Games like Eclipse: Second Dawn for the Galaxy

01

Eclipse: New Dawn for the Galaxy(2011)

★ 7.82–6 players60 minWeight 3.7

ISO Match

70/100

Shares Dice Rolling + 5 more

02

Space Empires 4X(2011)

★ 7.71–4 players60 minWeight 3.4

ISO Match

66/100

Down at 3.37 weight from the seed's 3.67, Space Empires 4X is a leaner take on the same territory: dice rolling, grid movement on hex maps, income, and tech tracks all return in a civilization-scale space wargame. Player count is the bigger gap — one to four, strongest at two, versus a game built for bigger tables. There's no modular board, variable player powers, or alliance play; instead you track your empire paper-and-pencil style, deploy units in secret, and bluff, with auctions and a solo mode rounding things out. If head-to-head empire building appeals, this is the pick.

03

Clash of Cultures(2012)

★ 7.62–4 players180 minWeight 3.6

ISO Match

66/100

At 3.61 weight against 3.67, Clash of Cultures asks for almost exactly the same brainpower as Eclipse: Second Dawn for the Galaxy — and it also hits its stride with four players, though it caps out there rather than stretching to six. The overlap runs through area majority, dice rolling, grid movement, hexagon grids, modular boards, and tech trees, so exploring, expanding, and researching will feel familiar. The setting swaps space for the ancient world, and where the seed leans on alliances, hidden scoring, and asymmetric factions, this one adds action points, hand management, trading, and critical hits — a civ game with more city building and economy.

04

Andromeda's Edge(2024)

★ 8.32–4 players80 minWeight 3.8

ISO Match

64/100

You'll recognize the table talk immediately: area majority fights, dice rolling, hexagon grids, tech tracks, and asymmetric player powers, all serving a science-fiction territory struggle much like Eclipse: Second Dawn for the Galaxy's. At 3.75 to the seed's 3.67, the depth is practically level. It runs two to four and works best at three, a slightly tighter table than the original's favored four. The real difference is the action engine — worker placement with different worker types, events, and hand management replace the modular exploration board, hidden victory points, and alliance play, so decisions feel more euro-structured even as the fighting stays front and center.

05

Exodus: Proxima Centauri(2012)

★ 7.12–6 playersWeight 3.6

ISO Match

63/100

Shares Area Majority / Influence + 4 more

06

Clash of Cultures: Monumental Edition(2021)

★ 8.32–4 players180 minWeight 3.7

ISO Match

63/100

Best at three rather than four, Clash of Cultures: Monumental Edition trims the table slightly but keeps the civ-game spine: dice rolling, grid movement, a modular board, tech tracks, and variable player powers all carry over. Weight is 3.74 to the seed's 3.67, close enough that neither feels like the lighter option. The theme trades space exploration for the ancient world with city building and an economic bent, and the mechanical trade is similar — action points, hand management, and trading come in where area majority, hidden victory points, and hex-grid play go out. Same ambition, different texture.

07

EVE: War for New Eden(2025)

★ 8.32–4 playersWeight 3.6

ISO Match

63/100

Grid movement across a modular hexagon map, dice rolling, income, and variable player powers put EVE: War for New Eden on very familiar ground. Its 3.65 weight sits a whisker under the seed's 3.67 — effectively the same commitment. It supports two to four players, so you lose the top end of Eclipse: Second Dawn for the Galaxy's 2–6 range, and the seed's preferred four sits right at this game's ceiling. What diverges: no tech trees, area majority, or hidden victory points here; instead you get trading and an action/event system, plus a video-game pedigree in place of the civilization framing.

08

Twilight Imperium: Third Edition(2005)

★ 7.83–6 players180 minWeight 4.3

ISO Match

62/100

Shares Area-Impulse + 6 more

09

Twilight Imperium: Fourth Edition(2017)

★ 8.63–6 players240 minWeight 4.4

ISO Match

62/100

Shares Area-Impulse + 6 more

10

Terraforming Mars(2016)

★ 8.31–5 players120 minWeight 3.3

ISO Match

62/100

Shares Hexagon Grid + 2 more

11

Runewars(2010)

★ 7.62–4 players180 minWeight 3.8

ISO Match

62/100

Shares Area Majority / Influence + 4 more

12

Burning Suns(2013)

★ 7.12–5 playersWeight 3.4

ISO Match

62/100

Shares Area Majority / Influence + 4 more