Sci-Fi Games
Browse all Sci-Fi board games in the Meeple Pulse database.
Styles
Themes
AbstractAdventureAncientAnimalsArtBusinessCard GameCo-operativeComic BookCooperativeCrimeEconomicEnvironmentalismExplorationFantasyHistoricalHorrorHumorIntrigueLiteraryMagicMarvelMedievalModernMuseumMysteryMythologyNatureNauticalPoliticalPress Your LuckSatireSci-FiSocial CommentarySocial InteractionSpaceSuperheroesThematicTravelWarWesternWord-Guessing
Mechanics
3D PlacementActingAction / DexterityAction DraftingAction Point AllowanceAction Point Allowance SystemAction Point SystemAction PointsAction ProgrammingAction QueueAction RetrievalAction SelectionAction/EventAlliancesAlternate ActivationApp-AssistedApp-DrivenArea ControlArea InfluenceArea MajorityArea Majority / InfluenceArea MovementArgumentationAsymmetricAsymmetric FactionsAsymmetric GameAsymmetric PowersAsymmetrical PowersAuction & BiddingAuction/BiddingAuctioningBag BuildingBettingBetting and BluffingBetting and WageringBetting and WagersBiddingBingoBlind BiddingBluffingCampaign / Battle Card DrivenCampaign / LegacyCampaign / Legacy GameCampaign / Mission-basedCampaign / ScenariosCampaign GameCampaign PlayCard DraftingCard DrawingCard DrivenCard Driven ActionCard Driven CombatCard Driven Dice AllocationCard Driven MovementCard ManagementCard PlayCard Play / Hand ManagementCard Play Conflict ResolutionCard SheddingCard-Driven MovementCharacter CreationCharacter ProgressionChit-Pull SystemCo-op PlayCo-operative GameCo-operative PlayCode-breakingCombat ResolutionCombo ChainCommand CardsCommodity SpeculationCommunication LimitsContract FulfillmentContractsCooperative GameCooperative GameplayCooperative PlayCooperative Trick-takingDebateDeck BuildingDeck ConstructionDeck, Bag, and Pool BuildingDeck-BuildingDeductionDexterityDice DraftingDice PlacementDice RollingDiplomatic InfluenceDraftingDynamic Battle SystemEnclosureEnd Game BonusesEngine BuildingEngine-BuildingEscape RoomEvent DrivenExplorationFarmingFlip and WriteFollowFollow ActionGrid CoverageGrid MovementHand ManagementHex-and-CounterHexagon GridHidden MovementHidden RolesI Cut You ChooseIncomeInfluence / Area MajorityLadder ClimbingLegacyLegacy ElementsLegacy GameLegacy SystemLimited CommunicationLine DrawingLine of SightMancalaMap MovementMarketMarket DraftingMarket ManipulationMarket MechanicMarket SpeculationMatchingMeasurement MovementMemoryMission ObjectivesModular BoardModular Board ConstructionMovement TemplatesMulti-Use CardsMulti-use CardsMultiple ScenariosMust FollowNarrative ChoiceNarrative Choice / ParagraphNegotiationNegotiation MechanicsNetwork & Route BuildingNetwork BuildingNetwork and Route BuildingOne vs ManyOne vs. ManyOpen DraftingPaper-and-PencilPartnershipsPattern BuildingPattern RecognitionPick-up and DeliverPlayer EliminationPlayer InteractionPlayer JudgePoint SaladPoint to Point MovementPolyominoesPush Your LuckPush-Your-LuckPuzzlePuzzle-LikePuzzle-SolvingRaceReal-TimeRecipe FulfillmentResource ManagementRole PlayingRole SelectionRoll / Spin and MoveRondelRoute BuildingRoute-BuildingRoute/Network BuildingSanity SystemScenario / Campaign PlayScenario / Mission / Campaign GameScenario / Mission FunctionSecret Unit DeploymentSemi-Cooperative GameSet CollectionSheddingSimulationSimultaneous ActionSimultaneous Action SelectionSimultaneous Hidden AllocationSocial DeductionSocial InteractionSolo / Solitaire GameSpace ExplorationStat Check / Skill CheckStock HoldingStorytellingStrategic PlanningTableau BuildingTactical Decision-MakingTake ThatTargeted CluesTeam PlayTeam-Based GameTeam-Based GuessingTeamworkTech TreesTech Trees / Tech TracksTechnology & Armament TracksTechnology TreeTension & Aggression TracksTile DraftingTile LayingTile PlacementTime TrackTime TravelTower DefenseTrack MovementTradingTrick-takingTug of WarTurn Order: PassTurn Order: Stat-BasedUnit PlacementVariable Phase OrderVariable Player PowersVariable Set-upVariable SetupVictory Point TracksVotingWord AssociationWord GameWord GuessingWord-GuessingWord-guessingWordplayWorker Placement

RANK #158
ISS Vanguard
2022ISS Vanguard invites players to embark on a grand, galaxy-spanning science fiction epic as members of humanity's first deep-space exploration vessel. This sprawling, cooperative campaign game casts 1 to 4 players as the leaders of the Vanguard's four primary sections: Security, Recon, Science, and Engineering. Guided by a mysterious signal that could hold the key to humanity's survival, your mission is to explore strange new worlds, uncover the secrets of ancient alien civilizations, and navigate the countless dangers of the cosmos. The ultimate goal is not just survival, but to unravel a profound mystery that will determine the fate of humankind, making choices that will have a lasting impact across a lengthy and memorable narrative campaign.
