Discover the best space board games on the market as we've rounded up the best tabletop RPGs, tactical combat, exploration adventures games and more. It's safe to say that everything you'll find here offers out-of-this-world fun.
There's a huge range of space board games available, but fun that goes beyond our planet doesn't stop on the tabletop. If you don't find something to your taste below, you can always check out the best space-themed Lego sets or the best space games.
But, if you are interested in games that can be played in under a couple of hours and are well-suited to a session with family or friends, you'll want to scroll through our comprehensive round-up of the best space games, all of which are recommended by us. We've included something suitable for all budgets and most age ranges, even if the majority are suitable for those aged 14 and up. So, for the best space board games on the market, read on below.
The quick list
A co-operative and competitive game with varied gameplay, there's a lot to like about Terraforming Mars.
Simple and budget friendly, The Crew is a great choice if you want something that can be played quickly.
One for Mass Effect fans, Priority Hagalaz takes place during the events of Mass Effect 3. We love its campaign and the beautiful miniatures.
If you're a fan of the Alien franchise, this RPG starter set includes everything you need to create your own terrifying campaigns.
A must-play for fans of the Star Wars franchise, Outer Rim casts you as a wannabe bounty hunter or outlaw.
A game about colonizing habitable planets in the year 3042, there's a lot of fun to be had here — and it's beautifully presented game.
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Playable with 2-5 people, Space Base is a dice-based game about managing the best space fleet possible.
A game about distributing the power of pulsars across the galaxy, there's a lot of variety here and plenty of replayability.
A quick-paced card game, you can be done with Race for the Galaxy in about 30 minutes. It's worth playing again and again.
Nemesis is a board game that will attract you with the miniatures on offer but will make you stay with the depth of the game. In short, one of the best money can buy.
The rules are simple to follow and the game is very well designed. Thanks to the abilities and variety in alien races, no two games will be the same.
This game is an epic saga, one of power, war and politics. No fewer than seventeen civilizations are available here so the replayablility of this game is enduring.
The best space board games to play in 2025
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Terraforming Mars
✅ You like variety: Gameplay is varied, and no two playthroughs will ever be the same.
❌ You want something simple: There are lots of rules, so casual players might find it overwhelming.
🔎 Terraforming Mars: This is a seriously satisfying game to play with lots of variety. It's strategic without having too much conflict, but casual players might find it overwhelming. ★★★★½
One of our favorite space board games is Terraforming Mars, a co-operative and competitive game that challenges players to transform the Red Planet.
Playable with up to five players, the goal is to be the first to get Mars past the tipping point of habitability with their megacorporation. You'll need to raise the planet's temperature, make some air, build cities, and oceans while managing all your resources.
If Mars isn't enough, turn your sights on this selection of expansions on the base game, which takes you to the deadly atmosphere of Venus (Terraforming Mars: Venus Next) and beyond in Terraforming Mars: The Colonies as the colonising of the Solar System continues.
Or there's one called Terraforming Mars: Prelude that can be combined with any expansion you like to jumpstart your gameplay. It says a lot about a game when there are so many expansions available!
The Crew: Quest for Planet Nine
✅ You're on a budget: Available for just $14.99 or less, this is a great budget option.
❌ You want something in-depth: With missions taking around 10 minutes each, it's more simple than some games on this list.
🔎 The Crew: Quest for Planet Nine: Playable in short bursts with each mission lasting around 10 minutes, it's a great option for something quick and easy — and it won't break the bank. ★★★★
If you're looking for a game that's fun for the older space nerds in your life, The Crew: Quest for Planet Nine is the perfect option. This is a co-operative strategy game where each player is on a team of astronauts traveling through the solar system in search of the mysterious Planet Nine. With cards and tokens, players need to complete 50 different missions on their journey, getting more and more difficult as the game progresses.
You don't need to play all 50 missions at once, though: The idea of The Crew: Quest for Planet Nine is that the missions can be picked up over multiple different gaming sessions. With one mission taking just five to 10 minutes, it's perfect for playing in short bursts.
We love the unique plot of The Crew and the challenges throughout the game are a lot of fun, particularly in the way that they make all players work together. It's a budget-friendly option that all members of the family can join in on.
Mass Effect: The Board Game — Priority: Hagalaz
✅ You like miniatures: The figurines in this game are beautiful.
❌ You're not a Mass Effect fan: Although it's standalone, it's based in the Mass Effect universe, so avoid it if you're not a fan of the games.
