Look closely at any patch of sky, and you will see millions of galaxies, each containing billions of stars. Stars may have planets; planets may harbor life; and life may evolve into intelligent forms. And that means that wherever you point your telescope, someone may be pointing one right back at you.

“SETI” (from Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence — the project to search for extraterrestrial civilizations) is a strategic board game for 1–4 players about exploring space and, ultimately, discovery. You know that extraterrestrial life exists — you just have to find it. By carefully managing limited resources, you will launch probes, explore planets, listen to stars, and develop exobiology.

Gameplay

In the game “SETI: Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence,” you lead a scientific institution dedicated to finding signs of life beyond Earth. The game is inspired by current and future space exploration technologies and projects.

Players will explore planets of the Solar System and their moons by launching probes from Earth and taking advantage of constantly changing positions of celestial bodies. You will have to decide: land on the surface to collect valuable samples or stay in orbit for broader scanning and observation. Additionally, by directing your telescopes deep into distant star systems, you can detect traces of alien signals or unknown exoplanets, and gather promising data for further study back on Earth.

Returning to Earth, you can invest in upgrading equipment: speed up analysis of received data, increase telescope throughput, expand resource reserves — all to scale up your search and get closer to the moment when extraterrestrial life is discovered.

Finding traces of alien life is just a matter of time. Play strategically, wisely distributing available resources, and you might become the scientist who makes the most significant contribution to understanding life in our galaxy.

The game features over 200 cards that will help you in your efforts or allow you to focus research in a specific direction to gain additional bonuses and rewards. Each card has unique effects, beautiful illustrations, and depicts real technologies, projects, and discoveries: the International Space Station (ISS), the Large Hadron Collider, the Perseverance rover, the Voyager probe, and many others.

The game lasts 5 rounds. The player with the first-player marker starts the round. Players take turns clockwise, skipping those who have already passed in this round. At the end of the 5th round, final points are tallied, and the player with the most points wins.

We recommend watching the video rules in the “Video” section and, if desired, studying the rules with illustrations in PDF format in the “Files” section.

One Last Thing

“SETI: Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence” is a true ode to space and planetary exploration, astronomy, the relentless search for signs of life in the boundless cosmos, and the desire to understand the nature of life in the Universe. Galu the Rooster recommends adding this new 2024 euro-strategy to your collection, which in a short time has already made it into the TOP-20 among all games on the most influential board game site “BoardGameGeek”.

We also recommend paying attention to the cooperative board game about space exploration — “ISS Vanguard”. This game for 1–4 players allows you to explore the vast galaxy, manage and upgrade your ship, conduct experiments, manufacture equipment, and land on countless worlds — all in pursuit of solving the grand mystery of the ancient star map embedded in our DNA.