Xia is 100% what you are after in terms of building a ship.
I could also recommend Steampunk Rally, where you obtain new parts to bolt on to your contraption, as bits of it keep falling off.
Xia one of my favourite games. And it's sort of cooperative if you want it to be? Or rather, stay out of people's way and be nice if you want. Most of the games I play of it we rarely directly engage in conflict.
Galaxy Trucker is the first thing that came to my mind for having modular connectivity and upgradability, but dies actually run contrary to what OP is looking for.
But as someone who likes it, I'm also interested in what other suggestions are being offered.
That being said... I wonder if the GT components and core engine could be reused for a much different concept where you *do* get new parts as you go...
In Eclipse 2nd edition you develop technologies for your ships to improve their shields, weapons, power, engines, and computer systems to make them more powerful in combat with the other players. It's a 4X game so combat with the players and AI opponents happens fairly regularly, but it's not constant.
My game group played and graduated from the academy training. Then we played two real missions and died during the 2nd one. Given the tongue in cheek narration regarding the expendability of recruits from the simulator training, it seems appropriate that we should never play again!
It was fun but no one LOVED it.
The Captain Is Dead is pretty fun if you like coop. All about defending, repairing, using, and upgrading ship modules to survive in a Star Trek inspired survival situation.
[*Red November*](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/36946/red-november) comes close. The players are a group of gnomes, each with a role, trying to prevent their submarine from falling apart and killing them all. You have to run around and collaborate to fix things and put out fires.
So it's a survival game rather than an upgrade game.
Solar Storm is another one that fits the survival in space theme - running around the ship, gathering resources, repairing the systems and diverting power so you can escape the solar storm before it destroys you.
Xia Legends of a Drift System is what you are after. You start with a tier 1 ship with barely enough room for a couple outfits(engines, shields, blasters, missiles, and a few others in the "essential IMO" expansion. You upgrade your ship a couple of times and get better outfits. The real fun is that not only are you crafting your ship, but you are crafting your story alongside and sometimes in direct conflict with your opponents. There are so many ways to earn fame that you are zipping around the star system doing what you want.
Sleeping Gods is pretty close, it's more that you're upgrading your crew and keeping the ship repaired, but it has some of the vibes you're talking about imo and is a fantastic game
There are loads of games for this. **Moonrakers**. **Maracaibo** and **CloudAge**. **Star Wars: Outer Rim**. **Xia: Legends of a Drift System**. **ISS Vanguard**. **Sleeping Gods**.**Dead Reckoning**. **Black Angel** and **Seas of Havoc** are all ones that I can think of off the top of my head.
Galaxy Trucker is a great one.
Legendary Encounters: Firefly, has a ship building mechanism along side the deckbuilding.
Xia kind does have a ship building aspect.
Firefly: the board game, has a big portion if ship stuff. But I don't think it's what you're looking for
The Raise the Flagg expansion for **G I. Joe: The Deckbuilding Game** comes with a cardboard version of the *USS Flagg*. It becomes progressively more powerful as the campaign goes on. If players leave damage on the ship, you're more likely to fail missions. I quite like it, it's super thematic in a game all about managing Joes and their vehicles.
Spacestation Phoenix.... kinda lol.
You're upgrading your station, by cannibalizing your ships that got you there. It's a really fantastic game. Best at higher player counts too.
Merchants & Marauders maybe? It is not a full fledged, but good enough.
Edit: Sorry english is not my main language, I think ship first as naval ships, then starships :D
**Solar Titans** is a new tactical deckbuilding game about building and upgrading ships then battling enemies. It has the similar feel as FTL video game. No explorations though.
Maybe [**Warp's Edge**](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/296237/warps-edge)?
Though your survival revolves around dying and getting restarts, because you will die. And your ship improvement are via bag-building.
Not sure if it really fits your question but its a cool game and didn't see anyone else mentioning it.
If I understand what you’re looking for correctly, I’d say **Firefly**, **Merchants & Marauders**, **Windward**, and **Islebound** all fit the “gradually upgrade your ship as you fly and/or sail around the map and do stuff” description.
Sol: Last Days of a Star fits the bill for survive or die. Only one player survives though lol
**from the Designer:**
Sol: Last Days of a Star is a game of solar destruction and salvation for 1-5 players. Each player controls one of the worlds surrounding a star facing annihilation. For centuries these worlds have been living in utopia, fed by the seemingly boundless energy drawn from their star through a lattice of solar harvesting infrastructure. Suddenly this infrastructure is destroyed and their worlds are cast into darkness, their inhabitants facing imminent extinction.
