HF4A 52 - My First Colony (7)

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It's been a bit longer than anticipated between High Frontier games. For this game, I'm going to allow Mars, just to get my head "back in the game" so to speak. I usually go anywhere but Mars, as Mars is generally too easy. And can be a trap in longer games.

However, in this game, at the start the top two thrusters were sails, and I had drawn SpaceX, so no powersat capability. This would be Mars in a multiplayer game, given I got one of the sails. Both sails are C technology, which is good for Mars.

For now, there is no turn log as Google disabled my credential system, and I'm going to have to rewrite the client to acquire the spreadsheet data from the play. Boring, tedious, and time consuming, and I just don't feel like doing it today.

However, after some lunch, I set the sheet to allow public view and pulled down the data, so here are the turns.

Turn 1

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

Notes: Crew is SpaceX, faction privilege as printed is useless in solitaire.

Event: Pad Explosion, no effect.

Turn 2

  • Current hand: Empty
  • Operation: Research: Cat Fusion Z-pinch Torch, Lyman Alpha Trap, Qu Tube.
  • Starting Aqua: 7
  • Net Δ Aqua: -3
  • Ending Aqua: 4
  • Active Law: Equality
  • Score: 0
  • LEO: SpaceX

Notes: The top two thrusters are sails, and the top of everything else will get me a colony on Mars if I take two trips and I'm careful about pad explosions and solar flares. Without powersat, it's tough to use sails.

Turn 3

  • Current hand: Cat Fusion Z-pinch Torch, Lyman Alpha Trap, Qu Tube.
  • Operation: Research: Fluidized Bed, AMTEC Thermoelectric
  • Starting Aqua: 4
  • Net Δ Aqua: -2
  • Ending Aqua: 2
  • Active Law: Equality
  • Score: 0
  • LEO: SpaceX

Event: Anarchy, purge roll 2 for no effect.

Turn 4

  • Current hand: Cat Fusion Z-pinch Torch, Lyman Alpha Trap, Qu Tube, Fluidized Bed, AMTEC Thermoelectric.
  • Operation: Boost: Cat Fusion Z-pinch, Qu Tube.
  • Starting Aqua: 2
  • Net Δ Aqua: -1
  • Ending Aqua: 1
  • Active Law: Equality
  • Score: 0
  • LEO: SpaceX, Cat Fusion Z-pinch Torch, Qu Tube.

Turn 5

  • Current hand: Lyman Alpha Trap, Fluidized Bed, AMTEC Thermoelectric.
  • Operation: Research: Photon Heliogyra
  • Starting Aqua: 1
  • Net Δ Aqua: -1
  • Ending Aqua: 0
  • Active Law: Equality
  • Score: 0
  • LEO: SpaceX, Cat Fusion Z-pinch Torch.

Notes: Need to do some fund raising. I don't think I'm going to be able to get through the solar season this cycle.

Event: Pad Explosion, Qu Tube back to hand.

Turn 6

  • Current hand: Lyman Alpha Trap, Fluidized Bed, AMTEC Thermoelectric, Qu Tube.
  • Operation: Fund Raise: Delegate to Centrist
  • Starting Aqua: 0
  • Net Δ Aqua: 1
  • Ending Aqua: 1
  • Active Law: Equality
  • Score: 0
  • LEO: SpaceX, Cat Fusion Z-pinch Torch.

Notes: Need monies

Turn 7

  • Current hand: Lyman Alpha Trap, Fluidized Bed, AMTEC Thermoelectric, Qu Tube.
  • Operation: Fund Raise: Delegate to Individuality, Active Law to Centrist.
  • Starting Aqua: 1
  • Net Δ Aqua: 1
  • Ending Aqua: 2
  • Active Law: Centrist
  • Score: 0
  • LEO: SpaceX, Cat Fusion Z-pinch Torch.

Event: Glitch, no effect.

Turn 8

  • Current hand: Lyman Alpha Trap, Fluidized Bed, AMTEC Thermoelectric, Qu Tube.
  • Operation: Fund Raise: Delegate to Centrist
  • Starting Aqua: 2
  • Net Δ Aqua: 1
  • Ending Aqua: 3
  • Active Law: Centrist
  • Score: 0
  • LEO: SpaceX, Cat Fusion Z-pinch Torch.

Turn 9

  • Current hand: Fluidized Bed, AMTEC Thermoelectric.
  • Operation: Boost: Qu Tube, Lyman Alpha Trap, Photon Heliogyra
  • Starting Aqua: 3
  • Net Δ Aqua: -3
  • Ending Aqua: 0
  • Active Law: Centrist
  • Score: 0
  • LEO: SpaceX, Cat Fusion Z-pinch Torch, Qu Tube, Lyman Alpha Trap, Photon Heliogyra.

Notes: Set sail next turn.

Event: Solar Flares for no effect.

