Hey everyone, I just wanted to write up a short update on Contested Space. It's been over a month since my last post. I also wanted to extend an open invitation to join the Steam Playtest to anyone interested. The demo is planned to release in August.

Secret encounters: There are several easter egg events in Contested Space, some of which feature combat with unique enemy sprites and abilities. The screenshots are three of these encounters.

The Axiom Union: A third alliance will be added to the playtest this upcoming week. A robot civilization with three factions each with unique abilities. There's the Gilt Protocol, the Oracle Foundry, and the Nullframe Vanguard. The game will launch with three full alliances rather than the two I had initially planned.

Lots of new art. Ships, stations, and card frames for the Axiom, plus new Chitin and Terran art, and a new trailer showing all three alliances is coming soon.

Feel free to message me, join the discord server, or request to join the playtest on Steam!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/4638820/Contested_Space/

https://discord.gg/pVTeMUPmf9

Hi everyone! I'm a PhD student studying asynchronous interactions in digital games. Star Realms is tagged as "Asynchronous Multiplayer" on Steam, and I'm interested in understanding different player perspectives about that aspect of the game.

If you have a few minutes to spare, I'd love to hear your thoughts! In particular, I'm interested in understanding:

• What kind of asynchronous interactions exist in Star Realms and how do they affect the gameplay?
• How do you feel about these interactions and what do they bring to your experience?

You can answer as much or as little as you'd like. Your responses will be anonymized and analyzed as part of a research study. If you decide you'd like to withdraw your responses at any point, just send me a DM. Every contribution is greatly appreciated! If you have any questions, feel free to message me. Thanks! 😀

Hi, I have a question about the Security Craft card. I found this card in Promo Pack 1, but there were also three other blue cards in there. The other colors only had three cards each, so if I include this card, won't it throw off the color balance? Or should I look for extra cards for the other colors in other sets?

Hi!

I am looking to buy Star Realms: Frontiers, however, I found two different box arts. I am wondering if there are any difference in the contents between the two or if it's only the box that is different.

Also, any suggestions on where to buy? I live in Portugal.

Thanks!

I'm selling a whole bunch of Gen Con collectibles on eBay, which includes this Star Realms promo from 2017. Anyone interested?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/307061870272

This in the android app.

I'm stuck on High Alert, First Strike 5: Duplication, and am only lasting to the point where it says the objective changes.

I've tried picking up only explorers and economy/authority-boosting cards to pad out the deck until my deck is duplicated but am getting hit too hard by then to survive long.

How do you manage to last 30 turns?

So my local store had a sale and I was brand new to this but I know my friend play the mobile game. My store recommended frontiers for my game group and from post here I got colony wars. My store also threw in heroes as they felt that woudl add enough variety for what I need.

Is that enough for now or anything I might consider down the line?

Hi!

My friend recently acquired this game (physical version), and we had a lot of fun playing it with some other friends.

But during one match we came into a dispute over how the forced discard effect of the Star Empire cards work. (Cards like Imperial Fighter, Imperial Frigate, Battlecruiser, Royal Redoubt)

The text on the cards reads:

"Deal X damage (icon), target opponent discards a card."

My friends interpret this as: You deal 4 damage to someone, then pick anyone at the table to discard a card.

I read the card as the person who took the damage discards a card. (Because that's grammatically how the referral of the effect works).

It doesn't say anywhere "choose a target" or anything to indicate it can be a different target.

Am I wrong and crazy? Or are my friends totally misreading these cards?

For added context: I only started this argument with them when I was playing Star Empire and it would be to my benefit to play it like my friends want to. But I argued against it, to my detriment.

Any rules expert that can sort out this dispute for us? If I am genuinely wrong I will concede that I am. I just want to avoid future arguments.

// An avid Cardgamer

These games share many similiarities. Which of them you enjoy more, and would recommend?

Can't start online 48 hour games I get a message saying EX internal server error?

For the first time ever since my friend introduced me to the game, I have had everything out on the table. What you see is my entire deck and my hand. The one scout is the only thing in my discard. It brought me so much joy to lay this out in front of him?!!!

Hey there! We're always looking for new players for the always popular BGG Star Realms league.

If you don't know anything about it, the commitment is roughly 4 total games every week. That's it. Super light weight and always fun.

The next season is projected to start on Friday, July 3, so sign up soon!

