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Impulse – Review

Asmadi Games / £22  / Players 2 – 6 /  30 – 60mins / Age 14 +

 

In Impulse, each player commands a fleet of transports and cruisers, exploring an untouched sector of the galaxy. You seek to earn enough prestige to convince the native populations to join your interstellar federation. – Asmadi Games

Playing Impulse Boardgame

We love Twilight Imperium, but who has 9 hours to spare these days to explore a galaxy and get a game finished?  Mike saw a review of this game on YouTube and the abstract look,  which was very minimalist, just drew him to it.

 

Hmmm, this is one of those odd games. For some reason Tamz cannot get her head around how to play it. Poor Mike has to go through all the rules and actions available every time we play the game. Bless him! Once in the swing of things it’s all fine and the wins are about 40/60 with Impulse being are rare game Mike has a chance of winning!

Impulse Boardgame Box

It’s like a sandbox game in a very small package.  Want to go out and kill the other ship, have at it! Want to mine minerals and sell them on the market, go for it!  The function of the components is amazing as the play board, action card and minerals are all on cards so they are interchangeable.  The ships are duel function, if it’s stood on end it’s a transport, lay it flat it’s a cruiser.  Just the thought that has gone into this game to make everything as multiple use is amazing.

Impulse Cards

Once we have read the rules again, we have a few strategies –  get ships to the Sector Core quick and start scoring points from there, they all add up. Laying cards around your starting space is very important, then deciding which way you want to play is key. To Mine, Trade and Kill your opponent are ways to score points, but really focus on one to score points as fast as possible.

Impulse Sector

Impulse is not the prettiest of boardgames. Minimal is the best term! The colour coded cards are simple and easy to use. The Sector is a fab mechanic all set out in a grid and fun to explore. The ships are all the same, just different colours. Ship placements tell you what sort they are – Stood up = Transport // Laid Flat = Cruiser. The cards make up the rest of the game. Although it does come with a handy token to track where you are on the Impulse.

 

Games are very fast so there’s going to be a winner quick. Sometimes you may not have got your game into gear which feels very disappointing.  Tamz gets very muddled so is confused at winning or is worried about playing catch up. On the other side winning when you get the perfect point generating system is brilliant.

Impulse Boardgame

Space exploration, Mining, Trading and space battles all in a little box.  We love the look and feel of the game but recommend this one for hardcore gamers.  If you are familiar with the mechanics and can get past plain artwork you will have fun. If not, we can recommend Tiny Epic Galaxies. The Tiny Epic games are always great fun an easy to learn. With similar mechanics and the space theme to boot, Tiny Epic Galaxies is a bit more user friendly and will appeal to a wider audience.

 

Would you avoid buying a game that looks so minimalist? Or would the abstract style draw you in like it did for Mike? Let us know in the comments. . .

Impulse Boardgame

For more information:

Asmadi Games

Impulse

 

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