Star Patrol: Carrier Commander (2015)

About this game

Star Patrol: Carrier Commander is a 1-2 player tabletop game in which each person controls a starcraft carrier and its six squadrons of fighters and bombers. Players take turns launching their squadrons, dogfighting in space, firing torpedoes at the enemy carrier, and escaping back to their own mothership. There, they reload, refuel, and line up on the flight deck to launch on another mission. You must destroy all enemy squadrons to win. The Deluxe Kickstarter Edition adds dropships and space marines to shut down opponent carriers, asteroids both as dynamic terrain and for a standalone navigate-the-asteroid-field solo mission, and a starbase overlay and defense towers to convert the space board into a trench run battle to destroy the space station. It also includes civilian science ships and transports for escort and raiding missions.

Does it fit your group?

• Group size. Works with 1 to 2. It has a designed solo mode.
• Rules load. At 1.3/5 this is a light game — explain it in a few minutes, good for a table that has not played much.
• Age. The publisher suggests 9 and up. That rates the rules rather than the artwork, so judge the box yourself for younger players.