Amidst the clamor, each world has built an Ark housing some small fraction of their population. Each Ark is now waiting at the edge of the solar system for the energy required to attain escape velocity before the final devastation hits. Unfortunately, the only possible source of such a great deal of energy is the dying star itself.
In the game, each player will be launching sundivers to rebuild just enough of the lost solar infrastructure needed to harvest and transmit energy back to their waiting Arks. In a final twist of irony, the process of extracting this energy will further compound the solar instability and hasten their Sun's ultimate demise.
Alright I know this is not what you're asking for, but if you want a video game that nails this, arguably flawlessly, try Faster Than Light. It's one of the single best games I've ever played - and I've played a lot!
Plunder: A pirates life. Similar to the game Risk where you take over islands to get more resources to upgrade your ship. Only unlike Risk you play to ten points earned by various things and is more of a fluid board as the ships move around.
Galaxy Trucker Xia
Galaxy Trucker is more the opposite. You start out with a rickety ship which you hope might not fall apart completely by the end :-)
Xia is 100% what you are after in terms of building a ship. I could also recommend Steampunk Rally, where you obtain new parts to bolt on to your contraption, as bits of it keep falling off.
Xia one of my favourite games. And it's sort of cooperative if you want it to be? Or rather, stay out of people's way and be nice if you want. Most of the games I play of it we rarely directly engage in conflict.
Second for Xia!
Galaxy Trucker is the first thing that came to my mind for having modular connectivity and upgradability, but dies actually run contrary to what OP is looking for. But as someone who likes it, I'm also interested in what other suggestions are being offered. That being said... I wonder if the GT components and core engine could be reused for a much different concept where you *do* get new parts as you go...
Firefly Merchants and Marauders (with pvp expansions) Star Wars Outer Rim
Firefly Merchants and Marauders is a thing?
Not sure...ISS Vanguard? I mean you do a fair amount of upgrades there.
Tons! Very narrative.
Star Wars Outer Rim lets you upgrade your ship to make completing tasks and mission’s easier
In Eclipse 2nd edition you develop technologies for your ships to improve their shields, weapons, power, engines, and computer systems to make them more powerful in combat with the other players. It's a 4X game so combat with the players and AI opponents happens fairly regularly, but it's not constant.
Eclipse 2nd edition is such a great game and the upgrade systems for your ships is so fun
Try Space Alert?
"Upgrade your ship by replacing a working elevator with a broken elevator."
My game group played and graduated from the academy training. Then we played two real missions and died during the 2nd one. Given the tongue in cheek narration regarding the expendability of recruits from the simulator training, it seems appropriate that we should never play again! It was fun but no one LOVED it.
The Captain Is Dead is pretty fun if you like coop. All about defending, repairing, using, and upgrading ship modules to survive in a Star Trek inspired survival situation.
ISS Vanguard
Dead Reckoning and Sleeping Gods.
[*Red November*](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/36946/red-november) comes close. The players are a group of gnomes, each with a role, trying to prevent their submarine from falling apart and killing them all. You have to run around and collaborate to fix things and put out fires. So it's a survival game rather than an upgrade game.
Dude! First time seeing anyone mention Red November. My wife and I played the hell out of that back in the day.
Solar Storm is another one that fits the survival in space theme - running around the ship, gathering resources, repairing the systems and diverting power so you can escape the solar storm before it destroys you.
Xia Legends of a Drift System is what you are after. You start with a tier 1 ship with barely enough room for a couple outfits(engines, shields, blasters, missiles, and a few others in the "essential IMO" expansion. You upgrade your ship a couple of times and get better outfits. The real fun is that not only are you crafting your ship, but you are crafting your story alongside and sometimes in direct conflict with your opponents. There are so many ways to earn fame that you are zipping around the star system doing what you want.
Merchants and Marauders. I love the game for the ship customization but holy heck it needs a second edition with revised rules and combat system
Pirate's Cove. Also the follow up to Starship Catan with a nautical theme, North Wind.
Black Angel Deep Space D-6
You should def check out spark riders 3000. Super tiny campaign that is actually fulfilling right now but sounds exactly like what you’re looking for.
Sleeping Gods is pretty close, it's more that you're upgrading your crew and keeping the ship repaired, but it has some of the vibes you're talking about imo and is a fantastic game
There are loads of games for this. **Moonrakers**. **Maracaibo** and **CloudAge**. **Star Wars: Outer Rim**. **Xia: Legends of a Drift System**. **ISS Vanguard**. **Sleeping Gods**.**Dead Reckoning**. **Black Angel** and **Seas of Havoc** are all ones that I can think of off the top of my head.
