RftG

And that concludes Round 10. The sun rises on a brand new Round 11. Two players are on 11 cards in their layout, and we have a full deck of goods. I will be very surprised to see this game go to round 12, so smoke 'em if you've got 'em. Everyone, send me your choice of action card for Round 11.

RftG

End-of-round summary:

Round 10
omnis_audis
Layout
Epsilon Eridani (Non-Military World)
Rebel Fuel Cache (Military Brown Windfall World) + good
Interstellar Bank (Development)
Terraforming Robots (Development)
Gem World (Non-Military Blue Production World) + good
New Survivalists (Military Blue Production World) + good
Consumer Markets (Development)
Galactic Trendsetters (Non-Military World)
Space Port (Non-Military Blue Production World) + good
Free Trade Association (6-Cost Development)

Cards in Hand: 6
Victory Points: 12
Layout Value: 14

askye
Layout
Alpha Centauri (Non-Military Brown Windfall World) + good
Investment Credits (Development)
Comet Zone (Non-Military Brown Production World) + good
Prosperous World (Non-Military Blue Production World) + good
Replicant Robots (Development)
Empath World (Non-Military Green Windfall World)
Mining Conglomerate (Development)
Alien Robotic Factory (Non-Military Yellow Production World) + good
Secluded World (Non-Military Blue Production World) + good

Cards in Hand: 3
Victory Points: 7
Layout Value: 16

Connie Neil
Layout
New Sparta (Military World)
Former Penal Colony (Military Blue Windfall World)
Malevolent Lifeforms (Military Green Production World) + good
Lost Alien Warship (Military Yellow Windfall World)
Export Duties (Development)
Trade League (6-Cost Development)
Drop Ships (Development)
Rebel Homeworld (Military World)
Rebel Underground (Military World)
Diversified Economy (Development)
Rebel Outpost (Military World)

Cards in Hand: 6
Victory Points: 0
Layout Value: 28

chrismg
Layout
Earth's Lost Colony (Non-Military Blue Production World) + good
Interstellar Bank (Development)
Contact Specialist (Development)
Spice World (Non-Military Blue Production World) + good
Avian Uplift Race (Military Green Windfall World)
Galactic Federation (6-Cost Development)
Pirate World (Military Blue Windfall World)
Merchant Guild (6-Cost Development)
Research Labs (Development)
Outlaw World (Military World)
Galactic Renaissance (6-Cost Development)

Cards in Hand: 6
Victory Points: 5
Layout Value: 11

VP Pool: 24

RftG

Round 11 begins:

omnis: Phase IV (x2) - Consume (double VPs)
askye: Phase IV (x2) - Consume (double VPs)
Connie Neil: Phase III - Settle
chrismg: Phase IV (x2) - Consume (double VPs)

We will have just two phases, Phase III (Settle) and Phase IV (Consume). Phase III is first. Everyone, please send me orders for if you will play a world.

Next game I'm getting me some Consume powers.

RftG

I have everyone's orders.

omnis plays Blaster Gem Mines, for 3 discards. This is a windfall world, and starts with a Brown good already on it and available for consumption in Phase IV.

askye plays Old Earth for 1 discard. This world lets her consume up to 2 goods for 1 VP each. She didn't have anough Consume powers to consume all her goods, but can use Old Earth to take up the slack in Phase IV.

Connie plays Galactic Resort for 3 discards. This is also a windfall world, starting with a Blue good, and can consume 1 good in Phase IV for 1 VP and 1 card. She chose Phase III, so she draws 1 card.

chrismg plays Bio-Hazard Mining World for 3 discards.

Both Connie and chrismg now have 12 cards in their layout. Round 11 will be the final round.

RftG

Phase IV. It all ends here.

omnis has 3 Blue goods and 2 Brown goods. Using Galactic Trendsetters, Epsilon Eridani and Free Trade Association, he can consume them for 6 VPs and 4 cards. Since he chose Phase IV (x2), the VPs get doubled; he earns 12 VPs and 4 cards.

askye has 2 Blue goods, 2 Brown goods and 1 Yellow good. Her Consume powers on Prosperous World, Mining Conglomerate and the new Old Earth mean she can consume them for 5 VPs. She also chose double points; she earns 10 VPs.

