Game: Solarquest

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Evil Wayne — 2008-09-28T23:10:00+00:00

TheBoy's holdings at the end, after taking *everything* from me.

Thread: Re: Missing

bschott — 2008-08-05T02:12:15+00:00

they removed the card list on the current talk page but here it is in the history...

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Talk:Solarquest&diff=98114946&oldid=23063898

Thread: Re: Wow, I totally forgot about this game...

Hasufel — 2008-08-03T05:13:13+00:00

It is! Go find it and play it!

Thread: Re: Solar Quest: An Awesome Review of an Awesome Game

Hasufel — 2008-08-03T05:09:55+00:00

Awesome review, but you failed to mention the other part of the Uranus jokes: The Uranus Research Lab.

My family and friends have so many inside jokes about this game, it's crazy.

Thread: Re: Solar Quest: An Awesome Review of an Awesome Game

breity — 2008-07-17T16:48:42+00:00

And you've just moved one step closer to establishing Solar peace.

Holy cow that completely impartial review was funny. Thank you.

Thread: Re: Solar Quest: An Awesome Review of an Awesome Game

Fortuna — 2008-07-16T20:43:05+00:00

They look like stoic little silver robots. They are compassionate and thoughtful, but headstrong, too.

Wow. That was funny.

Thread: Re: Solar Quest: An Awesome Review of an Awesome Game

don corazon — 2008-07-15T05:24:20+00:00

Ahahahahahahahaha!!!!

Thanks!

Thread: Re: Solar Quest: An Awesome Review of an Awesome Game

Typse2Fsat — 2008-07-15T05:16:01+00:00

Thread: Re: Solar Quest: An Awesome Review of an Awesome Game

BakeliteTM — 2008-07-14T21:16:30+00:00

Federation Station wrote:
(I am assuming you are reading this review in a robot monologue, I am writing it in one)

This is gold!

Thread: Re: "No lasers may be fired on Earth."

Blackfaer — 2008-07-14T20:57:14+00:00

All three.

Thread: Re: Solar Quest: An Awesome Review of an Awesome Game

Henkka — 2008-07-14T19:52:03+00:00

I am embarrassed. It took me about to the end of the ~~review~~ write up to finally get the whole Uranus thing.

Funny, yet very informative.

Thread: Re: Solar Quest: An Awesome Review of an Awesome Game

steinley — 2008-07-14T16:50:36+00:00

ScottE wrote:
Great first review! I laughed until I stopped. Indeed, very funny. On a side note, I have never laughed until I didn't stop

My brother and I played this game all the time when we were growing up. When Pluto was deemed not to be a planet, the only reason I was sad was because of the reprecussions it had for Solar Quest.

Thread: Re: Solar Quest: An Awesome Review of an Awesome Game

Wrevilo — 2008-07-14T14:04:43+00:00

Best review EVER.

Thread: Re: Solar Quest: An Awesome Review of an Awesome Game

trick — 2008-07-14T13:51:52+00:00

Awesome!

Thread: Re: Solar Quest: An Awesome Review of an Awesome Game

ALGO — 2008-07-13T20:24:35+00:00

And there I remembered it as a space monopoly.

Superb review!

oes a robot dance in your honour:

A

Thread: Re: Solar Quest: An Awesome Review of an Awesome Game

ScottE — 2008-07-13T07:38:51+00:00

Great first review! I laughed until I stopped.

Thread: Solar Quest: An Awesome Review of an Awesome Game

Federation Station — 2008-07-13T04:52:03+00:00

Solar Quest: An Awesome Review of an Awesome Game

As this is my first review, I'll go over the ground rules. I will discuss one and only one topic: why the game is Awesome, and what makes it so. If the game being reviewed is Non-Awesome, I will focus on why this is the case, except I will do it in an awesome way, thereby balancing out the inherent Non-Awesomeness of the game itself. Luckily, the game in question is Solar Quest, so we will almost completely be err-ing on the side of Awesome in this case.

I am aware that many other reviewers focus on certain categories. For instance, the pieces, the strategy, the rules, blah-blah-blah, etc. And, while this certainly has merit, I will be ignoring all of these categories. Except, of course, if they relate to the Awesomeness of the game. Then they shall be included and given the respect they deserve. Those are the rules (rules of the review, that is, not the game), now onto the review:

Solar Quest is Awesome. This is not an opinion, this is fact. My reasons are one-hundred-fold. First, the name. They didn't call it Solar Game. They could have. It involves the sun, it's a game. It would have been easy to call it just that, but instead the game designer (Copernicus himself invented the game, spaceships included) dug deeper. Solar Quest, he called it. Simply genius.