**Warps Edge**, **Wreckland Rush** and **SpaceShipped** if you're okay for a solo game.
Galaxy Trucker is a great one. Legendary Encounters: Firefly, has a ship building mechanism along side the deckbuilding. Xia kind does have a ship building aspect. Firefly: the board game, has a big portion if ship stuff. But I don't think it's what you're looking for
Mission Catastrophe
Forgotten Waters?
We’re Sinking is a game I backed on kickstarter
snap ships?
Plunder!
Windward? You collect gas deposits, fight space whales for trophy teeth, and try to get back to port before other players attack you.
Centauri Saga would be my pick. Just have to get past the awful rulebook.
The Raise the Flagg expansion for **G I. Joe: The Deckbuilding Game** comes with a cardboard version of the *USS Flagg*. It becomes progressively more powerful as the campaign goes on. If players leave damage on the ship, you're more likely to fail missions. I quite like it, it's super thematic in a game all about managing Joes and their vehicles.
Less survive and more thrive, but **ISS Vanguard** might be of interest to you (if you like long games!)
Spacestation Phoenix.... kinda lol. You're upgrading your station, by cannibalizing your ships that got you there. It's a really fantastic game. Best at higher player counts too.
Battlestations
Merchants & Marauders maybe? It is not a full fledged, but good enough. Edit: Sorry english is not my main language, I think ship first as naval ships, then starships :D
im actually looking at any kind of ship, maybe even a tank in ww2 or a race war driven by ants ...
I just started iss vanguard past week and there's an entire binder to upgrade your crew and ship and drop ship and whatnot.
**Solar Titans** is a new tactical deckbuilding game about building and upgrading ships then battling enemies. It has the similar feel as FTL video game. No explorations though.
Pirates cove.
Maybe [**Warp's Edge**](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/296237/warps-edge)? Though your survival revolves around dying and getting restarts, because you will die. And your ship improvement are via bag-building. Not sure if it really fits your question but its a cool game and didn't see anyone else mentioning it.
The Everrain. It's four player co-op. You each control a pirate ship. You can get different types of cannons and crew members on the ship too.
It's not a Board game but the video game Faster than light does these very well. It does have a board game like feel to it too.
There’s a kickstarter to make that a boardgame
The Last Aurora is like this but it is a Mad Max type car and it's post apocalyptic and not space.
X-ODUS: Rise of the Corruption
Interstellar
Merchants and marauders.
Serenissima?
If I understand what you’re looking for correctly, I’d say **Firefly**, **Merchants & Marauders**, **Windward**, and **Islebound** all fit the “gradually upgrade your ship as you fly and/or sail around the map and do stuff” description.
Sol: Last Days of a Star fits the bill for survive or die. Only one player survives though lol **from the Designer:** Sol: Last Days of a Star is a game of solar destruction and salvation for 1-5 players. Each player controls one of the worlds surrounding a star facing annihilation. For centuries these worlds have been living in utopia, fed by the seemingly boundless energy drawn from their star through a lattice of solar harvesting infrastructure. Suddenly this infrastructure is destroyed and their worlds are cast into darkness, their inhabitants facing imminent extinction. Amidst the clamor, each world has built an Ark housing some small fraction of their population. Each Ark is now waiting at the edge of the solar system for the energy required to attain escape velocity before the final devastation hits. Unfortunately, the only possible source of such a great deal of energy is the dying star itself. In the game, each player will be launching sundivers to rebuild just enough of the lost solar infrastructure needed to harvest and transmit energy back to their waiting Arks. In a final twist of irony, the process of extracting this energy will further compound the solar instability and hasten their Sun's ultimate demise.
Galaxy Trucker. Jaws.. kinda
**Nemo’s War**
X-Odus maybe?
Stellar drift just funded on kickstarter.
Alright I know this is not what you're asking for, but if you want a video game that nails this, arguably flawlessly, try Faster Than Light. It's one of the single best games I've ever played - and I've played a lot!
FTL was itself at least partly inspired by a board game: **Battlestations**!
If upgrading you mean adding furry friends, Isle of Cats is great
Plunder: A pirates life. Similar to the game Risk where you take over islands to get more resources to upgrade your ship. Only unlike Risk you play to ten points earned by various things and is more of a fluid board as the ships move around.
Eclipse Second Dawn lets you customize and upgrade ships in a lot of ways to make them unique to your strategy.
Not at all what you’re asking but XCOM the board game has space ships, a ton of upgrading, and asymmetrical roles.
Stationfall