So we start the 2140s of our Stellar Horizon by spending 8 Billion on Renda.

I know, I bet you’re shocked. I should just copy/paste that every now and again. I also spend 6 Billion on Supplies to get all of that out to Callisto. Luckily with my .04 modifier, it only takes 1 year to get to Jupiter, so they’ll arrive in 2142. But I decide to have it wait a year due to the Pirate. I send Titov to Jupiter to hunt down that Pirate. But oh no, Leonov bumps into the Pirate! If it can’t run, it’ll get instantly destroyed (or I can pay ransom), luckily I get enough Tactics Points to flee. The Saturn Orbiter dies but is able to get a Dione Depletion on its way out. I finish off the year spending 9 Supplies on Callisto to start getting Terraforming points on Callisto. It begins! I need 20 total to have it fully Terraformed, but you have to start somewhere!

It costs 4 Supplies each, but if you want to do multiple per turn, it costs one more each, so 5 for the second one, 6 for the third, etc. It’s a careful balance between speed and efficiency, almost like a rocket equation. I figure 2 is enough for now.

Once I get that number up to 20, BAM!

2141: I launch Renda to Jupiter, hoping Titov will take care of things. We have combat in the Asteroid Belt. I’m able to get some points and +1 damage. +5 for me, +3 for them. I roll 9 to their 5. We both blow up. Seems a theme. Sadly that’s the only combat as the ships in Jupiter don’t find each other. Dangit. Tereshkova fails its Recall roll. Leonov gets 4 Supplies from the Saturn Asteroid. Nice!

2142: 3 Billion for a new Orbiter that I launch toward Neptune. Still no combat and a giant fleet is showing up next year!

2143: The giant fleet approaches!

Of course, they see each other, because that’s a lot of ships. Luckily I get the most Tactics Points, so I give myself -1 Damage so I don’t get my cargo ships blown up. I have +9 to their +3. Oh no! I roll 2 to his 10! 3 damage to me and 4 to him. Luckily that takes him out, but barely. I spread my damage out among my combat ships. All the cargo lands at Zastava. 15 Supplies spent for 3 more Terraforming points.

2144: Titov is repaired and Tereshkova is Unreserved at Zastava. What a wonderful place Callisto is turning out to be. I spend 2 Billion to launch a Space Telescope. I move the CV-4s to Dione to mine the Subterranean Water there (Supplies). Renda returns to Earth so I can spend money on Supplies. Leonov goes to Venus to Mine that Asteroid.

2145: I spend 3 Billion for a Sun Probe+Orbiter. A Pirate finds me and escapes….somewhere, I didn’t write down where. There’s only one left at this point, right? Maybe? I think it’s around Uranus at this point. That’s right, I can get that far at this point. Okay, Uranus. Anyway. Even though they’re combat ships, they land on Chariklo and say “eff the pirates, we’ve had this mission for freaking ever” and give that a shot. And succeed! Mimas is the new mission. Both Gagarin and Tershkova fail their Recall rolls, but both got 2 Supplies each, which is good, I guess.

Now I roll for End of Game for the first time. If I roll an 01, the game is over right the heck now. I roll 12. I’m okay.

2146: Now I spot the Pirate and give myself -1 damage and have +9 vs +3 again. I roll a 1 to their 8. Woof. I do 2 damage and so do they.

That Sun Probe that’s +11 to Science? Yeah, I rolled high so I only pulled 1 chit and only pulled a 1. *grumble* At least that Titan rover is continuing to give Depletions. The Neptune Orbiter breaks the year after it finally arrives. Leonov fails its Recall roll….

End of Game roll (02): 08. Yikes!

2147: 6 Billion for 6 Supplies for the Renda to send to Zastava. Titan delivers more great Science, but little else happens.

End of Game roll (03): 94.

2148: 8 Billion to build Komarov, I launch it to Mimas. Tereshkova and Gagarin Unreserve and head to Dione again. Renda land and delivers the 6 Supplies. The Sun Orbiter gets a Depletion. I spend another 9 Supplies for 2 Terraforming Points.

End of Game roll (04): 78.

2149: Leonov delivers Ore which will fix Titov. Deep Space Astronomy Depletion. Haven’t done that in a while! Gagarin fails Recall Roll AND only gets one supply. Hrmph.

End of Game roll (05): 46.

2150: Event: Survey Error.

Dear reader. I apologize that my dice don’t want you to have any fun. They are bad dice.

Bad, bad dice.

Shame on them.

*sigh*

Pluto has Chasms now. Who cares?

Pirates around Neptune and the Kupier Belt. Who cares?

Asteroid around the Kupier Belt and Earth. Who cares?

