Competitive Stargazing for Two: Stellar Board Game Review

Reviewed by: Fwooshe

The clear night sky is perfect for stargazing. I peer through my telescope into the starry abyss while beside me my partner does the same. Almost immediately a dazzling interstellar cloud swirls into focus. I inhale sharply, captivated by its beauty. I manage to peel my eyes away to glance over at my partner. He is already looking at me, grinning.

“I spot an asteroid- three points!” He marks it in his notebook.

I recalibrate my telescope and return my gaze to the night sky. A darkness has swept across the stars above.

Could it be? A black hole?! …marvellous!

Let’s Play Stellar

Stellar is a gorgeous space-themed strategy game for two players. Over the course of eleven rounds, you and your opponent play celestial object cards into your telescope and notebook areas, carefully considering card placement to maximize points and create the most beautiful night sky.

Stellar Gameplay

Before you begin stargazing, you of course need to set up your telescopes. The telescope play area is composed of twelve cards laid out to resemble the shape of a telescope. Each player takes two of the five starter celestial objects (moons, planets, asteroids, interstellar clouds, and black holes), places one at the top of their telescope and the other in their notebook area in front of them. Then draw two cards from the deck to make your starting hand. Line up the five number cards and draw five cards from the celestial objects deck, assigning one card to each slot face-up.

On Your Turn

Every turn you will play one card into your telescope and one to your notebook, which is the general area in front of you. First, take any card from one of the five numbered slots, add it to your hand, then play any card from your hand into either your telescope or notebook. Cards played in your telescope must be adjacent to at least one other card of its celestial type (ex. asteroids). If there are no cards of that type already in the telescope you may play it anywhere. When playing cards into your notebook, group them in stacks according to their type. The goal is to get the longest possible run for each celestial object.

Note the number of the card you just played. You must now take the card from the corresponding number slot and immediately play it to whichever area (telescope or notebook) that you did not play your first card. If the indicated slot is empty, draw a card from the deck and play that one instead. Then, refill any empty number slots from the deck.

The game continues until both players’ telescopes are filled with celestial objects.

Scoring

There are three ways to earn points. This is where things get mathy.

1. Stars x Multipliers: [Total number of stars among each card type in your telescope] x [Number of cards in the longest run in your notebook for the corresponding card type]. Do this for each of the five celestial objects.
2. Section Majority: Add the numbers on all cards in each section of the telescope (top, middle, bottom). Whoever has the greater number in each section earns ten points.
3. Diversity Bonus: If you have all five celestial objects in your telescope, score ten points. (Satellites are considered wild and do not count).

Our Thoughts on Stellar

Stellar is one of my favourite two-player games, and by far the most visually captivating one that I own. It is mathy, puzzley, and deceptively complex. While the mechanics are straightforward, every decision you make in this game is a loaded one. Every card played has an impact on future options as well as end-game scoring. These decisions become even trickier as the game progresses and you begin running out telescope space. But fear not! If your opponent is taking a long time to figure out their move, you can keep yourself entertained by reading the space facts on the celestial objects cards.

It takes a full playthrough to understand how everything comes together in Stellar, largely due to the unintuitive scoring system and the fact that the card attributes have different implications depending on which area they are played into. I got confused quite a few times during my first two playthroughs of Stellar. Luckily the rulebook is succinct with helpful illustrations. I consulted it many times.

Something I appreciate about Stellar, aside from the spectacular art, is that it feels very balanced. Higher numbered cards have lower star points, and vice versa, which prevents one person from pulling way ahead in both competitive scoring categories. I would also describe the game as “tight”. You will only play twenty-four cards in the entire game, and only half of those will count towards the bulk of your score. Every single card you play matters. There is no ebb and flow in this game.   

Stellar is a great option for:

• Space enthusiasts
• When you’re in the mood for a strategic game but short on time

Once you’ve got the rules down, Stellar is a quick game that is challenging, relaxing, and just demanding enough to keep you on your toes from start to finish. And by the end of the game you will have created a spectacular outer space skyscape.

Potential Caveats

• Takes up a lot of table space
• Restricted to two players
• Demands some spatial planning and arithmetic