Matthew BaileyToday we are going to be looking at “Space Off”, an upcoming preview of a brand new party game coming out next year, and I am very pleased to say this is something quite special.
As an avid board gamer who has played well over a thousand different games over the last ten years, I do not often find party games that enjoyable. Some of the word-based ones are fine, but they are normally over pretty quickly, there is not much in the way of rules, and they do not really engage me. That is why we tend not to review many of them on Little Board Gamers, as I do not always feel I am the best person to comment on that style of game.
Where “Space Off” is quite different, however, is that it gamifies the party game experience. It feels much more like playing an actual board game, with an overarching meta-game running alongside the individual challenges. Another really cool element is that it is split into essentially five different types of gameplay, all of which feel distinct but overlap just enough to keep things constantly interesting. At no point, even when I was not actively involved in a challenge, did any of us feel like we were sat out doing nothing.
At its core, “Space Off” is a team-based party game built around a tug-of-war style objective. Players split into two roughly equal teams, with five Lander Parts laid out between them on the central Celestial Square. Every time your team succeeds in a challenge, you earn a “Tug” (my eldest sadly found this hilarious), which pulls one of those parts closer to your side. The goal is simple and immediate: control any three of the five Lander Parts at the same time and you win instantly. If neither team manages this after a set number of rounds, you essentially enter a penalty shoot-out.
Each turn is broken into a few clear phases, guided by the Turn Totem. First comes the Kurss (curse) phase, where the active team draws a multi-turn Kurss card that applies weird restrictions or handicaps to specific players for one or more turns. These stay in play and can be failed if anyone breaks their condition, which adds a constant background pressure and a lot of fun table chatter. One meant I had to use my hand like a sock puppet and pretend it was talking every time I said something, while another had Toby dancing on the spot until the end of the round. These are fun and silly, and it is just as enjoyable trying to catch other players messing up or forgetting their curse as it is trying not to fail your own.
After that comes the Dice phase, where the team rolls the “Do’er” Die to see which type of trial they will attempt, ranging from physical challenges and puzzles to sneaky social tricks. What really defines “Space Off”, though, is the sheer variety of trials. You will be acting things out, solving logic puzzles, completing dexterity tasks, or quietly setting traps for your opponents with secret Gochya cards that can trigger at any moment.
Playing the tasks reminded me of that bit in The Crystal Maze when Richard O’Brien would ask which challenge the team wanted, and they always chose physical, even when it was very clearly not a good idea.
Tuff cards tend to be physical activities. These include things like balancing objects on your head, completing a certain number of actions within a time limit, or juggling.
The Witz cards focus on logic and language puzzles. These might involve putting items into alphabetical order, counting backwards from 100 in sevens as quickly as possible, or memory-based challenges.
Finally, the Gochya cards, which are my personal favourites, are read in secret and then sit with you for most of the game. Your aim is to get an opponent to do, or not do, a specific thing and catch them out. One of my favourites was when Katie and Jack were playing against Toby and me. They kept offering me sweets, and I thought the trap was accepting something, but the card actually said “make someone say thank you.” These are excellent and strongly reminded me of “Don’t Get Got!”.
Most turns also include a Grand Trial, where both teams compete head-to-head in the same challenge, with only one team able to claim success. Winning any trial earns a Tug in that category, shifting the board state and constantly changing who is ahead. Some Lander Parts can become locked once they reach certain zones, which adds an extra tactical wrinkle and can force teams to roll the Champion Die to see where their hard-earned Tug actually applies.
Another thing I really like is that the rulebook actively encourages skipping anything that makes players uncomfortable. The focus is firmly on shared spectacle and energy rather than strict competition, and the game does not force or penalise anyone for saying, “I would rather not do that.”
The game ends immediately if one team manages to get three of the Lander Parts into their zone. If no one has won after the chosen number of rounds, which can be adjusted depending on your preferred game length, teams score points for each part they currently control and then move into a penalty shoot-out. This involves repeated Grand Trials until one team reaches three and wins.
One of our games came right down to a final Grand Trial where Katie and I had to have a staring competition to decide the overall winner.
I cannot really comment on the components, as this was very much a prototype copy, but everything available to me was of very high quality. The foam cubes worked really nicely, and it was genuinely refreshing to play a party game with a tangible board that clearly shows how everything is progressing. The cards, artwork, and components all felt premium. Rather than the usual small-box, slightly throwaway feel that party games often have, this genuinely felt like we were sitting down to play something substantial. I can easily see this being a party game that actually gets played at more hobby-focused game nights, where other party games might not even be considered.
I absolutely adore “Space Off”. I genuinely think it is one of the best party games I have ever played, purely because it includes that slightly more board-game-like structure that really appeals to me. I obviously cannot speak for everyone, but there is enough variety here that there truly is something for everyone. The ability to skip things you do not like means there will always be challenges that everyone can get involved in.
Because these are challenges rather than trivia questions, replayability remains high even if you cycle through cards you have already seen. Many challenges also use number decks or word decks, so even when repeating a task, it is extremely unlikely you will be using the same combination of cards. That does a lot to support the longevity of the game.
The game is not due out until March 2026, but you can back it right now on Kickstarter as a late pledge, with a range of tiers that include the main game as well as optional add-ons and expansions. I will link the Kickstarter in the comments below for anyone interested.
“Space Off” is, without hesitation, my favourite party game I have ever played. It works brilliantly with mixed groups of adults and children. In our games, I was far better at the word-based challenges, while Toby absolutely shone when it came to crawling across the kitchen floor and blowing a foam cube as fast as possible.
An absolutely fabulous game, and a real highlight as we hit the halfway point of our 12 Days of Christmas. Absolutely fantastic stuff.
Disclaimer – A preview copy of Space Off was kindly loaned to me to play over xmas by Rule 1 Games via the UKBG Review Circle. No incentive has been given for a positive review and all thoughts and opinions are our own.
