HF4A 41 - My First Claim (14)

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I predicted I'd play a dozen games or so in 2022, but so far only 3. I'd better get busy.

The Moons of Jupiter. Not too hard to get to even with white sides. And while it's tedious to shuttle components in and out of the gravity wells, it's not terribly difficult provided the Crew (or Kuck, etc) can make the first landing and refuel for the remaining.

So then a moon is industrialized. Whatever is produced there has a pretty huge climb ahead of it, many many burns.

The best I can come up with is that Jupiter's moons are best viewed as destinations, that is, once you're there (for whatever reason), there's not much incentive to leave. In ~40 games, I've never found a reason to go to any of them.

But I have this nagging feeling that I'm missing something important.

Turn 1

  • Current hand:
  • Operation: Fund Raise: Delegate to Authority, Active Law to Equality.
  • Starting Aqua: 6
  • Net Δ Aqua: 1
  • Ending Aqua: 7
  • Active Law: Centrist
  • Score: 0
  • LEO: Crew

Notes: ESA from random Crew draw, which is cool, I haven't played them in a while. I'm also playing this with the Boost Free Action is free, which probably cuts 3-5 turns from the game.

Event: Inspiration.

Turn 2

  • Current hand:
  • Operation: Fund Raise: Delegate to Centrist
  • Starting Aqua: 7
  • Net Δ Aqua: 1
  • Ending Aqua: 8
  • Active Law: Equality
  • Score: 0
  • LEO: Crew

Notes: Not really digging the patent deck at the moment.

Turn 3

  • Current hand:
  • Operation: Research: Mass Driver thruster, Solar Stirling generator.
  • Starting Aqua: 8
  • Net Δ Aqua: -2
  • Ending Aqua: 6
  • Active Law: Equality
  • Score: 0
  • LEO: Crew

Notes: Not really excited by what's under them either.

Event: Inspiration.

Turn 4

  • Current hand: Mass Driver, Solar Stirling.
  • Operation: Research: Phase-locked Diode robonaut, AMTEC Thermoelectric generator
  • Starting Aqua: 6
  • Net Δ Aqua: -2
  • Ending Aqua: 4
  • Active Law: Equality
  • Score: 0
  • LEO: Crew

Notes: This is looking workable, I need a stationary reactor to make it work, will probably need some therms as well. I'm at my hand limit.

Turn 5

  • Current hand: Mass Driver, Solar Stirling, Phase-locked Diode, AMTEC Thermoelectric.
  • Operation: Boost: AMTEC Thermoelectric.
  • Starting Aqua: 4
  • Net Δ Aqua: -1
  • Ending Aqua: 3
  • Active Law: Equality
  • Score: 0
  • LEO: Crew, AMTEC Thermoelectric

Event: Inspiration.

Turn 6

  • Current hand: Mass Driver, Solar Stirling, Phase-locked Diode.
  • Operation: Research: Ponderomotive VASIMIR, Project Orion.
  • Starting Aqua: 3
  • Net Δ Aqua: -2
  • Ending Aqua: 1
  • Active Law: Equality
  • Score: 0
  • LEO: Crew, AMTEC Thermoelectric

Notes: Dang, another Inspiration event, but this gets me almost there.

Turn 7

  • Current hand: Mass Driver, Solar Stirling, Phase-locked Diode, Ponderomotive VASIMIR, Project Orion
  • Operation: Free Market: Solar Stirling.
  • Starting Aqua: 1
  • Net Δ Aqua: 3
  • Ending Aqua: 4
  • Active Law: Equality
  • Score: 0
  • LEO: Crew, AMTEC Thermoelectric

Notes: I will need to lobby if I roll an inspiration.

Event: Solar Flares.

Turn 8

  • Current hand: Mass Driver, Phase-locked Diode, Ponderomotive VASIMIR, Project Orion
  • Operation: Research: Rubbia Thin Film Fission
  • Free Actions:
    • Discard: Project Orion.
  • Starting Aqua: 4
  • Net Δ Aqua: -1
  • Ending Aqua: 3
  • Active Law: Equality
  • Score: 0
  • LEO: Crew, AMTEC Thermoelectric

Notes: Now just need to get some therms. Need to get some money, first.

Turn 9

  • Current hand: Mass Driver, Phase-locked Diode, Ponderomotive VASIMIR, Rubbia Thin Film Fission
  • Operation: Free Market: Mass Driver
  • Starting Aqua: 3
  • Net Δ Aqua: 3
  • Ending Aqua: 6
  • Active Law: Equality
  • Score: 0
  • LEO: Crew, AMTEC Thermoelectric

Event: Solar Flares.

Turn 10

  • Current hand: Phase-locked Diode, Ponderomotive VASIMIR, Rubbia Thin Film Fission
  • Operation: Research: Steel Pb/Bi Pumped Loop
  • Starting Aqua: 6
  • Net Δ Aqua: -1
  • Ending Aqua: 5
  • Active Law: Equality
  • Score: 0
  • LEO: Crew, AMTEC Thermoelectric

Notes: Super heavy, sell it for the better coming next.

