Players
1 – 2
◆ Star Trek: Captain's Chair ◆
The chair is yours,
The chair is yours,
Captain.
Two independent games, one universe. Your job isn't to buy them all — it's to find the right deck for you. We'll help you choose in a minute.
◆ Base
▲ Base
✦ Expansion
⭐ 8.7/10 on BoardGameGeek·
🧘 76% rank it the best game solo·
🏆 Wins "Best Solo 2025" (IGA)·
🎨 Design Turczi & Buckle
The question you're asking
«Okay, but… which box do I start with?»
They're both complete and independent. You don't need both to start. The question isn't "which is better" — it's which one is you. Answer one question and we'll tell you.
🖖 I love a specific captain
🧘 I mostly play solo
⚔️ I play two-player
🌱 It's my first game like this
Choose in a minute ↓
In 20 seconds
A duel where the first to shoot doesn't win
An asymmetric deckbuilder for 1–2 players by Turczi & Buckle (Imperium engine). Every captain has a unique deck, personality and path to victory — and true to Star Trek, diplomacy beats torpedoes more often than you'd think.
🪑
You are the captain
The deck reflects who you are: Picard negotiates, Kirk dares, Khan destroys. Not a pasted-on theme: it changes how you play.
🃏
Real asymmetry
Almost every card in your deck is unique. Six captains = six different games in one box.
🌌
Many roads, one goal
Score how you like: military, influence, science, exploration. Your opponent picks a road — you read it and beat it.
🧘
Built for solo
Not a bolted-on bot: a real AI opponent. It's how most people play — more on that below.
How it actually plays, in plain words
A card engine you build as you play
No dice-chucking: you start with a small deck for your captain and upgrade it turn after turn, while you contest the galaxy with your opponent (or the AI). Here's the loop, in 4 moves.
1
Play the cards in your hand
Every card is a concrete action: command ships, recruit crew, send away teams to planets. The cards are what they do — no generic actions.
2
Gather resources and upgrade your deck
You earn dilithium and latinum and "buy" new cards from the shared market into your deck. You start weak and become a machine: that's the heart of deckbuilding.
3
Control space and complete missions
You place ships on contested locations and complete missions. Each scores on a different path — military, diplomacy, science. Your opponent picks a road, you read it and beat it.
4
Win on Victory Points
The game ends when the events deck runs out. Whoever has the most points — adding up glory, locations, missions and your specialty multipliers — commands the galaxy.
🖖 What makes it special: every captain is a different puzzle (asymmetric decks), and antagonism isn't enough — often the winner is the one who leans on diplomacy and science, not the one who shoots the most.
See it in action
Before you choose, see it on the table
One video per box: so you see what it's really like — and that it's complex, not hard — before deciding.
▲ Base
Captain's Chair — quick tutorialMeeple University (EN)
◆ Base
To Boldly Go — how to playGood Time Society (EN)
✦ Expansion
Second Contact — unboxingThe Discriminating Gamer (EN)
🪑 The command seat
Answer one question. We'll give you your box.
You're not choosing a product: you're choosing who you want to be at the table. Start from the captain you love, how you play, or your level.
🖖
Tap an answer above and we'll tell you which box is yours — and why.
Your deck
VAT included
Change your mind anytime — tap another answer or switch tab.
🧘 The pillar
Solo isn't an extra.
Solo isn't an extra.
It's the game.
You pilot your captain; a real AI opponent runs another with its own deck. Not "beat your own score": it's a duel, against an intelligence that gathers resources and plays like a human would.
«My solo game of the year.»
— international reviewers · 9/10 · 4.5/5 · 🏆 IGA 2025 "Best Solo" winner
Built on the Imperium engine, a longtime favorite of the solo community. Players rank it the best game at 1 player in 76% of votes.
🤖
A real opponent, low upkeep
The bot ignores the text on its own cards and runs on a few guide cards (Traits/Suits). Learn to run it in one game, then you fly — no endless opponent turns.
🎚️
"Complex, not hard"
There's a curve, but it's a ramp, not a wall. You learn by playing, not by memorizing.
♾️
It never ends
6 captains, dozens of combinations against the AI. Every game is a different puzzle.
Step 1
Cadet Training
Learn the system without an opponent crushing you.
→
Step 2
AI · 5 levels
From Ensign to Admiral: a real bot that plans and doesn't forgive.
→
Step 3
5-Year Mission
A 10-game campaign: promotions and a crew you upgrade over time.
Why trust us
Don't just take our word
8.7
Score on BoardGameGeek, over 2,000 ratings
4×
Golden Geek 2025 nominations: thematic, solo, 2-player, heavy
🏆 IGA
Wins "Best Solo" 2025 (Int'l Gamers Award) · 9/10 and 4.5/5
Turczi & Buckle
Designers of Voidfall and the Imperium series
🌐 FroGames honesty
It's a heavy game: the first game is for finding your feet — the Cadet mode is made for that. And it's in English, with text on the cards too (manageable in the base, heavy in To Boldly Go): it's a game you play by reading. If English is a burden for you, keep it in mind. No surprises after buying.
