Stellar Conquest (1975)

About this game

First published by Metagaming in 1975 (later as a boxed edition in 1979), Stellar Conquest is considered to be one of the first 4X (eXplore, eXploit, eXpand, eXterminate) board wargame. It plays four, but can be adapted for more players with the addition of extra sets of pieces. It is also possible to replace the deck of stars with random generation tables.

Does it fit your group?

• Group size. Works with 2 to 4.
• Rules load. At 3.0/5 this is a mid-weight game — expect a proper rules explanation before you start.
• Age. The publisher suggests 12 and up. That rates the rules rather than the artwork, so judge the box yourself for younger players.