Galactic Cruise

Paul Devlin
Jul 2
9 min read

Passengers, this is your Captain speaking. Welcome aboard this review of Galactic Cruise. I hope you enjoy your stay…

Galactic Cruise
Designers: T.K. King, Dennis Northcott, Koltin Thompson
Publisher: Kinson Key Games
2025

Overview:

Feel like challenging to become the new CEO of the ‘Galactic Cruise’ company? Well you are in the right place in this debut title published by Kinson Key Games and designed by Dennis Northcott, Koltin Thompson, and T.K. King. Hopefully by the end of the game you will have built and launched a smattering of ships, sent guests on luxurious space vacations and gained enough VP to emerge victorious! There is significant depth and detail in every element of this medium-heavy euro game which makes it quite a chunky one to learn – yet Galactic Cruise has a reasonably intuitive ebb and flow.

We’re in familiar worker placement territory: Place one of your two workers out onto the main board and take the actions in the space that you occupy (or an adjacent space if you have built a ‘development’ that connects you to it.) Some of those worker placement spots are familiar fare; gain resources, gain more workers (expert workers that will offer more powerful abilities), gain ‘ability’ cards that offer one-off bonuses etc. But the over-arching purpose of your worker placement will be to build rocket ships and send guests on those eponymous galactic cruises: schedule a cruise, advertise it to guests, gain segments to build into your rocket ship, try to match the colour of your guests to the segments of your cruise ships...and so on.

Instead of placing one of your workers onto the main board to take actions, you might choose to use it to pilot one of the ships you have built that is ready for lift off! Watch it take off and feel warm and fuzzy with yourself as you hoover up points based on how well you built said ship. Indeed, each time anyone launches a ship, the games inbuilt timer ticks one step closer to the end. Each game also has a set of variable strategic goals to try and hit (e.g. ‘have launched X number of ships’ or ‘have X amount of workers’) and each time a player meets one of those then, again, the game edges ever closer to the end.

Tally up your scores at the end of the game. You’ll be scoring a chunk of points during the game as your cruises take flight and your guests have a joyful time of things. That said, a good chunk of points will also be coming from those overarching strategic objectives, your cruises which also had some strategic goals to chase, VP from climbing a track, VP for removing things from your player board – you get the idea.

That couldn't be a more simplistic overview of what is certainly a complex game. Be sure to take a look at the (excellent) rulebook and a playthrough video or five to get a sense of some of the game’s quirks. On the face of it, things might be sounding a little familiar with nothing especially innovative being brought to the table but on closer inspection there are some really nice wrinkles that make Galactic Cruise lift off.

Solo Headlines:

Despite one or two minor notes of caution, the solo mode here in Galactic Cruise is excellent. ‘Rachel’ will be your point scoring AI opponent and she’s a breeze to operate with a variety of difficulty levels to suit most tastes.

A small deck of cards, each with two possible actions displayed on them. Rachel will attempt to take the first action and if she can't then she will take the second action instead. Those actions aren't too far removed from what the human player would do, give or take some minor tweaks and exceptions. You’re placing out her workers, building her cruise ships, moving up and down tracks, removing things from shared displays. The backs of her cards have numbers printed on them to give you a steer on what to take when she has a choice of items or spaces. All super simple stuff.

It’s fair to say that a nice balance has been struck here – the solo mode could have been made more complex and ‘flowcharty’ resulting in something that truly mimicked every minor detail and nuance that a human opponent might contemplate. Here though, the designers have chosen to keep things simpler which does mean that Rachel can feel a little more random and less ‘alive’ than a human opponent. But the balance is the correct one in a game that is already more than complex – I'll take a solo mode that is a little less human acting if it means things remain snappy and breezy.

However all of that praise for an excellent solo mode flags up one or two notes of caution that it is worth bearing in mind:

• I used the word “random” - and Rachel does choose items and spaces at random which can result in her scores being a little swingy. If she keeps picking up high scoring tiles rather than low scoring tiles...well, she is going to have a more than decent game. I personally don't mind this. Some players might want a game where the solo mode’s difficulty levels score withing a strict range that doesn't vary game to game. Rachel’s points are going to vary game to game...but so are mine! Sometimes I have a great game, sometimes I have a naff game. My scores swing. So do Rachels. I'm good with this.

• I used the words “she’s a breeze to operate”. That is true – the solo mode here is a breeze to operate but there is a bit of a mountain to climb to get there. Galactic Cruise is a complex game. It’s telling that in the official rules video from the always excellent Paul Grogan, he mentions a number of times “don't worry, this will eventually make sense and feel intuitive” (or words to that effect). The base game has a learning curve generally and then has a small additional set of rules for 2-player games (some excellent and straightforward things to make the game feel more bustling and alive like a 3p+ game might). Finally there are then the solo rules to wrap your head around. It’s going to take a little while before you get to the end of your first solo game, and even then you can expect to have your nose buried in the rulebook for the first game or two before things become fully intuitive.

