Pulsar 2849 Review

Matt: Pulsar 2849 is the long awaited sequel to Space 1999! Now in board game form, Commander Koenig and the crew of Moonbase Alpha after a journey across time and space, find themselves in a pulsar-rich region in the year 2849. I’m honestly impressed that Czech Games Edition had heard of the series…!

*urgent whispering*

Matt: What do you mean that’s not what the game is about!?
Players: 2-4
Time: 60-90 min
Ages: 14+
Designer: Vladimír Suchý
Artist: Sören Meding
Publisher: Czech Games Edition

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Matt: If there is one company that can be relied upon to put out a mid-weight Euro that is worthy of attention, EVEN IF IT’S NOT AN HOMAGE TO CLASSIC BRITISH SCI-FI, it’s Czech Games Edition, from Tzolki’n to Adrenaline, there is always something novel to catch your eye. In Pulsar 2849, from Last Will/Prodigals Club designer Vladimír Suchý, that special something might not be so obvious. Indeed, aside from the gorgeous cover and the expansive board that threatens to overflow your tabletop, Pulsar might have been a game that slipped you by in the flurry of Essen releases. It kind of did me if I’m honest. It is time to remedy that error.

A game of Pulsar 2849 is a game of navigating this array of board sections like a moon propelled through space by a giant nuclear explosion… oh ok these references aren’t going to make much sense to anyone much are they? Fine I’ll stick to the game.

There’s the big map of space to fly your ship around, claiming pulsars and exploring planets. There’s a great big tech selection to research, personal projects to complete at your HQ, and a healthy stack of transmitters to build. And just like in real space, all of this is achieved with dice.

Dice drafting is hardly new but common practice would seem to suggest that all the dice should be equally useful. Pulsar gives that idea the finger and in so doing forces you into some very interesting decisions. You see, the dice selection is tied to the two tracks arching over it.

Being further left on these tracks is better: One will put you higher in turn order, the other will shower you in little white cubes (a positive, I assure you!) But moving up and down these tracks happens according to the dice you pick. Take the lower dice, you’ll move left, take the higher dice, you’ll move right. Keep taking really high dice and you’ll end up losing points every turn. But maybe you can make up for that!?

The amount you move on these tracks depends on the distance that dice was from the little yellow marker that points at sort of the median value, calculated in a somewhat inexplicable ritual at the start of each round. The important thing is that sometimes this marker will be in the middle of the track but sometimes it will swing high or low offering easier or harder access to the high values or potential big moves from a low value die. Each round becomes a new, interesting puzzle fitting into the greater strategic plan like a sci-fi TV series reference in a board game review. Sometimes surprising, but never unwelcome.

Importantly, while 6s are ostensibly better, specific lower values can be situationally much more valuable. The great tech boards offer a smorgasbord of tempting scientific morsels to gorge yourself on, with more becoming available each round, but to purchase one requires you have, and spend the specific die value shown. Your HQ operates in the same way, with the additional wrinkle that higher level projects are only available when the lower levels are completed. Similarly the transmitters and the *ahem* Gyrodynes need specific dice to be bought and activated.

Reader: I’m sorry, the what?

Matt: Ah, yes, the transmitters are…

Reader: No! Not them!

Matt: heh… yeah…

The gyrodyne (which has the distinct misfortune of sounding like some kind of venereal disease) (a combination of gyroscope and dinner as you feast on these spinning star remnants) is a… widget. A name for a component/mechanic that works. In fluff terms it is the machine that extracts energy from the pulsars dotted about the board. Fully completing one earns you a continuous influx of points every round, a regular feature of this game that demands you get out there and get on with it lest you be left in the other players’ space dust.

You spin me right round

Constructing a gyrodyne is a multi-step process. You first need to end your little space ship’s move on one of the board’s pulsars and make a lifelong commitment to it. If you want it, you better put a ring on it. Later, you’ll get the chance to pick up a gyrodyne tile and can then put it in the ring at your leisure. But it’s still not earning you any points until you spend the dice shown on top to set it spinning. Or flipping it over in game terms. You’ve got to humour them, they tried with the theme.

Building a gyrodyne is quite the investment then, especially considering you will only get two dice a turn, meaning two actions per turn. You go in expecting a long game (8 rounds!? Luxurious!) but two actions keep things tight and slick and force you to really focus on what you want to achieve. All those techs might be tempting but you want to get those gyrodynes spinning, you want to get those transmitters transmitting, everything, as early as possible, as quickly as you can. It’s thrilling and thinkey but never overwhelming because your turn simply can’t have that many options. But all of them are tempting.

To guide you are end game scoring objectives that vary each game. The knowledge that focusing on a specific route, whether Gyrodynes, exploration, or transmitters will ultimately serve you well, gives you all you need in case of doubt and to help you predict your opponents. The game is not terribly interactive. With 4 the main board will eventually start to feel tight, but the real competition is in racing for certain techs (although they all have space for two) and on those dice-linked tracks. That’s where you feel your opponent’s most, in the dice selection and your movement on those tracks. Which is a bit of a shame when it’s not the most consequential part of the game. You can do well from any part of the track if you play it right.

Laying out Pulsar 2849 you cannot avoid the sense of looking at some coldly calculated math problem, no matter how much lovely artwork they cram into the rulebook. And there’s no doubt having played it that at its heart Pulsar is an abstract, point-salad Euro game in a fine tradition of abstract, point-salad Euro games. And there’s certainly nothing wrong with that, if that’s all it was! It works. It has a, frankly, ludicrous amount of variety with different technology boards and objectives and even a second map on the reverse of the board.

But Pulsar is so much more than just another abstract point-salad. Despite an intimidating rules teach, the gameplay is silky smooth and incredibly easy to grasp once you get going. The dice drafting is exceptionally well done and the tightness of the turn structure keeps you always twisting and turning for that extra little edge. That’s exactly what I like from my Euro games!

 

Rating: Pulsating

 

Need more details of how to play Pulsar 2849? Look no further than Gaming Rules!

 

My copy of Pulsar 2849 was provided for review by the publisher, Czech Games Edition.