This game is indeed a quest. A quest for knowledge. A quest for unknown frontiers. And, most of all, a quest for peace. Admittedly, this peace is attained through interstellar war, culminating in an all-encompassing tyrant rule, but it is peace, nonetheless.

That leads me to the next Awesome feature of Solar Quest, the laser beams. A devastating weapon of doom, or merely a shortcut to peace, who is to say for sure? Many sad board-gamers don't even realize that they are missing out on the lasers, as they are hidden in the 'Advanced' game rules, but missing out they are. The laser beams work in one of two ways.

The first is this: usually after about an hour or two of play, somebody's little plastic spaceship will land next to your little plastic spaceship, they will make obnoxious laser beam sounds and roll a dice, and blammo!, your game is over, thank you for wasting your time, and have fun watching these other 4 jerks at the table try to finish the game for the next three hours.

The second way in which laser beams work is like this: you maneuver the Yellow Flying Wallaby (your vessel) into position. The light of Saturn's rings glimmer in brilliant rainbows off of her side. Your throbbing pulse can be heard echoing in the heavenly silence of space. Your face is etched in stone as you press the trigger. "Pbew! Pbew! Pbew!" you scream, providing sound to the otherwise silent laser beams that launch from your ship. They slice through the void, faster than light and bending physics. A hush, then in brilliant cascades of light, the Black Whisper Dream explodes and is destroyed. You whoop in joy! One step closer to the galaxy domination you have been working for all your life. One step closer to fulfilling the promise you gave on your father's deathbed. Uranus will be mine!

Ah... Uranus. The joy I get from this word cannot be measured in gold. If you do not appreciate a good Uranus joke, or, even more importantly, a bad Uranus joke, then 90% of the fun of Solar Quest is obliterated. Yet, even so, Uranus joke haters are almost as important as the Uranus joke lovers (of which there must be at least two in any given game). At least once during each game, one of the Uranus joke lovers is required to read the informational blurb about Uranus which comes on the box (there are blurbs for all of the planets, but Copernicus shouldn't have wasted his time with any but the one for Uranus): "Uranus is a gaseous planet. It has many craters". Comic gold, I tell you. Some common in-game jokes are "I just crashed my rocket into Uranus" or "I could really use a fill-up of fuel from Uranus". Here is where the Uranus joke haters come in handy: after four or five jokes, they'll gradually transition from saying sarcastically "ha, ha. Very mature", to turning bright red in anger, to ignoring you completely, to standing up and quitting the game. And you've just moved one step closer to establishing Solar peace.

Now, before I go any further, I should mention that the game of Solar Quest should always be played while talking in a robot voice. Of course, this is good advice for any situation, but it is especially apt for Solar Quest (I am assuming you are reading this review in a robot monologue, I am writing it in one). The main currency, of course, is the Federon – a currency obviously invented by robots. The unit of fuel, the Hydron – again, robots. My favorite moon in the game: "1985 U1", is one of the brighter moons of Uranus (Oh, snap!), and is also a moon that was obviously named by a robot or a full committee of robots.

The aforementioned Hydrons can only be purchased from the creatively named Fuel Stations. Despite the boring name, they are Awesome. Why, you ask? Well, for one thing, they are made out of titanium. Either titanium or some even more Awesome metal that hasn't even been invented yet. Secondly, the Fuel Stations are shaped beautifully (check the images section, please). That's right, I said they are beautiful, and I don't think it makes me any less of a man. They look like stoic little silver robots. They are compassionate and thoughtful, but headstrong, too. They exist for one reason and one reason alone – to fuel mankind. Also, to love, I've programmed them to love.

Well, there you have it. Solar Quest in a nutshell. I know what you're thinking, you feel like you know EVERYTHING about this game now, why even play it? Well don't worry, although it seemed like I must have gone over everything, I left a few surprises for you to discover for yourself. Assumedly, you like surprises such as the basic premise, the rules, and the mechanics of the game. Still, don't worry, you have what you need. You know the game is Awesome, you know that despite his ill-conceived notions about the solar system for which he was rightfully put to death, Copernicus designed it with a loving, thoughtful hand, using the best materials that could be found in his time or a far distant one. Most importantly, you know that in the end, peace will reign; an oppressive, stifling, peace that I will enforce until the end of time.

Thread: Trajectories, Fully Explored, Space Penalties

kungfro — 2008-02-26T16:40:48+00:00

Here is a collection of optional house rules to make the game more enjoyable without modifying its core concept.

Trajectories:
My idea for a variant only requires a third six-sided die, and is compatible with Strategic Solarquest and Laser Battles variants (though it works best with Strategic Solarquest).

