High Frontier

Started by DicedT, April 19, 2012, 05:33:07 PM

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DicedT


Staggerwing

Cool!
The designer, Phil Eklund, also came up with Airships at War (Known earlier as Luftschiff) which I own but have yet to have the chance (or room) to play.
Vituð ér enn - eða hvat?  -Voluspa

Nothing really rocks and nothing really rolls and nothing's ever worth the cost...

"Don't you look at me that way..." -the Abyss
 
'When searching for a meaningful embrace, sometimes my self respect took second place' -Iggy Pop, Cry for Love

... this will go down on your permanent record... -the Violent Femmes, 'Kiss Off'-

"I'm not just anyone, I'm not just anyone-
I got my time machine, got my 'electronic dream!"
-Sonic Reducer, -Dead Boys

son_of_montfort

I have often wanted to get High Frontier, but the game is really hardcore in subject matter. I mean it is the astrophysicist's dream game!
"Now it is no accident all these conservatives are using time travel to teach our kids. It is the best way to fight back against the liberal version of history, or as it is sometimes known... history."

- Stephen Colbert

"The purpose of religion is to answer the ultimate question, are we in control or is there some greater force pulling the strings? And if the courts rule that corporations have the same religious rights that we humans do, I think we'll have our answer."

- Stephen Colbert

mirth

Never let rocket scientists design games. At least not ones you plan to play with any sort of fun. If the game description lists a scientific calculator as required to play you're probably not in Kansas anymore (Kansas being fun).
"45 minutes of pooping Tribbles being juggled by a drunken Horta would be better than Season 1 of TNG." - SirAndrewD

"you don't look at the mantelpiece when you're poking the fire" - Bawb

"Can't 'un' until you 'pre', son." - Gus

son_of_montfort

Quote from: mirth on May 03, 2012, 01:40:40 PM
Never let rocket scientists design games. At least not ones you plan to play with any sort of fun. If the game description lists a scientific calculator as required to play you're probably not in Kansas anymore (Kansas being fun).

You should see the board and pieces! They have sins curves, mathematical symbols, and all sorts of gravity and orbital velocity lingo on them!
"Now it is no accident all these conservatives are using time travel to teach our kids. It is the best way to fight back against the liberal version of history, or as it is sometimes known... history."

- Stephen Colbert

"The purpose of religion is to answer the ultimate question, are we in control or is there some greater force pulling the strings? And if the courts rule that corporations have the same religious rights that we humans do, I think we'll have our answer."

- Stephen Colbert

LongBlade

Quote from: mirth on May 03, 2012, 01:40:40 PM
Never let rocket scientists design games. At least not ones you plan to play with any sort of fun. If the game description lists a scientific calculator as required to play you're probably not in Kansas anymore (Kansas being fun).

I beg to differ. A friend of mine is a rocket scientist. For real. He designs games. Good ones. (Really good.)

BTW, he hangs here sometimes. So while some guys may overdo it, keep mind that not *all* of them do :)
All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

Arctic Blast

The game seems compelling, but the seriously hardcore science driving it scares the ever living crap out of me.

I just noticed that my usual online game store has 6 copies of Mage Knight, on the other hand...ANd Earth Reborn on sale?! Sorry, wallet.

son_of_montfort

Quote from: Arctic Blast on May 03, 2012, 11:23:42 PM
The game seems compelling, but the seriously hardcore science driving it scares the ever living crap out of me.

I just noticed that my usual online game store has 6 copies of Mage Knight, on the other hand...ANd Earth Reborn on sale?! Sorry, wallet.

Snatch up those Mage Knights and resell them! They are like game gold at this point. I have a copy coming and will hopefully get some time to video it next week (at the end of the week, I have conference to go to and so I can't play it right away...  :-\)
"Now it is no accident all these conservatives are using time travel to teach our kids. It is the best way to fight back against the liberal version of history, or as it is sometimes known... history."

- Stephen Colbert

"The purpose of religion is to answer the ultimate question, are we in control or is there some greater force pulling the strings? And if the courts rule that corporations have the same religious rights that we humans do, I think we'll have our answer."

- Stephen Colbert

Nefaro

#8
High Frontier 3rd Edition recently hit Kickstarter and is already reaching some nice Extras.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/highfrontier/high-frontier-0


I've been waiting & hoping for this to get re-released in a newer revised edition with some rules clean-up and extra bells & whistles.  The used copies had been going for ridiculous prices for awhile now, and that didn't even include the expansion (which is included in 3rd Ed. + more). 

My wait paid off.  :)

Fortunately, it's also scheduled to be done this year.

Barthheart

Have you played High Frontier? I'm interested in the game as well and this might be a good way to get it. And the shipping to the Great White North is not much this time at only $8!

Too many games coming out....  :buck2: :D

Arctic Blast

Ooooo...yeah, I'm tempted by this one.

Nefaro

#11
Quote from: Barthheart on July 07, 2015, 07:43:30 AM
Have you played High Frontier? I'm interested in the game as well and this might be a good way to get it. And the shipping to the Great White North is not much this time at only $8!

