Follow-up: Eclipse (pre-expansion), and general discussion of game duration

I wrote about Eclipse last year, and promised a follow-up article. (Link.) This is extremely delayed, and has been sitting as a draft for too long. I'll do a real follow-up about the expansion...soon?

Since that article last May, I've probably played 2-3 games a week. It's blocked out the sun, in terms of other games.

The elegance is nice, and hasn't dulled the overall appreciation of the game. Each of the alien races (except for maybe the Eradani) feel interesting, different, and balanced. The Eradani start with two less tokens, a ton of money, and 3 fair technologies. Two less tokens is painful though - you start eating your free money from the start, and you'll hemorrhage the whole game. The biggest deficit is at the end, where you have to stop playing actions because you're out...and others keep going.

Big, 6-player games can result in player combat (and betrayal) almost immediately. (I think I was hit turn 2, once.) We've had discussions on betraying people early so you don't get stuck with the -2 at the end of the game...obviously someone will betray again before it's over. Probably.

2- and 3-player games are a bit less diplomatic. Most of the points are known, and 1st place is likely going to see a couple of incursions in round 8/9.

As you explore, you get some degree of choice of how explored tiles are placed. Fencing off your area is pretty strategic, until someone grabs the expensive wormhole technology, and then you fall to pieces. Likewise, exploring in a way that cuts people off from attacking you (except through the galactic center) means that the Galactic Center is a public target - everyone can reach it, but only one at a time.

Oh, Galactic Center. It's there in every game. Slow, bulky, minorly defended Galactic Center. Your early games, it probably doesn't get hit until round 7 or 8.  If you're ambitious, maybe as early as round 5-6. It marks a turning point in the order of the universe - it's a juicy target and a super-highway to other players. Gloves are off.

Depending on the players, you might see a lot of ships crashing rival systems. While I haven't seen a player-wipe yet, it'll happen someday. What usually happens is player A takes a high-value system from B, and then C could choose...attack B, or attack A...and A has more points. Which leads us into...

Game Duration
As players, we generally accept how a game ends. There's no question of "what happens tomorrow?" Eclipse ends the game at an arbitrary 9 turns. Settlers of Catan says 10 points. Through the Ages when you run out of cards.

In the case of Eclipse, ending at 9 turns is important. You spend the first half of the game, setting the stage for the second half. What necessary technologies show up, who gets them, where the resources pop up, and how bad/good luck is distributed...with that in play, you make the best of what you can. Honestly, anything past 9 hits the "eternal strife mode" where no one gains ground...much like Risk games of old - player wipe would be the only solution.