The idea is simple: you roll three six-sided dice during your turn, and then pick the two you want to count. So essentially you can get up to three different outcomes you can choose from, giving you greater control over an otherwise random fate.

Optional Trajectories rule to consider:
The Strategic Solarquest variant complements this style of play well: the more duplicate numbers you roll, the lesser your strategic options; however, you may deliberately choose doubles so that you get 100 federons and another turn. You may choose before the game starts that players cannot take an additional turn when doubles are rolled, and only get the 100 federons, since three dice increases the chances that you'll roll doubles.

Fully Explored:
An optional end-game condition can be when all deeds are acquired, and everyone has had the same number of turns. In other words:

Player A is the first person to take a turn for this game
Player B
Player C
Player D

When the final deed is acquired, the game ends after Player D's turn, regardless of whoever got the deed. If Player D got the final deed, then the game is over at the end of that turn.

Space Penalties:
Unless a game is very short and fast-paced, player elimination is not all that fun. Use these rules in lieu of the official "Space Perils" to keep all players engaged until the end of the game:

Bankruptcy:
If a player is bankrupt, as per official rules, he skips his next turn and begins the game again at Earth (he does not get 500 federons for landing on Earth). He returns all deeds, fuel stations, and remaining money to the federation, and is then given the normal amount of currency and fuel stations he was given at game setup.

Becoming Stranded:
When a player is on a moon or planet and has 1 or 0 hydrons of fuel in his tank, he must add fuel (it is impossible to roll a 1 or 0). If the player is unable to add fuel, he is stranded and the Federation must come to his aid. The player skips his next turn, and he must immediately pay 1000 federons to the Federation and fills his fuel tank to full.

Red Shift—Insufficient Fuel:
If the player draws a Red Shift card that makes him use more fuel than he has in his tank, he follows the directions of the card, and puts his tank at 0 fuel. The player skips his next turn.

Destroyed by Laser:
If a player is destroyed by an opponent's laser, he begins the game again at Earth (he does not get 500 federons for landing on Earth). He is given the normal amount of currency and fuel stations he was given at game setup. The player does not skip his next turn.

Thread: Wow, I totally forgot about this game...

asgelb — 2008-01-13T08:35:50+00:00

I remember having this game....though I was pretty young and don't think we ever actually played it. I have no idea where we got it, where it came from. I just remember liking those little metal things that are apparently fueling stations.

Talk about a blast from the past. cool.

Wonder if it was actually any good.

Thread: Re: "No lasers may be fired on Earth."

Blacknightjj — 2008-01-08T17:55:43+00:00

i played by all these rules. we looked at it as earth was civilized and every where else was the wild west.

stay well,

jj

Thread: Re: "No lasers may be fired on Earth."

Sarge77 — 2008-01-06T14:40:32+00:00

Hope China follows these rules as well.

Thread: "No lasers may be fired on Earth."

nathanlarson3141 — 2008-01-06T14:22:57+00:00

The rules say "No lasers may be fired on Earth." Does that mean:
1) You can't fire lasers while YOU are on Earth;
2) You can't fire lasers at another player who is on Earth; or
3) You can't fire lasers while both you and your target are on Earth?

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Andre_g54 — 2007-10-06T11:02:02+00:00

1986 SOLARQUEST Board Game by GOLDEN

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Andre_g54 — 2007-10-06T10:59:47+00:00

1986 SOLARQUEST Board Game by GOLDEN

Thread: The Baker-Kelley Variant a.k.a Planet Busters!

tgnetz — 2007-09-15T14:15:46+00:00

This variation on the basic rules of Solarquest revises one fundamental aspect of the game, fuel, and augments the advanced "laser battle" system, in effect giving players the ability to develop and use guided missiles to destroy property.

A.) FUEL and AMMUNITION

Since Planet Busters rules does away with fuel altogether, you will need to keep the metal fuel hydron game pieces, as they will be used as ammunition markers.
Players start with three (3) units of ammunition, and receive one unit of ammunition upon landing on the following properties:

Federation Station IV (orbiting Uranus)
Earth (players will also receive one (1) unit of ammunition every time Earth is passed)

Players may also choose to receive one (1) unit of ammunition instead of collecting X number of Federons from a Federation Station.

B.) BUILDING A FACTORY

In order to deploy Planet Buster technology, players must first acquire a PLANET (Mercury, Pluto, Mars, Venus). After the deed card has been obtained, players must transfer four (4) of their ammunition units to the Federation, and pay a fee of $2000 to construct a weapons factory. Players may operate as many as four (4) weapons factories during the course of a game, all depending on the number of planets owned!

Should a player pick a Red Shift card ordering a "WIN a dispute with any player of your choice," that player MAY select an opponent's weapons factory. It is possible to acquire a factory without paying. However, the Planet Busters themselves are non-transferable in this manner.

