Interview: Deon Carrico on Galaxy Hunters from IDW Games

Today we are joined by Deon Carrico. He is the Product Manager over at IDW Games. We’re going to get some details on their latest game currently on Kickstarter, Galaxy Hunters. The game is already funded with plenty of extras. There’s still a few days left, if you want to get on board.

Q: Thanks for setting aside this time to answer some questions. First, can you just tell us what exactly Galaxy Hunters is?
A: Galaxy Hunters is a Euro-style worker placement game where 2-4 players take on the role of mercenaries piloting giant battle mechs. These mercenaries have been hired by Megacorporations to hunt and harvest giant rampaging mutants.

Q: This game has a unique history. Can you tell us a bit about that?

A: Galaxy Hunters got its start in Brazil, designed by Daniel Alves. It was very well received, and IDW took the opportunity to bring the game to a global audience.

The original Kickstarter was launched back in 2018, but at that time we determined that were elements in the campaign that could be handled better, as well as further refine the game.

Since then, we have gone through Galaxy Hunters refining several elements of the game while keeping to Daniel Alves’ vision. It truly is a stronger game with the additional time we have been able to put into it.

In addition, a completely new expansion was created offering completely new mechanics, a new pilot and mech, and components for a fifth player.

Q: Galaxy Hunters combines multiple mechanisms: drafting, worker placement, tableau building, and more. What would you say is your favorite mechanism or interaction?

A: My favorite aspect of Galaxy Hunters has always been acquiring upgrade tiles for your mech and pilot. There is something very satisfying about placing a new weapon or ammo reserves on your mech, watching your blueprint fill out. It does feel like you are actually building on your mech.

In addition, each mech grants a different set of skills from your pilot. Planning out when to get certain upgrades that build off those abilities has definitely been another major reason why I enjoy that particular aspect of Galaxy Hunters.

Q: Tell me more about the pilot and mech relationship, and do you have a favorite combination?

A: One of the aspects that makes Galaxy Hunters so replayable is the mech-to-pilot neural link. Each pilot comes with four available skills, and which skills are active will depend on the mech you choose. While you aren’t forced to play in any particular way, this does help guide how to tackle the mutant menace. You may receive a damage bonus from a particular weapon, or maybe receive additional resources when visiting planets.

Personally, if I can dual wield weapons, I absolutely will. John Guntzel can deal additional damage and spend less energy when paired with Prometheus. Ammo capacity is an issue, so I’ll definitely try to pick up an ammo pack if I can.

Q: I know what initially drew me to this game is its theme. Can you discuss the giant mech vs kaiju theme?

A: Galaxy Hunters is a universe where greed is definitely a driving factor. Giant Megacorporations have essentially replaced planetary governments, which have left them free to develop and research new technologies with reckless abandon. The mutants started as one of these unrestricted genetic experiments, which turned Ulaan into a breeding ground and unleashed these horrid creations throughout the system.

And how do you fight against giant horrifying space faring mutants? By creating giant, epic mechs designed for glorious one-on-one combat, obviously!

One of the interesting things to me is that the goal of the game isn’t to eradicate these mutants, but to become the most renown and successful hunter. You are playing as a mercenary after all!

Q: To those who are interested in the base game, but still on the fence about the New Ways To Hunt expansion, what does the expansion add to the game?

A: The New Ways to Hunt Expansion offers a lot of new content, and players can choose which of these new elements to play with.

First off, let’s talk about the combat dice. In New Ways to Hunt, you can use your attack value to roll that number of combat dice. The dice provide a push-your-luck element to the game. There is a chance that you can miss on your attacks, but you also get to roll additional dice for every critical hit you roll.

With the new combat panel, you can put one of your missed attacks to use, providing an extra credit, or maybe a little bit of reputation for example. In addition, you also have the opportunity to re-roll dice once per turn. You can also repair hull damage with the combanel.

Each player also gains access to Ambassadors at the beginning of the game. Essentially, you deploy one Ambassador to a planet where you have a ship docked. Once per turn you can either pay to activate them to gain their specific bonus, or immediately gain their bonus whenever another player visits the planet they are on. Getting an ambassador on a popular planet will gain you lots of resources for very little!

Duar Krill is a new pilot that comes with the New Ways to Hunt Expansion. Born on the harsh environments of Planet Prim, he has a blatant disregard for radiation, and can spend energy to boost damage. The new mech, Iron Smoker, comes with large energy reserves, which works great with Duar Krill.

And last but not least, this expansion allows you to play with up to 5 players.

Q: Do you have a favorite giant mech or kaiju in pop culture, outside of Galaxy Hunters?