Review: Gravity Superstar

Introduction & Overview

In the furthest reaches of known space, the most famous adventurers converge on a strange little planet that has the unique ability to attract precious stardust through its fluctuating gravity. They are there to collect as much of this resource as possible, while their rivals constantly try to steal it from them. You are one of these superstars in search of wealth, and you must overcome the gravitational challenges that lie ahead!

This is how we are introduced to Gravity Superstar, designed by Julian Allain (Titan Race, Dungeon Academy). The game was published in 2019 by Sit Down! in a multilingual edition (English, French, German, and Dutch). Illustrations are handled by Gyom (Magic Maze, Overbooked, Goths Save The Queen).

In our country, it is published in Spanish by 2 Tomatoes Games (though the game is entirely language-independent except for the rulebook). It accommodates 2 to 6 players, with a suggested minimum age of 7 and an approximate playing time of 15 to 30 minutes. The retail price is €30. For this review, we used a copy of the Spanish version kindly provided as a review copy by 2 Tomatoes Games.

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.

Components

Inside a two-piece cardboard box (lid and bottom) measuring 24.5×24.5×6.5 cm (a square box similar in size to Pelican Bay), we find the following items:

37 Cards (63.5×88 mm):
- 30 Action Cards
- 6 Character Cards
- Starting Player Card
6 Pawns (plastic)
Open Door Marker (plastic)
6 Double-sided Boards (cardboard)
78 Stars (plastic)
Bag
18 Replay Tokens (plastic)
Rulebook

How to Play

Gravity Superstar is a family game where players control a pawn on a grid board where several stars float around. The objective is to collect as many of these stars as possible. To do this, players must understand that gravity affects their pawn according to its orientation, always falling downwards toward its feet. On each turn, the active player plays a card from hand to move, after which gravity is resolved. Whenever a pawn passes through a space with a star, the player collects it. It is also possible to knock other players’ pawns off the board to steal a star from them. At the end of the game, each star scores one point, and each pair of matching-colored stars scores an additional point. Players can also earn replay tokens, which allow consecutive turns and award victory points at the end of the game.

Key Concepts

Let us begin with the Board. It is assembled using a series of tiles displaying a grid of spaces (six rows and six columns). Across these spaces, set against a space-themed background, star symbols or purple replay token symbols may appear. Additionally, along the edges between certain spaces, branch-like green platforms serve as footing. Finally, on each tile, a doorway is located on one of these branches. Depending on the player count, the board is composed of a specific number of these tiles.

The goal for players is to gather Stars scattered across the modular board. During setup, a star is placed on every space showing a star or replay token icon. At the end of the game, each star awards one point, with an extra point for each matching pair across five distinct colors.

Players are represented on the board by Pawns placed lying flat, since gravity affects them relative to their orientation. These pawns fall downwards—meaning in the direction their feet point—until hitting a platform. When moving, if a pawn’s feet lose contact with solid footing, it falls downwards; leaving the board causes it to wrap around and reappear on the opposite side with the same orientation. Pawns start off the board and must enter through the door indicated by the cylindrical marker. Knocking opponents’ pawns off the board is also permitted, allowing you to steal stars from them.

To associate pawn colors with each player, Character Cards are placed face-up in each player’s play area.

To execute moves, each player holds a hand of five Movement Cards. Each card illustrates a specific move that must be completed fully without colliding with an obstacle. Alternatively, playing any card face down allows a simple lateral one-space step. Played cards remain on the table until reclaimed, either by spending a turn to retrieve them or by being knocked off the board by an opponent.

Finally, we have the Replay Tokens, earned by moving through spaces where a star was collected earlier, leaving the underlying symbol exposed. These tokens provide victory points at the end of the game, but can also be spent during a turn to take a second consecutive action.

That is enough to get started.

Preparación de la Partida

Select the required number of board tiles according to the player count (2/4/6 tiles for 2/3-4/5-6 players, forming a 2×1/2×2/2×3 layout).
Place all stars into the bag and draw stars to populate every board space displaying a star or replay token icon. Once all indicated spaces are filled, return any leftover stars to the box.
Create a general supply with the replay tokens.
Place the open door marker on the door space of the board tile located in the first position of the first row.
Each player chooses a color and receives 1 pawn, 5 action cards, and the corresponding character card. In games with fewer than 6 players, return unused components to the box.
Finally, choose a starting player and give them the starting player card.

