A High Frontier 4 All Review
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- Опубликовано: 17 окт 2024
- What do I think of High Frontier 4 All? I think it's All That!
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When I first saw the High Frontier board, I thought, "Looks heady. I want to climb that mountain".
You are creating quality content mate and it’s pretty much unrivaled. You are covering exactly the kind of games that intrigue me and I want to thank you for that!
Nice to hear! Thank you very much!
Completely second that view. Your presentation and content is excellent. This was such an informative review. I have the game ordered and I am looking forward to it coming. I am expecting the challenge of learning it. In comparison to say pax renaissance how would you compare high frontier in terms of difficulty in initially learning it? Keep doing what you are doing and thanks so much for all the time and effort you must put in to your content. It really is outstanding.
@@johnpeel2095 That's a good question. I would probably say that HF was harder to learn because you need a lot of upfront information to get going, where Pax Renaissance can be taught most of the way, and then touch on stuff as it comes up. Renaissance also feels a bit more like you are riding some waves of chaos, with a more variable market and a more shifting map. HF is very strongly controlled by player agency, and so it feels less like the game is pushing you around and more like it is waiting for you to do something, and figuring out what to do can be tough for a newcomer. Both are difficult to learn, however both are worth that effort.
I picked up this game 6+ months ago and only just recently got around to gradually learning it.
I'm a solo gamer, so I'm learning all of this without any face to face assistance at all. What's weird is that I don't actually know if I'm having fun learning it so far, but I find myself thinking about this game ALL THE TIME. I think what you said about the perfect mash of mechanisms and theme is what is really pulling me in here.
Definitely looking forward to playing it more.
VERY nice review! (Actually, one of the best I've seen.) You cover all the important aspects of the game without getting bogged down in the "how to" details. I especially appreciated your focus on the merging of the theme and the mechanics. You sold me on the game. Wow, I wish I could play the game with YOU! :)
Fortunately a friend owns the game (I'm assuming 4th edition), so hopefully we'll get it to the table once this Pandemic subsides! In the meantime, we'll probably give the Tabletop Simulator version a try. Hopefully it works, considering the nature of the map.
If your other reviews are anywhere as good and thorough (plenty of "meat", but not the unnecessary fluff), I'll have to subscribe to your channel.
Actually, I did think of one aspect of the game I’d love to see you discuss - solo mode. You mention playing it several times. How does the game play with only one person? Most PvP games play significantly different in 1 player mode. Major changes to the mechanics are required. (For example, you said bidding was integral to the game. How does that work?)
Any comments or review would be greatly appreciated!
This is such a fantastic review! I wish more reviews of complex games were like this.
Thanks for the nice review! I bought the game, partially based on your recommendation (and the bgg rating as the most complex game, since I like complexity) and I'm having a blast playing it, solo or multihanded. Because of your enthusiasm I'm recommending everyone to watch your review. Hopefully it will help you grow your channel.
Thanks for the review. I really like your style when reviewing and explaining. Keep up the good work! 😊
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it.
Duuude! Your review skills are awesome. TBH, I almost noped out during the 1st minute, because I thought it sounded a bit pretentious at first, but I’m sooo glad I stayed. Not only did you hit every piece of information that I was looking for, you did it without drawing out any section too long. I never got bored. Quite the opposite, I got excited about this game! And the entire time your demeanor and presentation had me feeling like I was just chilling on the couch with a friend while they told me about their favorite board game. Insta-sub!
25:44
Not gonna lie, that homecoming party in orbit looks so wholesome :D
Friend, im late to your channel but your playthroughs and this review are amazing!
OKAY, you sold me.
Adding it to my cart.
Also you have an subscribe too.
That was amazing review, hope to see more!
About the map: I agree it's beautiful. I'd love if this map had the treatment the recent Lacerda's "Weather Machine" has: the back side of the board is just the art, without the "game stuff"!
I'm definitely picking this up now. This was a very informative review. Your description of the game's blend of theme and mechanics sounds like something I'd enjoy. Now I'm just wondering if I should get modules now or later after I've experienced the game a bit.
You can't go wrong either way, and Ion intends to keep the game and its modules in print for a long while so I'm sure if you grabbed the core box you'd get a ton of gameplay, and when you want to get more out of it the modules will be there.
when I first saw the map I knew this is my game, and I was right
Excellent work, well done. Any aspiring boardgame reviewer should observe and try to achieve the same sincerity and aim for the same level of being initiated and informative as you are!
Great to hear that all you played Space Diamonds with liked it :)
I take note of your thought on the step from zero Space Diamonds is a tad to low , making the step from Space Diamonds to Race for Glory being a tad to high. Relevant to the design work I do right now actually. I want to say though that one goal with Space Diamonds was to also make it a game that stand on its own for a younger audience, a rule set that brings your copy of HF4 to the table even when playing with kids age 7 and up. And/or with players that are not into heavier boardgames and never will be (there are such friends and/or significant others :)
About learning path to the Core game, one step that need more mention I think is the coop scenario "Race to the Rescue" in Race for Glory rulebook. Playing coop with a mix of experienced and non experienced players i another good way of easing games in. A good next game after Space Diamonds.
