Alien Frontiers was released before I got involved in the gaming community. I’ver heard publishers say its the reason they got into publishings. I’ve heard gamers declare it THE GAME of the Kickstarter generation.
Unfortunately I’ve never played it because it’s been sold out and out of print… until now!
It’s hard to explain what Alien Frontiers does right because it does so many different things and does them all so well. At its core, it’s a dice rolling worker placement game with a touch of area control and hand management.
On a player’s turn they roll their dice and then place them around the board. Each location has a not only a different effect but also different rules on how the dice may be placed. For example in the Lunar Mine the dice to the right must always have a greater value.
Ultimately, players are trying to collect resources and maneuver their dice in such a way that they can place a colony on the planet. For end game scoring, it’s the control of the areas on the planet that really matter and each area offers a special ability.
That means much of the game is about using the special abilities along with cards to create system that edges you forward past all the other players.
I was shocked at how solid of a game Alien Frontiers is. At first glance it has cool components but because because it is an older game it carries the stigma of not being fresh. Yet once you get to play you realize it’s not out dated in the slightest. It’s also a fantastic medium level game, perfect for gamers or groups who are ready to movie past Catan or Lords of Waterdeep.
The fourth edition of the game not only plays wonderfully but looks amazing. The components have been upgraded and the colors as well as the overall graphic design give Alien Frontiers a fun retro vibe. The board itself is even two sided so that when Game Salute releases the fabled Rocket Die (dice in the shape of rockets) players can truly pimp out their copies!
Although Game Salute has already sold out of Alien Frontiers, it is currently available on Amazon and through some local game stores. If you’ve never played, its definitely a fun game worth checking out.
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