🔎 Mass Effect: The Board Game — Priority: Hagalaz: We love the structure and campaign, making for a great RPG-lite experience. Its excellent miniatures really make this game complete. ★★★★
Naturally, Mass Effect: The Board Game — Priority: Hagalaz is based on the Mass Effect video game franchise, so if you're not a fan it's probably wise to skip it. The board game is set during the events of Mass Effect 3, so you can look at it as an extra side mission taken on by Commander Shepard. You don't need to have played Mass Effect 3 to enjoy it, but it'll certainly help immerse you in the game's world.
Priority: Hagalaz is a co-operative, story-driven adventure that can be played either solo or with up to four players. Players take on the role of Shepard and their squadmates and over the course of the game, you'll find yourself battling through a series of varied missions.
This is a great conversion from screen to board game, and it's helped brought to life thanks to the fantastic miniatures included in the box — we'd argue it's worth buying for those alone. Every character has their own upgrade tree, so every player can get invested in their individual progress. Gameplay is slick and enjoyable, and we've found that the time just flies by as we play.
Alien: The Role-Playing Game
✅ You love Alien: This tabletop RPG does a fantastic job of capturing the feeling of the Alien universe.
❌ You want a complete experience: This starter pack has everything you need to get started, but you'll need to buy an additional rulebook for the full experience.
🔎 Alien: The Role Playing Game: Alien: The RPG is a fantastic experience, particularly if you're a fan of the Alien universe. Bear in mind that you'll need to purchase a separate rulebook for the full experience, however. ★★★★
Sweden’s Free League Publishing has been putting out an impressive roster of award-winning RPGs in the last few years, and one of our favorites is Alien: The Role Playing Game. It's an officially licensed starter kit, providing you with everything you need to kick off an in-depth and enjoyable tabletop RPG set in the alluring and terrifying Alien universe.
Alien: The Role Playing Game introduces you to a universe of body horror and corporate brinkmanship, where synthetics play god while lowly space truckers and gung-ho marines are host to newborn xenomorphic nightmares. If you've never seen an Alien film (?!) you won't get as much out of this as someone who has, but it's still accessible enough for anyone to play.
The Alien RPG has a standalone story which sees Weyland-Yutani Corporation divert you to answer a distress call from a ghost ship. That ship disappeared 80 years ago; it's now a derelict vessel carrying something twisted. What the ship’s frozen crew brings back with them is bad enough, let alone what they themselves are turning into. Hold your breath and play your cards right. You just might walk away rich... or dead.
The rulebook included here is enough to get you started, but if you want to get the most of the game bear in mind you'll need to purchase the full rulebook at an additional cost.
Star Wars: Outer Rim
✅ You're a Star Wars fan: It's set in the familiar Star Wars galaxy, tasking you to become a bounty hunter or mercenary.
❌ You want something quick: A game of Star Wars: Outer Rim takes around 3-4 hours, so you'll need a decent block of time.
🔎 Star Wars: The Outer Rim: Set in the Star Wars universe, this is a must-play for any franchise fan. Becoming your own bounty hunter or outlaw is seriously great fun. ★★★★★
If you’re into the Disney+ hit The Mandalorian, then Star Wars: Outer Rim will definitely be your RPG jam! It might not feature Grogu, but it’s a thrilling contest of smugglers, mercenaries, and bounty hunters all crafting their own personal legacies in the Star Wars universe.
Star Wars: Outer Rim can be played solo or with up to four players, and it's recommended for those aged 14 and above. You’ll get to play as some of your favourite scoundrels in this fun, fast-paced game — Han Solo, Lando Calrissian, Jyn Erso, and Boba Fett, to name a few.
Mod your ship (yes, you can even have the Millennium Falcon!) and build up your crew whilst you boost your reputation by completing bounties, delivering cargo, and even stealing supplies from the Imperial army. But beware, you’ll want to steer clear of the warring factions and patrols who don’t find you so charming.
We think Star Wars: Outer Rim is incredibly intuitive and with so many different in-game encounters, it's a joy to play from start to finish. It's a game you’ll definitely want to make time for (about three to four hours to be exact).
Kepler 3042
✅ You like high quality components: Everything in this game, from its board to its cards, is beautiful and high quality.
❌ You're a casual player: There's a lot to get your head around here, and playing requires some patience.
🔎 Kepler 3042: A game about colonizing habitable planets, there's a lot to love here. It's a beautifully made game, although it's possibly not all that accessible to casual players. ★★★★
Who wouldn’t want to be crowned the greatest explorer in the entire galaxy? The gaming narrative in Kepler 3042 begins in the year 3042, just as humanity is prepared to start exploring other stars. After many centuries of studying the neighboring celestial bodies, scientists have now identified the best candidates for human colonization and habitation.
