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Description
In New Frontiers, a standalone game in the Race for the Galaxy family, players build galactic empires by selecting, in turn, an action that everyone may do, with only the selecting player gaining that action's bonus.
The developments to be used are determined during setup, allowing players to make strategic plans based on them before play begins. One group of eight developments is always in play. The game includes a suggested set of sixteen additional developments for your first game; in later games, players randomly select which side of eight double-sided "small" developments and eight double-sided "large" 9-cost developments to use during setup.
Many worlds that players can acquire have special powers, with these worlds being drawn from a bag during the Explore phase. Unlike in Race, in New Frontiers worlds need colonists to be settled, in addition to either payments or conquest.
Some worlds are "windfall" worlds and receive a good upon being settled. Others are production worlds and receive goods when the Produce action is selected. Goods can be traded for credits or consumed for victory points.
Play continues until one or more of four game ending conditions is reached. After all actions for that round have been done, the player with the most victory points from settled worlds, developments, 9-cost development bonuses, and VP chips earned from consuming goods wins.
Year Published
2018
Transcript Analysis
Browse transcript mentions, sentiments, pros/cons, mechanics, topics, quotes, and references.
Total mentions: 4
This page: 4
Sentiment:
pos 3 ·
mix 0 ·
neu 0 ·
neg 1
Showing 1–4 of 4
Video PySjjnkjfWM
Dice Tower general_discussion at 1:42 sentiment: positive
video_pk 6507 · mention_pk 19298
Click to watch at 1:42
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Tom's possible favorite on fourth shelf
Cons
- Not in top several hundred games
Thematic elements
- Galactic civilization building
- Space exploration
Comparison games
- Race for the Galaxy
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Mechanics unknown.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- This is easily on this shelf. The most checked out game. Wonderlands War I see played every time.
- Foundations of Rome despite how big this game is. It gets checked out all the time.
- Everyone's really upset with Grimlord Games cuz they never delivered their last Kickstarter, but another company has picked it up.
- I don't I still don't understand why companies can't put names on the sides of their boxes. Come on now.
- Frostpunk, the board game if you're ready to have a depressing day.
- I think Mosaic is a fantastic civilization game. So fast and easy to play.
- People love Smashup. I have almost everything for Smashup, but it just barely gets played.
- Probably Twilight Imperium is my favorite of all these here, even though I don't play it that much.
- Last Kingdom is a kind of a really fun game from Games based on said TV series. Uh but pretty good. Think Game of Thrones style.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video 6kyQAdV_hqE
Jong Games rules teach at 1:02 sentiment: positive
video_pk 5395 · mention_pk 16038
Click to watch at 1:02
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Star Rift expansion adds 16 new empires via 8 double-sided empire mats
- Zeno worlds introduce high-stakes exploration with significant scoring swings
- New small and large development boards expand options and pacing
- Expanded goals and Explorer modifications increase variability and replayability
- Solid solo campaign mode with a structured progression and multiple campaigns
Cons
- Increases game complexity and requires careful tracking of many new rules
- Solo rules are detailed and may be daunting for new players
- End-game scoring has many moving parts and can be fiddly
Thematic elements
- Galactic conquest with xenophobic aliens (Zenos) and imperial factions
- Interstellar empire exploration and colonization
- educational/tutorial
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- developments — buy and activate development tiles that modify actions and end-game scoring
- explore — draw tiles from the bag and pick which worlds to reveal; expansion adds more exploration options
- Galactic Goals / Explorer choices — draw and select goals; expansion increases pool and unlocks more scoring paths
- Produce — place goods on colonized worlds and potentially windfall worlds; production can chain with other effects
- Settle / colonize — spend colonists and resources to settle explored worlds, with military requirements and zone interactions
- Solo Campaign — structured solo play with dummy players and campaign win conditions, including Emergence and other campaigns
- Zeno / Xenophobia interaction — Zeno worlds impose penalties if not colonized; require military strength to overcome
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- I have added everything that comes with the star Rift expansion into the base game
- The expansion is called The Starry Rift
- I think we'll play with the alien historians
- Xenos are hostile; if you explore forward and don't settle, you lose points
- we're going to play through a full solo game and explain how all of the elements work as we go
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video d0-aBf_spQg
Unknown Channel game_review at 0:00 sentiment: positive
video_pk 3915 · mention_pk 11460
Click to watch at 0:00
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Fast-paced empire-building with a compact playtime
- Engaging action-selection mechanic that drives decisions
- Compelling world tile visuals and component presentation
- Oversized trade cubes add thematic flair and satisfaction
- Multiple ways to end the game reduces drag and increases variety
Cons
- Military-centric strategies can dominate and skew balance
- First impressions can be misleading if one path seems clearly stronger
- Some competition over shared sets can hurt payoff when multiple players chase the same bonuses
Thematic elements
- Resource acquisition, colonization, and political strategy in a sci-fi setting
- Interstellar colonies, space empire-building across multiple worlds
- Eurogame-like strategic planning with deterministic outcomes
Comparison games
- Race for the Galaxy
- Roll for the Galaxy
- Puerto Rico
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- action selection — Each round a player selects one action; all players execute it; the chooser receives a bonus.
- Develop and tech tile acquisition — Develop lets you acquire tech tiles for a discount based on the number on the tile.
- Military conquest — Red-writed worlds must be conquered using military score equal to their rating; military score also comes from developments.
- Produce and trade economy — Produce places goods on normal worlds; trade converts goods to money; consume powers provide victory points.
- Retreat into isolation — An isolation action that gives money to the player who uses it while others cannot take it.
- set collection — Players collect world tiles and sets to maximize scoring potential.
- Settling and colonization — Settling allows taking colonists or placing them on a world and flipping it to its active side.
- Tile drafting/exploration — Explore action draws seven world tiles, keep one, and pass the rest; the chooser gains an extra world after all others finish.
- Windfall worlds — Windfall worlds (white circle with colored ring) yield a matching trade good when settled.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- the best thing about this game is the ridiculous oversized trade cubes, they're totally overkill and i love them for it
- new frontiers is a much quicker game than it initially looks
- it's puerto rico in space
- the heart of the game is its action selection system
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video py7PcrEQ5Fw
Jong it's Games general_discussion at 25:01 sentiment: negative
video_pk 3018 · mention_pk 8804
Click to watch at 25:01
Overall sentiment (raw)
negative
Pros
none
Cons
- did not latch on; clunky flow and complex steps
Thematic elements
Comparison games
- Puerto Rico
- Race for the Galaxy
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- multi-system euro — several integrated euro-style systems
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- this is experimentation month
- I want to be less stubborn
- the sticker shock issue really rears its head
- please give me feedback about this specific log
- it's a big box if it was a smaller box I think you'd be much more likely to have a state in the collection
- I think it's really important to be introspective and be honest with myself
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Transcript Navigation
Showing 1–4 of 4