# Tiny Epic Galaxies: Beyond the Black ## General Info - **Year Published**: 2017 - **BGG Rating**: 7.7 - **BGG Rank**: — - **Players**: 1-5 (Best with: 3) - **Duration**: 30-45 min - **Weight**: 2.69 / 5 - **Designers**: Scott Almes - **Artists**: Naomi Robinson - **Publishers**: Gamelyn Games, Devir, Pixie Games, Rexhry, Schwerkraft-Verlag - **Categories**: Dice, Expansion for Base-game, Science Fiction, Space Exploration - **Mechanics**: Action Queue, Area Majority / Influence, Dice Rolling, Push Your Luck, Set Collection ## Verdict Perfect for those who love the base game and want more strategic depth and the thrill of exploration.Pilots enable interesting combosDeep space exploration is excitingIncreases mission varietyMaintains the Tiny Epic agilityRequires the base game to playModerate language dependence for cardsRECOMMENDED ## Description Ever felt like the map has become too small for your ambitions? In Tiny Epic Galaxies: Beyond the Black, that's exactly the point. You've already dominated known space, but now it's time to stare into the absolute void and ask: 'What's out there?'. This expansion pushes the galactic frontier and adds extra layers of strategy for those who already enjoy the base game. The big highlight here is the ship upgrades and the arrival of pilots. You can now evolve your original ships into more powerful versions, but to do so, you'll need professionals. There are various pilots available, each with a unique special ability. The trick is that hiring a pilot specialized in the right ship reduces their cost. However, be careful: versatile pilots (those trained for multiple ships) tend to have weaker abilities. It's the classic balance between specialization and versatility. If you love that adrenaline rush, the expansion introduces deep space exploration. It's a pure 'press-your-luck' mechanic: you might discover valuable dwarf planets and rare materials that grant precious resources, or you might run straight into a supernova or a black hole that wrecks your plans. This journey earns you exploration badges which, at the end of the game, grant bonus victory points to the leader of each badge type. To round out the package, Beyond the Black also adds new planets and exciting secret missions, providing more variety to each session and forcing players to adapt their tactics. It's the perfect dose of extra complexity for those who want to turn their tiny galaxy into a truly vast intergalactic empire, all while maintaining the agility and speed that the Tiny Epic line is known for. ## How to Play Objective of the Game Your galaxies have expanded to the extent of known space, leading to conflicts with rivals over fertile planets. Now, it's time to upgrade your ships using advanced technology and venture beyond the known universe into the truly unknown. The game is played until a player reaches 21 points, or the exploration deck is empty, triggering the last round. Setup Setup is done as a normal game of Tiny Epic Galaxies with the following additions: Shuffle the deck of planets and deal the same number of Pilots as planets in a single row. Place the remaining deck within reach. Give each player a Hanger card. Give each player the 4 new ships in their color. These can be placed on the hanger card on top of their shape. Place the Exploration board where everyone can reach it. Shuffle and place the exploration cards next to the Exploration board. Fluxo do Jogo Consulte o manual para detalhes sobre esta seção. Ações e Como Jogar Custom Ships (Hiring a Pilot) You can upgrade your normal rockets to more powerful ships by hiring a pilot. This must be done on your turn. To hire a Pilot, you must discard a certain amount of dice. Each Pilot specializes in a certain type of ship, making them easier to hire if you have that ship type left. Some pilots specialize in multiple ships, but their ability is weaker the more ships they specialize in. To hire a Pilot, activate a number of dice. If you have a ship that matches their specialty (highlighted in gray), you can discard two like dice that fit that ship. The ships and dice correspond as follows: Colonizer: two Economy dice or two Economy dice Harvester: Consulte o manual para detalhes sobre esta seção. Explorer: Consulte o manual para detalhes sobre esta seção. Capital: Consulte o manual para detalhes sobre esta seção. For example, to get a Colonizer ship, you can spend two Economy dice or two Economy dice. If you don’t have the dice that match their specialty, you may instead activate three like dice. When you do this, you can use any ship type for this pilot. When you hire a Pilot, you replace one of your existing ships with the new ship type. Then, take the old rocket and place it on the symbol that matches the ship you are using for that Pilot. This allows you to reference that Pilot’s ability with the ship during the game. That special ship now has the Pilot’s special ability. Note: To hire a Pilot, you must have a regular rocket in the game to replace it with. If you