Star Explorer

• Designer: Lukasz Szopka
• Publisher: Queen Games
• Players: 1-4
• Age: 8+
• Time: 30 minutes 
• Played with review copy provided by publisher

Star Explorer is an international version of Night Sky Explorers, a game released in 2024 by Lucrum Games only in the Polish language version and a limited run in English, exclusively for Essen 2024. After selling out in two days, it was picked up by Queen Games for international release in 2025. Star Explorer features updated artwork and component material, but in terms of gameplay both versions are exactly the same.

Discover the fragments of the night sky, look for the particular stars and draw precise maps of the constellations. But beware! You do not want the big constellations to overshadow the small ones. Each card in the game represents one of the most famous constellations. Your task is to mark them on the rotating map, following the special astronomical rules. Will your map be the most precise, granting you the name of the true Night Sky Explorer?

In this game, players take on the role of astronomy enthusiasts who stare at the starry skies for hours. During the game, they will use their boards with rotating maps to mark the star constellations they see – each player marks their unique constellations on their maps. Points are awarded for each constellation marked on the map that contains the correct stars. Additionally, players receive points for placing their constellations in the right places on the map. The player with the highest total amount of points at the end of the game wins.

To start the game, each player gets a layered board, a star disc to place in between the layers of said board as well as a chalk marker.  The star disc rotates, and as it moves, the player will see a different portion of the disc in the board window.  In addition, players get a set of constellation tiles.  Players can see the backs of the constellation tiles (knowing the number of stars used for the constellation) but not the arrangement of stars on the backside.  All players also get a starting tile.

The current start player chooses which number tile to use in the current round.  All players then flip over the corresponding tile and place it underneath their tile from the previous round.  In the first round, it will go beneath their starting tile.  Players should also now make sure that the arrow corresponding to the current round number is at the top of their window.

Now, players will use their chalk marker to draw as much of the constellation onto the visible area of the sky – circling the stars and connecting them by lines, matching the pattern shown on the constellation tile.  For any stars which are not drawn on the board, the player must cross out a +3 bonus beneath the star window.

Once everyone is done drawing, the constellation is scored.  Players will score points for three things.

• Points for each star circled matching the type on the current tile
• Points for each star circled matching the type on the tile from the previous round
• Points for each line drawn between the current star type and the previous type

The score is summed and then written in the score area at the bottom of the board.  The player who scored the least in the current round gets the start player tile, and that player will be able to choose which number tile to use in the next round.  All the players now rotate their star disc for the next round.

After 6 rounds, the game is over, and there is some end game scoring.

• 1 point for each central star circled
• 2 points for each constellation line that crosses the central axis
• 3 poitns for each star used on the outermost border of the star board 

The player with the most points wins. Ties broken in favor of the player with the most +3 point bonuses remaining (i.e. the player who had the fewest missing stars from their constellations)

My thoughts on the game

Star Explorer has been a surprise hit for me.  Well, surprise in the sense that I honestly didn’t know much about the game prior to Gen Con, and I was immediately sold on the game from the first demo I got there.  It’s not a surprise that Queen Games has produced another strong game in the family genre – I find that many of their games in this range appeal to me.

Star Explorer is a nice twist on the XX and write genre – well, if it even belongs there.  In one sense, it is different as each player has a different and random constellation tile to deal with in each round.  But, it does feel like and XAW in the sense that players spend much of the game in companionable silence as they puzzle over what to do and write their results down on their own board.

There isn’t much interaction in the game – just a little bit at the start of each round when the start player gets to choose which number to play for the round.  You can see the star type that will be used on the back of the card, and I suppose you could think about trying to deny your competition certain combinations of stars.  Alternatively, based on how players have filled in their star charts, you might want to force them into a large constellation when they don’t have much space available!

There are a lot of interesting decisions to be made when drawing out the constellation on your board, and I find that I have to rotate my constellation tile around all the time so I can visualize where it will fit on my board.  With all of the different ways to score, there are plenty of viable places to play – sometimes you work on the current constellation score though other times, you might get a nice end-game bonus that you can count on… and maybe you’ll get a nice bonus of being able to choose which constellation tile to use in the next round!

If there is any quibble about the game, it’s that sometimes you get bad luck with the constellations on your tiles.  But, really, this is no different than drawing a bad card or whatever.  The game is short enough that you should just roll with it and do the best you can without worrying too much about the luck of the draw.  

The round length is a bit variable – it will depend on how much AP your players have as well as how some of the previous rounds have gone.  Some constellations will just be harder than others to draw into your grid.  The components are pretty great, and I do like the chalk markers.  It does make for a beautiful display in your star window.    

Queen Games has produced yet another strong family game, and this one has been well received here each time it has come out.  

Ratings from the Opinionated Gamers

• I love it!
• I like it. Dale Y
• Neutral.
• Not for me…