In the final volume of our sci-fi ladder series, we’re going to look at the crunchy games, the ones that’ll devour hours with fun, deep decisions. The rulesets here are big, but so are the possibilities. If you’ve played some of the light and medium games in our other articles (or beyond – the sci-fi tabletop well is a deep one), and you’re looking for something bigger, read on for your next great adventure, in heavy science fiction.
Heavy Science Fiction Euro Games
In some ways, On Mars represents Vital Lacerda at his finest: as competing scientists/factions attempting to colonize Mars, you and your opponents must work together to survive while still eking out individual glory through buildings, research, and, er, efficient shuttle usage. You’ll find Lacerda staples here, like chaining 
together actions to get big payoffs, and neat additives like bouncing off of other player’s advances to make your own leaps. I’d probably not jump into this unless you’ve tried Kanban EV, The Gallerist, or Lisboa and found a taste for Lacerda’s style, but there’s no doubt On Mars is a special euro. And if you do grab this, check out the Alien Invasion expansion for a pure co-op version that’s a goofy change of pace.
With new titles like SETI and Shackleton Base emerging, I still found myself going back to Gaia Project as a core sci-fi euro. Converting Terra Mystica to space would’ve been good enough, but Gaia Project’s additions, like the gaia projects themselves, add so much to the game. Planning your planetary conquests, learning your faction’s core strengths, and watching a galaxy transform is just such a replayable, engaging experience. That your own plans are often aided (or blocked) by your opponents keeps everyone involved too, a big win when the game is this chunky. Expect to spend your first few plays figuring out this beast, and then enjoying it for the rest of your life.
It’s nigh impossible to make a sci-fi tabletop piece without mentioning High Frontier, the pinnacle of rocket launching games. In the light games article, I noted Voidfall and Spacecorp as heavy game goals, but High Frontier stands at a remove from both of those excellent titles. It’s long, encourages getting an engineering degree or working for NASA, and rewards those efforts with ecstatic success once you get a rocket off the ground. There’s been numerous editions of the game, and while the most recent, High Frontier 4 All, is the most accessible, what matters is giving this series a try, particularly if you’re a solo player with a keen interest in the nuts and bolts of space exploration. Just have a dice jail ready for when your grand mission is betrayed by bad luck.
Heavy Science Fiction War Games
To call Twilight Imperium simply a war game would be underselling it, as you’ll be negotiating, forming and breaking alliances, and evolving with a changing galaxy over a game that can eat an entire day with ease. What makes Twilight Imperium special is its combination of asymmetric factions, clear goals, and wide open options for how to pursue them. You can conquer or collude, build massive fleets or invest in advanced tech, sprawl across the galaxy or fortify a few special
planets. Starter faction suggestions and map builds ease the entry into one of tabletop gaming’s iconic experiences, so if you’ve a group willing to enjoy a unique, day-long adventure, dive in.
If Twilight Imperium diffuses its experience with open possibility, Dune, an updated classic, invites devastation. Traitors, massive hammer blows, and, naturally, sandstorms create whirling, tense friction. Victory conditions might let a clever player win early too, a neat innovation not often seen in big games that force an arbitrary round count. Harkonnens, Atreides, and all their knives-out friends are here for a six-player bout (best played at that 6 count too) where every decision is huge. Embrace the theme, the risk of battle, and create a one-of-a-kind narrative.
Space Empires is perhaps the most pure sci-fi war game out there. You start with a couple of harvesters, an unexplored map, and a singular goal: to crush your opponents. Large tech trees offer options for endless counter play – do you spread fast and thin, or focus a spear thrust to your enemy’s capital? Do you lay mines everywhere or upgrade your space stations to bristle with devastating weapons? Dice-chucking combat isn’t as random as you might think, with smart force composition earning victory over blunt arms. I prefer team games, where working together to out-maneuver opponents feels so good. For a totally unique experience, combine with TALON to make every battle a tactical skirmish. At its price point and player count flexibility, Space Empires is the sci-fi hex-and-counter game to try.
