by MScrivner
I guess I should be clear, since I am taunting Eclipse players above:I don't dislike Eclipse in the least. I rate it a solid 8. It's a great design, it's strategically deeper that TI3 or Runewars, and if I only have 3 hours and want to build a space civilization, I am not going to say no to a game. I do happen to prefer TI3, if only because I like negotiation metagames, and I prefer Runewars over both. I do find Eclipse a little dry, since much of my strategic focus over the course of the game is managing resources, which is more dry and less fun (for me) than having a fifteen minute argument about the outcome of a vote, or a secret auction, or etc.
This is totally a personal preference thing - I realize there are people who like Eclipse more, and that their reasons for doing so are the very reasons I like it slightly less than the other games noted. To me it's not an either/or thing - if you like thematic games, you ought to have room in your collection for all three.