Mlem
A board game featuring cats in space? Of course! Here’s Mlem.
Each player represents a cat, who together embark on a trip to outer space to take control. Because that’s what cats do. Along the way, a lot can go wrong - and when the fuel runs out, the spaceship crashes. As cats have multiple lives, that’s fine for a while, just embark the next spaceship and start over. While on the spaceship, the cats are mostly a crew - but they have their own interests to inhabit planets and make it to the farthest possible outpost.
Mlem is a dice roller. The dice control how far the spaceship can go in a move. Beware: dice get depleted, and not all dice can be used at every step along the trip. If the final dice are used up, or if no usable dice are rolled, the spaceship crashes.
During each move, the cats have the option to perform one of several actions. Disembark, boost the spaceship, kick someone off, let a die disappear, ensure a soft landing (avoid a crash), and so forth. Picking the right actions at the right time is key to success. The more planets and moons are inhabited, the more points a cat can get - and planets farther out in space yield more points. Reaching outer space, obviously, yields the most points.
The game is very easy and quickly to learn, fast-paced, and fun. Mlem gets bonus points for the printed neoprene playmat. Cardboard wears out quickly and always is a bit awkward to fold back in place. The playmat is simply unrolled for the game, and afterwards, just as simply rolled up again. Also, the mat has a better grip on the table surface.
So, all in all, I warmly recommend this as a fun game for families or friends.
Tags: games