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2020 · 2-6 players · 200min · weight 3.67 · 17,298 ratings
official portdifficulty: Easy
BGGEnrichedDeep analysis5Sources5RulesPick0.643Deep dive
Rating
7.96
Users rated
17,298
Owned
21,915
Wishing
8,996
At a glance
What playing it feels like, broken down.
Core loop
Place an influence disc on an action, execute it (explore/research/upgrade/build/move), pay upkeep at round end.
What it gives you
How strongly each kind of experience comes through (0–3)
Sensation
1
Fantasy
2
Narrative
1
Challenge
3
Fellowship
2
Discovery
2
Expression
2
Submission
0
How it works (5 mechanics)
- [3]tech_tree_unlock— “research technologies; tech-tree pathing is a parallel optimization; discount-by-row mechanics”
- [3]economy_throttle— “every placed disc costs Money equal to its Influence Track position; over-acting bankrupts you”
- [2]region_majority— “sector control; controlling sectors scores VP; most VP from sector control wins”
- [2]action_blocking— “limited shared spaces; first-come excludes others; wormhole-block opponents or open the galaxy”
- [2]variable_player_powers— “seven asymmetric species carrying flavor; each has different starting ship blueprints and abilities”
Archetype fits
How well this game shape maps to mobile archetype templates. Composite is a weighted sum of the 10 fit dimensions.
| Archetype | Composite | LTF | Session | Combo | Arc | Share | 5in | Onboard |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Balatro Tech_tree_unlock multiplies engine power (7), but 200-min 4X is the polar opposite of balatro session. Visual legibility (1) impossible on phone. | 3.00 | 3.0 | 1 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Snap Wrong shape across all dimensions. | 2.30 | 3.0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Cozy Hard tier (Area Majority + dice combat + economy_throttle + region_majority — and player elimination dynamics from area-impulse) — cap 3 loss_tolerance. | 2.10 | 3.0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Coop Native PvP 4X — coop graft would be a different game. | 2.10 | 3.0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Wordle Antithetical to Wordle. | 1.90 | 3.0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
Translation pick
Why this is on the shortlist for a digital build, and how each signal contributes.
Rating quality×0.300.809
Demand (wish/own)×0.180.947
Plays in one sitting×0.170.000
Easy to translate×0.201.000
No existing port×0.150.200
Total fit0.643= 0.643
Difficulty reasoning
Asmodee Digital ships an Eclipse port (cross-platform); modular hexes, ship building, and dice combat are clean digital fits.
Closest loop translation
none yet
Rules card
Synthesized from sources below. Readiness: ready. Confidence: 0.80.
Readiness
ready (confidence=0.80, rules=0.75, fun=0.90). BGG rank: 22; year: 2020; weight: 3.67; playtime: 200 min
| Source | Quality | Role | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
bgg_comments | 0.75 | player voice | positive/player-voice sample |
youtube_transcript | 0.70 | teach-flow | how-to-play transcript |
llm_memory_opus | 0.65 | source | sonnet-self-rated-7 |
wikipedia | 0.15 | context/reception | possible-title-mismatch: Eclipse (board game) |
llm_memory | 0.10 | draft synthesis | sonnet-self-rated-5-unknown |
Core Loop
A game of Eclipse places you in control of a vast interstellar civilization, competing for success with its rivals. You explore new star systems, research technologies, and build spaceships with which to wage war. There are many potential paths to victory, so you need to plan your strategy according to the strengths and weaknesses of your species, while paying attention to the other civilizations' endeavors.
Eclipse: Second Dawn for the Galaxy is a revised and upgraded version of the Eclipse base game that debuted in 2011 that features:
New graphic design, while maintaining the acclaimed symbology of the first edition
A full line of Ship Pack 1 miniatures
New miniatures for ancients, GCDS, orbitals, and more
Custom plastic inlays
Custom combat dice
Fine-tuned gameplay
Turn Structure and State
- How-to-play transcript is present; useful for teach order and confusing steps.
- BGG description anchor: A game of Eclipse places you in control of a vast interstellar civilization, competing for success with its rivals. You explore new star systems, research technologies, and build spaceships with which to wage war. There are many potential paths to victory, so you need to plan your strategy according to the strengths and weaknesses of your species, while paying attention to the other civilizations' endeavors. [...]
Win Condition and Arc
Win/scoring arc needs verification from a rules authority.
Decision Primitives
BGG mechanisms: Alliances, Area Majority / Influence, Area-Impulse, Dice Rolling, Grid Movement, Hexagon Grid, Hidden Victory Points, Hot Potato, Income, Modular Board, Passed Action Token, Tech Trees / Tech Tracks, Variable Player Powers
v4 controlled primitives: tech_tree_unlock, economy_throttle, action_blocking, dice_mitigation, region_majority
Why It Is Fun
Fun read needs player-voice synthesis.
Player-voice evidence:
- Gekauft am 10.06.2022 Thalia 100 Euro Verkauft am 16.10.2024 Ebay 85 Euro
- Wow. FANTASTIC game. First 9 I have given a game in a long time. Just about everything in this game feels so good. The tech, the map, the resources, the player interaction, the look. Since it was a first play for five of the six at the...
- Fantastic game. I played TI a ton in college and it was great but, now to scratch that itch I absolutely have to go with this game. There is not anything about it I do not like, straight up solid game. People said it was complicated but,...
