Lately, Modiphius Entertainment have become synonymous with quality Star Trek gaming experiences. The success of the second edition of their Star Trek Adventures tabletop roleplaying game is a testament to that. However, roleplay isn’t for everyone and sometimes even seasoned roleplay gamers want shorter and sweeter ways to enjoy their favorite franchises.
That’s where Star Trek: Lower Decks – Buffer Time comes in! This co-operative card game puts you in the role of junior officers, trying to get through your duty shifts. Much like the protagonists of the Star Trek: Lower Decks TV show, you want to make these shifts more interesting by fitting in some time for hijinks, personal projects and misadventure. In other words: buffer time!
I was lucky enough to get a review copy of this game and I’m eager to share my thoughts on this space shenanigans experience.
Star Trek: Lower Decks – Buffer Time is available on Modiphius‘ website now for just £16.
Story – A Quirky Underdog Romp Worthy of the TV Show
Star Trek: Lower Decks – Buffer Time puts in the role of junior officers trying to get some much needed buffer time during busy duty shifts. Anyone who has watched the show may recognize the term ‘buffer time’ from series one, episode three; Temporal Edict. It is explained as a lower decks tradition of overestimating the time required to do jobs to afford much needed down time. For anyone unfamiliar to the episode, the game contains a little bit of dialogue between the core characters concisely explaining the concept.
The game takes place over the course of five duty assignments. In that time, you will need to accrue leisure points from doing side activities. Not only is this faithful to the concept of buffer time from the show, but its also a refreshing attitude to work-life balance. A lot of games focus on accomplishing tasks with little regard to your character’s wellbeing. However, Star Trek: Lower Decks – Buffer Time makes your characters’ wellbeing the priority. This is something I’m sure any working person can associate with.
Fans of the Lower Decks TV show will recognize many of their favorite scenes.
Playing the different shift, assignment, side project and alpha-shift ability cards provide you with a wealth of references and scenarios from the show. This ranges from scenes of tearful Bajoran dirges to Mariner’s Bat-leth antics and many more to discover. The decks are an absolute treasure trove of scenarios from the show as well as the many recurring and one-off characters. These include the bridge crew of the U.S.S. Cerritos, Rutherford’s Badgey hologram and, of course, The Dog. You can flick through the cards to discover all of them or enjoy the surprise of happening upon them during gameplay.
Gameplay – Pushing Your Luck with Lower Decks Hijinks
The central premise of Star Trek: Lower Decks – Buffer Time is acquiring enough leisure points during five duty shifts to win the game. To complete a duty assignment, you’ll need to acquire effort points by playing shift cards. The amount of leisure points you need will depend on the number of players. Focusing solely on the shift cards, will mean you won’t get many leisure points. This means you’ll need to take a chance to get some precious buffer time.
The main way to acquire leisure points is through playing side project cards. However, side project cards increase the effort points to complete your shift. The longer it takes to complete your shift, the more likely you are to pick an officer card from the shift deck. Draw too many officer cards and your buffer time will get discovered, resulting in a reprimand. This means you will loose your progress on your current shift and leisure points you’ve already accrued.
In other words, this game is all about risk and reward. You’ll need to push your luck to acquire leisure points, but push it too far and you could loose everything.
This game is all about risk and reward. Squeeze in as much buffer time as you can before the senior officers find you!
There are also alpha shift ability cards you can help turn the odds in your favor if used smartly. These cards offer special one time benefits. These include peaking at the top few shift cards, removing officer cards or altering the deck. As these cards are more difficult to get hold of, judging the right time to use them will be key.
These rules lend themselves well to cooperative playstyle. You and your fellow underdogs will need to use your shared resources to make it through your assignments with enough leisure points. I also appreciated the turn actions cards which succinctly lay out all the possible actions you can take.
Presentation & Artwork – Capturing the Lower Decks Charm and Character
Any fan of the Lower Decks TV show is going to feel right at home playing this game. Picking up the game for the first time, you are greeted with the iconic faces of the U.S.S. Cerritos’ most lovable junior officers; Mariner, Boimler, Tendi and Rutherford. All this is set to the backdrop of a dazzling nebula with the U.S.S. Cerritos voyaging above.
All the cards come with gorgeous artwork. They include scenes straight out of the TV against the backdrop of location illustrations, shots of space and the iconic Star Trek transporter beams. You can also see recurring character, Badgey popping up every now and again in the corners. Is he offering friendly advice or secretly trying to kill you? Who can say?
Whilst you can play the game by the numbers, there so many beautifully illustrated cards to appreciate in this deck!