Too many games coming out....  :buck2: :D

I've not played it, but watched some vids and read up on it.  Certainly a brain burner but well worth it to me since there will be two solitaire sets of rules in this edition - one for regular+colonization game and one for use with the new Interstellar add-on.  I can gorge on the dense rules and subject matter by myself, without trying to convince other people to join me in what they would consider some kind of mental space exploration torture.  ;D

The older editions were pretty scarce, as many of these Phil Eklund games from Sierra Madre have been, so it wasn't easy to come by for a decent price when I had been checking the last couple years.  The base game was usually set at $150 or more, by itself.  That's why I jumped on the KS.. to make sure I didn't miss it again.

Really enjoyed the other Eklund game I have, Bios: Megafauna despite the rules needing many clarifications and some revision since my copy's printing.  He's obviously a great designer and his science & pre-history themes are a refreshing change from the norm.  I'd have more of his games if they weren't so damn 'Sold Out' all the time.  I believe he announced that they were also going to reprint some of his other popular out-of-print stuff soon, along with High Frontier.  Was wanting the human pre-history one too, when it gets reprinted.

panzerde

Quote from: LongBlade on May 03, 2012, 02:49:49 PM
Quote from: mirth on May 03, 2012, 01:40:40 PM
Never let rocket scientists design games. At least not ones you plan to play with any sort of fun. If the game description lists a scientific calculator as required to play you're probably not in Kansas anymore (Kansas being fun).

I beg to differ. A friend of mine is a rocket scientist. For real. He designs games. Good ones. (Really good.)

BTW, he hangs here sometimes. So while some guys may overdo it, keep mind that not *all* of them do :)


And he's a key part of Staff Wargaming at Origins, using one of his games. Pretty approachable, for a rocket scientist.  ;)

Then of course there's the guy that makes black holes for a living...
"This damned Bonaparte is going to get us all killed" - Jean Lannes, 1809

Castellan -  La Fraternite des Boutons Carres

Nefaro

Arise, Chicken!  Arise!

For those considering picking up HF 3rd when it hits retail in the next couple months:



There are 4 solitaire variants included in 3rd Edition High Frontier.   

I'm not able to tell you the differences, or which I prefer, just yet.  Because I have a lot of rules yet to be read and put into practice.



Regarding the reading, there are 4 manuals that come with this edition: 

"Training Guide" is 23 pages. 
"Colonization" main rules are 67 pages. 
"Interstellar" rules 27 pg
"Reference Guide" is 63 pg - also contains the 3 or 4 pages of Solitaire variant rules.


Fortunately the manuals have larger fonts, so you blind old codgers can see them easier.  Although I don't think the blind old codgers will ever skip complaining about font size no matter how large.  :P  They also have full color pics of some example components.  Although I don't really see any illustrated examples of gameplay in the rule book, the Training Guide has an introductory walkthrough of the basics.


There are a number of rules changes & additions from 2nd Edition.  So the game has changed a bit, in a few areas, with this newer version.  They're listed in the front of the Colonization manual.  I've never played previous versions so I can't contrast.

Nefaro


It was difficult to stop playing the Basic Game so that I could move on to learning the Advanced stuff.  "One more turn" and all that.   :clap:

There is a LOT of pre-planning to do.  Many factors and approaches to run through in your head, based on what tech (cards) you currently have, the many places in the system you can possibly reach, with varying mixes of those cards + fuel loads, and the things to do there once you arrive.

In my Basic Game initiation, there was definitely a lot of "analysis paralysis".  Just because there were so many options in rocket stack mix and selecting where I wanted to go first, along with calculating how much fuel I'd need for each.  I doubt this planning time will ever be shortened much by experience with the game so multi-player games will probably be pretty long sessions with all the players constantly focusing, squint-eyed, on the board.  Mentally planning ahead.  There is no hidden information regarding the game components;  the mental planning of all the possibilities (and sometimes risk) is where it's at.

Obviously not something the Gaming ADD type folks would enjoy, but I'm definitely enamored with it.  Nerdgasmic. 

The solitaire variants all require some of the Advanced Rules.  The Advanced rules can supposedly be plugged into the Basic game in chunks.  Probably more like you can leave a few of the bits out.  Reportedly there was some kind of Intermediate rules in previous editions, but now it's just Basic & Advanced in 3rd, but the latter may have some modularity. 

The basic game rules are fairly simple.  Although I highly recommend running one Basic game, yourself, in order to iron out some of the situations being put into practice.  Definitely had a steady number of look-ups for awhile.  After getting the basics down, I'm comfortable doing the same with Advanced for awhile.

Some of the solo variants look to be primarily based on a hard timer.  But one, called "CEO solitaire" IIRC, looks like fun.  You have to gain a minimum number of VPs every solar cycle or you lose (program funding in thematic terms).  So you have to keep making a steady stream of VPs, industrializing/colonizing more and more of the solar system.  With some hitches, such as your required VP being increased for every manned crew you lose to accidents.  I don't recall exactly what the final "win" condition is, but this definitely seems like a gauntlet style solo mode with a bit softer time limits and possibly optional use of the Interstellar colonization rules (end-game win condition?).