Turn 10

  • Current hand: Fluidized Bed, AMTEC Thermoelectric.
  • Operation: Free Market: AMTEC Thermoelectric
  • Free Actions:
    • Build Rocket: Photon Heliogyra, Cat Fusion Z-pinch, Lyman Alpha Trap.
  • Movement: Move from LEO to Cycler.
  • Starting Aqua: 0
  • Net Δ Aqua: 3
  • Ending Aqua: 3
  • Active Law: Centrist
  • Score: 0
  • LEO: SpaceX, Qu Tube
  • Rocket: Photon Heliogyra, Cat Fusion Z-pinch, Lyman Alpha Trap.

Turn 11

  • Current hand: Fluidized Bed.
  • Operation: Research: Magnetoshell Plasma Parachute
  • Movement: Cycler to L2, roll rad belt 2 - 1 passed.
  • Starting Aqua: 3
  • Net Δ Aqua: 0
  • Ending Aqua: 3
  • Active Law: Centrist
  • Score: 0
  • LEO: SpaceX, Qu Tube
  • Rocket: Photon Heliogyra, Cat Fusion Z-pinch, Lyman Alpha Trap.

Notes: Very lucky roll on rad belt. Will have crew thruster next trip.

Event: Anarchy, purge roll 6 remove Individuality delegate

Turn 12

  • Current hand: Fluidized Bed, Magnetoshell Plasma Parachute.
  • Operation: Free Market: Qu Tube
  • Free Actions:
    • Decommission: Qu Tube.
  • Movement: Move to Aria Mons Caves, paying FINAO.
  • Starting Aqua: 3
  • Net Δ Aqua: -1
  • Ending Aqua: 2
  • Active Law: Centrist
  • Score: 0
  • LEO: SpaceX
  • Rocket: Photon Heliogyra, Cat Fusion Z-pinch, Lyman Alpha Trap.

Turn 13

  • Current hand: Fluidized Bed, Magnetoshell Plasma Parachute.
  • Operation: Prospect: Claim all Mars sites
  • Free Actions:
    • Decommission: Photon Heliogyra, Lyman Alpha Trap
  • Starting Aqua: 2
  • Net Δ Aqua: 0
  • Ending Aqua: 2
  • Active Law: Centrist
  • Score: 3
  • LEO: SpaceX
  • Outpost 1: Cat Fusion Z-pinch Torch

Event: Pad Explosion for no effect.

Turn 14

  • Current hand: Fluidized Bed, Magnetoshell Plasma Parachute, Photon Heliogyra, Lyman Alpha Trap, Cat Fusion Z-pinch Torch.
  • Operation: Fund Raise: Delegate to Individuality, Active Law to Individuality.
  • Free Actions:
    • Boost: Photon Heliogyra, Fluidized Bed, Magnetoshell Plasma Parachute.
  • Movement: LEO to Cycler.
  • Starting Aqua: 2
  • Net Δ Aqua: -2
  • Ending Aqua: 0
  • Active Law: Centrist
  • Score: 3
  • Rocket: SpaceX, Photon Heliogyra, Fluidized Bed, Magnetoshell Plasma Parachute.
  • Outpost 1: Cat Fusion Z-pinch Torch

Notes: Looking good so far.

Turn 15

  • Current hand: Lyman Alpha Trap.
  • Operation: Fund Raise: Delegate to Authority.
  • Free Actions:
    • Cargo Transfer: Swap to SpaceX thruster for rad belt.
  • Movement: Cycler to rad belt.
  • Starting Aqua: 0
  • Net Δ Aqua: 1
  • Ending Aqua: 1
  • Active Law: Centrist
  • Score: 3
  • Rocket: SpaceX, Photon Heliogyra, Fluidized Bed, Magnetoshell Plasma Parachute.
  • Outpost 1: Cat Fusion Z-pinch Torch

Notes: I'm going to beat season red.

Event: Glitch on Outpost 1.

Turn 16

  • Current hand: Lyman Alpha Trap.
  • Operation: Research: Supercritical Drying.
  • Free Actions:
    • Cargo Transfer: Swap to sail.
  • Movement: Rad belt to L2.
  • Starting Aqua: 1
  • Net Δ Aqua: -1
  • Ending Aqua: 0
  • Active Law: Centrist
  • Score: 3
  • Rocket: SpaceX, Photon Heliogyra, Fluidized Bed, Magnetoshell Plasma Parachute.
  • Outpost 1: Cat Fusion Z-pinch Torch

Notes: Not a really interesting game, but it does feel good that I'm picking it back fairly easily.

Turn 17

  • Current hand: Lyman Alpha Trap, Supercritical Drying.
  • Operation: Industrialize: Arias Mons Caves.
  • Free Actions:
    • Glitch Repair: Outpost 1.
    • Build Colony: Arias Mons Caves.
  • Movement: L2 to Arias Mons Caves.
  • Starting Aqua: 0
  • Net Δ Aqua: 0
  • Ending Aqua: 0
  • Active Law: Centrist
  • Score: 3
  • Rocket: SpaceX, Photon Heliogyra, Fluidized Bed, Magnetoshell Plasma Parachute.
  • Outpost 1: Cat Fusion Z-pinch Torch

Notes: Don't need to pay FINAO with Magnetoshell Plasma Parachute.

This was a pretty fast game overall, the plan came together, and I didn't make any really bad blunders.

Event: Budget Cuts: Discard Supercritical Drying.

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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.