NOTE: Weapons factories do not effect rent or resale value in any form.

C.) OBTAINING A PLANET BUSTER "BOMB"

Obtaining a "bomb" is easy. Whenever a player lands on or passes the planet where their weapons factory is located, they receive a single Planet Buster. As many as four (4) bombs can be stockpiled at once during the course of the game, under normal circumstances (see below). In a two-player game, extra spaceship pieces were used to indicate the placement of a bomb.

Once a property is owned and a factory is built, Planet Busters are free of charge.

D.) USING THE BOMB

Now comes the fun part - using the Planet Buster bomb. There are two methods:

ONE, launching the Planet Buster.
TWO, drop-off.

The first option involves a player firing their Planet Buster at a designated target, and manually guiding the weapon into a target lock-on. Here's how this is done.

Planet Busters are designed for use within planetary systems, I.E., within a stable orbit. Let's say Player One wishes to launch his Planet Buster into orbit around Jupiter. Player One is currently situated on Callisto, and wishes to launch at Ganymede. Planet Busters obey the same rules as regular spaceships. Player One would place his Planet Buster piece next to his spaceship, and roll two dice to fire the missile. As Callisto is five spaces away from Ganymede, Player One would need to roll a five to land his missile on that moon and activate the Remote Detonator. If Player One rolls more or less than a five, he will continue to roll for targeting until his target is confirmed. All rolls for targeting MUST be done before actual player moves.

IF --- and this WILL happen --- IF Player One rolls doubles during the targeting roll, a Red Shift card MUST be drawn. The player will obey the card, sending the Planet Buster to that location. The Planet Buster is then considered a DUD, and cannot be activated, and will come to rest on whatever property determined by the Red Shift card. Any player can now acquire this "dud" simply by landing on it --- the dud will become as good as new. ALSO, if the Red Shift card drawn is a "WIN a dispute" or "Roll Again" type card, the drawing player is entitled to the effects prescribed by the card. In the case of a Roll Again, or Meteor Shower card, the Planet Buster must be rolled for, or lose its turn, according to the card.

Planet Busters CANNOT bypass BLACK DOTS (gravity wells) --- should a Planet Buster be fired in a straight line at a target (launched from Pluto, at Venus, for example), it must rendezvous with its target, or risk certain destruction. Should a Planet Buster attempt to cross Black Dots, it will self-destruct. The most effective way to assault those hard-to-reach bodies not located in a stable orbit is to make use of the Drop-Off method.

DROP-OFF is much simpler. Basically, all a player must do is deposit the bomb on the chosen property and the Remote Detonator will be activated.

To USE the Planet Buster once the Remote Detonator is activated, a player must roll DOUBLE SIXES. This will have the effect of destroying the targeted body, rendering it a BLUE DOT for the remainder of game play. Double Sixes can be rolled from anywhere on the gameboard, and a Red Shift card MUST be drawn as usual.

If a player is in battle and has a Remote Detonator active, and rolls Double Sixes, the Planet Buster WILL detonate as planned. We call this the "hair trigger" effect.

Should a player have a stockpile of Planet Busters and acquire several duds, that player may continue to build their stockpile past the limit of four --- it is possible to have as many as six or more Planet Busters! Also, if a player does NOT have a weapons factory, that player MAY acquire and use duds.

NOTE: Planet Busters cannot be directly used against opponents' ships.

E. WHAT THEN?

After a property has been destroyed, place the deed card face-up in a distinct pile. If there is a corresponding Red Shift card, remove it from the deck, and re-shuffle the deck. No further rent, trades or any transactions can be exercised upon a destroyed property --- it's gone for good.

F. DISARMING THE BOMB

It is possible to disarm a Planet Buster. Here's how!

A player must land on the property with the activated Planet Buster. After that point, any Double Sixes rolled by that player will disarm the Remote Detonator. In order to retrieve the diffused weapon, the offending player (or the defending player) must land on that property --- just as if the bomb were a dud. The offending player may choose to re-arm the Planet Buster, but this must be VERBALIZED.

G. DOING BATTLE

The laser battle rules have been reworked to give this game a more competitive edge.

Battle can be done between as few as two (2) players. Players may be directly over, or no more than three full spaces distant from their opponent to do battle.
For example, if Player One wants to attack Player Two, and Player One is on Earth, while Player Two is on Solar Space Dock, this is OK. If Player Two is on Federation Station I, this is no good.