We are ready to begin!

Game Flow

A game of Gravity Superstar is played over an indeterminate number of rounds. In each round, starting with the first player and proceeding clockwise, every player takes one turn.

At the beginning of a turn, if a player’s pawn is off the board, they must place it onto the door space marked by the open door cylinder (respecting the door’s orientation), then advance the cylinder clockwise to the next unoccupied door space. If all door spaces are occupied, the marker remains on the current door.

Afterward, the active player chooses one of three options:

Play a card for an advanced move. The player plays a card to their play area and executes the movement relative to their pawn’s orientation, after which gravity resolves by pulling the pawn downward (toward its feet) until it lands on a platform.
Play a card for a simple move. The player places any card face down to step one space sideways, resolving gravity immediately afterward.
Retrieve cards. The player spends their entire turn picking up all played cards back into their hand.

Additionally, the active player may discard a replay token to take a second consecutive action. Tokens collected during the same turn may be spent immediately. Only one replay token may be used per turn.

During movement, the following interactions can occur:

Passing through a space containing a star allows the player to collect it.
Passing through a space showing a replay symbol grants a replay token from the general supply.
Landing on a space with the open door cylinder moves the marker clockwise to the next available door.
Moving through a space occupied by an opposing pawn knocks it off the board, allowing the active player to steal a star from that opponent; as compensation, the bumped player immediately recovers all played cards.
Playing the fifth and final card from hand allows the player to automatically return all five cards to hand.

Turn then passes to the player on the left.

Game End

The game ends at the conclusion of the round in which 4/8/12 or fewer stars remain on the board in 2/3-4/5-6 player games. Final scoring is then calculated. Each player scores:

1 point per star collected.
1 bonus point per matching pair of stars of the same color.
1 point per replay token held.

The player with the most points wins. In the event of a tie, the tied player with the fewest replay tokens breaks the tie. If the tie persists, victory is shared.

Variants

Advanced Mode: The game does not end when stars drop below a set threshold, but rather when a player reaches a specific point target. The current round is completed, and the player with the highest score wins. The target thresholds are 18/24/18/24/18 points for 2/3/4/5/6 players respectively.

Personal Opinion

Family games, along with fillers, represent the trickiest market segment when designing a board game and trying to hit the mark. For starters, the player base is extraordinarily diverse, ranging from small children to grown adults, hardcore hobbyists to casual gamers, and above all, people who do not view board games as a primary hobby and only play when a friend or relative invites them over for a fun evening. That said, hitting the bullseye makes these titles immensely profitable thanks to an expansive demographic and powerful word-of-mouth momentum. It is no wonder publishers relentlessly search for their next golden goose year after year.

Among these accessible releases arrives Gravity Superstar, a design framed as a truly “European” production (bringing together a publisher, designer, illustrator, and distributor from different EU countries), which strikes me as a smart move regarding production costs and regional reach. Setting publishing logistics aside, let us dive into how the design performs on the table—not before thanking 2 Tomatoes Games for providing the review copy that makes this tocho-review possible.

Gravity Superstar sets a straightforward objective: gather the highest number of stars scattered across a board depicting outer space—or at least an environment where gravity behaves unpredictably. Each star is worth one victory point, while matching pairs across five colors provide bonus points. Each player is represented by a pawn lying flat on the grid, whose feet indicate the direction Sir Isaac Newton’s famous force will pull them until solid ground breaks the fall.

The primary mechanism is hand management using five cards: four providing special maneuvers (jumps, dashes, sliding downward, or turning) plus a fifth wildcard. Alternatively, each card can be played face down for a basic single-space lateral step.

As you might imagine, the gameplay loop revolves around timing these cards to exploit gravity and sweep up stars, which are collected simply by passing through their coordinates—though claiming more than two stars in a single move is virtually impossible. Furthermore, as the game advances, the board’s available star pool steadily shrinks.

The endgame triggers when the board drops below a set star threshold at the end of a round or, in the advanced mode (which I strongly recommend from game one), when a round finishes after a player hits a predetermined score milestone.