- 4X + War game Worth every penny. Favorite game I own circa Dec 2022 (Favorite game I do not own is Great Western Trail). Very cool ship customization mechanics where you upgrade your fleet throughout the game, then chuck dice at your...
- This is my number 1 game. I like how a game can last for around 2-3 hours. Combat is really good and is really fun how you can customize your ships. Probably the ONLY negative I would give this game is that you need ALLOT of table space...
Friction and Failure Modes
- Treat Sonnet-memory edge rules as draft until confirmed by manual, BGA, or transcript.
- Wikipedia source is flagged as a possible title mismatch; do not use it as evidence.
Translation and Design Hooks
- Use this card to ask: which primitive carries the fun if theme/licensing is removed?
- For iOS, look for short-session compression, clear state visualization, and a digital-only twist.
- For new tabletop design, look for the tension source and decide whether to preserve or invert it.
Edge Rules and Gotchas
No verified edge-rule section yet.
Sources Used
[
{
"kind": "bgg_comments",
"path": "data/bgg_comments/246900.txt",
"quality": 0.75,
"note": "positive/player-voice sample"
},
{
"kind": "youtube_transcript",
"path": "data/youtube_transcripts/246900.txt",
"quality": 0.7,
"note": "how-to-play transcript"
},
{
"kind": "llm_memory_opus",
"path": "data/llm_memory_opus/246900.md",
"quality": 0.65,
"note": "sonnet-self-rated-7"
},
{
"kind": "wikipedia",
"path": "data/wikipedia/246900.md",
"quality": 0.15,
"note": "possible-title-mismatch: Eclipse (board game)"
},
{
"kind": "llm_memory",
"path": "data/llm_memory_sonnet/246900.md",
"quality": 0.1,
"note": "sonnet-self-rated-5-unknown"
}
]
Sources (5)
Inputs to rules-card synthesis. Click any pill with ↗ to open the original source.
BGG tags
Mechanisms (13)
Categories (6)
CivilizationExplorationScience FictionSpace ExplorationTerritory BuildingWargame
Legacy — v3 deep
Earlier paragraph-form enrichment, kept for reference until v4 deep covers all candidates.
What you do
On your turn you take one Action by spending one of your Influence Discs from your player-board track, placing it on the matching action slot: Explore (draw and place a hex sector tile), Influence (claim or abandon sectors), Research (buy a tech from the rondel), Upgrade (re-spec a ship blueprint with new parts), Build (place ship/structure miniatures), Move (activate ships). The cadence is short single-action turns rotating around the table — usually 6-9 actions per player per round before everyone passes — punctuated by combat resolution where you roll custom combat dice in initiative order.
Core loop
A game runs 8 rounds. Each round has four phases: Action (players take one Action per turn until they Pass — passing earlier earns a Reaction track bonus); Combat (battles in any sector with multiple owners resolve in initiative order using customized ship blueprints and dice); Upkeep (each placed disc costs Money equal to its Influence Track position — bankruptcy rules trigger if you can't pay); Cleanup (return discs, refresh resources, advance round marker). Across 8 rounds you grow from a single home sector to a 5-15 sector empire. End scoring totals VP from sector control, monoliths, discoveries, technology, alliances, hidden VP combat tokens, and any reputation tiles — highest total wins.
Decision space
The defining tradeoff is the disc-economy: every Action placed is a future Upkeep cost, so over-acting bankrupts you, under-acting cedes the galaxy. Per turn the option space is wide (often 8-15 viable actions) but constrained by Influence Track depth and resource pool. Tech-tree pathing is a parallel optimization — discount-by-row mechanics mean buying breadth in one tech track is often stronger than depth. Spatial decisions on the modular hex map are load-bearing: you can wormhole-block opponents or open the galaxy through deliberate sector orientation. Combat is committed before resolution (blueprints designed in advance), so the planning depth is 2-4 rounds ahead.
Skill expression
Dominant skills: economic modeling (planning Upkeep curves 2-3 rounds out, knowing when to crash your action count), tech-tree pathing (which 4-tile tech sequence unlocks the strongest blueprint at the lowest discount), and ship-design optimization (parts allocation across initiative, hull, computer, shield, weapon). Secondary: opponent reading on combat — bluffing a build-up to deter invasion. Tertiary: spatial planning on the wormhole graph. Heavier arithmetic than most Eurogames; combat dice introduce variance but blueprint design dwarfs roll luck. Strong players treat the disc track as a credit balance and never overdraw.
Tactile dependency
medium — Ship miniatures, hex sector tiles, custom dice, plastic inlays — the production presence is a real part of the experience and the table-state is genuinely large. Translates to digital but loses the 'galaxy-on-the-table' awe; the existing Steam adaptation works but reviewers consistently note it feels smaller. Information is legible, but the spectacle is partly physical.
Closest mobile genre
tactics RPG
Live-service potential
medium
Digital meta-layer ideas
- Persistent civilization meta-game: one 'empire' across many matches, sectors and tech persist into a galaxy-map server, weekly tournament season with reset cycles — like Foxhole-meets-Eclipse
- Async PvP with simultaneous-turn batching: 4-player matches resolve one round per day, push notifications on combat, leaderboards by VP/round efficiency
- Solo roguelite: 8-round run vs. escalating AI civs, draft tech-tree relics between rounds, run ends if bankrupted; ladder progression unlocks new species
- Live-service expansion drops: Seekers and Outcasts content already exists physically and translates directly into seasonal DLC with new factions and tech tiers