory points will be the winner. In case of a tie, victory is shared.

Variants

Solo Mode. The player faces a bot that uses a stack of objective tiles and an action card deck ( there is an action card for each alien race). The game plays out like a two-player game, and the action cards are used to determine what the bot does on each turn. It will use the back of one of the player boards where there is a progress track that determines the bot’s preferred technology, and every time it completes a loop, the player increases its strength by revealing new cards.

Personal Opinion

Many things can be said about Czech Games Edition, but if there’s one thing that characterizes the Czech publisher, it’s that they always look to innovate with their designs. Sometimes mechanically, other times thematically. They even innovate in production processes. After all, the publisher created back in the day to publish the first version of Through the Ages (here is its tocho-review) has become a true benchmark in the world of board games.

I like that they have maintained a restrained approach, trying to develop two or three titles throughout the year and presenting them at the star event of the board gaming world, which is the Essen Fair. The problem with putting all your eggs in one basket is that when you don’t hit the right note, it gives the impression that you’ve had a bad year.

And this is what has happened to them in recent years, since Kutná Hora (here is its tocho-review), Deal with the Devil (here is its tocho-review), or Sanctum (here is its tocho-review) have been games that, for one reason or another, have fallen flat. The exception in the period ranging from the late ’10s to the early ’20s was Lost Ruins of Arnak (here is its tocho-review).

That’s what happens when you take risks and give practically novice designers the opportunity to get involved in what, in cinematic terms, would be directing a big-budget film for a major studio. And that’s what happens again in this case, as Tomáš Holek debuts in 2024 as an accredited author (though he does it in style, not only with this title but with two more).

It’s time to put this SETI: Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence under the tocho-review microscope, because you never know when the Czech publisher will hit the nail on the head again and offer us one of those games that climb positions at the speed of light in the BGG ranking and accumulate great stats in terms of games played by those who own a copy of the game.

In SETI: Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, we are going to lead a country’s space agency, developing a research program centered on the search for intelligent life (there are no nationalities in the game, so just assume that the country your agency belongs to is one with a level of prosperity sufficient to dedicate resources to a project of this nature).

The game will develop over a series of rounds in which players will alternate turns centered on the search for signs of intelligent life. We can find these signs in three ways, namely: sending signals to distant galaxies (they usually provide red signs), collecting samples on planets in the solar system by deploying rovers on them (they usually provide yellow signs), or gathering data through various means to analyze them with supercomputers (which provide blue signs).

In each game, there will be two alien races with which players will make contact once at least one sample of each type of life sign is obtained; the race will then be discovered, enabling an additional route to obtain various advantages when getting new life signs from that race.

One of the two main elements of the game will be the probes. These will depart from Earth, and we will move them far and wide across the solar system with the idea of reaching planets in the solar system. Once they are on them, we can deploy a satellite to orbit around it (obtaining important benefits that will provide us, among other things, with data and the possibility of increasing our income) or land them as a rover on the planet (which, in addition to various benefits, will allow us to obtain a yellow-colored life sign).

The other fundamental element will be the signals. Regardless of where our probes are located and the planets where we have satellites and/or rovers, players can send signals to nearby galaxies with the intention of obtaining data and getting evidence that there is intelligent life in those galaxies. Thus, around the planets that will be rotating around the sun, we will have eight sectors where players can mark signals in exchange for data. When a sector has enough signals, the player who has scanned the most in it will receive a reward (usually in the form of a red life sign).

As a consequence of progress in the previous two aspects, players will accumulate data, which must be organized in the data matrix of the space agency’s supercomputers so that, when enough data is gathered, it can be analyzed to obtain a blue life sign.

This is the core of the game. The main idea is to try to get as many life signs as quickly as possible. First, because the more we collaborate in discovering an alien race, the more early advantages we will obtain, since each alien race has its own deck of cards and a small mechanic through which to obtain various rewards.

And all this can be achieved through basic actions that the game allows, since a player’s turn will be as simple as resolving one of these actions by paying its cost. Thus, players can deploy probes on Earth (moving them is an action that does not consume a turn, although it does require resources), orbit or land a probe when it is on a planet, or scan deep space based on Earth’s positioning (we’ll talk about this later).

The catch is that players start with scarce resources and the actions are relatively expensive. Think about how each player will have four credits and three units of energy for their first turn. With this, they can afford to deploy a probe in the solar system (costs two credits), move it (using energy tokens), make it orbit (costs one credit and one unit of energy), and little else.

That’s where another star element of the game appears: the project cards. Each player will start the game with a very versatile hand of cards that can be used for various purposes. The main one will be paying their cost in credits to apply the effect they show—an effect that, generally, will be basic actions enhanced or made cheaper.

Thus, SETI: Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence becomes a game where you have to find the balance to manage as many actions as possible in each round. Obviously, the cards become the main conditioning factor, since everything we can do by playing them will allow us to dedicate resources to actions that the cards we hold at any given time do not cover.

