HF4A 53 - My First Colony (8)

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Kuck Mosquito was on top with the D-T Gun Fusion one down, so I decided to go to Jupiter. This game required 18 turns of grind, which is far, far too many, by a factor of at least 2 if not 3.

Some ways which might speed things up:

  • FINAO 3, or even 2 cost.
  • Free Market and Boost as Actions.
  • Free Market yield FINAO, that is it should take 1 extra turn to pay FINAO, not several.

Overall, this burned about 2.5 hours, and I'd like to be able to cut that in half.

Here are the turns.

Turn 1

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

Notes: Crew is Norse Astronauts. Setup took about 6 minutes. Start at 3:11 pm.

Event: Anarchy, purge Equality.

Turn 2

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

Notes: Need to line up how the patent decks will work.

Turn 3

  • Current hand: Empty
  • Operation: Research: Kuck Mosquito, Pebble Bed Fission
  • Starting Aqua: 8
  • Net Δ Aqua: -2
  • Ending Aqua: 6
  • Active Law: Equality
  • Score: 0
  • LEO: Crew

Event: Glitch.

Turn 4

  • Current hand: Kuck Mosquito, Pebble Bed Fission
  • Operation: Research: D-T Gun Fusion, Rankine Solar Dynamic
  • Starting Aqua: 6
  • Net Δ Aqua: -2
  • Ending Aqua: 4
  • Active Law: Equality
  • Score: 0
  • LEO: Crew

Turn 5

  • Current hand: Kuck Mosquito, Pebble Bed Fission, D-T Gun Fusion, Rankine Solar Dynamic
  • Operation: Fund Raise: Delegate to Honor.
  • Starting Aqua: 4
  • Net Δ Aqua: 1
  • Ending Aqua: 5
  • Active Law: Equality
  • Score: 0
  • LEO: Crew

Notes: Bummer, would like to have Free Marketed that one. (Also, I retro'ed this one on the Operation from Free Market, it would have put the game out of reach.)

Event: Budget Cuts, discard Pebble Bed Fission

Turn 6

  • Current hand: Kuck Mosquito, D-T Gun Fusion, Rankine Solar Dynamic
  • Operation: Research: Froth Flotation, Marx Capacitor Bank.
  • Starting Aqua: 5
  • Net Δ Aqua: -2
  • Ending Aqua: 3
  • Active Law: Equality
  • Score: 0
  • LEO: Crew

Notes: I now have everything I need to get to Callisto, it's a matter of boosting and getting Aqua.

Turn 7

  • Current hand: Kuck Mosquito, D-T Gun Fusion, Rankine Solar Dynamic, Froth Flotation, Marx Capacitor Bank
  • Operation: Fund Raise: Delegate to Individuality, Active Law to Individuality.
  • Starting Aqua: 3
  • Net Δ Aqua: 1
  • Ending Aqua: 4
  • Active Law: Individuality.
  • Score: 0
  • LEO: Crew

Event: Inspiration.

Turn 8

  • Current hand: Rankine Solar Dynamic, Froth Flotation
  • Operation: Research: De Laval Nozzle, Penning Trap
  • Free Actions:
    • Boost: D-T Gun Fusion, Marx Capacitor Bank, Kuck Mosquito.
  • Starting Aqua: 4
  • Net Δ Aqua: -2
  • Ending Aqua: 2
  • Active Law: Individuality.
  • Score: 0
  • LEO: Crew, D-T Gun Fusion, Marx Capacitor Bank, Kuck Mosquito.

Turn 9

  • Current hand: Rankine Solar Dynamic, Froth Flotation, De Laval Nozzle, Penning Trap.
  • Operation: Free Market: Penning Trap.
  • Free Actions:
    • Boost: Froth Flotation
  • Starting Aqua: 2
  • Net Δ Aqua: 0
  • Ending Aqua: 2
  • Active Law: Individuality.
  • Score: 0
  • LEO: Crew, D-T Gun Fusion, Marx Capacitor Bank, Kuck Mosquito, Froth Flotation.

Notes: Rolling along, time 3:43.

Event: Inspiration.

Turn 10

  • Current hand: Rankine Solar Dynamic, De Laval Nozzle.
  • Operation: Free Market: De Laval Nozzle.
  • Free Actions:
    • Boost: Rankine Solar Dynamic.
  • Starting Aqua: 2
  • Net Δ Aqua: 1
  • Ending Aqua: 3
  • Active Law: Individuality.
  • Score: 0
  • LEO: Crew, D-T Gun Fusion, Marx Capacitor Bank, Kuck Mosquito, Froth Flotation, Rankine Solar Dynamic.

Notes: All boosted, now to get enough fuel.

Turn 11

  • Current hand: Empty
  • Operation: Research: Monotomic Plug Nozzle
  • Starting Aqua: 3
  • Net Δ Aqua: -1
  • Ending Aqua: 2
  • Active Law: Individuality.
  • Score: 0
  • LEO: Crew, D-T Gun Fusion, Marx Capacitor Bank, Kuck Mosquito, Froth Flotation, Rankine Solar Dynamic.

