Game: Frontiers

Thread: a rare occasion...

NDjunkie — 2008-11-20T19:40:53+00:00

I recently played a game where it was down to 1 unit a side, and i won through luck and largely through my being faster than my opponent.

I think that if it comes down to 1 on 1, people should roll the dice to see who declares first?

Thread: slightly more deadly combat

NDjunkie — 2008-11-20T19:37:40+00:00

I think these rules aren't game breaking, but would make sense.

1) for each 2 hits an oval unit or structure takes, decrease it's defence by 1.

2) for each 2 missed template shots (grenade, etc) a structure takes, decrease it's defence by 1.

Thread: Jumpers undercosted?

NDjunkie — 2008-11-17T03:37:48+00:00

If you look at the stats and abilities of jumpers vs the scroller, considering the extra movement, the lack of the need to transform, the ability to transform, and the comparable health and defence, the cost of jumpers really should be more.

I think they should be equal or more than a scroller.

thoughts?

Thread: Re: shockwave and satellite shot questions

NDjunkie — 2008-11-17T01:35:22+00:00

4) does satellite shot hit units in a building?

Thread: Card/crate questions

NDjunkie — 2008-11-17T01:34:31+00:00

1) if i use the special missile card or crate item, and my enemy is in a forest and through their own smoke screen (of -1), do they take a +4 attack or a +1 attack?

2) if i use a special grenade card or crate item and i'm firing through obstacles, do those obstacles reduce the +4 bonus?

3) is this possible on my turn with an order token on a unit?
first, declare to move my unit
then, use 'shot on the run' card
then, use the '+2 to shooting' card
then, use the 'special missile/grenade, gives +4 bonus' card
to attack an enemy for +6?

4) can the 'target' of my weapon with a blast radius be a spot on the map?

*** for the 'special missile' card or crate, and for normal missiles with a blast radius, and my line of site is through smokescreens/terrain:
- does the shot roll for a hit?
- does the hit result in a blast radius?

the rules on p9 for template shots aren't clear whether you use the blast radius if you don't have direct line of site.

Thread: shockwave and satellite shot questions

NDjunkie — 2008-11-17T01:27:14+00:00

1) If i fire shockwave in a forest (-2), through an enemy smoke screen (-1) at an enemy, do they take an attack at +3, or +0?

2) Does satellite shot need an order like shockwave? (if one does, the other should too to make it fair)

3) if sat shot does need an order, does it also suffer penalties such as smoke screen etc?

Thread: activation phase and reserve phase special abilities...

NDjunkie — 2008-11-17T01:20:43+00:00

under the activation phase, move resolves before firing which resolves before special abilities.

1) So: if i use a smoke grenade, is that considered 'firing' (so it comes out at the same time as someone shooting at me), or does it come out after?

2) when does a regular grenade resolve? (same time or after someone 'fires')

3) If i haven't ordered a unit, can i use its special abilities of
Smoke bomb
grenade
charge
missile
medic/mechanic
rapid fire
deployment (if i move)
DURING the reserve phase, or are reserve phase special abilities limited to those that you 'flip' the units for?

Thread: explosions inside buildings

NDjunkie — 2008-11-17T01:14:51+00:00

Questions!

1) if i throw a grenade into a building from greater than 1LNS from a window (see P9) at a unit inside a building, and it passes through a door/window, does it cause a small blast template of damage if it hits, or does it automatically hit and cause the building 1 step of damage?

2) if i shoot a missile inside a building, does it cause an auto hit on the spot my enemy is and an automatic impact marker on the building (like a grenade) OR
must it roll to see if it hits?
and does use a small blast template if it does? (or a large template in the case of the BIOS1.1)
AND, if it does hit, does the building still take an automatic step of damage?

in other words, are blast template weapons that hit inside a building automatically damaging only to the building and the circle they hit, or do they damage the building and use a blast radius (allowing them to hit nearby circles).

Thread: How to card bonuses stack and resolve?