But, as I said, these cards will not only serve to resolve actions, but will have three possible alternative uses. The first is to discard them to obtain free probe movements, data, or accumulate publicity. The second will be tucking them in our income column to get credits, energy, or cards on a recurring basis at the end of each round. And finally, each card will be associated with a type of sector and can be used when scanning.

The publicity theme is another interesting element, as it will allow players to obtain technologies to improve their performance. Thus, we will have technologies related to probes (we can have two instead of one moving probe, we can more easily dodge asteroid fields, or we can land on the planets’ moons which provide powerful benefits), related to scanning (expanding our room for maneuver and capacity to place more signals), and related to data analysis (enabling new spaces to place data with interesting benefits).

Getting these technologies will be another of the main actions when we have accumulated a high enough publicity level. This publicity level will increase as our probes reach planets, cross paths with comets, or use various effects (like discarding cards).

And, as a side effect, it will trigger the rotation of the solar system. In the center of the board, we will have three concentric rings that represent the orbits of the different planets in the Solar System (with a beautiful hemispherical and translucent sun in the center serving as an axis). Every time a player obtains a technology, one of these circles will turn, so that the inner circles will turn along with it. In each turn, it will be one of the discs’ turn.

Thus, when it’s the inner disc’s turn to rotate (where Earth, Venus, and Mercury are located), only that disc will turn. But when the disc where Mars is located turns, it will also cause the inner disc where Earth, Venus, and Mercury are to turn, keeping both discs in their relative positions, but rotating both with respect to the third disc and the distant galaxies.

This will cause a significant headache, because distant planets like Neptune or Uranus are printed on the board and never rotate (the other planets do). If Earth is aligned with Uranus, making a probe reach Uranus will have a much lower energy cost than if we let the opportunity pass and the discs rotate a couple of times (let’s keep in mind that with each rotation, Earth rotates relative to these outer planets, regardless of which disc turns). What’s more, situations can arise where probes are displaced from a sector, as the discs are irregular and have intermediate spaces, opening the possibility for a probe to be dragged into an asteroid field, raising its movement cost (exiting an asteroid field requires more energy).

As a final important detail, in each game, four objectives will be made available that offer two possibilities and are oriented toward technological development, gathering signs of intelligent life, missions (there are cards that show missions that players can complete during the game or evaluate at the end), or cards tucked as income. These objectives will provide various amounts as players claim them, something that can be done upon reaching certain amounts of victory points during the game. This is why in SETI: Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, you have to try to score a lot and very quickly.

This is, in broad strokes, SETI: Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence. Many will likely tend to compare it to Ark Nova (here is its tocho-review) or Terraforming Mars (here is its tocho-review) because cards carry a significant weight in the game. But the way I see it, to me, it’s closer to something like Underwater Cities (here is its tocho-review), which is also a game where you have a fundamental axis (developing your network of underwater cities) that you can build upon through the main mechanism of the game, which is worker placement, with cards serving as major support to boost these actions. In other words, for me, SETI: Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence is not a card-development game, nor are you going to generate any kind of engine with them.

And what I’ve told you so far might not sound particularly striking in terms of its proposal. But it’s one of those games that generates a certain level of stress due to how tight the resource management is and that racing dynamic to get points as soon as possible to get ahead of your rivals when positioning yourself on the end-of-game scoring tiles.

One of the things I like most when competing in this race is the feeling that, even if you have to do ‘the same thing’ in each game, the reality is that thanks to the cards and the combination of races that appears, you get the impression that you have exploited different paths to achieve it. Sometimes you’ll dedicate yourself to landing on moons, which don’t directly provide life signs but yield a significant amount of victory points along with interesting benefits. Other times you’ll dedicate yourself to scanning deep space like there’s no tomorrow, which, in parallel, will allow you to analyze a huge amount of data. Other times you’ll be landing on many planets to get life signs of the corresponding type.

What I do see as fundamental is what was said earlier: getting all the life signs you can, because almost all the races provide cards that are, in general, more powerful than normal cards and will allow players to step on the gas. So in the first round, you have to think long and hard about every action to try to get as close as possible to one of these life signs.

This sense of variability is, for me, the key to the success I’m convinced SETI: Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence will achieve. And it could be one of its flaws, since it will also leave you with the feeling of having a significant dependence on the cards that happen to come into your hand. The deck is very large for the few cards that end up passing through your hand, so you will always feel that each game is a small challenge to overcome. Somewhat in the vein of Rats of Wistar (here is its tocho-review), where, although the core of the game is the same, the deck of cards modulates the game in an important way, favoring its return to the table on a regular basis and without giving a sense of exhaustion if you like these types of games. What’s more, it’s one of those games that leaves a better impression with every playthrough as you find areas for improvement to optimize your game.

But from my experience, I think the cards are more or less balanced in the sense that what they offer is adjusted to their cost. It’s true that if you want to focus on a certain aspect and the cards you draw don’t delve into it, you might feel a certain sense of frustration at being ‘forced’ to do things you might not want to. But I don’t feel that luck has that much of an impact because, at the end of the day, you have to do a bit of everything in the game. There isn’t one thing that is clearly better than another as long as, ultimately, you end up getting life signs, because in the end, life signs are what will lift you to victory thanks to the momentum they provide.

