Race for the Galaxy Strategy – the Second Tier

Having taken a look at cards that change the game when they are played, I want to turn my attention now to cards that are undeniably powerful, but lack the extra oomph characteristic of a game changer. Their appearance may mark a transition between phases of the game, but only when it is the capstone of a power combination, or the last piece of a strategic puzzle. Often they cause little change in the tempo of the game when they are played. They save a player a tempo or three over the course of a game, but they do not drive you to the end of the game the same way Tourist World and Improved Logistics do.

Race for the Galaxy Strategy – Game Changers

Race for the Galaxy cards are not created equal. Some are workmanlike cards that form the heart and soul of the game, but do not garner great accolades. Some only fill niches that are necessary to tie some strategies together, but are often of little use. A couple are actually rather terrible, looking to sucker players into wasting valuable tableau space on them.

Game changers are the cards that announce that a player is ready to get down to business. When they are played in the first half of the game, the pace of the game picks up. Maneuvering for a card here and a build there stops, and the real business of winning the game begins. They mark a player’s intended strategy because they allow a player to pursue that strategy with a real saving of tempo, often by drawing cards while pursuing their main strategy, but it can take other forms as well. Players typically make the transition from the opening to buildup or from buildup to drive by playing a game changer.

A New Piece of Race for the Galaxy Terminology

Just a heads up that, going forward, I’ll be using a bit of Race for the Galaxy jargon that I’ve invented for the sake of brevity.

In my strategy articles, I’ll be using “commodity worlds” to refer to worlds that let you draw a card when you produce a good on them. This includes bot production and windfall worlds. It’s not perfect, thematically, but it’ll do.

So

• Comet Zone
• Galactic Studios
• Gem World
• Lost Species Ark World
• Mining World

are production commodity worlds and

• Replicant Runaway Robots
• Rebel Sympathizers
  

are commodty windfall worlds (or windfall commodity worlds).

Expect the first post discussing Game Changers tomorrow or Monday.