There are many ways to play the StarCraft board game and each has its own challenges. Each game can last a different length of time depending on the game variant being played.
Galactic Conquest Variant.
The galactic conquest variant of the game is designed to be one of the longer types of games. It makes it possible for the game to last until every last opposing player is destroyed by leaving only one victor. This does not use the conquest point system and requires elimination of all other players for a victory.
Team Play Variant
The team play variant uses groups of players numbering in 4 or 6 to work on a team. The requirement is that a team may only have two players in each for a maximum of 3 teams with 2 people in each. The aim of the game is the same as normal play unless you combine this variant with the galactic conquest variant. This means that the team must destroy all other teams to win.
BroodWar Expansion Extras
The BroodWar expansion for the game is a variant in its own right. The expansion adds units, planets and other game play elements which were not available in the original. The addition of a special storyline oriented game option makes the game more concentric to the original computer game expansion. There are also specialized leader cards which make each race faction more offensive and can offer defensive skills to the mix as well.