Wow that looks so incredibly awesome. Can you play this alone?
On the box it says solitaire suitability is like 4 out of 5. :)
Yep, there are several solitaire scenarios. Plenty to keep us lonely grog types entertained. The Interstellar map on the back of one of the boards, mentioned above, was originally designed explicitly as a solitaire game variant unto itself.
Works out really well as a solitaire game. A lot of the pleasure of this game is figuring out what kind of mission this set of modules with that fuel budget can accomplish. With multiple players there’s the competitive aspect: You need to get somewhere before someone beats you to it. Solitaire variants usually just use some sort of clock for the same purpose.
I got my copy today. Wow, that map is a grand thing. I have talked to some friends and they report that playing on the half size board is very doable and was working out pretty well for them. I am anxious to try out the fuel strip I’ve heard that has been going over really well. My wife asked me if we already had the game but I’m pretty happy with investing in this. Huge board if I wanted, an interstellar board, and new cards. The kickstarter was problematic and with being kind of a niche game I worry about it disappearing for another six years. I know I got mine but sometimes it’s comforting to see these things in production and out in the world. But for now I can’t wait to try this one out.
As to what to play, what are peoples opinions on what to include? I think the futures are pretty cool but I don’t know how well they work in practice. I can see adding Bernals, Freighters, GW Thrusters and Colonist and without much fuss. You don’t really use them until you want to and otherwise the game looks to play out pretty normally.
Tom Mc
Pics or it didn’t happen.
-Tom
I also got mine!
I have a lot of mixed feeling about this. First, it’s obvious the publisher did a pretty messy job with the kickstarter, and are in no good terms with the designer and overall rights holder of the game. While this edition is an improvement, I might not rule out a fourth edition in the not too distant future. Specially since this is almost out of stock already at the publisher’s shop (9 units left right now).
Also, given how much, much better the Sierra Madre driven second edition of Bios Genesis KS looks, I sort of wouldn’t mind a 4th edition a couple years from now.
The box, map and rulebooks component quality is top notch. Specially the rulebooks. Which are also much better organized and easier to understand (I think this is where the game benefited of having a different company look at it, since Phil Eklund’s rules are sometimes messy).
The map is glorious in it’s size, but the perfectionist in me is annoyed the old logo is used in the maps and the new logo in the box and manuals. This is minor, the mere size makes up for it.
Cards are fine. The new Glory cards, other than fixing glory for the advanced game, which was sorely needed, have nice illustrations. I sort of wish Phil Eklund had decided to upgrade the visuals of the component cards too.
Of course, the two major errata in the cards are really, really annoying. This will require either replacements or sleeves, since one of them (the Halbanaut) is easy to miss during gameplay. I do not trust the customer support of the publisher to replace the cards, judging by how they managed the KS. But I hope I’m wrong.
The errata in the fuel strips I do not care for at all. It’s perfectly understandable as it is, and the new fuel strip is indeed an improvement!
Finally, the different bits and pieces of the game feel totally underproduced. I think they ran out of money, but they are fiddly and small and most likely a mess to play with. I’m thinking of buying replacements eventually.
But anyway, better rules and the glory cards make me very happy I have this overall.
But perhaps the biggest deal is that the designer’s name is misspelled on the back of the box (“Ecklund”). It’s very small type, though, but it speaks as to the messiness of the production :P
Anybody willing to have another forum game using this edition? Last one was a blast!!!
I would definitely add all the modules for any serious game. It’s a long game with the endgame module in (about 40/50 turns in second edition), but it’s the full game. Taking out stuff is like playing Dawn of the Zeds with less stuff. It can be done, but the design does not really shine, imho, until you put all the pieces together and see your production and travel capacities exponentially exploding. Not adding futures and adding other stuff would be weird, I think.
You didn’t play second edition with the expansion? It’s basically the same game with the landing rules simplified (and making it harder to land on large sites now) and the glory part of it fixed (in second edition you would eventually give away most of your claimed glory to employ the disks on more profitable factories and futures).
I see EU backers have been getting their copies, but still nothing in AU.
I do have second with the expansion. Over the years I had been working a group of local players up by using the more basic components. I am trying to remember if we even included support cards. It paid out because one of those players was excited enough that they kick started third edition and got their copy before I did. I expect we will be getting more advanced versions going in the not to distant future. And, though I don’t currently have a plan to, it is nice to have Interstellar available.
Tom Mc
I’d have to agree with Juan. If you’re adding any of the modules past Support, you really need to play with all of them. The endgame module is what makes the players need to do crazy missions to Neptune, etc. Combat is the only one I see that’s really optional. Freighter/GW Thruster modules don’t really add time to the game just increase your options. And Colonists/Bernals are really required to do a lot of the futures anyway.
Basic factory victory is just a bunch of factories on asteroids and a few moons and over before you know it. It’s really just meant to learn the mechanics (or a short session).
So I still have not received my kickstarter copy. I’m seeing a lot of people getting theirs and I know they started mailing over a month ago. I sent an email through kickstarted asking if my copy has been mailed yet but I’ve had no response. I’m concerned because I moved last year and updated my address with the kickstarter but the way this thing has been handled I wonder if they never processed the change. Does anyone know of a way to get a hold of these guys?
I would be very concerned now. The Kickstarter orders should all be out. I have mine which was ordered from One Small Step’s site and was shipped after KS fulfillment. Check out the site and see if you can get in touch with them.
Tom Mc
I got mine like a full month ago, if not a bit longer.
You’re not alone… :(
I’ve started firing off emails too.
Yeah that is real odd. I have had mine for like a month. I would definitely complain.
I guess it depends where you are. US orders should be done, and EU orders being handled by Hexasim were shipping a month after (which is now almost a month ago).
If you’re in EU, contact Hexasim - they replied to me almost immediately to say they weren’t handling AU orders… so I wonder who is? No-one, by the looks of it. :P
Yeah, Oz is very hard to find. By the time you get the game, it probably will have made a complete trip around the globe.
IM on Ares Magazine Facebook page got me a (relatively) rapid reply.
I did change my address on the Kickstarter eight months ago and got my copy, so I don’t think that’s it.
I hope you get your copy soon!