The Joy of Unboxing: Sol: Last Days of a Star

At the end of time, a moment will come when just one man remains. Then the moment will pass. Man will be gone.

Sol: Last Days of a Star, an impressive first game by Elephant Laboratories.

“Not your usual type of game” said one of my group when I brought this to gaming night. And it’s true, I’m not usually attracted to more abstract games – like this one appears to be at first glance. But there’s something a bit special about Sol which attracted me when one of the designers, Ryan Spangler, contacted me to create a rules summary for his game.

Sol: Last Days of a Star is actually rich in theme, and you really do feel as if you’re spinning about a huge dying star in little spaceships (or ‘sundivers’) in your quest to harness the energy to push your ark out of the solar system and towards a chance to rebuild your civilisation. In the meantime, there are a bunch of interesting mechanics that cleverly avoid any feeling of multiplayer solo-ing, because everytime you activate a station or fly through a gate that isn’t yours, you will probably also benefit the opponent who owns it – unless of course you can time it just right. There’s also a huge variety of special cards to modify the game, and since you only choose a few of them each game, every game is going to have it’s own feel.

I addition to being a fun experience, there’s a really nice minimalist visual aesthetic to Sol. The plastic pieces are evocative without being over-designed, the graphic design is clear and clean, and a ‘Mythos’ book gives you some interesting information about the thematic background.

I really enjoyed my first play of Sol, and I’m looking forward to playing it again. Excellent work from a first time publisher.