Escala Kardashev

My group has played a dozen engine builders this year and the planetary-stellar-galactic progression is the first one where I actually felt the pressure of neighbors racing ahead. Games run tight, usually under an hour, and the ending always sneaks up on whoever's clinging to the planetary tier.

Finally a strategy game where the win condition is literally out-engineering your neighbors instead of just conquering them. The three-phase climb through Planetary, Stellar, and Galactic energy sources keeps every round tense right to the last turn. My group has played it four times in two weeks.

Didn't expect a game about energy tiers to get this competitive. Racing your neighboring planets up from Planetary to Galactic keeps every turn tense, and the endgame sneaks up fast. Played three rounds back to back the first night.