Event: Inspiration.

Turn 12

  • Current hand: Monotomic Plug Nozzle
  • Operation: Fund Raise: Delegate to Centrist.
  • Starting Aqua: 2
  • Net Δ Aqua: 1
  • Ending Aqua: 3
  • Active Law: Centrist
  • Score: 0
  • LEO: Crew, D-T Gun Fusion, Marx Capacitor Bank, Kuck Mosquito, Froth Flotation, Rankine Solar Dynamic.

Turn 13

  • Current hand: Empty
  • Operation: Free Market: Monotomic Plug Nozzle.
  • Starting Aqua: 3
  • Net Δ Aqua: 3
  • Ending Aqua: 6
  • Active Law: Centrist
  • Score: 0
  • LEO: Crew, D-T Gun Fusion, Marx Capacitor Bank, Kuck Mosquito, Froth Flotation, Rankine Solar Dynamic.

Event: Anarchy, purge Authority.

Turn 14

  • Current hand: Empty
  • Operation: Fund Raise: Delegate to Authority.
  • Starting Aqua: 6
  • Net Δ Aqua: 1
  • Ending Aqua: 7
  • Active Law: Centrist
  • Score: 0
  • LEO: Crew, D-T Gun Fusion, Marx Capacitor Bank, Kuck Mosquito, Froth Flotation, Rankine Solar Dynamic.

Notes: It's going to take me 7-8 turns to either In-situ Refuel, or get enough Aqua to pay FINAO. This is the super boring part of the game, it's weakest aspect. Turns out I need a radiator as well. This is going to be a grind.

Turn 15

  • Current hand: Empty
  • Operation: Research: Ether Charged Dust.
  • Starting Aqua: 7
  • Net Δ Aqua: 3
  • Ending Aqua: 10
  • Active Law: Centrist
  • Score: 0
  • LEO: Crew, D-T Gun Fusion, Marx Capacitor Bank, Kuck Mosquito, Rankine Solar Dynamic.

Notes: Time 4:12, an hour in. I should have canceled this, it's took a couple of operations to get everything back together, would have been cheaper to lobby authority.

Event: Pad Explosion, Froth Flotation back to hand.

Turn 16

  • Current hand: ETHER Charged Dust, Froth Flotation.
  • Operation: Research: Solar Stirling
  • Starting Aqua: 10
  • Net Δ Aqua: -1
  • Ending Aqua: 9
  • Active Law: Centrist
  • Score: 0
  • LEO: Crew, D-T Gun Fusion, Marx Capacitor Bank, Kuck Mosquito, Rankine Solar Dynamic.

Turn 17

  • Current hand: ETHER Charged Dust, Froth Flotation, Solar Stirling.
  • Operation: Research: Photon Tether Rectenna.
  • Starting Aqua: 9
  • Net Δ Aqua: -1
  • Ending Aqua: 8
  • Active Law: Centrist
  • Score: 0
  • LEO: Crew, D-T Gun Fusion, Marx Capacitor Bank, Kuck Mosquito, Rankine Solar Dynamic.

Notes: This doesn't have the annoying radiator support requirement.

Event: Budget Cuts, Lobby Authority to Inspiration.

Turn 18

  • Current hand: ETHER Charged Dust, Froth Flotation, Solar Stirling, Photon Tether Rectenna.
  • Operation: Free Market: Solar Stirling.
  • Starting Aqua: 8
  • Net Δ Aqua: 3
  • Ending Aqua: 11
  • Active Law: Centrist
  • Score: 0
  • LEO: Crew, D-T Gun Fusion, Marx Capacitor Bank, Kuck Mosquito, Rankine Solar Dynamic.

Turn 19

  • Current hand: ETHER Charged Dust, Froth Flotation, Photon Tether Rectenna.
  • Operation: Boost: Photon Tether Rectenna, Froth Flotation.
  • Starting Aqua: 11
  • Net Δ Aqua: -5
  • Ending Aqua: 6
  • Active Law: Centrist
  • Score: 0
  • LEO: Crew, D-T Gun Fusion, Marx Capacitor Bank, Kuck Mosquito, Rankine Solar Dynamic, Photon Rectenna, Froth Flotation.

Event: Inspiration.

Turn 20

  • Current hand: ETHER Charged Dust.
  • Operation: Fund Raise: Delegate to Authority.
  • Free Actions:
    • Decommision: Rankine Solar Dynamic back to hand.
    • Cargo Transfer: LEO stack to Rocket.
    • Cargo Transfer: Fuel with 5 Aqua."
  • Movement: Move to Hohmann at Hygiea.
  • Starting Aqua: 6
  • Net Δ Aqua: -4
  • Ending Aqua: 2
  • Active Law: Centrist
  • Score: 0
  • Rocket: Crew, D-T Gun Fusion, Marx Capacitor Bank, Kuck Mosquito, Rankine Solar Dynamic, Photon Rectenna, Froth Flotation.

Notes: This is stupid. I'm going to play out the 10 game series, then house rule the economy to double the speed of the game.

