But at the same time, I do think there’s an order of priority to the docks that make a number of turns feel obvious. If I roll three of a kind and I have the resources, for example, I’m almost always going for the Colony Constructor. If I get a straight, I’m absolutely going to give strong consideration to raiding. If I have a six and a pair of something, I’m looking very closely at Terraforming Station + Shipyard. The dice in this game feel constraining, for some reason – rather than introducing tension as the dice do in War of the Ring, I just feel like I’m min/maxing my rolls. And in that sense, I think Small World is the perfect comparison. I’ve just never felt a significant degree of tension in Small World, and in almost the same sense as Alien Frontiers, many of the decisions are, while not scripted, at least at a low enough level that they approach the obvious. That doesn’t mean that there are no meaningful decisions – you can absolutely screw up. But once you reach a rudimentary level of understanding, I’m not sure there’s a ton of depth here.

You are correct regarding the obvious character of some dice rolls. However the challenge lies not in assigning natural pairs, triples or straights, but in figuring out what to do with bad rolls (advance your colonies and gather fuel) and how to manipulate the rolls to get the result you need (Alien Tech powered by the fuel you got in previous turns). This is the action track for bad "natural" rolls, which eventually will make bad rolls irrelevant and reduce the need for a huge fleet.

I think the game is deeper than you give it credit for, and wish you wouldn't equate it with being pretty and shallow just because you don't like it.

Overall, the game is a lot of fun. It’s light, plays in about an hour, and presents interesting decisions. It has a decent level of player interaction and rewards smart choices.

Sometimes it’s fun to take things a bit less seriously and enjoy something for what it is – in this case, a well-crafted, lightweight game with decent player interaction, gorgeous production values, and a fun 45 minute experience that’s a good way to begin or close an evening of heavier fare.

But each player's turn was a bit too long without much for the others to do, and when my turn would come around again, I didn't feel that the dice were particularly constraining. Good rolls lead to certain default decisions; bad rolls lead to different default decisions. I felt like I was along for the ride rather than steering the ship.

I enjoy agonizing decisions in my games. Alien Frontiers was colorful and fun, but not agonizing.

...there can be a huge lockout issue on the actions in say, two player, that cannot be played against without getting the right tech cards.

I think a lot of people undervalue the "cycling" effect at the Alien Artifact. Every ship you dock there allows you to discard the three cards on display and lay out three new cards...plus that ship still counts toward you 8+ goal.

So...there are three cards on display but I don't like any of them. I dock a 3 at the Alien Artifact and cycle the cards. I still don't see the one I need. I dock a 5 and cycle the cards again. Ah, there's the one I want. My ships total 8 so I take the card.

I've used two ships and seen nine cards. Some cards are already in play, so I've just looked at about half of the deck. Odds are VERY good that I can find the one I need to clear a space at the Shipyard, or move a colony to a better territory, or reuse one of my ships, or whatever.

Why didn't she engage in conversation? Do you think she was nervous now that things were official? Did you overestimate her willingness and she had second thoughts before the date?

I think a lot of people undervalue the "cycling" effect at the Alien Artifact. Every ship you dock there allows you to discard the three cards on display and lay out three new cards...plus that ship still counts toward you 8+ goal.

That's a good point, and a good tip. I don't know that it ups the tension in a way that I'd like but it's certainly something that I'll try more the next time I play to see if it opens up more choices in a meaningful way.

Say you have the tech card and you could remove one of your opponent's die from the shipyard...you still can't use the action. Before you know it they have 6 dice and you have 3 and the clear one and that's about it. I just find this as an issue in the two player exclusively but I have not clocked enough plays to find other ways around it.

I would definitely experiment with this. The discard abilities on the Alien Tech cards allow for direct manipulation on the planet. In many games, the rolls may push you into an obvious decision, but you have the added decisions of moving a colony off a region to eliminate majority, and other direct interactions that rival the Raiders Outpost. These discard abilities can often lead to direct manipulation of points and really create a smaller game happening on the planet. The dice get you there, but the cards really push players into a competition that I think is reasonably tense. Of course, yours and my opinion might differ on what makes a tense game.

The Plasma Cannon can be used to remove multiple ships from a facility. Have you been playing this wrong?

It's funny how everyone thinks that when they hear someone likes a game that they will to as if there were some magical game out there that appeals to everyone. A lot of people who dislike Alien Frontiers tend to like heavier sort of games or games with less screwage. It is what it is. It doesn't pretend to advertise that it is something that it is not. I think that for what the game advertises about itself it follows through with. Just because it is pretty looking doesn't mean its stupid as you are implying. You act as if you are superior to the cheerleader you dated and that you are superior to playing this sort of game, that you are more intelligent, interesting,whatever. Personally I think you are a bit arrogant.

Overall, the game is a lot of fun. It’s light, plays in about an hour, and presents interesting decisions. It has a decent level of player interaction and rewards smart choices. I’d compare it favorably to Small World, not in terms of mechanics but in terms of weight and effect of significant decisions. It’s a light euro that does a lot of things well, including some things that a lot of euros don’t get right, such as decent player interaction and a degree of conflict, however limited.