Kepler 3042 is a competitive game of adventure, exploration, and colonization as you strive to develop critical technologies for your exotic settlements. Resource management is critical in this game, so plan wisely. As players colonize, exploit, and terraform the planets of the Milky Way, they will unlock more powerful capabilities to further their interstellar empires.
A full playthrough for one to four players can take anywhere from one to two hours, so it’ll require a bit of patience. On the design side of things, we love how high quality all the game's components are. For example, the large, foldable board is just gorgeous, with its mix of comic blues and purples against the blackness of space. The planet card illustrations are also breathtaking, but we just wish there were more of them. Kepler 3042 would be a welcome addition to any space board game collection.
Space Base
✅ You want something easy to learn: While it looks overwhelming, Space Bace can be easily picked up in a couple of games.
❌ You want something to last all evening: With just two players, Space Bace will only take around 30 minutes to play.
🔎 Space Base: There's plenty of fun to be had here, and Space Base doesn't take long to get newcomers up to speed. It's a quick-paced game, too, ideal if you're limited on time. ★★★★
Playable with between two and five players, Space Base is a lively intergalactic dice game of fleet management. It's recommended for ages 14 and up, and we've found its gameplay to be exciting — even when it's not your turn, you'll be engrossed in the action that unfolds.
As the ambitious director of an interstellar Space Base, your duty is to draft new spaceships into your fleet to work and patrol a dozen sectors under your command.
Each turn, you'll use a variety of cargo vessels, mining ships and carriers to earn maximum profits. As you expand your power and influence across the galaxy, you could possibly gain a coveted promotion to U.E.S. Admiral of the Fleet. Be greedy and capitalize on your exploits to earn your place in galactic history.
If you enjoy Space Base, then there are some expansions to vary the game in numerous ways. Take a look at Space Base: The Emergence of Shy Pluto and Space Base: Command Station.
Pulsar 2849
✅ You want a competitive game: Players are facing off against each other rather than working together.
❌ You don't like dice-base games: There's a lot of rolling involved here.
🔎 Pulsar 2849: A little tricky to learn, Pulsar 2849 is a great amount of fun once you've got your head around it. Its dice-based gameplay keeps you on your toes, and no two games are ever the same. ★★★★½
Pulsar 2849 warps you forward to the year 2849, a time where you’ll find that humanity has harnessed the power of mighty pulsars. Your mission is to compete against other players to set up a massive energy network that spans throughout the stars. To do this, players will race to control the pulsars and claim them with a machine called a gyrodyne to harvest the energy that is produced.
As gameplay advances, players learn to explore space, call dibs on pulsars, and encounter technologies that will assist them in building an energy-distribution infrastructure on a grand cosmic scale. There’s a fair bit of dice rolling involved, that’ll determine certain actions and affect your choices, making for unique situations.
Pulsar 2849 has great replayability as there are several different ways to score points, instead of just one single objective to strive for, so two games are never the same. Plus, the circular board is double-sided with two different maps to play, there are plenty of options for each level of the technology trees, and the unique player boards are double-sided too. For that fantastic reply value, this space game is worth every penny!
Race for the Galaxy
✅ You want something quick: Race for the Galaxy is lightning-fast to play.
❌ You want depth: The brevity of playing means it isn't the most in-depth game you'll ever play.
🔎 Race for the Galaxy: Super fast and a lot of fun to play, there's a reason why Race for the Galaxy has won numerous awards since it first released. ★★★★
Race for the Galaxy is an immensely popular, lightning-fast card game where players try to build the most prosperous civilizations using various card combinations. Designed for two to four players, Race for the Galaxy has won numerous awards, including the Boardgamegeek’s Golden Geek Award for best card game.
The revised second edition comes with six new start worlds and is designed to be a quick stand-alone game. Thanks to its shorter, more streamlined rules you’ll be in and out of a round in 30 minutes. It's perfect for when you don't have time to sink into a longer game but still want to enjoy some playtime with your friends.
Race for the Galaxy is a space card game that you’ll want to play again and again: as you play, you'll understand more with each playthrough and you’ll uncover new strategies and combos to try.
If this still isn’t enough, there are five expansions available for more worlds to explore and conquer, such as highly rated Race for the Galaxy: Rebel vs Imperium.
