The beauty of strategy games is how much story they can tell based on the simple interplay of gameplay mechanics with just the right amount of flavor. For instance, Race for the Galaxy is a tabletop card game published by Rio Grande. However, a fellow named Keldon Jones has created a basic interface and an AI that makes it work as a standalone single-player computer game. Above is a screenshot. I know it doesn't look like much. But if you know what you're seeing, it can tell a story every bit as epic as Starcraft II.

After the jump, let me explain what you're looking at.

The Old Earth player is winning in the upper right corner. He's settled a Refugee World, a Gem World, and a Secluded World. The Refugee World makes him militarily weak, so they won't be bringing into the fold any prison colonies or Imperium bases. But that doesn't matter, since he's an economic powerhouse. He's developed Consumer Markets, which lets him cash in the Novelty Goods produced on his worlds, and Deficit Spending, which lets him cycle money directly into victory points. This is Old Earth's game to lose.

In the upper left corner, Epsilon Eridani is a military faction that hasn't managed to bring into play anything military. Instead their expensive Tourist World was settled with the help of Replicant Robots. This Tourist World can rack up victory points from the Genetic Materials harvested at a Lost Species Ark and a Distant World. A Trade League development cashes in the Genetic Material for money. At the end of the game, the Trade League will give Epsilon Eridani a victory point bonus for any trade worlds or developments they bring into play.

Meanwhile, as Earth's Lost Colony on the bottom of the screen, I began with a source of Novelty Goods. I also have plenty of Rare Elements on my recently settled Imperium Armaments World and Mining World, with Mining Robots ready to replenish my resources. Fat lot of good it's doing me! I have no way to process all these raw materials. While the other two players advance their economies, I've been squandering all my turns exploring for some sort infrastructure world to settle. As soon as I find it, I've got a Colony Ship ready to go.

This is how Race for the Galaxy plays out. To an onlooker, you're just drawing cards and playing them in a configuration in front of you until the game ends and the guy with the most points wins. But from inside the game's rules, you're playing out an epic sci-fi struggle with aliens, rebels, colonies, and interstellar trade.

For best results, I recommend buying the actual physical game and enjoying it with friends. But for second best results, you can download it for free here. Jones' AI version assumes you already know the rules, so don't expect a tutorial or any sort of hand-holding. Instead, you'll have to download the rules here.

(Superthanks to Alan F.!)