by Michael Eckenfels, 3 June 2019
When we last let up on the space train, I’d just made an e3 Discovery on an e2 tile, on Dione, a moon of Saturn. The Outer Solar System is pretty much full up with all the different corporations coming and going; it’s starting to look like the Wild West out here.
It’s also broadening our horizons as a species. BanzaiCorp’s findings of no less than two alien structures on Charon and Titan, as well as the presence of exo-microbes throughout the Outer Solar System, all points to us eventually coming into contact with some kind of advanced species. Whether or not that species is E.T. or the creature from Alien leaves a lot of speculation in the meantime.
COMPETITION’S TURN
I drew a Pallas/Interamnia card; Pallas has a BC Base and Interamnia has a Competition Base, so this card is discarded and another drawn.
This one is Ariel/Titania. The Competition has a team on Ariel, so we focus our attention there.
Since they already have a team in place, we need to draw a Discovery tile (in this case, an e2 tile) and reveal it.
Great. This one is pretty potent. The Competition immediately gets 2 Profit for this discovery, and then I draw a random Base for them.
Oh, even better. The Bio Lab is in line with the Life aspect of the Discovery tile, so the Competition gets another 2 Profit, for a total of 4 Profit this turn. The score is now 28-25 with me leading by a scant 3 Profit.
But wait, that’s not all! The jerks in the Competition have built their third Base in a Region beyond Jupiter, so they fulfill that Contract and get another 5 Profit. They’re now leading me, 30-28. Ugh. That leaves two Contracts to fulfill to end the era, and I still have a 1stBeyond marker to try to grab!
BC’S TURN
Without hesitation, I spend the Build Points necessary to place a Base on Dione. In this case, a Bio Lab.
The Bio Lab lets me advance my Genetics marker one space. I’m now only one space away from gaining another Progress card.
I have six cards in hand; I had to spend an Open Gas Core Nuclear Booster card to enhance my HQ’s intrinsic Build value to have enough Build points for the Bio Lab.
So many other things I want to do, but can’t quite do them yet!
COMPETITION’S TURN
And the Competition decides to try to muscle in on my claim on Titan.
BC’S TURN
I can build a Base on Titan and end that incursion real fast; I’ll just need to spend a card in my hand to do so. That b6 cost on Titan is expensive!
But, I think I’m going to take a chance and do something else. I’m spending both of my Genetics 1 cards to move my Genetics marker twice on the track…
…which makes one full revolution, and then some. I get to choose a Progress Card!
There are some hard choices to make, here. They’re all great upgrades, but I’m looking more closely at both the Adaptation card, which will automatically shield all my Move and Builds moving forward; I won’t need to play a card including a Shielded Action any longer. That Sensory Focus one is good too, though…getting to draw two tiles and pick the best of the two is pretty nice. The permanent Move and Build upgrades are pretty decent too.
My Discovery tile draws have not been that bad, so I’m going to take the Radiation Resistant card. I can now make some changes on my HQ board if I choose to do an Upgrade Action in the future.
This also rewards BanzaiCorp with one Profit; the score is now 30-29 with the Competition barely in the lead.
Since I have four cards, I draw another one for my hand, and it’s an Intercept card (Move 6 or Edge: Take 2 turns in a row). I can play that one at the start of my turn and take two full turns if I want to.
COMPETITION’S TURN
Well, the Competition goes right for their own Adaptation card; in this case, it’s the Energy Efficient one, the one that grants a permanent Build 3 to any Build Action. All this means is, since they’re the first to claim that Adaptation card, they get 1 Profit, increasing their score to 31 and now leading me by 2 Profit.
BC’S TURN
I think I’m going to play that Intercept card and take two full turns.
TURN ONE
First, I play an Upgrade Action, exchanging my Closed Gas Core Nuclear Drive in my HQ slot for an Open Gas Core Nuclear Drive. Since all my Move Actions are now Shielded, I get that Move 3/Shielded Move 2 card back in my hand and have upgraded to a permanent Move 6 in that slot.
I have four cards, so I draw another one, and get…another Extruders card (Build 3 or Shielded Build 2). So basically, a Build 3 card, since the Shielded part doesn’t matter any longer.
TURN TWO
I’m going to do another Upgrade action, this time exchanging my Grown Mesh card for one of my Extruders cards. This increases my Build value from 2 to 3. Not huge, but sometimes only 1 point makes a difference.
This also means I’ve completed a Contract – I now have three non-Start cards in my HQ, gaining me 4 Profit and pushing my score upwards past the Competition. We’re now looking at a 33-31 ball game with BanzaiCorp once again (barely) in the lead.
That concludes my turn and concludes this part of the AAR. Join us next time for Part 14, and as always thank you for reading.
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