Final Frontier Turn 3 and beyond
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It's Saturday, the main day for chores in this area of operations. However, I find chores really boring, so it's nice to have a game on the table to break up the monotony. By no matter of coincidence, Anderson's The Final Frontier is already in progress, we'll pick up at the start of Turn 3.
Turn 3
Both factions are still in building phase.
Chartreuse:
- Moon base mine, +4 income
- GNP: 115 + 4 = 119.
- NI: 2
- BP: 1 remainder + 3 GNP/NI = 4
- Build Colony 2 on Earth
Magenta:
- Moon base mine, +4 income
- GNP: 100 + 4 = 104
- NI: 3
- BP: 1 remainder + 3 GNP/NI = 4
- Build Colony 2 on Earth
Planets:
- Saturn: 1120
- Earth: 0225
- Mars: 0325
- Jupiter: 0724
- Neptune: 1703
- Uranus: 0608
Once again, the two factions see the best way forward is the same.
I'll have to play this game using a different strategy in the future, say, going after the asteroids first or something.
Turn 4
Chartreuse:
- Income: * Moon + Mercury = 4 + 5 = 9
- GNP: 115 + 9 = 124
- NI: 2
- BP: 4
- Spend:
- 1 BP colony to Mercury
- 4 BP colony to Moon
Note: neither of these will be active in Turn 5, they require 4 BP each to activate.
Magenta:
- Income: Moon + Mercury = 4 + 5 = 9
- GNP: 100 + 9 = 109
- NI: 3
- BP: 3
- Spend: 1 BP colony to Mercury, 2 BP remainder.
Magenta will use the remainder BP to activate the Mercury colony.
Planets:
- Earth: 0126
- Mars: 0326
- Jupiter: 0725
- Saturn: 1120
- Uranus: 0709
- Neptune: 1703
Turn 5
Chartreuse:
- Income: 0, all emplacements are on inhospitable surfaces, need to pay for activation.
- GNP: 115
- NI: 2
- BP: 3
-
Spend: Mine on Earth, 1, 2 BP remaining.
Chartreuse is going for the big inner system build, boost that income stream.
Magenta:
- Income: Mine on Moon, 4.
- GNP: 104
- NI: 3
- BP: 3 + 2
- Spend: Activate Mercury colony, 4 BP; Mine on Earth, 1 BP
-
Random Event: From Magenta Colony 2 emplacement, 2d6 roll 2:4. With NI 3, this is 5:4, which is No Effect.
Magenta is going to Mars next, and may beat Chartreuse there.
Planets:
- Earth: 0125
- Mars: 0326
- Jupiter: 0726
- Saturn: 1120
- Uranus: 0709
- Neptune: 1803
At this point, I need to start recording overall system status to allow. I won't be able to easily recreate a game from this information going forward. Probably best way is record each installation (mine, colony, etc.) as a sublist under each system body (planet, asteroid belt, etc.).
Turn 6
Chartreuse:
- Income: 0, nothing activated
- GNP: 115
- NI: 2
- BP: 3 + 2
- Spend: Activate Colony 2 on Mercury, 4 BP; launch mine to Mars, 1 BP.
-
Random Event: roll 4+2:6, 6:6, No Effect.
Chartreuse starts the next turn with NI 3.
Magenta:
- Income: Mercury 2 x 5 + Moon 4 = 114
- GNP: 114
- NI: 4
- BP: 5
- Spend: Colony 2 to Moon, launch Mine to Mars.
Planets:
- Earth: 0224
- Mars: 0226
- Jupiter: 0726
- Saturn: 1220
- Uranus: 0709
- Neptune: 1803
Status:
- Chartreuse: Mercury Colony 2 active, Moon Colony 2 inactive, Mine 0126.
- Magenta: Mercury Colony 2 active, Moon Colony 2 inactive, Mine 0126.
Overall, a straightforward turn, with Chartreuse feeling like it has a slight edge.
Mars is an obvious yet overlooked early target. Both factions rectifying that now.
Turn 7
Chartreuse:
- Income: Mercury C2, 5 x 2 = 10
- GNP: 115 + 10 = 125
- NI: 3
- BP: 5
- Spend: Activate Moon C2, build Mine on Earth.
Move Mine to Mars.
Magenta:
- Income: Mercury C2, 5 x 2 = 10
- GNP: 100 + 10 = 110
- NI: 4
- BP: 5
- Spend: Activate Moon C2, 4 BP; build Mine on Earth, 1 BP, target Asteroid Belt.
Space Movement: Mine to Mars.
Planets:
- Earth: 0325
- Mars: 0226
- Jupiter: 0121
- Saturn: 1220
- Uranus: 0709
- Neptune: 1803
Status:
- Chartreuse: Mercury C2, Moon C2, Earth M1, Mars M1, all active.
- Magenta: Mercury C2, Moon C2, Earth M1, Mars M1, all active.
The strategy is going to branch out from here. Chartreuse is going to pursue a GNP growth strategy, while Magenta pursues an NI growth strategy. Magenta will likely spend a turn or two without spending much to accumulate BPs for setting up a C3 on Mars or the Moon.
Summary for first 7 turns
I like this game! The economic engine is simple, but I can already see there are subtleties worth exploriing, and I suspect, surprises in store.
One curious thing about the game is the victory conditions are allowed to be house ruled, with a selection of possible outcomes suggested. The temptation here is to declare this game "done" as a draw, and move on to the next shiny object in the game closet. On the other hand, putting the game away while I'm champing at the bit to play it will ensure that I'll set it up again to play a few more turns.
The upshot is that I haven't decided yet on the victory conditions for the current game. I might go for 60 turns, or 300 GNP, or playing until I've exercised every rule in the rule book. What I can say is that all the positions are recorded, and I'm definitely coming back for a few more turns.