Galcon is a rather simple game that can be played on your own, or online with up to 12 players on any number of teams.
I first got introduced to Galcon by Robin and the fact that it was so easy to pick up and understand was great. It was a rather simple game, with simple objectives, and simple rules. It is the type of game that is fun just like Minesweeper or Solitaire is.
Basically in multi-player mode, the host chooses various options, like how many planets a player starts with, and what size the planet is, and various other options. In single player mode these options are predefined based on the mode you choose.
Simply put, Galcon starts everyone with the same identical type of planets for the most part. Usually your planet will generate 100 ships per minute. You can use these ships to capture other planets. Each planet on the screen has a value. The bigger the planet, the more ships it produces when it is captured.
At the start of the game usually there are many, many planets that have no affiliations. These are most likely your primary targets. These planets have big numbers on them which indicates the amount of ships you need to capture it. When you send ships, they basically sacrifice themselves until the planet is captured. Once the planet is captured, all the ships that you send to your own planet will simply be put in reserve on the planet. This adds up quickly when you factor in the amount of ships the planet itself produces.
Enemy planets do not indicate how many ships are located on them as the neutral planets do, so when you feel your army is strong enough to attack a planet, you must choose wisely.
If you strike early on, you can tell if a planet is strong or not, based on the amount of ships the enemy needed to sacrifice to capture the planet, and based on how many ships he sent.
Strategy is key when it concerns this game. For the most part, the person with the most planets at any given time has the lead and should win. But replenishing ships is not instantaneous, and if one player has 4 planets with next to no ships on them, and the other player has 3 planets with 30 on them, the second player can just pick off the enemy one at a time.
Defending planets is the same thing as capturing. Basically you need to have more ships there then the enemy. If he sends more than you have there when he arrives, then the enemy will capture the planet.
It is a fast paced game that can usually end a round in about 5 minutes or less. As you have seen on these videos, my rounds are around 1 minute 
.
Online can be a bit more tactical. Ultimately you need to befriend someone in order to win, or you must be very lucky. Skill can only take you so far, as ultimately it is a numbers game. Simple math. Player X produces 400 ships per minute in total, you produce 200 ships per minute; well you would need to capture more planets before he captures your or you will be toast.
Galcon has basic chat in the game so you can talk to players online as you fight them, and you can even designate yourself to watch mode, so you can view a match in progress without participating. You are not excluded from the chat, however.
Ultimately my opinion of this game is tied directly to its cost. This is a fun little game, with a large price tag, and is ultimately why it is not everywhere.
This game costs $20, [EDIT: This game is now only $7.95] which is what 1-2 year old PC games cost nowadays, and there is MUCH better bangs for your buck. Considering this developer used an open-source game engine, gives it yet another thumbs-down.
Being able to use the game in trial mode is nice and all, and all things considered, you aren’t missing much by refusing to buy it, as the trial allows you to play online. The single player features are simply different scenarios. There is no campaign, no story. Just various starting scenarios and that’s it. The game play does not change.
Galcon Review Scores:
| Categories: | Ranks: |
|---|---|
| Graphics: | 6 |
| Sound: | 5 |
| Multiplayer: | 8 |
| Single Player: | 6 |
| Features: | 2 |
| Average: | 5.4 |
