Preview Mode Links will not work in preview mode

A podcast about topics in game design featuring the many people who come together to make games possible.

Nov 18, 2015

Space Cadets, designed by Geoff Engelstein and his kids, is a series of games set in a cartoon Star Trek-inspired universe. The series consists of two games with expansions: Space Cadets & Space Cadets Dice Duel. Space Cadets is a coop game where players must work together to solve small dexterity puzzles in an effort to complete an overarching mission objective. Each station on the ship is given its own dexterity task like flicking a disc, playing Memory, or finding small Tetris shapes in a bag. There are more than this list. Players have to be cautious of a core break that might wreck their plans. In Dice Duel, players compete in teams to destroy each other by rolling dice (assigned to a station) and spending those dice. One player is the captain who barks orders at the others. Both games are frenetic and wild and will leave your table laughing all night.

Our discussion focused on both Space Cadets and Space Cadets Dice Duel. We talked about what it takes to make a good dexterity game and discovered what types of games didn't make the cut in Space Cadets. For Dice Duel we discussed what elements Geoff thought most necessary to bring over from the base game, and how he distinguished Dice Duel from its predecessor.

If you are interested in either of the Space Cadets games, check out Stronghold Games website. If you wish to learn more about game design from Geoff Engelstein, check out the Ludology podcast and Game Tech segment on the Dice Tower.