Last time, we looked at a slew of excellent sci-fi board games great for tabletop beginners (and longtime players, because the best games grow with you). Today we’ll deliver more great recommendations with some medium science fiction, these aimed at folks with a little more experience, or those willing to dive into more complex rule sets that might take a couple of hours to play. The experiences here are rich and run the gamut from cooperative to competitive, campaigns to single session epics. With that in mind, read on and immerse yourself in more space-themed goodness:
Medium Science Fiction Euro Games
Anyone in touch with the eurogame scene for the last half decade knows Dune: Imperium, and you should too, because it’s an excellent blend of worker placement, deck building, and player interaction that hums in both its 3-4 player version and the team-based commander variant. You’ll pick your faction from the sci-fi universe’s colorful cast, then set about building alliances, buying cards to buff future turns, and recruiting soldiers to battle for game-changing combat rewards. You’d think all these pieces would make for a complex mess, but Dune: Imperium combines into a thrilling symphony. The original’s fine, but check out the remixed Uprising and, particularly, the Bloodlines expansion to really let the sandworms loose.
Did you watch those senate scenes from the Star Wars Prequel Trilogy and think, boy, that seems fascinating? Neither did the designers of Federation, who saw the potential in a mingling alien senate and created a far more entertaining version. Federation sees you as a faction playing those politics through your ambassador pawn, spaceships, and special abilities. You’ll visit different civilizations to curry their favor, seeking to score bonuses and trigger secondary actions, all culminating in a mighty military, stacks of cash, or so much influence that you’re nigh untouchable. That’s right. You’re trying to become Palpatine, just with friendlier art, and lots of player friction as you compete for spots, bonuses, and passing scoring laws. The excellent art and production only helps make Federation an easy choice to table any night of the week.
While some of the games on this list are newer, others are classics for a reason. Terraforming Mars is the quintessential space euro of the last decade. The variable setups, vast amount of expansions, and engine-building gameplay make this one of the most replayable, satisfying euros around, even if it can run long (particularly with new players). Still, it’s always exciting to get your initial hand and start chaining possibilities, only to then roll with what fate delivers in the form of opponent actions and new card draws. Crashing a moon, launching a convoy from Earth, or seeding Mars with microbiomes will never get old. Terraforming Mars deserves a look if you’ve never tried it, especially if you’re a euro fan.
Science Fiction War Games
Last year, Cole Wehrle’s ARCS barnstormed tables with its trick-taking, sci-fi area control combo. More approachable than many of Wehrle’s other titles (though John Company and Oath will always have a soft spot in this author’s heart), ARCS nonetheless plays as one juicy decision after another. Playing your hand right will let you move ships, score points, and conquer adversaries (or defend from the same). The Blighted Reach expansion adds a right-sized campaign mode too, making ARCS that rare breed of game covering both one-off week nights and multiple session stories.
A staple series, Undaunted took to the stars last year with Undaunted 2200: Callisto. Bringing mechs and more asymmetry to its faction pair, Callisto retained the crunchy decision-making of its forebears. You’ll still have to choose what card to lose for initiative, still get to bleed out cards from your opponent’s deck with
every hit, and achieve varied objectives for each scenario. New terrain elements, like height, add to the strategy and reduce the chance of slug-it-out stalemates. If your playing partners have little interest in historical wargaming, Callisto might be the way to get them to the table. Then, once they’re hooked, Stalingrad and Britain are waiting.
We’ve talked about Star Wars: Rebellion before, and it’s the heaviest game in this bunch, but the theme and the option for newer players to use the Imperials (the easier faction to learn with), gives it this slot. A cat-and-mouse, galaxy-spanning battle full of missions, daring raids, and climactic clashes, Rebellion is as cinematic as war gaming gets. You can destroy the Death Star, or use it to obliterate, at last, the Rebel base. Or, you know, convert Princess Leia into a diabolical Sith determined to obliterate her former friends. Good times! Grab the expansion to spice up combat and add your favorite Rogue One / Andor characters to the mix too.
Science Fiction Miniatures Games
A casual glance might assume Star Trek: Into the Unknown and a game in the next article in this series, Star Wars: Armada are the same, just with different universe skins. They would, as you’re guessing right now, be wrong. Into the Unknown embraces the Star Trek theme by encouraging exploration, quests, and going on 
adventures. You’ll score more points doing that, in general, than just blowing up your opponent (though that’s definitely on the table). A newer title just beginning to grow, Into the Unknown is an immersive Star Trek miniatures game, and a great option for players that don’t want combat as the driving force in every match.
What is sci-fi without the machines? Battletech gets you. A game of mech battles, both venerable and easier than ever to enter, Battletech speaks to the tinkerer in all of us. Customize your force to be nimble and precise, or sturdy and devastating. Leveraging hexes rather than rulers, Battletech keeps its battles focused on the mechs, of which you’ll often run small squads rather than vast armies (even if you choose to include soldiers and tanks). The starter sets also let you dodge assembly, making Battletech far easier to get to the table than the two war games above. Mechs making war, what more could you want in medium science fiction?
Warhammer 40,000 isn’t that complex, but its myriad factions, codexes, and side material can be intimidating. It’s easier to dive into this universe with Kill Team, a smaller scale skirmish game excellent in its own right. Grabbing one of many starter boxes gets you two solid opposing squads, terrain, and a scenario book jammed with fun clashes. You’ll alternate activations sending Space Marines up against Orks, equipping different weapons and using special abilities, all in an hour or two. Campaign play lets you easily take your squad into new matches, with soldiers earning experience and getting new abilities (provided they survive), letting you tell the story of your plucky Inquisitors as they discover the power of friendship. Plus, it’s easy to find organized play, should you want to take your skills to a tournament or weekly game store session.
Miniatures Games
A fun first edition has recently been buffed by an upgrade pack to turn Stars of Akarios’s space-battling co-op campaign into an action-packed stellar adventure. You’ll play as specific pilots, with skill trees and ships you’ll upgrade over a choose-your-own-adventure campaign. Combat plays out with cards and modifiers in Gloomhaven-style, coupled exploration, as at its heart, Akarios is a space dungeon crawler. If you’re interested in a blast’em adventure in medium science fiction, this is one to check out.
A sort of sequel to pirate adventure game Forgotten Waters, Freelancers puts a big bundle of sci-fi narrative on the table and asks you and your pals, with your unique
characters, to enjoy. Paired with a companion app and stellar audio production, Freelancers sees you making choices, rolling skill checks, and if all goes well, coming home with loot in hand. If you’re a fan of tabletop one shots, Freelancers will fit right in, delivering an awesome adventure in just a few hours.
We’ve gone deep into Imperial Assault, a massive Star Wars game from Fantasy Flight, where an opposing Imperial player goes up against a few Rebel heroes over the course of a grand campaign (playable, with an app, as a fully co-op experience). Now completely available, you can pick up Imperial Assault expansions and hero packs as you go, bringing dice-chucking skill and combat, coupled with tight narrative, to your table. Best part? Darting into an ill-advised battle with Han Solo by your side. Worst part? Darth arrives to spoil the party in this medium science fiction game.
All told, the games listed here build on the foundations from lighter titles. Controlling characters, understanding area control, or spatial combat are skills that’ll make every game here go down easy, getting right to the fun. In turn, the added depth in these games will get you ready for what comes next: the heaviest games sci-fi has to offer.
Read our article on Light Science Fiction here!