NDjunkie — 2008-11-17T01:08:19+00:00

1) If I play the card with +2 to shooting (or use a crate with a 1 time +shooting modifier), and then miss, and use "Hail of Bullets" (reroll missed shot), do i still use the modifiers from the missed roll, or are they gone?

ie, roll of 1 (+2 from card)... miss!
(use Hail of bullets)
Roll of 3 (do i still get to use the bonuses from last roll?)

2) If I use "Shot on the run" (fire before or after your move) on a unit being attacked by a charging enemy, and i choose to shoot before I move, Does my shot resolve before my enemy's charge?

3) Can i combine the card that gives '+2 to shooting' with the 'portable pulsar / experimental grenade' or the 'nuclear missile (+4)' cards for a bonus of +6?

4) Can i combine more than 1 "+2 to shooting" cards when i fire?

5) Can i combine a "+2 to shooting" card with the satellite shot or shockwave cards to give them +2 bonuses on top of their +4 and +3 bonus?

Thread: Can you charge two targets at the same time?

NDjunkie — 2008-11-17T01:00:45+00:00

if they are close enough together and you could move your Jumper, it is possible??

Thread: Camo bonus

NDjunkie — 2008-11-17T00:59:41+00:00

the books says unit receives protection of -1 (to enemy dice roll) against snipers and when being shot at.

do special abilities like shockwave and hte legionnaire satellite shot count as being shot at?

does this mean that all normal shots have to give them essentially +1 defence?

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gschmidl — 2008-11-08T19:41:10+00:00

New Units from Web Expansions: Terrans

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gschmidl — 2008-11-08T19:40:11+00:00

New Units from Web Expansions: Zirls

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gschmidl — 2008-11-08T19:38:48+00:00

New Units from Web Expansions: Pirates

Thread: Re: Rules Download?

_mrq_ — 2008-11-04T19:14:37+00:00

Old question, but just in case someone else ponders the same, an new answer. English rules are downloadable from yc-games.fr website after registering [http://www.yc-games.fr/spip.php?page=inscription].

Thread: Re: Frontiers - just a review sir!

ScottE — 2008-11-01T00:14:50+00:00

Nice review. Glad to see some more interest is being generated for this underrated game. Sadly sounds like it didn't sell well so no more expansions coming out except for the free stuff on their website.

And yes, it's a real bitch to download the PDF's. Many people have had problems getting the files. Wish the designers would upload them on BGG. They have a whole new race and tons of terrain pieces.

Thread: Re: Frontiers - just a review sir!

Gamethyme — 2008-10-31T16:11:47+00:00

tired wrote:
I completely agree on that. I've yet to exhaust my desire to play with the main box, but I think they could do well with a small expansion. Wouldn't have to be too big either - I know I'd hate to print and cut all the information even if it was available.

There are some expansion pieces on the publisher's webpage (not Asmodee - the original publisher. IIRC, it's yc-games.com, but I could be wrong).

I actually have two starter boxes - it allows for more flexibility in army design.

Thread: Re: Frontiers - just a review sir!

tired — 2008-10-31T15:43:27+00:00

I completely agree on that. I've yet to exhaust my desire to play with the main box, but I think they could do well with a small expansion. Wouldn't have to be too big either - I know I'd hate to print and cut all the information even if it was available.

Thread: Re: Frontiers - just a review sir!

Barry Kendall — 2008-10-31T15:10:30+00:00

Good review. Frontiers is a very well-produced and developed light wargame.

It could benefit from race/species expansions and new terrain and unit types. I discovered the other day that there are new downloadable print-and-cut units (including at least one new race) on the web site but they cannot be downloaded without registration and my attempt at registering failed; being something of a computer dunce I couldn't decipher the precise meaning of some of the registration data requirements.

So I'll go on playing the game as it comes in the box. It is a rather addictive little game--playing is like eating potato chips, one always wants another in a short time. But I do wish they'd allow the expansion materials to be accessed directly through BGG for us duffers.