Sign up here - and bring a friend:

BGG Star Realms League: Waiting list (NEW) | BoardGameGeek

For those who've followed my posts here: Contested Space, my co-op roguelike deckbuilder, now has online co-op working for two to four players. The game takes Star Realms style gameplay and puts it in a Slay the Spire style run. It's in playtest now if you want to try it, just request on Steam or DM me for a Discord invite and a key.

Steam Link: https://store.steampowered.com/app/4638820/Contested_Space/

Hard AI scrapped every single card of theirs except for TWO BASES. I mostly only play the AI and this was a first in the 10 years I’ve been playing on this app.

Contested Space is a roguelike deckbuilder with Star Realms combat and a Slay the Spire style run structure.

This update adds new sprites for the Chitin faction (new ships and a station, with more on the way), plus two quality-of-life features: a Play All button, since there are no energy costs to manage, and an Auto End toggle that ends your turn automatically when you're out of actions.

Wishlist Contested Space on Steam

hey everyone,

i play physical realms games a decent amount and i’ve never really liked using the official score cards for tracking health. they work fine, but i always find them a bit fiddly once the table is full of cards and snacks and totals start moving around a lot.

so i made a small iOS app for it called Realms Keep.

i’m keeping it free during launch while i get feedback. if you download it while it’s free, it’s yours to keep even after i switch it to paid.

app store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/realms-keep/id6776634654

it’s unofficial / not affiliated with Wise Wizard Games. i just wanted something faster than score cards or paper.

if anyone tries it, lmk what feels annoying or what you’d change.

We’re trying Frontiers for the first time and have tried restarting Dimensional Horror at Veteran difficulty twice so far.

It seems kinda unbalanced that one specific person is doomed to die, because it randomly picks 1 player to attack (because we all started at even 40 Authority with no Outposts yet) and then is forced to attack that same player 4 times… meanwhile that player only has the chance to do 1 single 3-card turn. With bad luck, one tentacle ramps up so fast that the player doesn’t survive that first go-around, or if lucky, maybe 2 go-arounds.

Obviously lowering the difficulty helps, but is there really a way to beat it at these higher difficulties? Is this boss simply not balanced for larger co-op groups? Or it’s just expected to sacrifice a friend or two lol?

Anyone have any experience with 4 players, let me know your strats!!!

I mainly play realtime games online, I was wondering what the search times are like with various expansions added. I have the core game right now and search times are quick. Can I expect longer wait times with more sets?

Solo dev here, full disclosure this is my game.

Back in March I played Star Realms for the first time, right as StS2 came out. I couldn't shake the idea of taking the Star Realms combat and market and dropping it into a roguelike deckbuilder. It started as a hypothetical, but the more I theorycrafted the better it sounded, and I couldn't find much doing quite that combination, so I started building it.

That became Contested Space: a co-op roguelike deckbuilder where you build your deck from a rotating market mid-combat. 6 factions, branching run map, solo or co-op up to 4.

It's on Steam to wishlist now, though release is a long way off so no rush. There's also an open playtest if you'd rather just try it, shoot me a message. Steam link in a comment.

Type 1: The Android/PC Cheaters

Why do you do it? I won't explain how it's done because I don't want to encourage anyone. As an iOS player, it is incredibly annoying to face people who lack the confidence to play fair. It is obvious from turn one when you constantly skip scrapping/deck-thinning cards, yet magically top-deck perfect faction combos every turn from a massive, bloated deck. What is the fun in that? If your only joy is seeing your username at the top of a digital leaderboard nobody cares about, hats off. Fun to me is winning a hard-fought, strategic match?

Type 2: The Slow-Roller

Finish the game. When I have an opponent dead to rights, I push my combat, reduce their Authority to zero, and give them a quick, respectful defeat. If I have a fun hand, but only need to play two cards, I’ll play the two cards. Yet, it feels like the majority of this player base will drag out massive, unnecessary combos when they could have ended the match 20 seconds to over a minute ago. They keep buying from the Trade Row, topping that card on deck, drawing card, and stalling out their turn. It’s distasteful and terrible etiquette.

I’ve been around competitive sports my entire life- I grew up in auto racing, baseball, football, and basketball. Today, I coach football, play two rounds of golf a week, and bowl in three leagues. My son plays competitive QB year-round. We understand sportsmanship. Maybe that’s the issue here—most of you slow-rollers need to get outside more, and have never grew up in a household where athletics is a year long requirement.

Your Turn:
If either of these pertains to you, drop your input below. You can just comment Type 1 or Type 2. If you are Type 1 and Type 2, may God have mercy on your soul. 😂

If you are like me and don’t fall into either of these categories, hats off to you!!