S9.E09 :: Staaarrr Reaaalms, Nothing But Staaarrr Reaaalms . . .
Feb 27, 2015
Star Realms designed by Darwin Kastle is an easy to learn, quick to play deckbuilder with an incredible print point ($15 retail). Players build their decks with cards from a common card row and attack each other. Cards fall into 4 different factions with their advantages and disadvantages. The goal of the game is to knock one player down to 0 authority (health). What make Star Realms different from most Magic-inspired deckbuilders is that the cards can be linked together if multiple cards of one color are played on a single turn. These linked effects give the game an incredible amount of depth while also allowing games to finish very quickly.
Our discussion with Darwin focused on the design space that this card linking mechanics affords the printed game as well as future expansions to the game. We discussed the availability issues the game faced when it debuted. People wanted to buy it faster than they could print more copies. We learned how the combination of unique game play, and affordable buy-in for the base game and expansions helped to catapult the game to the heights that it has reached today (it was nominated for an award at SXSW and on BGG).
To learn more about the game and future games from White Wizard Games, please click this link. If you wish to buy Star Realms, you can! Check out White Wizard Games, your local FLGS or online retailer. If you don't wish to play the physical version of the game, you can download it on the Apple Store.
Darwin wanted to encourage people to vote for the game to win at SXSW, but the release date of this episode would be past the time when voting would close, so instead: thank you for voting for Star Realms (I have no idea if it won).