Heavy Science Fiction Miniatures Games
What more is there to say about the biggest miniatures war game running? Warhammer 40,000, well into its 10th edition, is bursting with ways to play. You can grab one of several starter sets, faction kits, or narrative adventures, play in tournaments or grand crusades at game stores anywhere in the world, or set up an ongoing campaign within your local group. This is a full on hobby in itself, from building and painting to the dice-chucking games themselves. There’s never been a better time to immerse yourself in this universe. Just, you know, choose the Tyranids, because their bloodthirsty feral swarms are the best.
Okay, say you don’t like the bombastic Warhammer setting. Say you prefer, you know, Jedi and AT-ST walkers instead? Star Wars: Legion is your answer, with 
gameplay a tad simpler than Warhammer and your favorite cinematic heroes on offer. Now mature, Legion offers a bevy of options, including bounty hunters, prequel-era forces, and more. If Star Wars is in your blood and you prefer the lightsabers to starship lasers, Legion’s the way to go (or, for smaller scale skirmishes, Shatterpoint is a Star Wars hero mixer worth a look).
Corvus Belli’s Infinity has been around the hyperlanes a few times, and there’s good reason for it, as it’s carved out its own niche. Infinity, see, isn’t about massive armies. It’s about missions, tactics, and cinema. That last bit comes about through Infinity’s order system, which lets you distribute actions across your squad or burn several on a single unit. Focusing in can create superhero turns and epic moments, where a last soldier takes out several enemies or completes an objective that, in other games, might water down over several back and forth turns. Infinity stacks unit variety, from flamethrowers to big swords, numerous play modes, and forks like the dungeon crawler Defiance and smaller-scale CodeOne ensure you can choose your way to dive into this unique, high-tech universe.
Heavy Sci-fi Campaign Games
Heavy campaign games offer big, chunky stories to go with their rules load, and ISS Vanguard is no exception. Designed around building up a crew, exploring planets, and completing missions through skill checks rather than Gloomhaven-style tactical combat, ISS Vanguard is all about strategy. Branching storylines and tough decisions about who to recruit, what tech to pursue, or which gear to bring immerse you in a vast adventure. Best played with a partner as into chasing the stars as you are, ISS Vanguard is a deep and rewarding experience.
But maybe you want a tough-as-nails scrabble set in the near future. The Hunters A.D. 2114 casts your band as hunters (shocker) of machines. As in, you’re trying
to stop and destroy rogue bots from attacking people and cities. You’ll do this in tactical missions that might last an hour or two, and encourage novel actions like laying traps and prepping ambushes through deck-building and character customization. The story drives tough moral decisions with player choices, letting you embrace your chosen role. This is the sort of game that benefits from diving deep, but with campaigns lasting in the twenty-thirty hour range, it won’t require years of play to enjoy. In short, if you like Fallout’s post-apocalyptic vibe, this is one to check out.
Surprise! You might’ve thought Star Wars: Armada was a miniatures game, and it is, as you’re sending massive fleets of star destroyers, Mon Cal cruisers, and literal fighter hordes across a field of stars. But, with a pair of excellent expansions, Armada becomes a unique (and possibly the only) campaign game in which every player (up to, somehow, six) creates their own fleet and embarks on an epic series of battles, choices, and (naturally) high stakes dice rolls. Armada as a game is approachable, with base rules you can teach quickly, then expanding to include unique ship captains, armaments, and so on. The big ships feel big and brutal, while corvettes and frigates can leverage nimble tricks to get out of firing lines. Without terrain, aside from the occasional asteroid, the emphasis is on momentum and planning ahead. It’s tense, it’s fun, and, for folks without time to spend on side hobbies, Armada’s ships come assembled and painted. X-Wing gets more publicity, but my heart lies with the big boats, and yours just might too, all because of Heavy Science Fiction.
The last three articles have hopefully given you some good game ideas for getting some sci-fi on your tabletop. If you start at the lightest games and work your way up, odds are you’ll find a warm, fuzzy, and fun spot for your gaming group (or yourself, if you’re a solitaire player). Maybe that’s with thick rulebooks and a thousand tokens, or maybe it’s with The Crew’s small card stack. There’s no wrong answer, so rev up those rocket boosters, and blast off to a great sci-fi game night.
Read our previous article here!