The gameplay is structured around a compelling two-phase loop that seamlessly blends tactical planetary missions with strategic ship management. During the Planetary Exploration phase, players assemble an away team, customize their lander, and descend to alien planets represented by a lushly illustrated logbook. On the surface, they navigate challenges and points of interest through a unique dice-based skill check system, where custom dice, character skills, and strategic card play are used to overcome obstacles and advance the story. Following each mission, the game transitions to the Ship Management phase. Here, players make critical decisions aboard the ISS Vanguard, using a clever binder system to manage the ship's crew, research new technologies, manufacture advanced equipment, and heal their personnel. The resources and discoveries from planetary missions directly fuel the ship's progress, creating a deeply satisfying feedback loop.
What makes ISS Vanguard a standout experience is its profound sense of immersion and player-driven storytelling. The game masterfully combines the thrill of discovery on alien worlds with the weighty responsibility of managing a massive starship and its crew. The high-quality components, from the detailed miniatures to the innovative binder-based ship book, create a tangible and engaging world for players to inhabit. With a narrative penned by an accomplished author and an optional companion app providing professional voice-overs, the story comes alive, drawing players deep into its universe. Fans of rich thematic experiences, long-form campaign play, and cooperative problem-solving will find a truly epic adventure that offers dozens of hours of unforgettable moments and emergent stories.
1-4 120m⚖️ 3.6

RANK #223
Vantage
2025In Vantage, players take on the roles of explorers who have survived a crash landing on a mysterious, uncharted planet. This is a cooperative, narrative-driven game of adventure where survival depends on teamwork, intuition, and a willingness to face the unknown. The primary goal is to navigate and understand this new world together, but victory can be achieved in multiple ways. The group might succeed by completing a challenging shared mission, or an individual player could achieve a personal destiny hidden from the others. For the ultimate triumph, a team can strive for an epic victory by accomplishing both their collective and private objectives in a single, memorable session. Each game is a complete, standalone story; while players' knowledge of the world will grow with each playthrough, there are no persistent campaign elements, making every game a fresh expedition.
The gameplay of Vantage is built around a truly unique core mechanic that emphasizes a first-person perspective and shared storytelling. On their turn, a player can only see their current location card, forcing them to rely on the descriptions and guidance of their teammates to build a mental map of the world. The action system introduces a fascinating layer of risk and reward: players choose a basic action—such as move, look, engage, or help—without knowing the specific costs or challenges involved. Another player then reads the outcome from one of eight expansive storybooks, revealing the consequences of the chosen action. Success is determined through dice rolls, where players must strategically manage their challenge dice, mitigating negative results by placing them onto a 3x3 grid on their character and equipment cards. This creates a compelling loop of making intuitive choices, facing unexpected narrative twists, and collaboratively solving the problems that arise.
