High Frontier 4 All (5) Space Diamonds (4)

Yesterday’s two player game was so much fun, I decided to kick off the new year with another two player game. I’ll be using solar sails this game, but dealing two missions each, just to see what happens. Green will fly against White as before. (Mainly because I don’t want to dig out different bits lodged deep in various zip lock bags.)

Let’s see what got dealt:

White missions:

1. Claim the discovery chit on Icarus for 5,
2. Have the most Life chits at endgame for 6.

Green missions:

1. Have the most Gem chits at endgame for 6,
2. Have 1 chit of each spectral type at engame for 6.

This could be a much longer game than the previous.

Green is going to go first this game.

Turn 1

Green burns through Cycle and GEO to L1.

White is going to go to Icarus, following the Red Route through the Venus and Mercury flybys, halting on the last Lagrange burn inside the Mercury zone to pick up +2 thrust next turn.

Turn 2

Green lands on Luna Aristarchus Plateau to find H with Life/Drop 2.

White moves to the first burn on the Icarus approach. This is an expensive mission.

Turn 3

Green takes off and lands on Luna Shackleton Polar Rim to find S Isotope 1.

White burns twice into Icarus.

Turn 4

Green can get to Phobos to pick up C Life 1. She only gets a single burn next turn.

White burns twice to the Rapid Spin hazard, roll 3 no effect, lands on Icarus to find Gem 2. Bummer.

Turn 5

Green goes to Deimos to find D Life/Drop 2. Off to Mercury next.

White enters Rapid Spin hazard rolls 6 for no effect, enters two burns. This is a terrible mission, and should have a lot more victory points in my opinion.

Turn 6

This is where the previous game ended.

Green takes off from Deimos, passes through Sol-Mars L2, makes 1 burn to get to Sol-Earth L3.

White burns twice.

Turn 7

Green enters L2 at Mercury.

White plans to go to Hathor, burns to pivot.

Turn 8

Green goes to Mercury North Pole, finds V Life/Drop 2.

White moves to Rapid Spin hazard at Hathor, rolls a 1 which means he loses his only chit. Bummer. White is going to lose in a big way.

Turn 9

Green could go home now and win big time even without finishing either mission. Instead she plans a trip to Cruithne and moving to Mercury L2.

White lands on Hathor for S Industrial 1. Womp womp.

Turn 10

Green burns all the way to Cruithne, it’s 4 burns, find M Industry 3. Time to go home.

White enters Rapid Spin hazard rolls 6 for no effect, has 3 burns to spend which can him to the Mercury flyby, which gets him to the Venus flyby, which gets him to LEO for the first one home gaining 4 points.

Turn 11

Green burns twice.

Turn 12

Green burns twice to get to Sol-Earth L1.

Turn 13

Green brings it into LEO.

Final score:

Green: * Chit values: 3 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 1 + 1 = 11 * Most Gem chits: 0 * All six types: 6 * Second one home: 3 * total: 20

White: * Chit value: 1 * Icarus mission: 5 * Most Life chits: 0 * First one home: 4 * total: 10.

Blowout!

AAR

I should try to break this game by seeing if first player advantage tilts it.

This is the second game going to Icarus. I think its point value should be much, much higher, on the order of 12. This still would have been a loss for White, but on the other hand, Green moved first on two really easy missions.

For Hazards, what if instead of discarding half the value, 1 chit at random was discarded? Otherwise hazards are just too expensive to be worth the risk.