Another minor flaw that can be attributed to the game is that, without having downtime in maintenance or between turns (since most actions are relatively atomic), it doesn’t lie to you on the box and it’s hard to drop below those forty minutes per player. This means that, at two players, you can expect to be around an hour and a half of playtime if anyone thinks through a couple of turns. The good thing is that, as I said, there is no feeling of downtime, so you feel like you’ve been doing things more or less continuously.

In relation to the above, you read many comments about scalability and that it doesn’t run as well at two. I beg to differ. SETI: Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence is one of those games where the area control mechanics require many previous steps for one player to effectively interfere with another. Where there is the most conflict is in the majorities when scanning, but due to the rotation of the solar system, scanning repeatedly in the same sector is not as simple as one might assume. In fact, it surprises me that this wasn’t scaled by placing neutral markers in some way.

Furthermore, completing a sector is harder with two players because there are fewer players to complete the same number of signals. What I do admit is that at two players, since this is more complicated, players may tend to scan less because a single player will need several rounds to complete a sector, even one of those requiring fewer markers. This can lead to players tending to look for life signs by deploying rovers on planets, seeking to get the other two types of life signs through alternative ways (cards, planet effects, etc.).

The topic of the number of turns per player also has to do with scalability. And SETI: Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence is one of those games that resorts to a variable number of turns in each round. Thus, it’s possible for a player to resolve very costly actions and run out of steam for more actions while other players resolve low-cost actions and take a few more turns in the same round. I’m usually not a big fan of this type of system because situations can arise where a player completely disconnects from the game due to having to wait for others after passing relatively early. Fortunately, in SETI: Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, the tightness is constant, so it’s rare for a player to take more than two turns more than another player in the same round, making these waiting times not particularly pronounced.

I didn’t want to leave out two details that jar with me a bit. The first is that races have different rewards when assigning life signals. I suppose it’s to reward players who are the first to get a certain sign of life so they focus first on one race and then on another, but I don’t know, my gut calls for a balanced reward in both cases. The other is the fact that, having an odd number of rounds that isn’t a multiple of any of the possible player counts, the first player will have one more round than the others being the first to act, which in some cases can be decisive (at three players, it’s the third player who will only be the first player once). I would have opted to hand the first player marker in the final round to whoever had the fewest points.

Let’s move on to production. Here, the people at CGE are masters. To the innovative wood printing technique they introduced with Kutná Hora: The City of Silver (which they use again this time), we add the clever system of concentric discs that will remind you of the Plato Discs from Indiana Jones & The Fate of Atlantis (one of the best graphic adventures of all time), which allows for a tremendously attractive tabletop presence. The cardboard components are of excellent thickness and pressing, punching out smoothly. The cards have an adequate weight, linen texture, and acceptable snap (it’s best to sleeve them to shuffle without problems). The rulebook is well-structured and leaves no room for doubt, with many examples to resolve any that might arise.

Visually, it’s a marvel. Few games set in space are so striking on the table. And not just because of the concentric disc system already mentioned, but because of the layout of elements, with an area for alien races, another for a sort of close-up on the planets, and, above all, the large amount of artwork on the cards, all of which reference real projects related to space exploration. And the cover art is tremendous, reminiscent of the poster for that great movie, Contact, which is obviously very closely related to this game. The only drawback I find is that I get the impression that the silhouettes of the spaces for technology are mirrored, because they don’t match the shape of the tiles that must be placed on top (if anyone knows the reason, let me know in the comments).

Since we mention it, SETI: Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence is one of those games where the theme is felt at all times, even though it’s a full-blooded eurogame through and through. The concentric disc system really helps to get into the dynamic of dealing with the movement of celestial bodies. It’s also a nice touch that each card has a small comment at the bottom referencing the real project. And, of course, the different alien races give it an exotic touch. Furthermore, it’s not hard to predict that CGE will announce an expansion before long that, at a minimum, will expand the number of alien races, as it’s an element through which adding new components and mechanics is tremendously simple. In fact, we already hinted at this when we reviewed Shackleton Base: A Journey to the Moon (here is its tocho-review), since both games resort to a similar system without the modules (the corporations in Shackleton and the races in SETI) having a huge mechanical impact on the development of the game.

And let’s wrap this up. SETI: Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence strikes me as the clear winner for the most attractive eurogame among those presented at the 2024 Essen Fair. It’s one of those games that leaves you wanting to play another game as soon as you finish scoring, thanks to that continuous tension generated by the scarcity of resources and the different paths that the cards open up for you, creating constant doubts about how to resolve actions in each round to maximize effects. It is snappy, highly entertaining, and keeps players in a non-stop dispute in that sort of race to see who scores more points gathering life signals. I really like the turning point that the appearance of each race represents in every game, and the only bad thing is that there are only five (though this allows for plenty of combinations). The theme is very well integrated and the production helps create an excellent first impression. I am certain it will be one of those games that remains on everyone’s lips for a long time. For all these reasons, I give it a…