Hey gang, Vito Gesualdi here with some Star Realms news. Many of you who missed out on the Kickstarter are still asking when you’ll be able to get your hands on the game. Although I can’t offer a definite date, let me just say that you may want to keep checking Amazon.com over the next week or so…

Anyhow, today we’re taking a quick look at a multiplayer variant suggested by Anthony Harris on BoardGameGeek, one which changes up the victory condition for some exciting play!

Jackpot Gumbo

Suggested by Anthony Harris

“This variant is for all the people who love the tactical combat of multiplayer in ‘Star Realms’, but don’t want to have to wait for final elimination like in monopoly. It also creates more tension and strategy for all players involved.

Basically, instead of playing until only one is left, the game is over when the first players’ authority reaches zero. At that point, the person with the highest authority is the winner.

This way, everyone is in the game until the end, and they all have to be mindful of every decision they make. Instead of just racing to elimination. sometimes players may even have to consider teaming up to ‘pull’ another player back, or even helping a player who is weak and close to getting eliminated.“

This is a very cool idea for multiplayer, making it so that eliminating a player is only the correct course of action if you’re the current authority leader! I would consider some small rules changes to make it even more exciting:

• If a card grants authority, its controller may choose to give it to any player.
• Players may scrap a base to give authority to an opponent equal to that base’s defense.

With these additions, players can actively make an impact on the life totals of other players. If you see someone about to be knocked out and you aren’t the current authority leader, you may want to sacrifice your bases just to keep them in the game a bit longer. Its possible that first suggested rule may make the Trade Federation cards a bit too valuable, but hopefully players would gang up on whoever is snagging the lifegain for themselves. Regardless, I look forward to testing the balance of this format in my next multiplayer matchup. Thanks Anthony!

As a note, if you have a suggested rules variant of your own, please email [email protected]. You may get to see it spotlighted in a future article!

-Vito Gesualdi, Community Manager
@vitogesualdi