<p>For the cubes, dump them out, in approximately the right spots; slide most of them over to the left, then make sure the 3 right-most cubes for each of tech/resources/money are in the right spots. Let people sort the rest when it's not their turn.</p>

<p>That said, I'd love to have boards that had recesses for all of the cubes/discs so they moved around less.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-03-06T05:38:55.427Z
So you suggest to just let them handle it during the game itself on the first turn, when they're not playing?
Aviad Ben Dov
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-03-06T13:29:20.297Z
Yes sir. Alternatively, if they haven't played before it gives them something relatively mindless to do while you explain the game.
aslum
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-03-07T04:53:02.793Z
yeah, that's sort of what I did last time, while they were organising the cubes I explained the rules of the game.
Aviad Ben Dov
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-03-07T04:55:42.040Z
(I am waiting to see if there are other answers, if there are none I'll mark yours as the answer.)
Aviad Ben Dov
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-07-31T19:27:32.713Z
@aslum Many years later, the second edition of Eclipse gives you exactly what you want.
GendoIkari
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-03-06T03:55:50.900Z
2013-03-06T03:55:50.900Z
aslum
<p>I've found through my plays of Eclipse that there are 4 things you can do to speed up setup:</p>

<p>1) Take the bags where you put the ships in for each player. Add 3 colony ships, the storage markers, the starbases, all cubes and disks. You'll have a bag for each player with all the stuff they need to setup their player board.</p>

<p>2) Buy a 'bead storage box'. Craft section of Michaels or Walmart. Put your sorted upgrades in here. Setting up the supply board is as simple as taking the lid off of this box and placing technology tiles.</p>

<p>3) Buy some Population Trays off the internet. These are specifically for eclipse. You can buy the ones with lids and that will let you store all the cubes for a given player in the tray. Setting up a player board is as simple as opening the lid and dumping the contents of their bag next to the board.</p>

<p>4) Have all other components pre-sorted and bagged seperately.</p>

<p>It takes &lt; 5 minutes to go from putting the box on the table to making my first action with this setup.</p>

<p>Population Trays: <a href="http://www.beklaser.com/en/6-eclipse">http://www.beklaser.com/en/6-eclipse</a></p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-04-03T17:47:29.040Z
Those population trays are neat!
ghoppe
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-04-03T17:14:10.390Z
2013-04-03T17:22:24.923Z
2013-04-03T17:22:24.923Z
Chris G.
<p>Our group just uses the little plastic bags that come with the game and put everything for one player to start in one of them. We have the starting hex, the ships, the populations cubes, etc. all in the bag. We only set up the rightmost population cube. We can get started in as little as 5 minutes.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-10-10T15:10:10.117Z
2013-10-10T15:10:10.117Z
Anubian Noob
<p>I think I got everything separated and packed pretty well (including the upgrade tiles), but what's really taking a long time during setup is the cubes.</p>

<p>Is there a way to set it up faster for players? It's also a drag for new players, gives them a bad first impression...</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-03-05T18:27:54.790Z
Set it up before your players arrive?
ire_and_curses
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-03-05T18:54:55.357Z
I'm really looking forward to BigDaddy's [Eclipse for iPad](http://www.bigdaddyscreations.com/789/eclipse-delayed-again/)
ghoppe
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-03-06T05:37:43.883Z
@ire_and_curses no, when they're already here, just give them quicker setup time... The players need to decide on their race first, right?
Aviad Ben Dov
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-03-06T05:38:09.110Z
@ghoppe don't you think it kinda hinders the whole "meet with your friends and play" concept of tabletop games though? :)
Aviad Ben Dov
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-03-06T16:43:15.393Z
@AviadBenDov I can still meet with my friends, hang out on the sofa and pass-and-play. No huge table and setup required! :)
ghoppe
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-03-07T04:54:01.293Z
@ghoppe pros and cons to it though... I somehow prefer the big table, the plastic pieces, and even more importantly, to get away from screen time.. :)
Aviad Ben Dov
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-04-02T19:26:38.273Z
I had my friends text me their colors for the first game, and setup their pieces ahead of time. Sure, the races are asymmetrical, but we all learned together so it wasn't a huge deal.
The Chaz 2.0
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-06-04T23:47:54.907Z
Honestly, they don't have to be exactly in the right place or at the right angle; just slide them into roughly the right places in threes with three fingers and you'll be set up in no time.
Aesin
<eclipse><game-setup>
How can I speed up the setup of Eclipse?
Aviad Ben Dov
# How can I speed up the setup of Eclipse?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2013-03-05)