Turn 21

  • Current hand: ETHER Charged Dust, Rankine Solar Dynamic.
  • Operation: In Situ Refuel: 1 Aqua.
  • Movement: Land on Hygiea
  • Starting Aqua: 2
  • Net Δ Aqua: 0
  • Ending Aqua: 2
  • Active Law: Centrist
  • Score: 0
  • Rocket: Crew, D-T Gun Fusion, Marx Capacitor Bank, Kuck Mosquito, Rankine Solar Dynamic, Photon Rectenna, Froth Flotation.

Notes: Now I need to acquire 10 more Aqua. Boring. That's 6 turns. I could take the stack to Vesta or Ceres though.

Event: Inspiration

Turn 22

  • Current hand: ETHER Charged Dust, Rankine Solar Dynamic.
  • Operation: In Situ Refuel: 1 Aqua.
  • Starting Aqua: 2
  • Net Δ Aqua: 0
  • Ending Aqua: 2
  • Active Law: Centrist
  • Score: 0
  • Rocket: Crew, D-T Gun Fusion, Marx Capacitor Bank, Kuck Mosquito, Rankine Solar Dynamic, Photon Rectenna, Froth Flotation.

Turn 23

  • Current hand: ETHER Charged Dust, Rankine Solar Dynamic.
  • Operation: Free Market: ETHER Charged Dust.
  • Starting Aqua: 2
  • Net Δ Aqua: 3
  • Ending Aqua: 5
  • Active Law: Centrist
  • Score: 0
  • Rocket: Crew, D-T Gun Fusion, Marx Capacitor Bank, Kuck Mosquito, Rankine Solar Dynamic, Photon Rectenna, Froth Flotation.

Event: Anarchy, purge Individuality.

Turn 24

  • Current hand: Rankine Solar Dynamic.
  • Operation: Free Market: Rankine Solar Dynamic
  • Starting Aqua: 5
  • Net Δ Aqua: 3
  • Ending Aqua: 8
  • Active Law: Centrist
  • Score: 0
  • Rocket: Crew, D-T Gun Fusion, Marx Capacitor Bank, Kuck Mosquito, Rankine Solar Dynamic, Photon Rectenna, Froth Flotation.

Turn 25

  • Current hand: Empty
  • Operation: Research: MET Steamer.
  • Starting Aqua: 8
  • Net Δ Aqua: -1
  • Ending Aqua: 7
  • Active Law: Centrist
  • Score: 0
  • Rocket: Crew, D-T Gun Fusion, Marx Capacitor Bank, Kuck Mosquito, Rankine Solar Dynamic, Photon Rectenna, Froth Flotation.

Event: Anarchy, purge Authority.

Turn 26

  • Current hand: MET Steamer
  • Operation: Free Market: MET Steamer
  • Starting Aqua: 7
  • Net Δ Aqua: 3
  • Ending Aqua: 10
  • Active Law: Centrist
  • Score: 0
  • Rocket: Crew, D-T Gun Fusion, Marx Capacitor Bank, Kuck Mosquito, Rankine Solar Dynamic, Photon Rectenna, Froth Flotation.

Turn 27

  • Current hand: Empty
  • Operation: Research: Pulsed Inductive
  • Starting Aqua: 10
  • Net Δ Aqua: -1
  • Ending Aqua: 9
  • Active Law: Centrist
  • Score: 0
  • Rocket: Crew, D-T Gun Fusion, Marx Capacitor Bank, Kuck Mosquito, Rankine Solar Dynamic, Photon Rectenna, Froth Flotation.

Event: Glitch.

Turn 28

  • Current hand: Pulsed Inductive.
  • Operation: Free Market: Pulsed Inductive
  • Movement: Land on Callisto Asgard Ice Spires.
  • Starting Aqua: 9
  • Net Δ Aqua: 3
  • Ending Aqua: 12
  • Active Law: Centrist
  • Score: 0
  • Rocket: Crew, D-T Gun Fusion, Marx Capacitor Bank, Kuck Mosquito, Rankine Solar Dynamic, Photon Rectenna, Froth Flotation.

Turn 29

  • Current hand: Empty
  • Operation: Prospect: Claim Callisto.
  • Starting Aqua: 12
  • Net Δ Aqua: -12
  • Ending Aqua: 0
  • Active Law: Centrist
  • Score: 1
  • Rocket: Crew, D-T Gun Fusion, Marx Capacitor Bank, Kuck Mosquito, Rankine Solar Dynamic, Photon Rectenna, Froth Flotation.

Event: Inspiration.

Turn 30

  • Current hand: D-T Gun Fusion, Marx Capacitor Bank, Kuck Mosquito, Rankine Solar Dynamic, Photon Rectenna, Froth Flotation.
  • Operation: Industrialize: Callisto.
  • Free Actions:
    • Build Colony.
  • Starting Aqua: 0
  • Net Δ Aqua:
  • Ending Aqua: 0
  • Active Law: Centrist
  • Score: 1
  • LEO: Crew.

Notes: Time: 4:58. Bah.

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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.