Personally I love it. Maybe it’s my experience playing the Master
of Orion series in my youth. That game really fuelled my love of the exploration
part of a 4x game. Maybe I just love the randomness. But I know there’s more to
it than that.
The naysayers talk about how it can really harm players in the early
expansion phase of the game. I won’t argue against that, it does happen but believe me it isn’t
that big of an issue. What these players forget is that this isn’t an empire expansion
game. What you are really going for is victory points and achieving objectives.
Sure a huge empire can help with that but it isn’t always necessary. Getting hammered
early in the game with distant suns can actually work to a player’s benefit.
Seriously hear me out. During my first game the player to my
right had some really terrible early expansion due to distant suns (his troops
died in every landing.) This weakness did prompt the player to his right to leap on him like a jackal on a wounded gazelle (which sucked.) However the weakness also made him
invaluable to me. He became my buffer to an aggressive player, he also became
my trade buddy. He leveraged his weakness to gain from me, he wasn't a threat to me and the benefit he gained would fuel a war with an aggressive player.
After that he became the underdog in a massive war, the rest of the table
decided to rally to his support. Because of his status, political cards that
helped him and hindered his aggressive neighbour were passed. Finally other
players just jumped into the war to aide him. His apparent weakness also
allowed him to achieve victory conditions without hindrance from other players because
they ignored him as a threat.
The opposite is also true for the beneficial distant suns tokens. I managed to get the Lazax Survivors but never really used them to great
effect. I used them to pass a law that favoured my weak neighbour, and knocked
down one that would have really harmed my strategy (turns out I didn't need the extra votes though.) But other than that I
failed to use them effectively. I have seen players who failed to use a
technology boon effectively; Either from excitedly grabbing the wrong tech card,
or being drawn into a costly war that prevented them from pursuing their tech
tree. A boon of a spacedock is fantastic in a forward tactical position, but it
can go to waste on a pitiful planet that was picked up just because it was
there.
Distant Suns creates more political fodder for the game.
Reminding players of successes or hurts from the early game can change their votes,
influence who they are willing to trade with, and even swing their decisions on
which sides of wars to fight on. You can find yourself the annoying rich kid of
the game, the spunky underdog, the powerful ally, or the weak prey. It all
depends on how the players interact. It builds on the narrative of the story
you are creating that game session.
Distant Suns adds to the thematic element. I expect to have
to explore the galaxy in a 4x game and it brings more action and suspense to
the early game. I find that early turns are more mechanical repetition of
expansion before finally trudging up to the player interaction part at about
turn 4. This optional addition adds to the interest for everyone. Every player becomes tense waiting to see what each player's next exploration
will reveal.
This changes the dynamic of the early expansion. Instead of a frantic planet grab, players carefully plan, they debate borders, and they make deliberate tactical or cost/benefit decisions. It makes the game more interesting.
Sure Distant Suns adds some time to the game. But honestly if you are already diving in to the epic experience that is Twilight Imperium, you should have the fortitude for such a minor time addition.
Distant Suns should be added to your Twilight Imperium to enhance the Space Opera your group plays out.
Distant Suns should be added to your Twilight Imperium to enhance the Space Opera your group plays out.
