Matthew BaileyGame 34# of the “Now & Then Summer Marathon 2024” is “Cosmic Chains” played with Jack(9)
Ever since we got into Star Realms, Jack and I have really enjoyed trying more one-on-one card games. Today, we are going to look at Cosmic Chains. Cosmic Chains is a duelling card game based on the idea of creating a chain of satellites, with one player playing as Team Cats and another playing as Team AI.
While the artwork is different, both players have identical cards. You start the game by shuffling your deck and placing them both on the same side of the table. The objective is to create the longest possible legal chain of cards. You start by drawing three cards and launching one on your first turn.
Essentially, there are three types of satellites: yellows that connect to yellow and orange, oranges that connect to anything, and pinks that can only be connected to orange. This means that as you lay satellites, you’re trying to arrange them in such a way that you have the longest possible correct chain. Equally, while you are doing this, some of the cards you lay have spendable effects, instant effects, and background effects that affect the gameplay in various ways, including messing with your opponent by moving their satellites around or potentially destroying their satellites.
On your turn, you can place a new satellite at the end of your chain, swap the position of any two satellites that are next to each other, or use a spendable effect with the intention of disrupting your opponent’s chain. For the sake of the chain, you can imagine it being looped, e.g., the last thing in the chain can be swapped with the first thing in the chain, provided they connect.
The game ends when one person lays their last card, giving the opponent a turn to launch one more satellite. At this point, you then add up your longest uninterrupted chain and see who wins.
It’s a nice, fun little card game that we enjoyed playing. I think this is definitely a prime candidate for an expansion as well. We did enjoy ourselves, but I don’t quite feel there was enough variety in the activities on the cards themselves, at least in the base game.
There are extra modes that we did play. One is where you have superpowers that you can form, and another is a space debris mode where you get extra cards that can do extra abilities. I definitely would recommend playing with these if playing with older kids, but for younger kids, the base game should be more than sufficient.
I played a prototype of the deluxe version, and the component quality for a small one-on-one card game is extremely high. The cards are really nice quality, and there are some really nice foil cards that tell you which team you’re on. It also comes with a really nice metal coin that is given to the champ of champs when you win.
While we did really like this, I wouldn’t say it is an absolute must-buy, but if you enjoy one-on-one card games, this is definitely different enough to warrant a place in your collection.
The game is currently not available but is open for a late pledge at a very reasonable $35 for the deluxe version and should be delivered before Christmas. Link in the comments below.
Disclaimer: A copy of “Cosmic Chains” was provided by “Siclen Studio” via the “UKBG Review Circle.” Our thoughts and opinions are our own, and the price has been taken into account.