Turn 11

  • Current hand: Phase-locked Diode, Ponderomotive VASIMIR, Rubbia Thin Film Fission, Steel Pb/Bi Pumped Loop
  • Operation: Free Market: Steel Pb/Bi Pumped Loop
  • Starting Aqua: 5
  • Net Δ Aqua: 3
  • Ending Aqua: 8
  • Active Law: Equality
  • Score: 0
  • LEO: Crew, AMTEC Thermoelectric

Event: Anarchy, purge roll 2 for no effect.

Turn 12

  • Current hand: Phase-locked Diode, Ponderomotive VASIMIR, Rubbia Thin Film Fission
  • Operation: Research: Magnetocaloric Refrigerator
  • Starting Aqua: 8
  • Net Δ Aqua: -1
  • Ending Aqua: 7
  • Active Law: Equality (inactive)
  • Score: 0
  • LEO: Crew, AMTEC Thermoelectric

Notes: Anarchy roll, no big deal, I will pick up the next radiator no problem. Now it's time to think about how to boost this mess, fuel it up, and go prospecting.

Turn 13

  • Current hand: Phase-locked Diode, Ponderomotive VASIMIR, Rubbia Thin Film Fission, Magnetocaloric Refrigerator
  • Operation: Fund Raise: Delegate to Individuality, Active Law to Individuality.
  • Starting Aqua: 7
  • Net Δ Aqua: 0
  • Ending Aqua: 7
  • Active Law: Individuality (inactive)
  • Score: 0
  • LEO: Crew, AMTEC Thermoelectric

Notes: We'll be out of Season Blue next turn.

Event: Pad Explosion. Lobby Authority to Inspiration.

Turn 14

  • Current hand: Phase-locked Diode, Ponderomotive VASIMIR, Rubbia Thin Film Fission, Magnetocaloric Refrigerator
  • Operation: Research: Fluidized Bed refinery.
  • Free Actions:
    • Boost: Phase-locked Diode, Ponderomotive VASIMIR, Rubbia Thin Film Fission, Magnetocaloric Refrigerator
  • Movement: None, still in Anarchy, no power sat for ESA faction privilege.
  • Starting Aqua: 7
  • Net Δ Aqua: -1
  • Ending Aqua: 6
  • Active Law: Individuality (inactive)
  • Score: 0
  • LEO: Crew, AMTEC Thermoelectric, Phase-locked Diode, Ponderomotive VASIMIR, Rubbia Thin Film Fission, Magnetocaloric Refrigerator

Notes: I've got everything I need at LEO, but I don't know where I want to go. Let's take a look at the black sides of what I have, and figure out which sites make sense. Also, because we're in Anarchy, I need to wait one more turn to get the ESA power sat back.

Turn 15

  • Current hand: Fluidized Bed
  • Operation: Prospect: roll 6, busted.
  • Free Actions:
    • Internal Tankage: 4 FT
    • Cargo Transfer: build rocket with components in LEO.
  • Movement: Move to Hohmann at Lutetia, rad roll is automatically passed with Thrust 4 and lowest rad hard of 3.
  • Starting Aqua: 6
  • Net Δ Aqua: -1
  • Ending Aqua: 5
  • Active Law: Individuality
  • Score: 0
  • LEO:
  • Rocket: Crew, AMTEC Thermoelectric, Phase-locked Diode, Ponderomotive VASIMIR, Rubbia Thin Film Fission, Magnetocaloric Refrigerator

Notes: Well that's a bummer. Off to Hygiea next.

Event: Inspiration.

Turn 16

  • Current hand: Fluidized Bed
  • Operation: Prospect: Hygiea roll 6, busted, Badenia roll 1 claimed.
  • Movement: Move to Hygiea cluster.
  • Starting Aqua: 5
  • Net Δ Aqua: 0
  • Ending Aqua: 5
  • Active Law: Individuality
  • Score: 0
  • LEO:
  • Rocket: Crew, AMTEC Thermoelectric, Phase-locked Diode, Ponderomotive VASIMIR, Rubbia Thin Film Fission, Magnetocaloric Refrigerator

Notes: Dang, Hygiea rarely fails for me. Very cool to get Badenia though.

Here's the Turn 16 Fake Out, where I made a blunder and used a 3 ISRU robonaut to prospect ISRU 2 sites:

My First Claim 14 end

Turn 17

  • Current hand: Fluidized Bed
  • Operation: Prospect: Hertha roll 1, claimed.
  • Movement: Move to Nysa Family.
  • Starting Aqua: 5
  • Net Δ Aqua: 0
  • Ending Aqua: 5
  • Active Law: Individuality
  • Score: 0
  • Rocket: Crew, AMTEC Thermoelectric, Phase-locked Diode, Ponderomotive VASIMIR, Rubbia Thin Film Fission, Magnetocaloric Refrigerator

Notes: And a nice lucky roll at Hertha actually ends the game.

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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.