SETI: Space Agencies Review – Does the expansion improve the search?

Welcome to this week’s review! This week I’m taking a look at the first expansion for my favorite game from 2024. So without further ado, let’s jump into it.

Disclosure: A review copy of this game was provided to The Meeple Digest in exchange for an honest, unbiased review. This review is not intended to be an endorsement.

SETI: Space Agencies is the first expansion for SETI: Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, which is a game where players launch probes to orbit and land on planets and moons within our solar system, scan nearby stars, and analyze data to acquire traces of alien life. I wrote a full review on the game here, and overall, I found the theme, aliens, and multi-use cards to be highly captivating. When I first reviewed the base game, one of my main criticisms was that the scanning didn’t feel as engaging as the other types of actions, and it also lacked player scaling. Additionally, the game veered on the longer side of my ideal time length for this type of game. However, I was still extremely excited for this expansion, and I was curious to find out if any of the issues I mentioned above were addressed.

Space Agencies’ main addition is the 11 organizations. Players select one during setup that offer asymmetric abilities, starting resources, and income. In addition, many of the organizations offer actions that can be leveraged once per round. For example, one organization allows the player to gain the top left immediate bonus from all cards in the display. The abilities range in terms of complexity, but I wouldn’t hesitate to use the less complex ones even when teaching to new players. Overall, I enjoyed the asymmetry that these organizations provided, and I’ll be including them in all games going forward.

If I were to nitpick, I wish the organizations felt more impactful. It’s difficult to compare the organizations to the leaders in Lost Ruins of Arnak, but the organizations in SETI aren’t as game defining as the Arnak leaders are. If more organizations are released for SETI in the future, I’d want to see ones that push the envelope even farther outside-the-box.

The next new addition is the introduction of quick start cards. During setup, players select two cards from an initial hand of three that give some immediate rewards, such as scanning sectors or placing probes in space. These quick start cards are meant to simulate the first round of the game, and thus the game has been shortened from five rounds to four. I’m always a fan when games offer these quick start options, as I find it allows players to get into the meat of the game quicker. While I thought the elimination of one round would lead to shorter games, in my experience, I couldn’t tell much of a difference in game length.

The expansion also comes with three new alien species, bringing the total aliens in the game up to eight. Without going into spoilers about the different aliens, you can likely include these even with newer players like the organizations, as none of them felt significantly more complex than the ones in the base game. Thematically, my favorite are the Arkhos, but in terms of gameplay, I might prefer the Glyphids. Still, none of them come close to topping my favorite – the Centaurians from the base game. Like the organizations, if they continue to add more aliens in the future, I think they could push the boundaries even farther.

The most overlooked part of this expansion is likely the addition of 42 cards to the main deck. With all of the cards combined, it takes the deck size close to Ark Nova levels. I’m not complaining though – the new cards that I came across all felt unique and interesting in their own regard.

Many of the new cards grant signal tokens, which provide additional opportunities to mark sectors during a signal action. When performing a scanning action, players can discard signal tokens to discard one additional card from the card row to mark an additional signal in that sector. These signal tokens improve the scanning action, as it grants more opportunities to mark sectors, but at the end day, it still doesn’t counteract the problem where if not enough players are scanning, then it’s difficult for just one player to do well in this area.

Finally, the expansion adds another starting action card and long-term objectives for solo-play. These help to balance out the bonuses the player gains from their organizations and quick start cards to keep the AI competitive even at lower difficulty levels. I still really enjoy playing this game solo, as it’s easy to pilot and offers much of the same feeling as playing it multiplayer. The one downside is that the length of solo games do run long, and there is quite a bit of setup and takedown involved in the game. I may have to consider investing in an insert to make it easier to get to the table more often.

Overall, I appreciate the additions in SETI: Space Agencies. The organizations add asymmetry, while the new aliens offer more variety and enhance replayability. All these positives aside, I can’t help but feel that this expansion played it a bit safe, and it’s a shame that the new additions didn’t do more to shorten the game and balance the signal action. If you were already a fan of SETI, I think you’ll enjoy this expansion, but if you weren’t, I don’t think the changes here will alter your mind. Like Arnak, I hope there will continue to be more content for this game, and I challenge future expansions to think even further outside-the-box. To clarify, I’m not looking for any drastic changes to the game, maybe just organizations and aliens that feel even more unique. All that to say, I would still easily recommend this expansion to fans of SETI.

With that, I’ll wrap up this week’s review! I’d love to hear your thoughts on SETI, and if you’ve played the expansion, what your thoughts are of it. Additionally, what are your favorite organizations or aliens? I’d love to hear your thoughts on any of the games I’ve mentioned or future content suggestions in the comments below. Happy gaming!

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