I recommend this advanced variant because it directs players toward what truly makes Gravity Superstar an engaging experience: player interaction. Direct conflict is not immediately obvious to newcomers since it requires spatial awareness to calculate paths that intercept rivals and swipe their stars.

Two core elements must be kept in mind. First, the infinite wrapping of the arena. Much like classic single-screen arcade games, outer grid edges wrap around to the orthogonally opposing edge. If a row or column lacked obstacles, a pawn would enter an endless gravitational loop. Board tiles are designed to prevent infinite loops, but leveraging this screen-wrap teleportation effectively takes practice and is rarely intuitive during early plays.

The second key element involves replay tokens. Certain spaces reveal a pink icon once their star is cleared, granting large, vibrant plastic tokens that score victory points if kept unspent. Their primary utility, however, is executing two consecutive actions in a single turn. This is where tactical depth opens up, offering the maneuverability needed to intercept opponents or dodge incoming threats.

Tracking an opponent’s card pool on the table becomes essential. A player with many cards already played poses little danger due to limited maneuverability; conversely, someone holding a full hand—either from playing all five cards or being knocked out on the previous turn—is dangerous when holding replay tokens.

Naturally, this dynamic invites potential kingmaking, especially in advanced mode. During the final round, a trailing player out of contention can often decide the winner by choosing whether or not to attack the frontrunner. Given the short playtime, however, this rarely feels like a major grievance.

As a point of reference, the game shares a loose spiritual kinship with Ricochet Robots (full tocho-review here), despite distinct mechanical cores. Both require visualizing multi-step movement trajectories across a grid to get from point A to point B. This spatial puzzle can overwhelm some casual players and induce frustration against sharper opponents, though it serves as great mental training for younger players eager to learn.

The main hurdle in Gravity Superstar is that its best qualities lie beneath the surface, requiring an investment casual audiences rarely make. Casual players look for an immediately intuitive, frictionless experience; without an experienced player guiding them toward tactical nuances, games often devolve into passive star gathering. This is why I consider the advanced variant essential, as it actively pushes players into direct conflict.

A second issue, stemming directly from the first, is scalability. Gravity Superstar requires pawn congestion to thrive. Even though the modular board scales down for lower player counts, the dynamic only truly shines with four or more players leaping around and contesting stars. Three-player matches easily turn into a two-versus-one gang-up, while two-player games feel like a dry optimization race. The game is arguably at its most entertaining at five or six players, where chaotic momentum injects genuine excitement.

Lastly, the game lacks long-term incentives for its target audience. At its core, it is an abstract puzzle with straightforward rules where players cycle through the same card actions turn after turn. After a handful of plays, its staying power diminishes. Unique player powers or variable objective cards could have added welcome asymmetry and replayability—similar to what Mutant Meeples brought to Alex Randolph’s classic formula.

Regarding production values, the physical edition is distinctive and arguably its strongest visual asset, despite average material quality. The translucent resin used for stars and pawns has a pleasant, frosted texture reminiscent of gummy candies, perfectly matching the family-friendly tone. The cards offer acceptable stock, a smooth finish, and decent snap; since they are handled frequently but never shuffled, sleeving is not strictly required. The board tiles feature decent cardboard thickness, though the glossy finish is prone to edge chipping. The metallic “space” bag for drawing stars stands out, resembling emergency thermal blankets found in car safety kits. The rulebook is clearly structured with helpful illustrated examples.

Illustrations are cheerful and vibrant, particularly on character cards, whereas the boards and movement cards remain rather basic. While visual minimalism helps prevent spatial confusion during movement, a touch more polish would have elevated the presentation. Overall, the final table presence is quite appealing.

And let’s wrap this up. Gravity Superstar blends tight hand management with a clever spatial puzzle governed by shifting gravity. Visualizing trajectories across a wrap-around board and chaining actions to knock out rivals creates entertaining tactical moments, reaching its stride when players actively seek confrontation and steal stars. However, appreciating this requires looking past a deceptively plain abstract surface, relying heavily on players who can read the spatial geometry rather than passively gathering tokens. While simple rules keep turn flow swift, repetitive action cycles and the risk of late-game kingmaking leave the design caught between a casual pastime and a demanding brain-burner. For all these reasons, I give it a…