Introduction
A new Frontier is a highly engaging conflict game where your ability to gauge your opponents will be key to victory. 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. There are several different focus areas in the game that can all potentially lead to Victory Points, allowing for multi-pronged strategies.
A New Frontier has few random elements and no hidden info save for player fleets composition, and with only 5 turns every decision counts. Conflicts are multi-phased, giving players ample opportunity to outsmart their opponents. 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.
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, 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. 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, most notably Exploration and Politics.
jdicksen2023Further reading:
# Explore the different components of the game# Dive deeper into the games resources
# Discover what is yet to come!
# Buy the game