Head to head
The two doors in, explained without spin
Same price, both standalone. The community is clear: the base is more linear and consistent, To Boldly Go is more varied and deep. Neither is "the beginner box" — it's only how far you want to push.
▲ Base standalone
Captain's Chair
The modern generation and the gentler ramp. Picard, Sisko, Burnham — the most consensual entry point.
Depth4.1 / 5
BGG score8.7
On-rampGentler
Choose this if…
- ▲it's your first game of this weight
- ▲you love the TNG / DS9 / Discovery generation
- ▲you want to learn solo with a gentler curve
€64,9914 in stock
VS
◆ Base standalone
To Boldly Go
The classics and the great villains. Kirk, Khan, Georgiou — more varied, denser, the higher score of the two.
Depth≈4.3 / 5
BGG score9.1 early
VarietyHighest
Choose this if…
- ◆you want the deepest challenge of the two
- ◆you love Kirk, Khan and the Original Series
- ◆you already have experience with dense games
€64,9914 in stock
Still undecided? No problem
If you really can't choose: start with the base.
It's the straight advice. Captain's Chair is the most linear and consistent door, with the most recognizable captains and the gentlest curve into the system. It's also the "Solo Game of the Year" for several reviewers. From here you can add everything else whenever you want — you can't go wrong. You don't have to decide forever today: you just have to choose where to come aboard.
Star Trek: Captain's Chair
€64,99
✦ When you'll want more
Second Contact
Picked your deck? One day it'll feel tight. This expansion adds three new captains and works with either box.
✦ Expansion
Pike, Freeman & a portal through time
Strange New Worlds meets Lower Decks. Three command philosophies that face each other or challenge the captains you already own.
🖖 Christopher Pike📋 Carol Freeman⚡ Riker🌀 Krulmuth-B
🔗 You just need one of the two base boxes. It's not a standalone: it can't be played alone. Add it when your captains feel tight.
€34,99
Let's clear the doubts
The real questions, before you hit "add"
Is it too complex for me? +
It's complex, not hard: the difference is everything. There's a curve, but the game is built as a ramp — you learn by playing the Cadet Training mode, without an opponent crushing you, then move to the real challenge. People coming from "serious" board games find it more approachable than Imperium.
Is the solo real or a fake bot? +
It's real. You pilot your captain; an AI runs another captain, weighing every card and playing like a human would. It's not "beat your own score". There are 5 difficulty levels (Ensign to Admiral) and a solo campaign, the 5-Year Mission: 10 games where you get promoted and upgrade your crew (nothing gets ruined, reset whenever you want). There's also a Cadet mode to learn pressure-free.
Do I really need both boxes? +
No. Each is a complete game. Our advice is to start with one, learn it, and get the other (or the expansion) only when it feels tight. They combine — captains face each other — but it's not required, it's a luxury for later.
Will I actually play it, or will it sit on the shelf? +
Six captains, dozens of combinations against the AI, many roads to victory: every game is a different puzzle. It's exactly the kind of game that keeps hitting the table because you never "solve" it — and solo, you open it whenever you want, no waiting for anyone.
Which captain should I start with? +
Each captain has a printed complexity from 1 to 10. The rulebook recommends a pair for the first game: in the base Picard (1/10) + Shran (2/10), in To Boldly Go Georgiou (2/10) + Soval (3/10). Note: Kirk is 4/10 (mid, not a starter deck), while Rebner (8/10) and Khan (9/10) are best left for later. But the golden rule stands: get the box with the captains you love most.
Do I need to be a Star Trek fan to enjoy it? +
No. Several non-fan reviewers found it "captivating" regardless of the saga: it stands on its own as a deckbuilder. And if you do love Star Trek, that's the cherry on top — each captain plays the way the character would. Great to gift to a couple where only one is a Trekkie.
What language is it in? Do I need English? +
The boxes are in English, and here English isn't just for the rulebook: the text is on the cards, which you read and play every turn. It's a game you play by reading. In the base the text is manageable (many get by with a translation aid at hand), while To Boldly Go is more text-heavy. There's an Italian community translation of the rulebook on BoardGameGeek, but the cards stay in English. If English makes you uncomfortable, keep it in mind: it's the most important thing to know before buying.
The chair is yours, Captain.
One decision, not three. The straight advice stands: start with the base. From there the universe expands whenever you want.
Star Trek: Captain's Chair
Another route?
↑ retake the quiz
«Do you think you have what it takes to sit in the Captain's Chair?»