/pic5316685.png)
/pic727149.jpg){kind=small}
/pic3587093.jpg){kind=small}
This is the 4th ed of Phil Eklund's signature game High Frontier. It started with Rocket Flight (1999), a game with the vision to let "Each player start as a spacefaring company in the year 2020 trying to make a profit in trade and technology development." Now that we are at that year, High Frontier has evolved into a modular system open to enthusiasts to keep it updated ever farther into the future.
The Core Game is equivalent to the previous edition's basic and advanced rules, and includes Module 0 (Politics). It also comes with the beginner's game Space Diamonds (accessible to bright children), Race for Glory (introductory, including a playthrough), and a variety of solitaire and cooperative variants. The iconic map of High Frontier is the most comprehensive map of the solar system ever published! Since it is a delta-v map, it offers a completely different view of the accessibility of the worlds that orbit Sol. The cards and map have been expanded and produced in consultation with experts in the field, and the author himself is a former rocket scientist, and we can safely say this is the most accurate yet accessible game of space exploration/exploitation ever published. Transition rules allow High Frontier to work as an independent 4th stage in the Bios:Earth trilogy (Bios: Genesis, Bios: Megafauna, and BIOS: Origins) about the evolution of life on our planet.
—description from the publisher
Part of the High Frontier family — see High Frontier for the combined view.
/pic5316685.png)
- Gifted copy from a patron
- Opaque and difficult to learn
- Designer's social media behavior
- Redundant with other space games owned
- Space exploration and racing.
- Space
- Space Corp
- Leaving Earth
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Complex ruleset — The game has a complex ruleset that can be difficult to grasp.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- role players are deeply frustrating game for me uh for many reasons
- the thing that sort of causes me a bit of I don't know dissonance with the game is the whole narrative that it's about making up a character because for me the important part of making up a character are you know who they are their identity their motivations their drive it's not the six stats they get and that's what this focuses on
- to me that's not character creation uh that's just rolling numbers
- Santa Monica is another pretty yet ultimately forgettable game that I just kind of got rid of because didn't really do much to justify its existence
- I found this a very cynical and very tepid game
- very very forgettable and just totally uninspiring
- Thunderbirds danger zone is a game that makes me a bit sad because Thunderbirds 50th anniversary is one of my all-time favorite games
- with parts it's just not good it's just not a good game
- it's just a waste of a really cool IP
- there were just models were backing up
- most of them are pretty pretty average
- weights Knights post-apocalyptic game it's got some really good writing in it too
- the problem is the mechanics are really arbitrary
- weight nights in particular it just felt so arbitrary who was having a good game and doing well and who wasn't
- core mechanics of the game were just a crap shoot and not that much fun if you ended up on the bad side of it
- and the final game on here is welcome to the Moon the big sequel to welcome to which is like a 10 part rolling right game with a whole bunch of different games in it
- if I'm not enjoying a rolling right game
- was I too harsh on some games uh I probably was but you know this is my opinion
- if you did hear me talk about something and go actually I think you would like this game really interested to know about that sort of stuff
References (from this video)
- huge scope and ambitious design
- variety of modules keeps gameplay fresh
- premium production and thematic flavor
- one of the heavier fall-ahead games; time sink
- requires a dedicated table and long sessions
- space capitalism, technology development, and orbital dynamics
- Space exploration and rocket development
- grand, ambitious, modular expansion-driven
- Gaia Project
- Gaia Project as space-themed analog
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- modular expansion system — Multiple modules can be added to tailor play length and complexity.
- resource management and propulsion — Fuel, money, and mass balance drive propulsion and mission success.
- tech tree / patents — Research improves production and propulsion capabilities.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- This is a game called Roads and Boats.
- Never has a game been more relevant today.
- it's a huge game. Not only is there the core game, but there's loads of different modules.
- If you ain't played it, then you're an idiot and you better go out and play it now.
- Station 4 is one of the most rewarding board game experiences you can get today. It's a masterpiece of design.