HF4A 10 - CEO (3)

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Here's the question: can I get industrialized by Turn 22? In previous games, it has taken me to Turn 23 and 24 respectively. That extra turn really, really matters. Even better if I could do it by Turn 21. Let's see it plays out.

Setting up:

  • Randomly drew yellow, and chose Crew (A) which is United Nations Cosmonauts. I get +2 Aqua at the start. I've never played this crew before.

  • Adding in Module 0 Politics on this round. Might help me get just a few more VPs.

Let's go!

Turn 1

  • Operation: Research Photon Kite Sail Thruster

Event: roll 6 for Anarchy, no effect.

Turn 2

  • Operation: Research Metastable Helium Thruster, we meet again! This seems to be a really, really good thruster.

Turn 3

  • Operation: Research Kuck Mosquite Robonaut.

Event: roll 2, Inspiration, cycle patents.

Turn 4

  • Operation: Free Market Photon Kite Sail, 8 Aqua total. That may have been a mistake, I could have boosted that for free (mass 0) and it's C spectral class which matches Mars.

Turn 5

  • Operation: Research Supercritical Drying Refinery.

Event: Budget Cuts, discard a card from hand to bottom of appropriate deck. Bummer.

Turn 6

  • Operation: Research Free Electron Laser Robonaut.

Turn 7

  • Operation: Free Market Free Electron Laser, total Aqua 8.

Event: Pad Explosion, no effect.

Turn 8

  • Operation: Research Metallic Hydrogen Reactor.

Turn 9

  • Operation: Free Market reactor total Aqua 11.

Event: Inspiration.

Turn 10

  • Operation: Research Project Orion Reactor.

Turn 11

  • Operation: Free Market reactor, Aqua total 13.

Event: Inspiration

Turn 12

  • Operation: Research Tungsten Resistojet Robonaut.

Seniority

There is nothing in the Demand Pile, so all good.

Turn 13

  • Operation: Free Market robonaut, total Aqua 15.

Event: Pad Explosion, no effect.

Turn 14

  • Operation: Research Solar Pumped MHD robobaut.

Turn 15

  • Operation: Fund Raise, +1 Aqua and delegate into Centrist for pad explosion insurance.

Event: Inspiration.

Turn 16

  • Operation: Boost everything. I need an X reactor really bad, can't do anything without it.

Turn 17

  • Operation: Research Cermet NERVA reactor, there is an X below it.

Event: Glitch for no effect.

Turn 18

  • Operation: Research Mini-mag RF Paul Trap reactor. 7 Aqua remaining.

Turn 19

  • Operation: Research Mo/Li Heat Pipe Radiator.

Event: pad explosion, robonaut back to hand, +3 Aaua.

Turn 20

  • Operation: Boost. I could be ready to fly, but it's Red Season, which means Rad rolls get +2. My thruster is Weak Sauce on rad hardness. This is tough. What I could do is sit out the red season and collect money so that I'll something to spend after I industrialize.

Basically, need to industrialize by about Turn 18 to get a really good grip on this scenario.

Sitting it out.

Turn 21

  • Operation: Free Market reactor, total Aqua 9.

Event: Solar Flare, no effect for me. Good thing I decided not to fly.

Turn 22

  • Operation: Fun Raise. Put a delegate into Unity, move the existing delegate into Honor. 10 Aqua.

Turn 23

Now is when I need to be really careful. I won't be able to Industrialize until Turn 24. But I want to spend only the amount of Aqua I need to get to Mars, and no more. I need that Aqua back at LEO for Cycle 3.

  • Move: Add 2 Aqua to rocket, +1 for afterburn, 7 Aqua remaining. Roll for radiation, Radiation roll 2, passed, first aerobrake roll 4, pass again, second aerobrake roll 6 and I'm landed on Mars with 7 Aqua left in LEO.
  • Operation: Prospect, Arsia Mons Caves, can only prospect here but it's an automatic success. I can do a half burn to the North Pole next turn maybe, depending on what gets decommissioned.

Event: pad explosion for no effect.

Turn 24

  • Operation: Industrialize.
  • Free Action: Colonize.
  • Free Action: Cargo Transfer, decommission everything back to hand.

Seniority

KPIs: 8. VPs: 12.

Continue play.

For the next cycle, I'm going to try and get everything I can ET Produced on Mars, then go there and pick it up.

Turn 25

  • Operation: ET Produce UltraCold Neutrons reactor.

Event: Glitch for no effect.

Turn 26

  • Operation: Boost thruster and refinery.

Turn 27

  • Operation: Research H2O2 fuel cell.

Event: pad explosion, drat. I can't afford that right now.

Turn 28

  • Operation: ET Produce Generator.

Turn 29

  • Operation: ET Fuel produciont, 7 Aqua on site.

Event: Glitch, put it on Outpost 2.

Turn 30

Going into Red Season.

  • Operation: Delivery roll for glitch, no effect.

Turn 31

  • Operation: ET Produce robonaut.

Event: Solar Flare, I'm good.

Turn 32

  • Operation: Boost. I have 1 Aqua remaining. I don't think I can do this as I am going to end up needing to move to a different part of Mars to do the prospecting, and I just don't have enough Aqua to get there and do that. I would have an awesome stack if I could. Again, I'm like 1-2 turns from pulling it off. Bummer.
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What to play next?

Deciding what to play next is always a tough call when faced with a closet full of games, all of which were purchased with intent to play. Here's one I'm dealing with the decision.

  • Something New: this means both something new to me and a game which has been published recently, within the last two or three years.
  • Something Classic: I've acquired a number of games properly considered "classic" which haven't yet been played. The current example would be PanzerGruppe Guderian.
  • Something Again: mastery requires constant practice, which means playing games many, many times to allow nuance to appear.
  • Something Vietnam: as I'm on a Vietnam binge. I don't have all the Vietnam games ever published, but I can say that I have a lot of them, and probably more than most people.
  • Something Obscure: as it's fun to poke around in the dustier corners of game design.
  • Something Different: break away from the same old publishers and try a game from one of the new kids on the block. Or, conversely, dip into legacy with a classic tried and true.
  • Something Light: once in a while it's nice to actually finish a game all the way through in one sitting, in an hour or two.
  • Something Heavy: if possible, it's nice to set up something big and complicated which can be left out for days or weeks or even months, for a leisurely stroll through a very large or long game.

There are surely many more ways to choose, but the above method keeps me busy enough, helps me get both breadth and depth into my play, and provides me with a sense of progress.

The odd man out

When there is an odd man out:

  • Have a solo game ready to play.
  • Keep score or advise on a game in progress.
  • Referee a game in progress.