mikecl wrote:


Empires of the Void sounds interesting; I just don't see me getting my wife to try SE4X... We got Imperium from a local guy for like $10-15, but I see it fairly often in math trades or on peoples' trade lists. If you're feeling crafty it's available through DriveThruRPG too.

I love Space Empire 4x, but I think it is a wrong fit for your wife. It definitely sounds like it would fall into your wife's definition of "fiddly." I can't expound on any other of your options, but wanted to put in a vote to sway you from SE4x.

wadenels wrote:
"A lesser-known game that we did pick up on the cheap is Imperium."
you have a very strange definition of lesser known!

Yeah thanks Dair. I REALLY like everything I'm reading about SE4X notwithstanding it's hex and counter gameplay including the fact it's great with two but she's not really a wargamer. She plays none of my wargames although she did enjoy Conquest of Paradise but that's pretty light.

There's always Eclipse. It seems to be the BIG thing right now but something about its mass appeal on BGG scares me. With the exception of Twilight Struggle I really don't like any of their top games...well I have Through the Ages and it's not bad, but Puerto Rico, Caylus ugggh.

I think I'm going to go with Ascending Empires. Maybe I can introduce her to the joys of 4X gaming that way. I found a small shop that still has a copy. What kind of convinced me (beyond the user reviews that say it's light and fun) was SuperflyPete's balls-to-the-wall-nail-every-superlative-in-the-book endorsement on BGG. Come to think of it I should probably just email him to see if he still feels that way about it.

Have you played it?

Notahandle wrote:


He's not talking Twilight Imperium Adrian. Follow his link. It's an old game from 1977.

mike, I haven't played Ascending Empires (to my great embarassment), but I have friends who have and really enjoyed it. The only drawback I see about it is the unknown longevity of the board. If I knew it would last for years to come, I would probably own it already.

Ok well thanks everybody for your help and suggestions. I found the last copy of Ascending Empires in the Greater Vancouver area and bought it.

I set it up last night and ran through the rules. It looks like a helluva lot of fun. As advertised not all of the puzzle pieces of the board fit well and I spent a lot of time figuring out the corners to get the best fit.

That said, it works just fine. Sometimes you have to hold down a seam when you flick to make sure your starship doesn't go careening out of the galaxy. But this is not really a flicking game.It's a strategy game with a flicking component which basically replaces dice with flicking.

The designer has even created a variant that tightens up the board for two players. My wife was willing to learn it with me last night although we only had enough time to quickly run through the rules. it's supposed to be even better with four so I think I'll get my money's worth out of it.

I have heard that a little trimming with an exacto knife will help the boards fit better. I don't remember where, but it might be worth checking out. Hope you enjoy it.

mikecl wrote:


Let us know how it goes... I'm always on the lookout for games that bring something new to the table and play well with two.

mikecl wrote:
"He's not talking Twilight Imperium Adrian. Follow his link. It's an old game from 1977."
Duh! Thanks for pointing out the bleeding obvious! Of course he wasn't meaning Twilight Imperium, he'd hardly describe that as "lesser known" would he? (I was trying to suggest that Imperium is probably more well known than he thinks.)

Nice Klaatu quote by the way. (Also in the category of lesser known?)