• I used the words “things remain snappy and breezy”. They do, if you like your solo games to run close to the 120min mark. I don't mind a 2-hour game – particularly when they are as good as this one – but I will confess that my sweet stop is the 60 – 75 minute mark. Go into this one knowing it's going to play long and you will be fine. Or equally you might think “nope, not for me”. Each to their own.

• Owners of small tables – this one is a hog. I’m on a 6x4 table and the length of the main board, the two big player boards, space to build your rocket ships etc leaves me with some wiggle room. Smaller table? I think things might be quite the squeeze, if not impossible.

Minor critiques however for what is a well thought out and enjoyable solo puzzle on the heavier side of medium-heavy.

General Headlines:

Lets get a quick elephant out of the room. Wow this production is about as top quality as it gets and the attention to detail throughout is just spectacular! Start with that incredible front cover by the ever-wonderful Ian O Toole, open up that that huge (be warned) thick and sturdy box, luxurious components, excellent and functional insert / game trays. Everything just screams “quality”. It doesn’t stop there however. A huge amount of work has gone into taking ‘just another soulless euro’ and making it as thematic and smile inducing as is humanly possible. Here in this thematic corporate world of Galactic Cruise you’ll open the box to find a sealed envelope - a ‘welcome pack’ of sorts with immersive information welcoming you to the company. There is even an employee badge and lanyard that players can wear (perhaps the most luxurious ‘first player’ marker of all time?!) The rulebook talks to you not as a player of a game, but as an employee of the company you are meant to be working for. Small touches like this are dotted throughout and in even in the tiniest of details there are thematic nods and finishing touches. It’s wonderful.

Its a premium production and with it comes a premium price tag. On one hand I this the quality of the production here is a major selling point but on the other hand I do wonder whether people might be put off by the price and think “I could get two games instead”. Could the amazing production value have been dialled down slightly to make this one more accessible to a wider audience? Maybe, but it’s so hard to argue for that when the production is as good as what is on offer here.

Moving onto the gameplay, there is a lot going on with Galactic Cruise. Ok, its ‘just’ placing out workers, building cruise ships and launching them off into space but there is a steep learning curve and quite a fair bit of rules overhead. Once grasped then the main loop of the game feels quite intuitive but it’s a game that is definitely on the heavier side of medium-heavy and one that would need a hefty relearn if left on the shelf too long after each play. If you were wanting a similar but lighter ‘build ships to order and watch them set sail’ game then you wouldn't go wrong with the splendid Shipyard by Vladimir Suchy. It was nice though to see Galactic Cruise handholding you through an ‘introductory’ version of the game with some recommended settings and adjustments in place to make the learning journey a little easier. But it’s definitely the standard game where things shine and I really enjoyed having the umbilical cord cut – things felt so much more chewy. No longer were actions handed to me on a plate - I really had to work hard to seek them out and make the board bend and pull to my will. Lovely stuff.

The game offers some nice races to get the things you need, some nice worker ‘bumping’ offering interactivity, just the right amount of tightness, some clever worker placement nuances where you can pay other players to use their spaces. The overarching strategic objectives change game to game too which shifted my focus in a whole new way and I do like games that 'feel' different each playthrough. The other thing I like here is that the game isn't played over a fixed number of rounds but instead the game end can be rushed or slowed - and crikey does it sneak up on you and create some nice tension and panic!

Expansions:

I did managed as couple of games exploring the modules found in both the ‘Accommodations’ and ‘Advancements’ expansions. I enjoyed the 'all in' game, but do I think that either expansion is essential? No is the honest answer. If you really enjoy the base game then there is enough here to add somewhat to your experience - but I suspect that a lot of what is in these expansions is the fat that needed trimming when developing the base game. Nothing here felt important or especially game enhancing. Indeed one or two modules felt a little bloaty. Enjoyably bloaty, but bloaty nonetheless. The base game is great and more than replayable. If you love Galactic Cruise and want to splash out on the expansions then go for it, but if you are on the fence and the budget is tight then I'd say stick with just the base game.

At a Glance:

Galactic Cruise is an absolutely top-tier production. From the gorgeous Ian O’Toole cover to the chunky box and lush components —it’s dripping with theme and polish. Little immersive touches are everywhere. It’s expensive, sure, but you can see where the money went. Gameplay-wise, expect a heavier euro with a lot going on - worker placement, ship building, racing for objectives, and some clever player interaction. It’s got a steeper learning curve, but once you’re in, it’s chewy and satisfying. If you like your games rich, thematic, and with a bit of bite, this one’s well worth the effort. For this solo player who likes to slowly explore the nooks and crannies of more complex Euro games I more than enjoyed leaving this on the table for a good number of plays and gradually uncovering what was on offer.

Final Score:

8 out of 10 (however the production quality is a stellar 10 out 10 every day of the week)

Reviewed after 8 plays.

***Review copy provided by the publisher***