Race for the Galaxy: Xeno Counterstrike

What is Race for the Galaxy: Xeno Counterstrike

Xeno Counterstrike is the sequel to Xeno Invasion, together forming the 3rd arc of RFTG expansions.

It expands Race for the Galaxy into the starry rift frontier and border zone that lies between the galactic empires and the Xeno hive worlds, with more than 40 frontier worlds (in separate decks) and a different risk/reward method of settling them.

The resulting greater empire sizes extends the game end conditions to 15+ tableau cards and 15 VPs/player in the common pool. This makes Xeno Counterstrike the version for those players who have wanted RFTG to be just a bit longer (typically, 1-2 rounds more), as the lead now frequently changes near the end as those final large frontier worlds are settled, the larger economic engines hit their stride, and the last 6-devs hit the table.

Xeno Counterstrike can be played by itself with just the base game, though its fifth player and optional counterstrike game require Xeno Invasion.

Game details

Players

2–5

Age

+13

Duration

60 min

Difficulty

—

Type

Expansion

Year

2026

Mechanics

Hand Management · Simultaneous Action Selection · Variable Phase Order

Categories

Expansion for Base-game · Card Game · Civilization

Designer

Thomas Lehmann

Publisher

Rio Grande Games