For those unfamiliar with the phrase, "jumping the shark" is the point where a franchise becomes stale and the quality degrades. In TV land this moment happened on ABCs "Happy Days" when The Fonz, seriously, jumped an enclosure with a shark in it on water skis while wearing his patented leather jacket. Clearly the writers had run out of good ideas.

In this expansion the game comes perilously close to doing just that. Along with new cards and components to expand this game to six players, a complex military component has been added to the game. One of the knocks on Race For The Galaxy is that it is a very busy card game. Every symbol means something, and it is quite a bit for novices to process their first few games. I've taught this game several times to veteran gamers, and this truism never changes. The military component adds a thoroughly unnecessary layer to a game that is already several layers deep. New cards are cluttered with complicated takeover rules (and defenses) that in theory add another path to victory but in reality add little to the game. Just like the expansion to Puerto Rico that never really caught on, there has been almost no willingness in my gaming group to sully a near perfect rules set with a host of new rules.

So why the four star rating? Well, the expansion does have its merits. New start worlds have been added to the game, and new victory tiles as well. This serves to help keep the game fresh and avoid jumping the proverbial shark. Also, the rules have been tweaked just a hair at game start to make your starting hand a bit more viable. Players now get to choose between two start worlds while examining their cards and the victory tiles before commiting to their opening hand. This is a significant improvement. There is also a nice selection of new cards to the game. So while I have purchased and do enjoy the new expansion, I am also thinking that the game has run its course in regards to how far it should expand. I would be happy to be proven wrong here!