To do battle, players must place ONE of their ammunition units on the gameboard, and will sacrifice their turn to roll for damages. The order of battle is simple:

Player One attacks Player Two.
Player One ends their turn.
Player Two may choose to retaliate, costing ONE ammunition unit, and ending their turn. It would then be the next player's turn to roll.
OR
Player Two may use their turn to roll and move on.

...And so on. When a player runs out of ammunition, they can no longer attack or retaliate, but can still be fired upon.

H. DAMAGE

Since the fuel system has been completely revamped, there's no need to throw away your fuel usage chart. Instead, this sheet will be used to keep track of ship armor.

Ship damage is a straight-forward concept. There are only three ways damage can accrue:

ONE, in battle with another player.
TWO, when a player draws a Meteor Shower card (causing three (3) units of damage)
THREE, if a player is within directly over or one full space adjacent to a Planet Bust.

All players begin the game with FULL armor (25 points). Damage in combat is assessed in FOUR ways:

FIRST, by subtracting the lowest number of pips from the highest number of pips between the dice (I.E ., Player One rolls a 6 and a 4. 6-4=2, so Player Two is dealt two points of damage. The same would work if Player Two rolls a 5 and a 4; the result is 1, so Player One would receive one point of damage.)
SECOND, if Doubles are rolled, the number on the pips is equal to the amount of damage ( I.E., a 3 and a 3 equals three points of damage, a 5 and a 5 equals five points of damage.)
THIRD, if Double Sixes are rolled, this is considered a major hit, and twelve (12) points of damaged are assessed.
FOURTH, the "Critical Failure". This occurs when a player rolls Snake Eyes (1 and 1), and results in the attacking player missing their target and doing one point of damage to their own ship --- and surrendering a free shot to their opponent! The defending player may fire at will without sacrificing their next turn to roll for movement.
Remember, if a hair trigger situation exists, Double Sixes in battle will either detonate or disarm the Planet Buster!

When a player's ship armor drops into the gray area at 11, that player is considered to have a "Crippled Ship." When a player's ship has been Crippled, that player MUST roll for movement with only ONE die. Thus, no Red Shifts can be enacted. However, battle still uses two dice, and normal battle rules continue to apply, including the Double Sixes rule for hair triggers.

Damage from a Planet Bust is slightly different. Due to the enormity of the explosions created by a Planet Buster, players would do well to steer clear of the vicinity of an exploding world. Assuming a player's armor is at FULL, and if that player is DIRECTLY OVER a planet when it is destroyed, the player's ship armor will be brought down to 11 damage and considered Crippled. If that player is one full space adjacent to a Planet Bust, the player's ship armor will be brought to 13.

If a player's ship is already Crippled, and a direct blast is suffered, that player's ship armor is considered CRITICAL, and brought down to 3 on the damage chart. For an indirect blast (one full space adjacent), the ultimate armor level will be 5.

Should a player's ship armor be at 3 or lower when a Planet Bust occurs within the immediate vicinity, the player's ship is obliterated.

The same goes for Meteor Showers; if a player's ship armor is at or less than 3, a Meteor Shower will be fatal.

I. REPAIRING DAMAGE

In order to repair damage, a player may land on a Federation Station and repair ONE point of armor, land on a friendly Space Dock and repair ONE point of armor, or pass Earth and repair ONE point of armor. If a player LANDS on Earth, ALL damage is repaired. Repairs are free of charge.

J. SHIP DESTRUCTION

If a player's ship armor drops to or below the "EMPTY" marker on the fuel card, that player's ship is destroyed. Players should agree before the game begins what course of action will be taken when a player "leaves" the game in such a manner!

Thread: Re: Redesigned as Spaceopoly...

colinkun — 2007-08-20T15:50:22+00:00

But the fuel aspect is what makes this game fun!

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herman_the_german — 2007-07-23T17:04:06+00:00

Game contents - Pawns are different than pictured on box

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FLo711 — 2007-03-18T13:04:15+00:00

Lotsa Federation League Money!!!

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FLo711 — 2007-03-18T13:03:41+00:00

Solarquest Box Front - Large

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FLo711 — 2007-03-18T13:03:04+00:00

Solarquest Complete

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FLo711 — 2007-03-18T13:02:23+00:00

Federation League Money 500

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FLo711 — 2007-03-18T13:02:02+00:00

Federation League Money 100

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FLo711 — 2007-03-18T13:01:41+00:00

Box Back

Thread: Re: User Review

jbos — 2007-01-14T08:45:53+00:00

Fuel negligence rule is a good one. It can provide for some very strategic play. Since a player is not _required_ to top off fuel completely at his own planets, he can intentionally leave fuel low when approaching an opponent's moon (11 + # of spaces to target moon, or just 11 if leaving a zero-g utility station).

