When I first met my wife we were both in college. We had a mutual friend, and while the 3 of us were talking, the mutual friend was pulled away. So, there we were, the two of us talking to each other as little more than strangers. Obviously, we talked about light, casual, forgettable topics… right? Wrong. I listened to her tell me all about the problems with the American education system as she was currently in college as an education major. She talked about what systems used by public school are not beneficial and all the flaws that allow certain children to slip through the cracks. Some people may have heard these as the ramblings of a crazed person… but I was amazed by her passion. She felt so strongly about wanting to be a good teacher, and help children despite the flaws of the education system. It was easy to be interested in what she was telling me about, even though I had no knowledge of my own to lend to the conversation, because of how excited she was about the topic.
The same goes for board games. The theme of a board game may not be everyone’s cup of tea. But when a theme is so well executed that it permeates every mechanic and does not feel forced, it’s easy to buy in to it. Take a game like Wingspan. I’m sure, by now, many of you have heard about it being featured in the New York Times. That article really sang the praises (rightfully so) of the designer’s knowledge and passion for the theme of the game. I felt the same way about Wingspan after playing it. The complete immersion into the theme, turning fun facts and obscure details in to functional game mechanics is part of what makes it so enjoyable. This is exactly what Brave New Worlds does, as you explore our solar system.
Please note that I am basing my review on a playable prototype of the game, and changes may occur before the final production. The gameplay is not going to change much, but the quality of components may.
Brave New Worlds
Designer: Mickey McDonald
Theme:
Two to six players each control one of the most advanced space exploration programs on Earth. Players will use their telescopes to look in to the vastness of space, and flip one of the tiles over so only they know what is underneath. They then take turns using resources to launch various spacecrafts to distant planets, earning victory points along the way. The first player to gain 100 victory points will trigger the end of the game. After that round is over, the player with the most victory points wins.
The first thing anyone notices about the game is the board. The playing area is made up of 100 (or 85 if you desire a smaller space for 2-player games) tiles, as you can see in the image above. The pattern the tiles make at the start of the game is really appealing. The tile in the center is the Earth/Sun tile. All players begin launching from this tile, and we see the solar system radiate out from this location. The 24 tiles
clustered around our starting tile are the Rocky Planets. Among these tiles you will find planets such as Venus and Mars, our Earth’s own moon, and various hazards and empty space tiles. There are hazards and empty tiles in all regions of tiles. The two rows outside of the Rocky Planets are the Asteroid Belt. There are no planets in the Asteroid Belt, but there are some meteorites that you can land on to earn victory points. Beyond that, the red tiles are the Gas Giants. Within these tiles you will find Jupiter, Saturn, and various moons. The blue tiles along the edge of our solar system are the Ice Giants. Here you will find Neptune, Uranus, and some dwarf planets such as Pluto. Typically, planets that are furthest away from the Earth will reward players with more victory points for exploring them.
Each player has 3 types of spacecrafts: orbiters, landers, and shuttles. Each planet has different point values according to the type of spacecraft that lands on it. Exploring a planet with a shuttle will earn the most points. However, some planets are only accessible by certain types of crafts. Jupiter, for example. Its surface is gaseous, and is not able to support a shuttle or lander. But an orbiter can explore it, earning those victory points.
Some planets also have what is called a “gravity assist”. This means that if you fly by this planet, you can move additional spaces without burning your fuel. The science behind this may be exaggerated a bit, but thematically I like it; slingshotting your way around planets in an effort to conserve fuel.
The physical qualities of each planet, their density, and strength of their gravitational pull have all been taken in to account for various gameplay attributes. Even the 6 different space exploration agencies have their own optional abilities for an advanced gameplay, where history and real events are taken in to account for the basis of these abilities. Real astronauts are featured on the player aide cards to inform and immerse about the history of space exploration.
The game is also educational. Just like with Wingspan, players walk away remembering random facts. The American White Pelican regularly makes cluster nests and lives in marshlands, while Venus has a surface that could be explored by any craft and a relatively weak gravitational pull.
And I have to mention the book that comes with the game. This book is full of not only beautiful images, but information about every planet, meteorite, moon, or comet featured on the tiles. It’s not your basic “Venus is the 2nd planet from the Sun” type of facts that are learned in grade school. There’s some higher level stuff in here that respects the reader’s intelligence by not dumbing it down. There’s stuff I didn’t know about objects I didn’t know existed in our solar system. And I feel like I’m a relatively informed human being.
Gameplay:
At the start of each turn, players simultaneously receive various tokens. The three types of tokens are:
- Telescope tokens. These are placed on planets and only that player is able to peek at the underside. After a few turns the tile then becomes public knowledge. You can place extra telescope tokens on a tile to prolong this, also keeping other players from placing their own telescope tokens on it as well.