I also want to mention the variant V11 found in the appendix where you combine the Space Diamonds components into any version of the game. It is quite fun!
Thanks Jon!
I can't comment on if Space Diamonds would play well for kids, but I could see that angle. It is a nice addition, and wonder if it could work with some tweaks as its own standalone thing with a smaller footprint. And yes, I've been curious to add in all the space diamonds chits to the regular game! They almost seem like mini glory missions, kind of neat.
It's such a nice review. It feels almost poetic at times. I really enjoyed it, thanks.
I'm planning to buy this game as soon as it becomes available in my region. Do you suggest to learn the"race" game first as introduction to the main game?
Thanks again
Thank you for the video. Your enthusiasm was one of the factors that convinced me to buy the game with module 1 & 2. Can't wait!
25:42 The wargamer in me sees an opportunity for side boards! Maybe one for each of the areas that tends to get crowded, like Earth. Or of course just one side board, but with multiple areas on that board.
This might be the best possible review of a game in this hobby. Thanks a lot.
Nice review. Played the 3th second times, one of my best gaming experience in my life. Keep up the good work with ur channel!
Thank you!
Based on your avatar, I'll take this comment as a great endorsement of a complex game. 😀
Greate job on explaining High Frontier. I really appreciate your work here. Also is that a Minoru Suzuki shirt?
KAZE NI NARE
@@PhasingPlayer I have to be a lonely warrior tonight.
Loved the review. It is great to hear from people with this level of passion. I also enjoy High Frontier and Food Chain Magnate, and found Twilight Imperium lacking. Have you tried 18XX, Three Kingdoms and Feudom? Different subject matters, but excellent for player interaction and level of complexity.
You are the most informed board game reviewer I have ever watched
Hey man great vídeo, great game. The real reason I commenting, though, is to really thank you for introducing me to Joanna newsom. You commented about her album Ys somewhere so I went, listened to it and had a blast. I then listened to have one on me and had a even bigger blast. I have a heavy metal background and didn't felt like this im a while about any other composer. Really, really moving stuff. Well, thanks again and sorry for the poor English. Cheers from Brasil
That's great! She is certainly one of my favorites. I like metal too, though I don't listen to it quite as often as I used to.
Just got this yesterday and tabled it solo a bit this morning. It exceeded all my expectations... it's so wonderful and terrible at the same time 😄 I have managed to fail every prospecting roll so far...
Very eloquent review. First Pax Renaissance 2nd edition kickstarter and now pre ordered this.
Nicely done, Scott. Now get on a train and come out to Lake Forest and play a game with me!!
Great video as always! How does this compare to Stellar Horizons and which do you recommend (might be a topic for a separate video, ha)? Have you played Leaving Earth and if so do you consider it the "easiest" of the three?
I have not played Leaving Earth yet, but want to! As far as HF vs Stellar Horizons, they are very different games that don't have much overlap except the general theme. SH feels more like a civilization builder, including a tech tree, and has a neat system where you get a bunch of money every few years that you need to budget to use during the rest of the rounds. Unfortunately the rulebook is a huge mess and difficult to parse; I am not 100% I am playing it correctly, to be honest! HF on the other hand is one of my favorite board games of all time, so I'd give HF the nod.
I’d love to see this treatment of Leaving Earth, and it seems right up @Phasing Player’s alley...
THIS is how you review a game.
I realize it is pretty off topic but do anyone know a good website to stream new series online?
@Lane Musa Lately I have been using FlixZone. Just search on google for it :)
@Nash Thaddeus yea, been watching on Flixzone for months myself :D
@Nash Thaddeus Thanks, signed up and it seems like a nice service :D I really appreciate it!!
@Lane Musa Happy to help :D
You did a wonderful job with this review. I just played my third game which is the first time I have included modules zero, one, and two. Have you tried module 3? What are your thoughts?
I haven't had a chance to play it yet. Combat in HF3 wasn't the best, and my initial thought is that Module 3 looks maybe a little to complex and fiddly? I never felt like HF needed that sort of conflict, but I will try it at some point.
Actually 4 me the map and the theme were what hooked me! Love it!
Very interesting and useful video. Thank you!
Very well done synopsis / review of the game. Thanks so much for this. I'm curious: How do you rank or compare HF4 to Stellar Horizons?
They are very different games. Stellar Horizons feels like it obscures some of the science for the sake of gameplay, which isn't necessariy a bad thing but it does change how you approach it. Stellar also has no rocket construction aspect and is entirely based on resource gathering and expansion, so it really feels High Frontier adjacent, rather than something existing in the same play space. I need to play it more to really get my head around it. I do like it, but the rulebook is kind of rough, so I haven't been able to play it as much as I'd like.
