Many libraries will use “A Universe of Stories” as their Summer Reading theme this year to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Moon landing.

But you might want to check out a new post from School Library Journal by Thomas Knowlton if you’re interested in adding a little outer space to your gaming collection this Summer. He suggests three titles (one tabletop game and two video games) that would be perfect to if you want to take one small step…

Outer space is almost a perfect setting for a game: it suggests the potential for friendly (or hostile) contact with alien life, the physics of gravity, and the mechanics of managing limited resources to survive. One can trace these threads back to Spacewar! (1962) and Asteroids (1979) to modern classics such as Cosmic Encounter (2008) and FTL: Faster Than Light (2012).

Below are three titles which complement this year’s Collaborative Summer Reading theme, “A Universe of Stories,” and also emphasize, through their mechanics, the need for players to work together when faced with galactic danger.

Knowlton focuses on Mole Rats in Space, a cooperative tabletop game for all ages, as well as Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime (PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One), and No Man’s Sky (PC, PS4, Xbox One).