Nemesis
✅You're prepared to splash the cash: This is one of the very best space board games on the market, but it doesn't come cheaply.
❌You're on a budget: As already highlighted, this is one of the very best games out there, but you will have to fork out for the quality.
Nemesis is one of the best space board games that money can buy. The gorgeous miniatures will pull you in, but the staggering depth and freedom that the "mostly co-op" gameplay offers will keep you coming back for game after game.
If you like big board games, Nemesis is an easy recommendation as it's up there with the best you can currently get. There is a lot going on and that can be intimidating for new players, but it's shockingly intuitive, and after a few turns it all just falls into place.
There are always choices for the players to make, and there's a ton of variety and replayability thanks to the varied objectives, randomized ship layouts, and chaotic nature of the game. Yet it's the co-op…ish nature of Nemesis that elevates it to gaming greatness. There are plenty of traitor games out there, but Nemesis does something more with it. Everyone could be working together — you don't know if there is someone out to screw you over, and this creates a delightful undercurrent of paranoia throughout the whole game.
It might be lifting a lot of its inspiration from Alien, but it nails the tone and messaging of the universe. Alien was the perfect organism, but Nemesis is the perfect Alien board game.
Cosmic Encounter
✅You want replayability: Games are unlikely to repeat themselves with Cosmic Encounter due to the large number of alien races and abilities on offer. Thankfully, the rules are simple to follow too.
❌You want a thrilling finale: When a player is close to victory, other players can go all in on stopping them, leaving whoever is in second an easy path to winning the game.
Cosmic Encounter is one of the most enjoyable and varied board games that money can buy. The rules are simple, but thanks to the huge menagerie of alien races with powerful abilities, no two games will ever play the same.
If you're at all interested in space and sci-fi board games, Cosmic Encounter should be a part of your collection. It's easy to pick up and play, meaning you can introduce new players quickly. It also offers such an immense amount of depth and variety that veterans will get years of fun out of it without getting bored.
Randomising who each player fights is a stroke of genius that prevents those moments where players gang up on weaker players, kicking them when they're down. Instead, Cosmic Encounter is a true free-for-all and, for ourmoney, one of the best board games ever made.
It's also important to note that it's cheaper than some of the other space board games in this guide. So, if you're looking for a more cost-effective board game that's easy to play and offers great variety, Cosmic Encounter is for you.
Twilight Imperium
✅You want an epic for games night: If you're one to enjoy a proper board game session, Twilight Imperium is for you. The recommended gametime is 4-8 hours, so strap in for the long haul here.
❌You prefer smaller games: As explained, this game is an epic. And, if you get the right number of players, it can take the best part of a day to complete. So, if you're looking for a quick game of something, it won't be Twilight Imperium
Twilight Imperium is a game of combat and diplomacy. With seventeen alien civilizations, different cards, tiles and units as well as up to eight players, it's a marathon of epic proportions, worth taking the time to play.
Twilight Imperium is a serious game for serious strategy fans and it's suitable for three to six players, aged 14 and up. The game sees you guide your galactic faction to victory. With seventeen different factions, each with their own advantages, each faction offers a different way to approach the game.
This is an epic game that offers sprawling space battles, many, many paths to victory and more. No two games will be the same and with a playtime of between four and eight hours, you're sure to get your money's worth. The game itself has been around for over 25 years, which is a testament to the quality and replayability of this game. This is the Fourth Edition of the game and, as you might expect, it's even better than ever.
This edition folds in elements from previous editions' expansions, such as factions, strategy cards and more. All these additions ensure that, no matter how many times you play Twilight Imperium, you'll never have the same experience twice. And on the unlikely chance you do feel things are becoming a little familiar, there's the Prophecy of Kings expansion to explore.
How we test
Here at Space.com, we have staff and freelancers who are avid board game fans and have weighed in with their opinions on the best space board games out there at the minute. While we don't have a review for every board game above, we have considered factors including how easy the rules are to learn, how fun it is to play, and how suitable it is for multiple players to play.
We've also taken into account the quality of the experience: Does the game include well-made miniatures and elements? What about the art included within the game: Is it eye-catching and engaging? While some of the games require a lot of time commitment to learn, we've also included some that are much easier and quicker to get to grips with.
Recent updates
March 14: We've updated some of the links, added three more space board games and rewritten the strapline and intro to accurately reflect this entries in this guide.
February 18: We've updated the dates in this guide as well as the intro and strapline so this guide is fully accurate and up-to-date. We have also included a "How we test" section and this update log, so you know how the games make this list and when significant updates to the page are made.
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