If the opponent values his planet, he may be forced to place a valuable station there on his turn as insurance (once dice are rolled on your next turn, it is too late!).

There is a danger to the player attempting this strategem that he might roll and land on one of his own planets (or unowned) and be forced to place a station in order to leave.

Fuel management also can be used to ensure that you do not leave orbit of a planet, if you wish to stay, by blocking rolls over a certain number. Or possible to avoid an opponent's high-rent moon.

Subtracting fuel should not be allowed (I don't believe the rules explicitly state whether it is allowed or disallowed).

It is possible for the game to end prematurely for some players, if they are forced to place multiple fuel stations, to keep going, without landing an opportunity to buy a new one.

Thread: Redesigned as Spaceopoly...

mevans444 — 2006-07-03T17:36:08+00:00

... in 1997 by Valen Brost.

The fuel aspect was completely taken out and Mission Cards added.
Including a couple cutesy Mars Mission cards.

Thread: Re: Another "missing" post

Nikoms — 2006-03-15T22:53:50+00:00

Someone had geekmailed me about scanning some cards. I geekmailed back asking which one's they wanted, but never got a reply. I'm posting here again to see if maybe they just hadn't checked their mail - feel free to reply here with the list.

Thread: Re: Another "missing" post

Nikoms — 2006-01-09T15:45:19+00:00

I realize this post was 3 months ago, but I just "re-aquired" my copy of Solarquest (from my brother). It has all the cards, so if you'd still like a jpeg scan of them just repost here.

Otherwise, sorry for being 3 months late

Thread: Re: Missing

Nikoms — 2006-01-09T15:41:39+00:00

Changed my mind - might as well be here too.

Besides, what if that entry disappears?

Submitted.

Thread: Re: Missing

Nikoms — 2006-01-09T14:40:34+00:00

I was going to type a "Red Shift" card manifest and post it. Guess I don't have to now.

Thread: Re: User Review

butsam — 2005-11-22T16:51:21+00:00

I have played this game several times as well; here are some of the counters to the observations that I have noticed:

1) Players need to engage in trade, as in Monopoly, in order to counter the eternal games. In that respect, it is similar to Monopoly.

2) Random Explosions are actually impossible, due to rule #3 and rule #4 that you discuss. You ONLY lose fuel when leaving a planet or moon; all planets or moons can have gas stations. If you are truly the leader, then you have enough money (or can use rule #4 to get enough money) to buy the property and put a fuel tank on it. If it is owned by someone else and you are low fuel, instead of allowing the purchase (which I don't recall being in the rules, but it has been awhile, so I believe you that it is an obscure rule), we would instead make it so the person who is low on fuel had to put on a fuel tank on the other person's property. This costs quite a bit (I think it's $500, but don't quote me on that), but saves the player who is low on fuel from dying. The original owner keeps his property and gets a free fuel tank. If that is not in the rules, such a house rule would be beneficial. Then you can eliminate the obscure rule #3.

3) Discussed above.

4) As stated above, this allows the leader to not get stranded by chance, so I advise maintaining this rule. It is similar to Monopoly's mortgage property, except now ANYONE can buy it back. If this rule is truly disturbing, then maybe a house rule that states it can be bought back for 75% of the original value can be used. I don't see the problem, though--there is no guarantee you will get your original property back.

All-in-all, I would much rather play SolarQuest than Monopoly any day of the week. It is not my favorite game, but it is still pretty high on the list!

Sam

Thread: Re: Another "missing" post

pengwen — 2005-10-19T19:49:13+00:00

Thank you!

Thread: Re: Another "missing" post

Blacknightjj — 2005-10-17T18:45:06+00:00

Triton
cost $230
properties owned Rent Fuel
1 $450 $20
2 $1695 $45

Saturn Reseach Lab
cost $250
properties owned Rent Fuel
1 $105 N/A
2 $205 n/A
3 $395 N/A
4 $760 n/A
5 $1460 N/A
6 $2800 n/A

the 5 federon has a five on it and is orange. sorry i don't have a pic for you.

jj

Thread: Another "missing" post

pengwen — 2005-10-17T01:18:50+00:00

Hello,

My boyfriend just dug his old game of Solarquest out his parents garage, and we're missing the deeds for Triton and the Saturn Reseach Lab. Could anyone tell me the info on those cards (rent and fuel per labs/properties owned)? Perhaps even a pdf or jpg of the cards? I also don't know what the 5 Federon currency looks like.

I would appreciate any help I can get.

Thank you!

Thread: Re: General Comment

nathanlarson32767 — 2005-09-07T03:37:36+00:00

More help is needed to get the Wikipedia Solarquest article to featured article status. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solarquest

Thread: Re: Missing

nathanlarson32767 — 2005-09-07T03:35:28+00:00

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Solarquest
It has all the red shift cards.

