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From:Cheapass Games
Cost: $6
Players: 2-4
Playing Time: 30 minutes
Type of game: Family
Skill level: 2
Complexity: 4
Reviewed by: Ben Baldanza, Issue 6.1 (21), Summer 1999
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Games from Cheapass are a hit and miss proposition for me. Many feel underdeveloped, or leave you thinking “okay, but not exciting.” Starbase Jeff is a sequel, of sorts, to the earlier Safari Jack title, and is fundamentally a gambling game about building a space station. On the Cheapass scale, it’s a good game. On an all games scale, it’s better than average but still feels a little hollow.
Each player gets an identical set of cards in different colors that include three different types of cards. Station sections include all those that either continue or extend the station, attaching at one point and leaving at least one pathway out to attach another card. Endcaps close the path they attach to, and bombs destroy an already-built section of the station. Everyone builds a common station in the center of the table, and the game play is simple but effective.
Each card has a rank, with bombs being the highest (7) and one type of endcap being the lowest (1). Everyone plays one card from his hand face down, and they are revealed simultaneously. Moving from the highest rank to the lowest, the cards are built onto the station so that they fit, and when placed must be paid for into a common pot with up to two fees. First, every non-endcap has a placement cost. Second, if you are not attaching to your own color card you must trace a path to your nearest card and pay one to the owner of every card crossed along the way. When you play an endcap, you take money from the pot. The game ends when the station has no open links remaining. The person who closes the station collects the pot, and the game continues, like Poker, until someone runs out of money or everyone gets tired.
Obviously, you want to force everyone to connect to your cards so that you collect the connection fees, and you want to close the station so you collect the pot. The game rules nicely describe three basic strategies as capping (playing a lot of endcaps to collect the small benefit for each placed), piping (extending your network so that people have to connect through you) and finishing (setting yourself up to close the station and take the pot.) In practice, none of these strategies works exclusively, and you’ll be trying to do all three at times. In most games, the player who finishes the station often will win the most money, but if the station closes quickly the pot will not be that large. There are finer strategies to consider if you want to do well.
The ranking of the cards is well thought out and the distribution of cards is easy to remember. Being able to predict your order of play helps to ensure that you’ll connect where you want to and hopefully close things out at your command. The card play uses an interesting mechanic called deferrals. If cards of the same rank are played together, each card is deferred and stacked in front of the player. The next time the player does not get deferred, they build their card plus any deferred cards all at once in any order they wish. By managing this situation, you can create powerful constructs with multiple cards or be left out of someone else’s empire.
The endcaps are also well designed in that they include ranks 3, 2, and 1. You only close the station if you build the final endcap, and often having the right rank card to play makes the difference. Lastly, money management is important. It is painful to hold a key card that can’t be played because you can’t afford it, and it is not unlikely to be forced to play an endcap or two to generate some cash when you’re running low. If you’re in this situation, you’re probably out of the running anyway.
To this basic game, Cheapass adds another twist. Each card contains half of one of four “capsules.” If a player completes a capsule in his own color by connecting two halves of the same item, that player earns a special power that is available to him for the rest of that round. These powers allow you to do four different things: (1) take two credits instead of one when playing an End Cap (nice and meaningful); (2) play two cards instead of one each turn, but only draw one replacement (nice when used strategically, but not always valuable); (3) force other players to pay the card cost to connect through you rather than one credit (the best of the bunch); and (4) give you the choice to play a card that would otherwise be deferred. This adds a nice feature to the basic game design, but in practice the powers can greatly unbalance the game. Often you must save a Bomb to get rid of these, or try to end the station before too many uses can accumulate.
Starbase Jeff is a game that is fun to play, but doesn’t satisfy as a strategy game without the financial risk. As with other Cheapass Games like Ben Hurt and Renfield, this seems like a game designed to be played for real money. Played for chips instead, the game lacks the edge it might otherwise have. It works with two players, but is better with three or four since the effects of the ranking are less predictable, the likelihood of deferrals is greater, and the planning to close the station more complex. The game is very approachable to all levels of players. You can rarely argue about the price of Cheapass Games, and this one is worth at least that. But, if you want a good gambling experience in a Cheapass format with better strategy, try Renfield first.