The neoprene map is "ok". Definitely big enough, but readabilty is worse than the printed map due to fuzziness of the text. Also the hydration color is a little dark on the neoprene. I'm probably going to custom print a large map through Zazzle. Also agree about the water beads. I complained about them during the KS, but to no avail ;)
Kudos on a fantastic review!
Hi, to which one is it the closest between Cosmic Ecounter, Twilight ImperiumIV and Khemet?
It's nothing like any of those. There's no combat for one, and honestly it's hard to comppare High Frontier to anything else. It's very much its own game!
@@PhasingPlayer That's what I was guessing, thanks for the reply and good review!
Is there a dedicated solo rules element to play with the main and modules? I think in responding to your own question about upgrading there is a tad of conflict of interest..... but heck,,,,,, you want this game purchased right. I’m looking forward to getting it and blowing one’s mind in learning it.
Haha, I am not partnered with Ion in any official way, nor was I paid for this review, so I have no skin in the "selling games" game! I think the upgrade seems like a waste, and if you are on the fence or only play occasionally, just play your 3e copy (if you have one) with the 4e rules and buy nothing.
As far as solo stuff, yes there are several solo variants that support all of the modules. I'll be doing a separate video on HF as a solo game.
That choice of album earned you a sub
She's great! I see her whenever she passes through Chicago.
I recently heard about this game. Thank you for the information!
Well done, thanks for that review!
Thanks for watching!
Excellent video, thanks so much :)
my partner told me this looks like a game for me so i'm here looking at reviews. I think i need this!
Thats a really good review, thanks! Got the game shortlisted
Great review
"The auction *is* the game"... exactly the reason why I don't like the Quick Start varients. Yes the first 10 turns or so are have little or no action, but they setup so much of the game to come!
Really well done ... thank you!
Just got my copy today. I’m very glad I got the neoprene map as the board map is too small. The water beads are annoying.
My god, I cannot wait to play this game. I just wish there wasn't such an embarrassing pun on the front of the box.
Haha, it's at least pretty tucked away!
Ys and American Movie. A man of culture 🔥
If you ever have a game on TTS and don't mind teaching a newbie, PUUULEASE let me know. Would love to play this game!
Thanks for convincing me in getting this game. :)
Hope you enjoy it!
I've been looking at this game but I wish it had more production in it. You build factories, but those factories don't make anything but spaceship parts.
There are further expansions planned so perhaps Phil will expand in this direction.
Great review.
Still not sure it is for me. I have been hemming and hawing about this for a while. I worry that it will be closer to a simulation than a game. That people need to be in it for the experience instead of thinking it as a game.
And with the splotter guys, they make great stuff, but it is pretty clear they come up with a game first and then put a coat of paint on it.
It is definitely a game. To me a game that is heavy on simulation is something you watch play out more than influence, but in HF you have a lot of agency! It's very much a game about you setting forth your ambition and executing it. It's unlike, say, Phil's Bios series in that regard. There are events, but they are not as monumental as something like in Bios Megafauna, where an event can completely hamstring you. They can be serious, but you can prepare for them.
@@PhasingPlayer I'll keep that in mind. This thought is definitely influenced by some of his other games that have more of a simulation leaning to me, or they very much feel like a combo of the two. Very much like the bios serie that you mentioned and Greenland and Neanderthal can occasional fall under that too. You have control over your play but the game might take you some weird directions.
I will say that High Frontier really does work well when looked at as a game rather than as an experience or a simulation, probably moreso than any other of Phil Eklunds games. It's hard to get into, for sure, but it very much has a feeling of being a sandbox where you see what you will be able to get together, rather than what the game will do to you.
Very cool review! I LOVE this game too ;)
Be honest are you a software developer
Haha, I am not!
Dice rolls? Man, you had my interest until that. I was just opening up my pledge manager again, too.
Dice rolls are not a huge part of the game ... but they do represent the luck element that is inherent in space flight (as far as I know). But I wouldn't let this stop you. You could easily house rule a less punishing penalty for bad rolls.
Makes me think of that cartoon image of a guy standing on a dining room chair, terrified, pointing at a pair of dice on the linoleum floor shouting "Random! Random!" while his wife stands in the doorway saying, "Jeezus, dear, they're just dice."
@@pixxelwizzard I don't enjoy Yahtzee either. It is terrifying.
@@justinrrizzo LOL!
Game needs simplified movement rules, in it's current state it's effectively unplayable.
No no, YOU find it unplayable and not to your liking, that's fine. You'll have plenty of other games to chose from.
@@sanderhaskins2740 No, No, It's unplayable, really.
@@madquest8 lol, git gud
Hgh Frontier is the best game that I urge you to not purchase. The designer has been working on this game for more than twenty years and he will never finish it. I made the mistake of purchasing the "definitive" third edition. The rules for this edition (which they call the fourth, but is actually at least the sixth) changed several times before the whole package was even released for purchase. Please don't reward this kind of practice. The game hasn't improved since [the first version of] the second edition -- pick it up used for half the price of this ungainly monstrousity if you really want to play this game.