Thread: Re: User Review

dasilodavi — 2005-07-12T20:44:22+00:00

I have owned this game for several years, and I still enjoy playing it. It's excellent for those who love Monopoly, and still good for those who are tired of it.

That being said, the game does have a few flaws:

1) It can tend to last forever. What will often happen is players get so much cash and such evenly distributed deeds that nobody is in sight of losing (a.k.a Monopoly's 'free parking 2x GO' syndrome). The enlarged board and free cash potential are the likely suspects for this.

2) Random explosions. Nothing quite like being the hands-down leader and exploding to a few chance rolls with no possible way of refueling. I guess this is just griping: it's the nature of gaming.

3) "Negligence to provide fuel. The game has a vague rule where if you're low on fuel and land on an opponent's deed without a fuel station, you can just buy the deed from them. I personally think this is a bit unfair, since at 11 hydrons you're not in any danger. I made a sliding scale on the fuel chart making you pay at least one rent if higher than about 7 hydrons.

4) Selling deeds. The rules allow you to sell deeds back at cost. Not sure I like that, since it essentially means you can buy buy buy with no consequence. Though I suppose if I don't like that particular rule I can simply change it, so this one's more an observation I guess.

In any event, I think the game is great, and well worth the aforementioned $10 price tag if you can find it.

Thread: Quick Comments

keel — 2005-07-08T08:10:34+00:00

My gaming group likes this game tho it is definitely a long game at around 3 hours - at least for the last two players. As my subject header said, this game is vicious. Yes, it plays like Monopoly but what a huge difference the fuel markers make. An error in judgement with fuel can kill you quick. Inability to move beyond a planetary orbit will kill you just as easily if many of the moons are bought up. We don't bring it out often but when we do, it's dog eat dog.

Thread: Missing

GilgaTex — 2005-06-20T17:41:18+00:00

I have the 1986 version of the game. Here is a list of the 35 red shift cards I have. I need to know which one I'm missing so that I can request it. If anyone has the complete set and be willing to spend 5-10 minutes comparing, I would greatly appreciate it

Here are the cards I have (missing one):

You LOSE a dispute with the Federation League
You LOSE a dispute with the Federation League
You WIN a dispute with the Federation League
You WIN a dispute with any player of your choice
You WIN a dispute with any player of your choice
RED SHIFT 2
RED SHIFT 3
RED SHIFT 4
DISCOVER NEW COMET
DISCOVER AN ANTIGRAITY FIELD
METEOR SHOWER
ADVANCE TO FEDERATION STATION I Near Mercury
ADVANCE TO FEDERATION STATION II orbiting Jupiter
ADVANCE TO FEDERATION STATION IV orbiting Uranus
ADVANCE TO FEDERATION STATION VII orbiting Saturn
ADVANCE TO FEDERATION STATION VIII Near Neptune
ADVANCE TO SATURN SPACE DOCK
ADVANCE TO NEPTUNE SPACE DOCK
ADVANCE TO JUPITER SPACE DOCK
ADVANCE TO URANUS SPACE DOCK
ADVANCE TO SATURN RESEARCH LAB
ADVANCE TO URANUS RESEARCH LAB
ADVANCE TO JUPITER RESEARCH LAB
ADVANCE TO EARTH RESEARCH LAB
ADVANCE TO NEPTUNE RESEARCH LAB
ADVANCE TO VENUS RESEARCH LAB
ADVANCE TO MERCURY
ADVANCE TO VENUS
ADVANCE TO EARTH'S MOON
ADVANCE TO MARS
ADVANCE TO PLUTO
ADVANCE TO GANYMEDE moon of Jupiter
ADVANCE TO TITAN moon of Saturn
ADVANCE TO OBERON moon of Uranus
ADVANCE TO TRITON moon of Neptune

My Best Guess is "ADVANCE TO SOLAR SPACE DOCK", but I'm not entirely sure that card exists without having it. So if you're checking, check that first.

Thank you to whoever decides to help me!

Thread: Session Report

Kabong — 2004-04-28T17:17:27+00:00

Today's game comes to us because of mother nature. About midway through the day, a really nasty wind storm kicked up. Suddenly the power went out - leaving the household in the dark! No phones, no lights, no motorcars - not a single luxury!

Being suddenly cast back into the stone age, we decided to open up an analog entertainment system - a copy of Spacequest that I bagged at a used store some time ago.

Now usually I suck at Monopoly-like games. I don't think in the 20 years of playing that I've ever actually WON a game. Even when I've been in the drivers seat, the gods of gaming fortune smite me. So it comes as a shock that I OWNED everyone. Today the chips fell my way, and I was rolling in money!