Connie has a Blue good and a Green good. She can consume the Blue good on Galactic Resort for 1 VP and 1 card. The Green good gets consumed on Trade League for 6 cards; she receives 1 VP and 7 cards.

chrismg has 2 Blue goods. He consumes them on Earth's Lost Colony and Outlaw World for 2 VPs and 1 card. He also chose to double his points; he receives 4 VPs and 1 card.

All that's left now is the final reckoning.

BSG

I think it's easiest to split points up into three categories. First, there are the VPs earnt by the players through consumption. Two players went for consumption in earnest, namely omnis and askye. Conversely, Connie's Evil Empire-building left little time for consumption. That's reflected in the points earned:

Consumption VPs
omnis: 24
askye: 17
Connie Neil: 1
chrismg: 9

The next category is the value of the layout. Each card in one's layout has a point value, in most cases a fixed amount. This is where being the Evil Empire really pays off. Points earned in this category:

Layout Value
omnis: 16
askye: 18
Connie Neil: 30
chrismg: 13

But there are some cards with variable points values. these are the 6-cost developments. Each such development has its own formula to determine its value, which depends on, for the most part, the rest of one's layout. askye didn't get any 6-cost developments down, but the other players all did.

omnis played Free Trade Association. This card rewards a focus on Blue good production and consumption. omnis scores 8 points for it.

Connie played Trade League. This rewards trade powers, and she scores 4 points for it.

chrismg made this the centrepiece of his strategy. He played three 6-cost developments. Galactic Renaissance rewards consumption VPs. It's worth 6 points here. Merchant Guild rewards production worlds, and is also worth 6 points. And then there's Galactic Federation. This one rewards playing developments - especially 6-cost developments. It adds 9 points to his total.

Points for 6-cost developments are therefore:

6-Cost Developments
omnis: 8
askye: 0
Connie Neil: 4
chrismg: 21

RftG

Let's put them all together now. What are the totals?

omnis_audis
Victory Points: 24
Layout Value: 16
6-Cost Developments: 8
Total: 48

askye
Victory Points: 17
Layout Value: 18
6-Cost Developments: 0
Total: 35

Connie Neil
Victory Points: 1
Layout Value: 30
6-Cost Developments: 4
Total: 35

chrismg
Victory Points: 9
Layout Value: 13
6-Cost Developments: 21
Total: 43

Connie and askye tied for third place with 35 points. In such a situation, the tiebreaker is provided byt hte number of cards in hand plus the number of goods on the layout. Connie's last-minute trade on her Trade League power gives her 10 cards in hand to edge out askye.

chrismg scored some reasonable points in every category; his 6-cost developments move him into second place with 43 points.

But the winner of our very first game of Race for the Galaxy, with a powerful consumption showing, is omnis with a total of 48 points!

Congratulations to all the players on a hard-fought game. Interesting especially that we saw some very different strategies, all of which performed respectably. How did the players find the experience?

RFTG

I am grateful for two things. One, the insights and knowledge of our amazing GM. And Two, beginners luck! Every time I thought I was getting a handle on what the heck was going on, I would get a "well, you know..." note from BT. My favorite was the military cost ± military defense. Um. Ooops.

On the whole, I did enjoy the game. It made me think a heck of a lot more than I was anticipating. And reading the tiny writing on the cards makes me feel old. That said, like I said a few posts ago, totally want to play again. Seems there are many strategies one could go with. It all depends on what you draw. I think I'm back down to about 65% understanding what the heck is going on.

RFTG

I didn't know how fast things would be developed, so my strategy (such as it was) was based off what I had in the first draw. Plus I kind of hoped I'd have the chance to invade other people (I know . . .), and I got caught up in the storyline I was building in my head. Next time I'll try to diversify a little.