Ready for bold new pursuits?

Galactic Cruise was one of our favorite games of 2024, even though we only got to try out the prototype version a few times.
Galactic Cruise became again one of our favorite games in 2025, as the Kickstarter campaign was fulfilled. 
We are ready for 2026 to welcome even more content for it and we are lucky to be able to check out the new expansion: Achievements. Keep in mind, the new stuff you see in the photos is still in the prototype phase, so components are not final!

Galactic Cruise is just generally a very well put together game. The theme is integrated perfectly, everything makes sense: You are the head of a travel agency that specializes in space travel, building up a fleet of spaceships, scheduling and advertising cruises and stockpiling enough food, oxygen and fuel to actually launch these. 

The worker placement mechanic has enough twists to set itself apart, and while gameplay is tight, there are always multiple options. Especially when you are in a pinch, you often find some way to get that last missing resource you desperately need. There is a fun ebb and flow to preparing for cruises and launching them, to again start collecting things for a new one, and I really like how cruises you launch act as a kind of ongoing income over multiple turns until the ship returns to Earth.

But you probably know and love Galactic Cruise already - so let’s take a look at the newest expansion, Achievements!

Achievements

The title of the expansion is not just a random cool sounding word, instead it really all revolves around achievements and unlocking stuff. You will have a whole array of achievements to strive for each game you play, and if anyone completes one, you get to open a new box, unlocking components for the game (and an even harder version of the achievement). It could be smaller things, or a bit more meatier things - unfortunately we are not allowed to spoil things. If you played any legacy games or such, you know there are stickers involved! New rules and little trophies to collect on your walls.

To start out you do get a box you're allowed to open, which contains a new Expert Worker tile and two new upgrade tokens for your lower launch tower. And Zoë.

Zoë

Zoë is a new shared neutral worker you can use, and each game she has a random ability (out of 4). You can bump off Zoë from a worker spot and take a funding bonus as if you took back your own worker, then next time you do an action you have to use Zoë, activating her ability too. Zoë is very well loved in the company, so she can even use the development tokens of other players for free!

This is a pretty easy-to-learn addition, but I do enjoy it. I already liked how each game had its own “flavor” thanks to the different Expert Worker abilities, and now Zoë acts as one more such mutator. The way you play changes a bit, as sometimes you might want to do a specific action, but end up pivoting to bumping off Zoë to get access to her ability on your next turns, so having her in games further enhances the decision space.

Strategic Initiatives

Maybe let’s spoil one small thing after all. Let’s take a peek at Box A, which you unlock by completing an achievement that requires you to have two ships on a cruise at the same time. There is a simple addition, an extra Agenda card, but also something bigger. A so-called Strategic Initiative. 

This is a completely new mechanic. At setup you get to choose up to two of these to place beside the board. 

Anytime you complete a Company Goal (public objective), you can put your cube on the Strategic Initiative tile instead of the scoring area, then later on you can move your cube to the scoring area to trigger the special ability of the tile. In Box A’s case this is the U-Turn, which lets you move back one stop on one of your cruises, reactivating it as if you visited it the first time. This ability might also help you achieve the harder version of the achievement: Having 3 cruises in space at the same time! 

These additional abilities are cool on their own, but they also heavily influence the gameplay too, as AGM Scorings might get delayed, as Company Goal cubes don’t instantly go there. It could lengthen games a tiny bit, and give players more control to trigger scoring at more opportune moments. Definitely an intriguing addition! 

And even more awaits

I am not allowed to disclose any more details, but I’ll say that there are 12 smaller boxes to unlock. With each achievement you unlock a harder advanced achievement, and usually some additional game components that help you on your way to reach them. Completing them nets you Certificates, and with enough Certificates you can also unlock 3 more bigger boxes. That’s 15 boxes of content (as of this prototype) to unlock, so you’ll be kept busy for a while. 

The achievements are quite varied and they are not something you achieve “by accident”, so you really have to adjust your playstyle. That means more new ideas and perspectives on how Galactic Cruise can be played! I feel like the unlocked additions will often be a must for the more difficult achievements.

While I think the game already offers immense replayability, if you are the type of gamer who likes to challenge themselves and discover new strategies under additional constraints or just want even more variability, make sure to check the Kickstarter campaign.

Galactic Cruise just got even better. Happy achievement hunting!