It still doesn't count as a Monopoly win, but I'll take what I can get.

Thread: Re:User Review

Kabong — 2003-11-27T02:42:55+00:00

Allow me to throw my support behind solarquest - the game rocks! I played it a bunch back in collage on Game Night, and it was always in hot demand. We'd have a full table every time it came out of the box.

I just today found an Apollo 13 copy, so I'm eagerly awaiting to make my roommates play too.

Thread: Re:User Review

fmoros — 2003-05-12T15:45:33+00:00

MidnightSpace (#6573),
how did it go??

i am interested to know how good it plays, i got mine on ebay too, but unfortunatelly had not chance to play it... thanks

Thread: Re:User Review

MidnightSpace — 2003-03-02T01:58:23+00:00

Urhixidur (#6431),
Your review has really helped. Upon your evaluation & description of the game, I just purchased it, to try out. Paid only $6 american. I'll let you know what I think after my family & I play it.:0

Thanks...

Thread: Re:User Review

Urhixidur — 2003-02-24T15:57:06+00:00

grimzap (#6401),
«...One fringe benefit is that you will learn the names of even the most obscure moons of the solar system such as Amalthea, Metis or Iapetus.»

Of course, the game is hopelessly out of date in this regard, as it couldn't and doesn't list the moons discovered and named since it was published. At last count, Pluto has one, Neptune eleven, Uranus twenty-one, Saturn thirty and Jupiter thirty-nine!

Thread: User Review

grimzap — 2003-02-23T23:50:52+00:00

At first glance Solarquest seems to be a Monopoly clone and as a game that has been out for over a decade it may be the first in a VERY LONG line of "opoly" variants. But in actuality, this game adds quite a bit to the Monopoly idea.
The players are cast as real estate magnates of the solar system. You fly (float) from planet to planet in your spaceship attempting to be the first to land on and purchase "habitable" moons and planets. When taking off or leaving the orbit of planets, space ships use fuel known as hydrons. If you run out of hydrons, you become stranded and are out of the game. Fuel can only be purchased at orbiting stations and on planets with fuel stations. One thing that is Monopoly-like is that you must try to get multiple properties in each planetary sphere. When you do so, the rent values at each in the sphere go up accordingly. One big difference is that instead of having 3 of each, some spheres (like Jupiter and Saturn) have several properties. Two or more players can own multiple properties at some of the bigger worlds and end up collecting some sizable rents. In addition, you can build a fuel station at your properties and charge players for hydrons. Of course, fuel is free to you at your own worlds.
There are also Federation stations that are sort of like passing go and orbiting fuel stations that act sort of like Utilities in Monopoly. If you roll doubles you get a Red Shift card which is similar to Community Chest or Chance in Monopoly.
An optional rule allows ships that land in the same space to have laser battles. You can be eliminated from the game via these battles if you elect to have them.
All in all, Solarquest is a very good alternative to Monopoly. The fuel situation can make for some interesting voyages. Escaping the gravity of the gas giants is also tough sometimes and if you don't escape, you get to orbit the planet over and over. This means that if someone owns a number of moons of Jupiter, then you have to visit them and pay rent over and over...
One fringe benefit is that you will learn the names of even the most obscure moons of the solar system such as Amalthea, Metis or Iapetus.
On the down side, this is an elimination game and eliminated players will have to find something to do as the game winds to an end. It can also be quite a long game with many 4-5 player games going to about 3 hours. The game is out of print but often makes appearances on Ebay for under $10 American. All-in-all, Solarquest can be considered as a very good alternative to Monopoly for those with a "spacy" outlook.

Thread: Re:General Comment

Alexfrog — 2002-11-07T13:51:10+00:00

I played this game a lot when I was younger, and the fuel adds a lot of skill to the game. (It becomes a lot like a skill based version of monopoly, both luck and skill required)

A lot of the skill comes from the fact that if you are low enough on your fuel chart when landing on an opponents planet or moon, and they have not purchased a fuel tank for that moon/planet (and those are quite expensive/hard to get), then you can 'steal' the place from them for only its base cost. So there is a possible large benefit of going low on fuel. Combine this with the risk of running out of fuel/becoming straned and being knocked out of the game, and you have a decent amound of choice in the game,...is the risk worth the possible reward.

Thread: General Comment

BoardGameGeek — 2002-01-01T06:00:00+00:00

This is a pretty good family game. While still being firmly entrenched in the Monopoly mold, the fuel and set collecting mechanics gives it a different feel and introduces a reasonable amount of skill into the game. With plenty of information provided on the celestial bodies of our Solar System, it is educational as well. A good design for its time.