Vantage's appeal lies in its massive, open world and the genuine sense of discovery it fosters. With over 400 double-sided location cards creating more than 800 interconnected places to visit and over 900 other cards to uncover, the game promises immense replayability. No two journeys will ever be the same. The innovative first-person viewpoint and the blind action-selection mechanic create a tense and immersive experience that is different from typical exploration games. It's not just about moving a pawn on a map; it's about communicating effectively, trusting your teammates, and making gut decisions that have real, story-altering consequences. Designed by Jamey Stegmaier, the game skillfully balances accessible rules with deep strategic choices, offering a rich, thematic adventure that is both a compelling puzzle and an unforgettable story you create together.
1-6 150m⚖️ 3.3

Dive headfirst into a gripping science-fiction mystery with "Escape Comics: The Alien Ship," an innovative experience that masterfully fuses the immersive storytelling of a graphic novel with the hands-on challenges of an escape room. In this adventure, players are tasked with exploring a mysterious alien vessel to uncover its secrets and ultimately save the Earth from an unknown fate. The entire game is driven by a full-color comic book that you read together. This narrative-first approach creates a cinematic and engrossing atmosphere, pulling players directly into the high-stakes story as it unfolds page by page, panel by panel.
The core gameplay establishes a compelling loop of reading, problem-solving, and discovery. As you progress through the comic's narrative, you'll be instructed to pause and tackle a specific puzzle. To do so, you'll open sealed envelopes containing a variety of high-quality, tactile components that represent items and scenarios depicted in the artwork. Puzzles are diverse, testing your powers of observation, object manipulation, and logical deduction. Instead of a frantic timer, the game employs a point system where incorrect answers or using the progressive hint system will cost you points. Solutions are verified using a classic decoder wheel, which then directs you to the next part of the story in the comic, seamlessly blending the narrative and puzzle-solving elements.
"Escape Comics: The Alien Ship" is designed as a substantial campaign, offering between four and eight hours of gameplay. Recognizing that this is a significant time investment, the designers have cleverly included nine distinct save points, allowing you to easily pause your adventure and resume it over multiple sessions. One of its most appealing features is that it is fully resettable—no components are ever destroyed or permanently altered, meaning the entire experience can be shared with friends or family after you've completed your mission. While the game supports up to four players, it is widely considered an exceptional experience for solo players or partners, ensuring everyone can stay fully engaged with both the detailed comic panels and the intricate physical puzzles.
1-4 360m⚖️ 2.5

Traveller 5E represents a bold fusion of two legendary tabletop role-playing franchises, adapting the classic, hard science-fiction universe of Traveller into the popular and accessible Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition ruleset. This is not a self-contained board game, but a comprehensive TTRPG system that empowers a Game Master, or "Referee," to guide a group of players through sandbox-style adventures across a vast and unforgiving galaxy. The goal is open-ended, shifting from session to session; players might be struggling to make mortgage payments on their starship, engaging in interstellar trade, exploring uncharted worlds, or getting entangled in complex political intrigues. The game provides a robust framework for creating these emergent narratives, focusing on the freedom of choice and the realistic consequences of a life lived on the frontiers of space.
The game's mechanical core is the familiar d20 system of 5E, used for resolving skill checks, combat, and saving throws. However, it integrates this foundation with the signature elements that define the Traveller experience. Most notable is the retention of the iconic "lifepath" character creation system. Instead of simply choosing a class, players navigate a series of career terms, gaining skills, contacts, and equipment along the way, but also running the famous risk of suffering injury or even dying before the first session ever begins. Traveller's classic careers are reimagined as 14 distinct backgrounds, supplemented by nine new science-fiction subclasses and an entirely new Psion class. Beyond character creation, the system provides deep, comprehensive rules for starship design, customization, and space combat, as well as procedural generation tools for the Referee to create entire star systems from scratch.
The unique appeal of Traveller 5E lies in its ability to bridge the gap between two different philosophies of game design. It makes the gritty, simulation-heavy world of Traveller accessible to the massive audience familiar with D&D 5E, without entirely sacrificing the depth that made the original a classic. It marries the heroic, action-oriented framework of 5E with the grounded realism and high-stakes survival themes of its source material. For players who love the 5E engine but crave a setting with more advanced technology, detailed vehicle rules, and a focus on exploration and problem-solving over dungeon crawling, Traveller 5E offers a compelling and expansive new universe to explore. It's a toolkit for telling stories about ordinary people trying to make their way in an extraordinary galaxy.
2-7 180m⚖️ 3.8