Well, actually the one around Earth is nice.

Oh hey, we have another base around Jupiter. An Indian base on Io.

Mir, Vostok & Zastava have Settlement growth. I have 10 Engineering, 33 Physics and 38 Biology. Not a big Science decade, but I have plenty of Diplomacy and cash to buy what I need. I get Improved Space Medicine (Recall roll down to 20%), Pressure Shell (no more pesky Atmosphere problems), Artificial Intelligence (15% Malfunction chance & +3 for REs) and Energy Focusing which does….something. I think it’s +5 for combat.

Now to just get everything to Zastava, have it build CV-5s & Terraform Callisto.

The timing of that picture may be off, because I don’t believe Titov is at the base, I believe it’s still around Uranus with that Pirate.

Okay, I Unreserve Leonov, fix Titov (Oh, I guess Leonov IS there. My bad). I spend 3 Billion on a new Neptune Orbiter. Titan continues to give me Depletions. Komarov completes the Mimas Mission so more VP for me. The new Mission is Phobos, a nice easy one. I buy 2 more Terraforming Points.

End of Game roll (06): 85

2151: 4 Billion for a Satellite for fun. Pirates find Titov and friend, but they only have 1 Tactics point, so they can’t flee. I have +11 to their +3. I roll 10 to their 5. I take 2 damage and they explode without a sound. I get another Sun depletion and another Mimas Depletion..with only 1% off from finding Life! Dang! And I get another Terraforming point, I’ve made it to 10. Half way there. The good thing about this is when you’re halfway Terraformed, you get a bunch of VP for reaching that threshold, so bully to that!

End of Game roll (07): unrecorded

2152: Load Renda up with Supplies, Unreserve Gagarin. Leonov delivers 4 Ore to Zastava. The Sun Orbiter dies. Titan finally Sciences itself out, so I shut down the Rover. The Space Telescope gets a Depletion on Eris.

End of Game roll (08): 75

2153: Deliveries are made. Leonov buys 4 Supplies from India for 2 Billion. Not much else happens because most of my Science ran out, but I’ve got a bunch of deliveries on deck for a ton of Terraforming next turn.

End of Game roll (09):

But there is no Next Turn.

*sad trombone*

So that’s it. That’s game. No more Terraforming, no more trips to the tech tree. That’s all she wrote. Now to calculate score.

Victory Markers: 19

Interstellar Technology (the end of the 3 tech trees): 0

Settlements on Terraformed Worlds: 10

Mission Points: 48

Discoveries on Alpha Centauri: 0

Settlements: 33.75 (multipliers for distance from Earth, +.5 for being on a half terraformed world)

  • Mir: 8
  • Vostok (x1.25 ): 11.25
  • Tseling (x1.75): 12
  • Zastava (x1.75 +.5): 2.5

Infrastructure: 18 (Things like Research Stations and Mining Facilities)

  • Mir: 4
  • Vostok: 5
  • Tselina: 3
  • Zastava: 6

Extra Unspent Tech Points: 3 (1 point per 20 unspent tech point)

  • 6 Engineering
  • 10 Physics
  • 30 Biology
  • 25 Bilion dollars that I spend on whatever I want

Unspent Political Markers: 1 (1 per 5 unspent, I have 6)

Fleet in Space: 11.5

  • 3 Robot Explorers (.5 each)
  • 3 CV-2’s (1 each)
  • 2 CV-3’s (1.5 each)
  • 2 CV-4’s (2 each)

Total Score: 144.25

BUT

Penalty: -3 for each turn after 2145 taken: -24

Penalty: -3 for each technology not researched: -30

True Total Score: 90.25

According to the rulebook, anything less than 100 is a “DISASTER.”

Well.

That’s disheartening.

Had I gotten Callisto fully terraformed, I’d have netted at least 15 more points., easily putting me into the “Defeat” category.

I mean, I said at the beginning I wasn’t planning on winning. Mind you, losing by THIS MUCH wasn’t in the plans either. Woof. But I suppose I learned something by playing, and maybe you learned somehing too. And that’s a win in and of itself. And hey, look at everything we have to show for it:

Almost every site has a World Card attached to it. We half-terraformed a moon of Jupiter. We have tens of thousands of humans living off planet. That’s pretty awesome.

Would I have been happier with a better score? Yeah, I would have. When I pull this out again next year I’ll do a little better, and probably re-read this post to see how I can improve. But hey, it’s the story of man’s first steps into the Solar System that I was able to watch from the driver’s seat. That’s what it’s all about.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed watching, too. I do have a ko-fi account if you want to put a little something in my tip jar for the work it took to put all this together. If not, that’s okay, too. Thanks for reading!