SETI: Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (2024)

The reviewer absolutely loves the SETI board game, praising its mechanics, theme, card play, and the variety of options it offers, making it a game they consistently enjoy playing.

The reviewer highly recommends SETI, calling it a 'gold medal game' for its compelling action optimization puzzle and excellent multi-use cards, despite some initial setup and learning challenges due to game-changing alien rules and a somewhat fiddly, inconsistent solar system board.

“SETI is phenomenal, and one of my favorite games of 2024. It is NOT, however, a light or easy experience.”

The reviewer found 'SETI' to be an exceptionally engaging Eurogame that exceeded expectations, praising its well-integrated mechanisms, thematic elements, and smooth gameplay experience, even highlighting the enjoyable solo variant.

The reviewer highly praises SETI, calling it a fun and thematic game that provides players with abundant choices and the necessary tools to execute their preferred playstyle, making it an incredibly engaging experience.

Rahdo considers SETI his favorite game from Czech Games Edition in years, praising it highly despite mentioning a few minor reservations.

Tabletop Tolson enthusiastically praises SETI as the best Euro game of 2024, highlighting its engaging mechanics and snowball effect, despite minor concerns about the variety of alien species in the core box and potential for large point swings.

The reviewer initially found the SETI board game confusing and overwhelming, but after multiple plays, discovered its profound strategic depth and interconnected mechanics, leading to a highly rewarding and even personally resonant experience.

The reviewer found SETI to be a thematically and mechanically interesting game, offering a complex and engaging experience with many interconnected systems and tight resource management.

“SETI: Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence is an excellent and deeply rewarding board game that offers rich complexity and a highly interactive solo mode, though it can be quite lengthy with a full table.”

The reviewers found SETI to be a great game that provided a phenomenal amount of fun, despite some minor criticisms regarding its brain-burning complexity and the board's rotating mechanic being somewhat gimmicky.

“I love the combination of exploration and area control, along with the wide variety of ways to accomplish your objectives. ”

“The puzzle of planning your player board growth, the tactical decision-making needed to maximize card usage, all while balancing a very tight economy, makes for an incredible game.”

“The reviewer praises SETI as a deep and satisfying eurogame with exceptional components and a well-integrated theme, recommending it for players who enjoy strategic depth, despite its potential length making it challenging to get to the table.”

The reviewer highly recommends SETI, featuring it as a noteworthy heavier Eurogame among the best board games of 2024.

The reviewers expressed high praise for SETI, calling it an incredibly fun and engaging puzzle that evokes similar positive feelings to other popular games but without their downsides. They particularly enjoyed the theme, the tension it creates, and look forward to playing it repeatedly, noting that any criticisms were minor.

The reviewer highly praises SETI as an impressive, expansive board game, describing it as a strategic "galactic sandbox" that offers significant replayability and an engaging experience, albeit one that requires dedicated time and mental effort.

The reviewer highly recommends SETI, emphasizing that it's a game players need to discover. They praise its intricate gameplay and suggest it deserves its high ranking among board games, even though it can be lengthy.

The reviewer highly praised 'SETI' for its excellent production quality, particularly the attractive data cubes, and the intuitive design of its numerous symbols. They also highlighted the game's amazing player aid as a significant positive aspect, concluding that it is one of the better games they've played.

The reviewers at Man vs Meeple enthusiastically praise SETI, considering it one of the best board games they played in the year, highlighting its unique mechanisms and engaging gameplay.

No Pun Included identifies SETI as one of the best Euro games, praising its engaging mechanics and excellent experience, especially for those new to the genre. However, the review notes that the game's long-term replayability might be limited for experienced hobbyists due to some variability concerns.

The Game Boy Geek praises SETI as a streamlined, medium-heavy Euro game that offers a quick-playing, open-world feel with impressive multi-use cards and excellent components. He highlights its thematic depth and the well-designed rulebook from CGE, making it a highly recommended title for those seeking strategic depth without excessive complexity.

“This is a real must-play game. SETI is a complex euro with a well-implemented theme and satisfying game arc, making it a must despite any length and ‘analysis paralysis’ concerns.”

“SETI didn’t make my top ten (new to me games) of 2024 because of how late in the year I got it but this has now rocketed into my top ten games of all time; and I’m pretty confident in saying that this will be in my top ten of 2025.”

The reviewer highly praises SETI for its beautiful production, vibrant art, and engaging, replayable gameplay that offers diverse strategic paths. Despite finding the game a bit long, especially for new players, he considers the experience ultimately worthwhile and satisfying.

The reviewer highly recommends SETI, particularly for its excellent solo mode and tactical gameplay, which requires tight resource management and makes every action count. While acknowledging the engine building may not offer a significant ramp-up, the game's variety through alien species is a strong point.

The reviewer highly recommends "SETI" as a fantastic and well-done Eurogame, noting its engaging theme, enjoyable solo mode, and opportunities for creating powerful combos.

“I really can’t say enough good things about SETI: Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence. It’s a euro game with a lot of moving parts but never feels overwhelming, thanks to only being able to do one main action per turn.”

The game provides an enjoyable experience with its engaging core gameplay loops of exploration, upgrading, and discovering extraterrestrial life, particularly highlighting the fun of flying around and making discoveries.

The reviewer found SETI to be a highly engaging and thematic Eurogame, praising its intricate gameplay, effective solo mode, and the successful integration of its space exploration theme with its mechanics.

The video introduces SETI as a game with a strong tactile feel due to its numerous components, highlighting engaging mechanics such as launching probes, exploring planets, discovering alien life, and upgrading technologies.

The reviewer highlights SETI's engaging mechanics and overall enjoyment, concluding that it is a board game well worth playing.

“SETI is a highly thematic eurogame with nicely interwoven mechanics that form a think-y puzzle for how best to use your limited resources. The game is only held back by some randomness that doesn't quite sit well with a game this long.”

The reviewer highlights SETI as a game that emphasizes seizing opportunities when conditions align, allowing players to make impactful moves and execute plans effectively.

The reviewer, Shaggy from Totally Tabled, dedicated a comprehensive solo tutorial and playthrough to SETI, indicating a positive engagement and appreciation for the board game's mechanics and theme.

“SETI is good, and I’m going to hold onto my copy in the hopes that expansion content comes running down the street in the next year or two. It’s a good system, and now that I know where to focus my energy, I’m excited to fly up some tracks and land on some moons in the months ahead!”

The reviewer found SETI to be an enjoyable puzzle game, particularly for two players, but noted it didn't fully meet their expectations for a "building up" experience and they were uncertain if it would remain in their collection. They also described it as chaotic with four players.