Space Cadets: Away Missions

This game is fantastic.

It packs all of the things I enjoy about dungeon crawling (gradual, steady discovery, loot, multiple abilities, growing enemy threat) into a golden era sci fi setting which I equally enjoy. The "overkill" mechanic, where more than one success gives you a selection of additional procs on either your character, your weapon, or the target alien, is genius. It paces the game nicely since you can't one-shot an alien and vice-versa (a common problem in games like Descent) but a good die roll can instead infuse more choices into your turn, or more drama into the alien's turn.

Another huge plus is the generous amount of scenarios. I haven't even begun to scratch the surface of the core scenarios, much less the bonuses in the Kickstarter book.

My only minor complaints are cosmetic. The tile art is a bit drab and gray. I understand that these are mostly UFO ships we're exploring but some color or lighting effects would have really made a difference. Also, the thralls have the same shade of green plastic as some of the other aliens, making it a little difficult to tell them apart initially (I think I'll paint mine). But these are extremely minor flaws in an obviously inspired design.

I'm certain this will remain a classic in my collection for quite awhile.