Noobs in Space |Cooperative Games | Puzzle Solving

Nice game, easy to setup

Not really replayable with the same group. It’s a great addition to an organization’s game chest for varied groups to use, but has no place in a single family’s collection. Would be great for an AirBnb or corporate lunchroom or a church youth group closet, but I’m sure I’ll only play it a couple of times and donate it/pass along to someone else.

interesting game if you like escape room style games. you will finish this game in about 1 hour

Noobs in Space is a fun and quick board game perfect for casual play. Its engaging mechanics and vibrant design make it enjoyable for all ages. The game is easy to learn, making it accessible for new players. As a Kosmos creation, it maintains the high quality and creativity the brand is known for.

In Noobs in Space, a team of new astronauts take on a series of missions to manage their derelict spacecraft. My young family has enjoyed playing this cooperative card-only game. Literacy is a must, however, and some of my younger children struggle slightly.Noobs in Space is cooperative in the fullest sense of the word. Each player's hand of cards is private, and tasks often require cards from multiple hands. As such, each player must pay close attention and contribute when needed, or the mission fails. It makes "quarterbacking" difficult, a common problem in other cooperative games where one player makes decisions on behalf of others.The theme is lighthearted and fun. Each mission is about 15 minutes, allowing multiple missions if time permits. Each mission comprises various tasks. A typical task entails a player reading the instructions aloud and asking other players for the applicable cards so the accompanying picture can be built. Part of the game's charm is that it would be much easier to show the players this picture, but the player instead has to communicate it with words. It tests the player's ability to use critical thinking and communicate.At the end of the mission, the team checks their solution against the key and their time against a rubric—five stars if correct and done quickly. Three missions in, we are having fun and plan to finish.

Not very fun or entertaining.

First, I will say that the box and cards are high quality and I like the box and card art. The game itself, however, is not that fun, and the replayability is pretty low because the solution to each level never changes so if you've played it before and remember the solutions, it will be less fun.This game is essentially about the ability to communicate small differences in what is on your cards. There are matching puzzles, counting puzzles, ordering puzzles, etc. and the catch is once you put a card down, you're not supposed to pick it up again, and you can't look at other players cards, so you have to be very clear in describing your cards and choosing how/when to put them down.There is a lot of reading so this isn't for anyone who isn't a good reader yet. And there are very few instructions, even about the basic terminology they use. For example, some tasks say something like, "when you lay them down, every other card should have its status something or other hidden". But they don't describe what the status thing is so it's unclear what they mean. Once you've played it and see the solutions they show, you'll have a better idea what they mean. But, like I said, once you've played it you know the solutions and they don't change, so future replays are (imo) less fun.I really like co-op games and wanted to like this, but the premise of this game (lots of description and communication of what is on your card), is not that interesting to me and isn't great for younger kids.

Think of this more like one of those "escape room in a box" games as opposed to a regular card game. A big benefit of this game over the escape room games is that you don't destroy anything in the box, so it can be played over many, many times - just not with you.This is a game all about communication. The only real rule of the game is that you can't show anyone else your cards. Everything else is figured out as you're playing the game. My wife loved the fact that I didn't have to explain any rules of the game to her or the kids before we started, so it instantly won some approval there.The game has 8 "levels", along with a tutorial level to get you familiar with how the game works. I've specifically not shown any of the cards outside of the packaging because I don't want to ruin/spoil any of the game.Once you get past the tutorial level, you'll be forming a deck of cards based on which of the eight levels you are playing (which you're supposed to play in order). Some of the cards in the deck are used for more than one level, and they make that easy to figure out by putting all of the relevant level numbers for the card on its back face.On any given level, you distribute the cards as evenly as possible, and then you try to complete "tasks" in numerical order (the order is obvious based on what is written on the task). It might tell you to count cards, find the wrong card, put cards down in a certain order, etc. The main point is that the cards are randomly distributed amongst all the players, and you can't show anyone your cards. Sometimes you have to describe a picture in words or with body language or whatever other method you come up with, as long as it's not directly showing someone else your cards.Every level is timed, and you get a score based on how quickly and accurately you complete the level, for once you think you've completed the level, you turn the page in the manual to see what the solution was. If you're right, your score is based solely on your time. If you're wrong, you must add additional time to your actual time as a penalty.The story spanning the game is pretty thin (interstellar travel has become so commonplace that anyone can now do it, and you're simply trying to complete your limited training so that you can do it too), but that ultimately doesn't really matter.Each level can be completed within ~15 minutes, and you can do all the levels in one night or split it across up to eight nights.Overall, I really liked the game, as did the rest of my family. I'll be bringing this in to work to play with my team over lunch as well, except I won't be able to play with them, and therein lies the rub, and why I deducted a star. I love the idea of the game and how it really helps you focus on communication. They just didn't make it clear in the description that once you've played it, you likely won't be able to play it ever again. When I originally saw the description about the different levels, I had been thinking about The Crew, another game with levels, but you can definitely replay that game multiple times with either the same or different people, as while the goal won't ever change for a level, every individual game will still be unique. With this game, once you've played it, you can essentially memorize exactly what each level is supposed to end like, which kind of defeats the overall purpose of the game.Definitely recommended as long as you go into it thinking of this like a one-time Escape Room-type game that you can then regift to others.