I think I got everything separated and packed pretty well (including the upgrade tiles), but what's really taking a long time during setup is the cubes.

Is there a way to set it up faster for players? It's also a drag for new players, gives them a bad first impression...

**Tags:** eclipse, game-setup

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Set it up before your players arrive?  
> **username_2**: I'm really looking forward to BigDaddy's [Eclipse for iPad](http://www.bigdaddyscreations.com/789/eclipse-delayed-again/)  
> **username_0**: @username_1 no, when they're already here, just give them quicker setup time... The players need to decide on their race first, right?  
> **username_0**: @username_2 don't you think it kinda hinders the whole "meet with your friends and play" concept of tabletop games though? :)  
> **username_2**: @username_0 I can still meet with my friends, hang out on the sofa and pass-and-play. No huge table and setup required! :)  
> **username_0**: @username_2 pros and cons to it though... I somehow prefer the big table, the plastic pieces, and even more importantly, to get away from screen time.. :)  
> **username_3**: I had my friends text me their colors for the first game, and setup their pieces ahead of time. Sure, the races are asymmetrical, but we all learned together so it wasn't a huge deal.  
> **username_4**: Honestly, they don't have to be exactly in the right place or at the right angle; just slide them into roughly the right places in threes with three fingers and you'll be set up in no time.  

---

## 3 answers

### Answer by username_5 on 2013-03-06. Score: 4 | Accepted answer

For the cubes, dump them out, in approximately the right spots; slide most of them over to the left, then make sure the 3 right-most cubes for each of tech/resources/money are in the right spots. Let people sort the rest when it's not their turn.

That said, I'd love to have boards that had recesses for all of the cubes/discs so they moved around less.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: So you suggest to just let them handle it during the game itself on the first turn, when they're not playing?  
> **username_5**: Yes sir. Alternatively, if they haven't played before it gives them something relatively mindless to do while you explain the game.  
> **username_0**: yeah, that's sort of what I did last time, while they were organising the cubes I explained the rules of the game.  
> **username_0**: (I am waiting to see if there are other answers, if there are none I'll mark yours as the answer.)  
> **username_6**: @username_5 Many years later, the second edition of Eclipse gives you exactly what you want.  

---

### Answer by username_7 on 2013-04-03. Score: 8

I've found through my plays of Eclipse that there are 4 things you can do to speed up setup:

1) Take the bags where you put the ships in for each player. Add 3 colony ships, the storage markers, the starbases, all cubes and disks. You'll have a bag for each player with all the stuff they need to setup their player board.

2) Buy a 'bead storage box'. Craft section of Michaels or Walmart. Put your sorted upgrades in here. Setting up the supply board is as simple as taking the lid off of this box and placing technology tiles.

3) Buy some Population Trays off the internet. These are specifically for eclipse. You can buy the ones with lids and that will let you store all the cubes for a given player in the tray. Setting up a player board is as simple as opening the lid and dumping the contents of their bag next to the board.

4) Have all other components pre-sorted and bagged seperately.

It takes < 5 minutes to go from putting the box on the table to making my first action with this setup.

Population Trays: <http://www.beklaser.com/en/6-eclipse>

> **Comments:**
> **username_2**: Those population trays are neat!  

---

### Answer by username_8 on 2013-10-10. Score: -1

Our group just uses the little plastic bags that come with the game and put everything for one player to start in one of them. We have the starting hex, the ships, the populations cubes, etc. all in the bag. We only set up the rightmost population cube. We can get started in as little as 5 minutes.


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