Second Look—The Phantom League: Dangerous Edition

The Phantom League is a space exploration game that’s been out since 2010. Since then it’s seen some expansions, rules rewrites, etc… Now Arctic Union is planning on coming out with Phantom League v2, Dangerous Edition. The new edition will take all the rewritten rules, with some new updates, and compile them for ease of play. I had a chance to sit down with the game, expansions, and proposed updates to give it a whirl.

First off let me say this. This game is a time investment. If you want to play it, you’re going to need to delve in. The learning curve is a bit steep, but the game is actually really fluid once you get going. Actually, it’s the combat system that takes a bit of getting used to, but the newest rules make things a lot more clear than previous versions.

You can play Phantom League solo, or with other players. The game, while having a set goal, let’s you experiment and think outside the box when playing. It takes about 2-4 hours to play, and is extremely thematic. This is one to really get into and enjoy the story while playing. It almost feels as the game is as much role-playing as it is board game. This is sci-fi indulgent, and my son and I really had a great time with it.

Arctic Union is still polishing the new rules, taking suggestions from play testers, and getting everything ready to launch on Kickstarter soon. If you don’t to wait for a newer version, you’ll be well off to purchase the base game and Mostly Harmless expansion, grabbing the consolidated rules off BoardGameGeek, and delving into the deep dark of space. You won’t be sorry either way.

A free copy of The Phantom League, Mostly Harmless, and Pilot Academy were provided by Arctic Union for review/preview.

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