by MarcM, 09 April 2026
I don’t like endings. But here we are at All Good Things, the end of the Space Empires 4X series. And while the first two expansions have already added new ways to play and expand the system, the third and final expansion, All Good Things, has just a bit more to throw into the mix.
click images to enlarge
When I saw the first printing of the All Good Things expansion a couple of years ago, I feared I had made a mistake skipping Space Empires 4X from designer Jim Krohn. But I got a second chance at the series, and the second printing of this third and final expansion was part of the set that publisher GMT provided to me to take a look at.
Some of All Good Things
While I’m not covering everything here – you can see a rundown of it all on GMT’s site – there are the notable new things I wanted to try out.
Two new Alternative Empires introduce new ship types – missile boats and fighters that don’t require carriers. With the four base empires, the Replicators and these two new entries, you could conceivably put together a game with seven players. Probably best if one of them has the base game as well – not sure how that would work with just one smallish board.
New Deep Space markers and corresponding Terrian Tiles create more movement and combat effects. To me the most notable are the movable Plasma and Ion Storms. Your Home System gets an upgrade as well as a few variant markers. Not a game changer, but a welcome option if “exploring” the same 25 Home System markers feels predictable.
Crew cards add personality to the game, along with specific bonuses to your ship groups. Even the Replicator Empire gets some notable individuals.
Scenario Modifier Cards add variety to the scenarios. They might give you a welcome boost or an extra challenge to overcome.
I’m trying out these features to see how they work. No full playthrough, just a taste of what the new features add and how they land for me.
And while maybe everyone doesn’t consider documentation a “feature,” it’s worth noting here. Clear, easy-to-reference documentation is fundamental to a good game in my opinion. All Good Things, repackages the complete system rules and scenarios into individual booklets. There’s even an inventory of the game cards. The rules compendium is most welcome. I just wish there was an index.
Launching With the New Stuff
I’m running a basic two-player game, but I’m adding a lot of the All Good Things rules. and leaving a lot of other stuff out. Along with the new Deep Space terrain and Home System variants, I’m using the new Sisu Empire, Scenario Modifier Cards and Crew Cards. I’m also using Empire Advantage Cards (not new) because some of the Scenario Cards call for them.
In general, Variant Home Systems give you higher-value system markers than the base markers. The rules randomize which variant markers you play but both sides get the same ones. If one gets a 10-CP planet to boost income and a Space Wreck to boost tech, the other does as well. In my counter mixes, I have a couple of 10-CP colonies, some 10-CP minerals, and space wrecks.
Both sides get their two Scenario Modifier Cards. Terra got Planetary Gates to quickly move ground troops. They also got hit with a +1 maintenance cost for each ship. Their Empire Advantage was Explore 1 tech to let their Flagship, the Enterprise, and any future Cruisers preview an adjacent system marker before possibly finding a ship-killing Black Hole or Danger marker.
Sisu’s Scenario Modifiers gave them two Empire Advantage Cards. One of them provided Movement Tech 7 immediately. That doesn’t matter much in the early game, when you’re stopping at each System Marker, but once there’s clear sailing, it’s huge.
Players draw Crew Cards during the Economic Phase of each even-numbered round. Since we’re playing with Flagships, the first Crew gets assigned to them. The +1 attack from Squadron Leader is another combat modifier to track, but the Terran Damage Control Officer is something new. Now there’s a chance you can repair damage between combat rounds.
Crew to Stations
We get to see Missile Boats and Crew Cards in action next round. Sisu has a fleet that includes four Missile Boats, Flagship Fearless and a couple of Destroyers. Their movement advantage quickly puts it close enough to Terran space to scare off a couple of colony ships and further slow Terra’s economy.
The Terrans have a small fleet with the Flagship, a Cruiser and a Destroyer, which they move to counter the Sisuian aggressors. The Sisuians have their new Missile Boats, but the Terran Enterprise is more powerful than the Sisuian Fearless and the Terrans have that Cruiser. I’m not sure who has the advantage.
The Missile Boats fire first as Class A, but the missiles strike as Class E, so they’ll be in flight for a bit. The Enterprise fires next, taking out a Destroyer. The other ships exchange fire but get no hits. Now Class E is up, and we see how the missiles work.
The first two missiles get two hits on the Cruiser, destroying it. The second pair miss the Destroyer. The missiles are slow, but an attack factor of 6 is good and each hit counts as two damage points, making them significant in combat.
Next turn the Missile Boats fire at Enterprise. Enterprise destroys one Missile Boat, but its missiles are still inbound. Fearless destroys the remaining Terran Destroyer.
A missile scores two damage points on Enterprise. One more hit destroys it.
‼️ See you next week for the rest →
Space Empires 4X Series
(Re)introduction ~ (Re)Learning AAR pt 1 & pt 2 ~ Ground Battles pt 1 & pt 2 ~ Replicators pt 1 & pt 2 ~ All Good Things pt 1 & pt 2 ~ Forum Thread
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