Aldebaran Duel | Solo Playthrough | Essen 2023

About Aldebaran Duel, from BoardGameGeek:

In the glow of the rays of the orange giant, an interplanetary clash of two empires is approaching... In Aldebaran Duel, you are the leader of a space fleet with which you want to control as much of a newly available planetary system as possible. Over three epochs, you will discover new planets, populate them, use their mineral wealth to build spaceships, and try to gain superiority over your opponent. During the game, you obtain cards that represent planets, shuttles, mining stations, and colonized parts of planets. Planet building is one of the game's key mechanisms, and using it correctly can be a crucial winning strategy. By building a fleet of merchant, diplomatic, and battle ships, you gain influence in the explored universe - and in the laboratories, your scientists might discover new technologies that can turn the duel in your favor at the right moment. At the same time, however, you can - and must! - use cards as raw materials to build your empire, so during the game you are always considering how to use them most effectively. Is it better to play out the card - or pay with it? Laying out the right combinations of cards will allow you to have better and more varied options in subsequent turns. Whoever builds the best functioning new civilization after three epochs wins. Aldebaran Duel includes a variant for solo play.