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Board games usually follow a pretty predictable rhythm. You roll dice, you move a plastic piece, or maybe you trade three sheep for a brick. But every once in a while, a designer decides to get actually weird with the hobby. I’m talking about the kind of weird that makes your brain itch in a good way. That’s basically the entire vibe of A Message from the Stars.
Released by All-Play (formerly BoardGameTables.com), this isn't your typical party game. It’s a deduction game. It’s a word game. Honestly, it’s a math game hiding inside a sci-fi skin. You have one player acting as the Alien, trying to send a signal across the cold vacuum of space, while the Scientists on Earth are desperately trying to translate a language they’ve never heard before. If you’ve ever seen the movie Arrival and thought, "I want to do that, but with more cardboard," this is your game.
Most word games are about how many words you know. This one is about how words are built. It’s crunchy.
The Brutal Logic of Alien Communication
Let's look at how A Message from the Stars actually functions on the table. One player is the Alien. They pick a "Secret Word." This word is the holy grail for the Scientists. But the Alien can't just blurt it out. Instead, they assign point values to every letter of the alphabet based on specific categories.
Maybe "A" is worth 3 points because it’s a vowel, and "Z" is worth 10 points because it’s rare. Or maybe the values are based on where the letter sits in the alphabet. The Scientists don't know the values. They don't know the word. All they can do is send "Query Words" to the Alien.
When the Scientists send a word, the Alien gives them a total score.
If the Scientists send the word "CAT," the Alien might say, "That is 12 points." Now the Scientists have to figure out why it's 12 points. Is C worth 5? Is T worth 2? They start a spreadsheet—yes, a literal dry-erase spreadsheet—to track every letter they've tested. It feels like cracking a safe. You’re not just guessing words; you’re reverse-engineering a mathematical cipher. It’s intense.
Why Deduction Lovers Are Obsessed
Most deduction games, like Clue or even decrypto, give you binary information. You either have the card or you don't. A Message from the Stars is different because it gives you "fuzzy" data. A total score of 12 for "CAT" and 15 for "BAT" tells you exactly what the difference between B and C is. That’s the "Aha!" moment.
Suddenly, the game isn't about the theme anymore. It’s about the delta.
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The Scientists are looking for that specific numerical gap. If they realize B is worth 3 more points than C, they can start to narrow down which category the Alien used to assign values. There are different "sets" of values the Alien can choose from, which adds a layer of predictability if you’ve played a few times, but it never feels easy.
The Alien isn't just a silent narrator either. They want to be found. But they have to be careful. If they give away too much too fast, the game ends before the tension peaks. If they are too obscure, the Scientists just stare at their boards in frustrated silence. It’s a delicate balance.
The Component Quality and Table Presence
All-Play has a reputation for over-producing their games in the best way possible. They are the people who made On Tour and QE. With A Message from the Stars, the production is clean. You get these chunky dry-erase boards that feel satisfying to write on.
One thing people often miss is how small the box is. In an era where "big box" games take up half a closet, this fits on a shelf easily.
The art is minimal. It’s dark, atmospheric, and leans heavily into that retro-futurist aesthetic. It doesn't distract you from the logic puzzles. It shouldn't. You need every ounce of brainpower to figure out why the word "OZONE" just returned a value of 42.
Where the Game Gets Hard (and Where It Fails Some People)
Let's be real: this game isn't for everyone. If you hate math, you will probably hate this. It requires a lot of mental arithmetic. You are constantly adding up values and subtracting them to find the "hidden" value of a single letter.
It’s also a "quiet" game.
In a typical session, there will be five-minute stretches where nobody says a word. The Scientists are just scribbling. The Alien is watching them sweat. If your game group prefers high-octane social interaction or "take that" mechanics, this will feel like homework.
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Another sticking point is the "Language Barrier." If you have a player who isn't great at spelling or has a smaller vocabulary, they are going to struggle as the Alien. The game relies on the Alien being able to pick a word that is guessable but not obvious. If they pick "XYLEM," the Scientists might never get there. If they pick "DOG," it’s over in ten minutes.