- Fuel tokens. Fuel is needed to launch, travel, and land your spacecrafts. Different crafts have different fuel requirements. Crafts CAN take multiple turns to reach their destination, but they must launch with enough fuel tokens for the complete journey. You cannot add fuel tokens to a ship that has already launched.
- Payload tokens. A payload must be on a spacecraft to earn victory points from a planet. This is pretty straight forward, but a player cannot land on a planet if another player is currently there with MORE payload tokens. So if you want to block you opponent from earning points on a planet you have already discovered, make sure you take plenty of payload tokens.
After all players complete their upkeep, they take turns completing any number of actions in any order. You can place a telescope token or launch, travel, or land a spacecraft. After each player completes their actions, the first player marker (a big red “launch” button) is passed. A new round begins with players simultaneously completing their upkeep.
This continues until a player reaches 100 victory points. Complete the current round, and the player with the most victory points wins. If there is a tie, all players continue playing until there is no tie at the end of a round.
I feel this game is a little front-end heavy with rules and special exceptions. The idea of placing multiple telescope tokens on a planet is very cool strategy, but new players will likely not have a reason to do this. The optional advanced abilities for each space agency can definitely wait for a subsequent playthrough. And figuring out how many of each token you’d like during your upkeep can be daunting early.
My advice, play 3 or 4 rounds. Make mistakes. Then reset the board and start over.
As far as strategy goes, you’ll want to explore close planets early, and build out from there, possibly being able to chain together multiple gravity assists as you travel to get farther on less fuel. Be aware of the board, taking advantage of planets that your opponents may have uncovered for you. You won’t need many payloads early, but as the game goes on you’ll want to take multiple payloads to planets of higher point value so your opponent cannot bump you off, earning points for themselves.
The game finds a way to be competitive without having much “take that”, outside of protecting areas you’ve already discovered/explored.
For Parents:
As you can imagine, set-up is a little dicey. Lots of round tiles in a specific pattern. The tiles are large and not easily lost. Which is great, but there is a constant fear of bumping multiple tiles. When playing with kids, it’s a threat on every turn.
Other than that, this game can easily be played cooperatively with children. My 5 year old son absolutely loves outer space. He’ll get educational DVDs from the library, wear his astronaut pajamas, and as of now he wants to be an astronaut when he grows up. The strategy required is a little steep for someone his age to play by himself. But I do give him options of which tile to discover with a telescope, or have him add up the fuel tokens we’ll need to reach a certain planet. He really gets excited making decisions in this game. I could see it being a favorite of his for years to come.
And remember, the game is educational. Learning is fun!
Final Thoughts:
Brave New Worlds is a tile based exploration game, rooted in the science of our solar system. It utilizes resource management, and has elements of area control. The randomized tile placement will keep exploration fresh for every new playthrough.
I really enjoy it. The fact that upkeep is simultaneous means the players’ turns move pretty quick. There’s not much waiting for your turn, even at higher player counts. Late in the game, analysis paralysis can set in, trying to optimize those last few turns of the game. This is especially true if you’re losing in victory points, knowing you must catch up quickly. But that can happen in just about any game with a visible score track. I would like to see some kind of hidden objective introduced. For example, after a player reaches 100 VP and the current round ends, players reveal their hidden objective card for additional scoring. Players may gain points for the number of planets explored in a certain region of space, or maybe points for each hazard discovered. It’s just something that would add a little more suspense to the end of the game, since you don’t know what kind of bonus points your opponent will receive. It’s a small thing, but could ultimately help the pace of late game turns.
Setting up the game isn’t time consuming, but does feel a bit tedious. Add in the possibility of bumping multiple tiles when you reach across the table to grab the one you want. It’s not a deal breaker, but it’s something that a lot of people may not enjoy. The game does look beautiful when set up, and has a very appealing table presence. There are no monstrous sized minis to draw an audience in from across the room, but anyone walking by will pause and take notice. It’s an aesthetically unique board layout that, in my opinion, is worth the set up time.
The biggest takeaway, as I’ve mentioned above, is the total immersion in to the theme. Brave New Worlds is fun, with an educational element that doesn’t insult its players’ intelligence. I hope not only that the game funds, but also that it gets the recognition it deserves. This may be the perfect time for a game like this to come to Kickstarter since the Wingspan hype is real, and there are some clear similarities in utilization of science in to the gameplay. The Kickstarter campaign will go live on April 10th, 2019. You can stay informed and up to date by following the Facebook page, HERE.
Brave New Worlds is a great game to fill that empty space in your collection.
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