Description

Take control of one of six unique Corporations and vie for dominance in the Alpha System by utilizing a mix of different actions and resources. Focus on building up your infrastructure and set yourself up for a strong finish or go for fast and immediate rewards. Use your Influence in the council chamber to make sure things progress according to your wishes, or resort to outright aggression to dominate the competition.

A New Frontier is a highly engaging conflict game where your ability to gauge your opponents is key to victory. Since players can interact with all other players, regardless of position, conflicts are plentiful, but also quite undramatic. There is no player elimination, and you also cannot “gang-up” on someone, at least not from a conflict perspective. Conflicts are multi-phased, with ample opportunity to outsmart your opponents.

A New Frontier has nearly no hidden info (the obvious exception being player fleets) and few random elements, and with only 5 turns every decision counts. The goal of the game is to become the most dominant Corporate Republic in the Alpha System, which is achieved by having the most Victory Points by game’s end. All types of actions can potentially lead to Victory Points allowing for multi-pronged strategies. In addition to Actions and Credits, players must balance Prestige, which represents their organization’s goodwill and reputation, and that is essential for certain aspects of the game.

The game is centered around four ore-rich planets, with each player being present at every planet. This is where players harvest ore for income, build ships and upgrade mines, as well as carry out attacks against each other. In addition, there are four support areas/phases (Exploration, Politics, Marketing and R & D), where players can choose to diversify in order to gain advantages and Victory Points. Each Turn starts with a Planning Phase where players hiddenly set their strategic plan for the whole turn by using the resources at their disposal. Players then make tactical decisions during each Action Phase within the framework of their strategic plan.

Depending on chosen strategy, a player will normally amass between 30-60% of their Victory Points during the game, and the rest during end game scoring.