Comparing A Message from the Stars to the Competition
How does this stack up against other deduction heavyweights?
- Turing Machine: This is probably the closest comparison. Both are pure logic puzzles. However, Turing Machine is essentially a solo game you play next to other people. A Message from the Stars has much more player interaction. You are trying to get inside the Alien's head.
- Codenames: Not even close. Codenames is about word association and vibes. This is about data points.
- Decrypto: There’s a similar "coding" feel here, but Decrypto is team-based and focused on intercepting signals. A Message from the Stars feels more like a cooperative struggle against an enigma.
The game sits in this weird middle ground. It’s more accessible than a heavy Eurogame but more demanding than a standard party game. It’s a "niche" title that has found a very loyal following among people who love linguistics and cryptography.
Strategies for the Aspiring Scientist
If you’re sitting down to play for the first time, don't just guess random words. You need a system.
First, focus on high-frequency letters. E, T, A, O, I, N. If you can lock down the value of "E," you’ve solved a huge chunk of the puzzle because it appears in almost everything.
Second, use "Minimal Difference" testing. This is the pro move. Send the word "CAT" and then the word "CAP." The difference in the score is exactly the difference between T and P. It’s the cleanest way to get data without "noise" from other letters.
Third, watch the Alien. Are they smirking? Are they worried? Sometimes the way they calculate the score tells you if they’re dealing with a complex letter or something simple.
The Alien’s Gambit: How to Win
As the Alien, your goal is to lead the Scientists down a path. You want them to feel smart, but you want to win.
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Picking the word is 90% of your strategy. You want a word with common letters but a strange structure. "QUEUE" is a nightmare for Scientists because of the repeated U and E. "RHYTHM" is great because the lack of traditional vowels throws off their initial assumptions about how you valued the alphabet.
Also, vary your point categories. If you always use the "Alphabetical Order" category for your values, your friends will catch on. Mix it up. Use the category based on "Keyboard Proximity" or "Scrabble Values" if the specific setup allows it.
Is It Worth Your Time?
Honestly? Yeah. But with a caveat.
A Message from the Stars is a brilliant design by Kakapopo and it fills a hole in many collections. It’s a "brain burner" that plays in about 30 to 45 minutes. It’s the perfect game for a rainy Tuesday night when you want to feel like a genius.
But don't bring it to a loud bar. Don't play it with people who just want to relax. This is a game of focus. It rewards patience and punishingly logical thinking. It’s a love letter to the difficulty of communication.
The first time you correctly guess the secret word based on nothing but a string of seemingly random numbers, you’ll feel a rush that few other games can provide. It’s the sound of two different species finally understanding each other.
Actionable Steps for New Players
If you’re ready to dive into the deep end of alien linguistics, here is how you should approach your first few sessions to avoid total frustration:
- Download a digital scorecard: While the dry-erase boards are great, some players find it easier to use a tablet or a spreadsheet to track letter values across multiple turns. It prevents erasing errors which can ruin the whole game.
- Start with "Easy" words: For your first two games, have the Alien pick a 4-letter word with no repeating letters. The complexity scales exponentially with word length.
- Read the "Letter Frequency" chart: Keep a copy of the English language letter frequency chart on the table. It helps Scientists decide which letters are most important to "solve" first.
- Limit the "Think Time": Set a soft timer. This game can suffer from "Analysis Paralysis" where a Scientist spends 10 minutes trying to optimize a single query. Keep the game moving; more queries are usually better than one "perfect" query.
- Check the "Errata": Like many indie games, check the publisher's website for any rule clarifications regarding specific letter categories. Knowing exactly how "vowels" are defined (does Y count?) is crucial before the game starts.
This isn't just a game; it's a puzzle that you solve with your friends. It’s messy, it’s hard, and it’s one of the most rewarding tabletop experiences currently on the market. If you can find a copy, grab it. Just be prepared to do some math.