Tiny Epic Galaxies

You command a small galactic empire, and the game ends the round someone reaches 21 points, scored mainly by colonising planets and levelling up your home galaxy. Everything fits in a paperback-sized box: a galaxy mat per player, a row of planet cards, ships and dice. You roll dice equal to your empire's level, reroll once if you like, then resolve the symbols in any order: move a ship, gain energy or culture, advance a colony track on a planet your ship orbits, or trigger the power of a planet you already own. The twist is that after each of your dice, any other player may spend a culture to copy that action, so nobody waits long. A forty-minute strategy game that travels well and has a good solo mode. Good for a couple who want dice with real decisions, and a light bridge from Yahtzee toward heavier things.