haven’t advanced your galaxy enough to have the rockets you need to replace another Pilot, then you cannot do so. The dice that are activated to hire a pilot are still placed in the Activation bay, however, their action is not taken by you. They may still be followed by other players. Each Pilot you hire is worth one point at the end of the game. In addition, Pilots also have Federation symbols. These Federation symbols will count with your exploration cards to determine majority scoring. Each pilot has exploration badges on the bottom of them. At the end of the game, players are given points depending on having majorities in badge types. You may replace a Pilot that you have already hired. If you do so, place the new Pilot on top of the old one so the badges are still showing and move the ship to the new pilot. You will get the benefit of the badges, but their ability is no longer active for that ship. Exploration When you activate a move action, you now have the ability to send a ship exploring. To send a ship exploring, you should: Move the ship to the exploration card. Draw an exploration card either: From the face up discard into your possession or From the top of the deck (If there are no face-up cards, then you must draw) When you draw from the top of the deck, you have the option of placing the card on top of the discard stack, or keeping it for yourself. The discard is next to the exploration deck, and may at most have three face-up cards. Cards in the discard are placed side-by-side so all are visible. You may discard and draw again as many times as you like, provided that: There are not already three discarded cards. If this is the case, you must take the drawn card. Or, if you ever draw a Red card you MUST take it. Red cards have negative effects, and green cards have positive ones. After the effect is resolved, players place their exploration cards face up so their symbols can be seen by all players. You cannot use a move action to trigger an exploration action with the same ship that is already exploring. It must go someplace else and then come back. (Note the culture symbol on the Exploration Card. This means ships can collect culture there when the correct action is taken.) Each exploration card has exploration badges on the bottom of them. At the end of the game, players are given points depending on having majorities in badge types. Fim de Jogo e Pontuação The game is still played to 21 points. Likewise, if the exploration deck is empty then this is also the last round. In game points are gained by: Planets Galaxy Upgrades Upgraded Ships (worth 1 point apiece) Points gotten from exploration cards (Dwarf planets, Asteroid Fields, or Black Holes) After the game ends, these pieces are then scored: Exploration Badges Secret Mission Bonus Exploration majorities are paid for each of the four badges. The player with the majority of a certain type of badge is awarded two points. Second place is worth one point. If there is a tie for first place, each player collects one point and second place isn’t awarded. If first place is awarded to a single player and there is a tie for second place, then both players get one point. Note: Dwarf planets do not count as ‘Planets’ for secret missions. Dicas para Vencer Hiring Pilots not only gives you powerful ship abilities but also provides 1 point per Pilot at the end of the game. Pay attention to Federation symbols on Pilots and exploration cards, as they contribute to majority scoring. Strategically manage your exploration cards, considering whether to keep them or discard them to influence the face-up discard pile, but be wary of Red cards. ## FAQ ### Do I need the base game to play? Yes, this is an expansion. You need the original Tiny Epic Galaxies to use these new components and rules. ### Does the game take much longer with the expansion? It adds a bit of complexity and more options, but the agile essence of the Tiny Epic line remains. Playtime stays within a very reasonable range. ### What are the exploration badges? They are trophies you earn by exploring deep space. At the end of the game, players with the most badges of each type earn bonus victory points. ### How do the pilots work? They provide special abilities and allow you to upgrade your ships. The hiring cost varies based on the pilot's specialization relative to the ship. ### Is it hard to learn? If you already know the base game, the learning curve is very smooth. The new pilot and exploration mechanics are intuitive and complement the existing gameplay. ### Is the game language dependent? Yes, moderately. Some cards and missions have text, so you might need a translation guide if you aren't fluent in English. ## Price Comparison ### Best International Offers - **BoardGamePrices.com**: $ 30.00 (https://boardgameprices.com/item/go?source=A&storeitemid=6528537&utm_source=boardgamesbot.com) - See all on BoardGamePrices: https://boardgameprices.com/item/show/20318/tiny-epic-galaxies-beyond-the-black?utm_source=boardgamesbot.com