Thread: Frontiers - just a review sir!

tired — 2008-10-31T05:05:11+00:00

Frontiers is a light, miniature-less tactical war game that is everything it promises to be. Fast to learn, fast to play, the game recreates the feel and decisions of a miniature game without the requirements of multiple miniature purchases and figures.

Appearance: Frontiers comes in a single, inch and a bit tall box that contains the battle-map and all the necessary pieces. And by pieces I mean cardboard punch-outs and two decks. Lots of punch-outs; which is really the point of a miniature-less war game as these punch-outs take the place of all the terrain features, the characters, the required equipment and even rulers. Art work on all these counters is quite thematic and suitable, there is no issue at all about reading the counters (which include all the unit statistics) and all the counters are double-printed. The card board pieces and the map are all of good quality as well so you’ll be playing this game repeatedly with it showing little worst for wear.

My largest complaint? The lack of an insert. With so many counters, a well designed insert (or multiple ziplock bags) would have been appreciated. Set-up time without the use of this insert increases exponentially as you will find yourselves flipping each counter/character over repeatedly trying to figure out who is who.

Another nice to have feature would have been a simple ‘cheat sheet’ of what the various special ability icons are – and what they do. As it stands, the longest part of putting together an army is remembering what each icon does.

Rules / Ease of Learning: Rules for Frontiers are extremely easy to learn – each unit has a movement and armour rating and three attack ratings. These attack ratings correspond to the three types of armour available – body armour, heavy armour and armour for structures. Each unit will have a bonus for firing on each of these different types of armour, with combat (and damage) resolved via a roll of a die. The bonus is added to the die roll with any result greater than or equal to the armour rating of the defender equaling damage. Depending on the unit, this can result in either death, a wounded unit (flip them over to their damaged side) and/or damaged parts (for vehicles).

That really is the essential part of combat for Frontiers. Two things complicate the game and make it more than a straight out slug-fest. Firstly, order counters are placed during the Order Phase. Players place the order counters at the same time, with each order counter hidden in the beginning. Two blank (bluff) order counters are available and each player starts with a minimum of 2 order counters. Additional counters are gained through special unit abilities (normally from leadership units like Lieutenants, etc).

During the Activation Phase, players flip over order counters according to their numbers in ascending order, with units activated at the same time acting at the same time. So it’s possible to destroy units simultaneously – or destroy units before they are activated.
Lastly, to increase combat and add a certain ‘fog of war’ to the game, action cards are available for both sides. Each action card deck is unique, though there are a number of similar cards available. In addition, players can only start with 25 cards (from an available 30 cards), so a level of customization is possible as well.

The only other area of complication, which is what takes up the most time to learn, are the various special abilities. These range from simple additional orders to smoke bombs to tripod and medical/mechanical options. All are pretty familiar to miniature / war game players and would not take too long to understand.

Gameplay: Firstly, because build points are entirely subject to the players, games of Frontier can last from as fast as an hour to a few hours. Players can customize and create their own armies as they see fit, along with the deck of cards to suit their play style. This set-up phase does not take long at all, and this includes setting up the board. In our games, we randomize set-up by just tossing pieces onto the map. Equipment crates are up to players, in half our games we go without just to simplify and speed up the game.

The two sides (the Legionnaires and the Zirl) are rather interestingly balanced. In our games, the Legionnaires generally have had more order markers, spread out across a variety of units. The Zirl have the majority of their additional order markers concentrated, providing a high level of vulnerability.

In addition, in most of our games, the Legionnaires have had a lot of good infantry while the Zirl have focused on more tanks. This is partially due to the make-up of the actual units – the Zirl’s Vega Tank for example has the ability to shoot twice and is overall a better tank the Legionnaire’s equivalent.

While there are natural tendencies for each army, the build point system obviously allows you to customize your armies for your play style, providing a surprising amount of strategy and depth. No major hitches seem to arise, especially since combat is simple and easy to assess and resolve.

Conclusion: Frontiers is a light miniature-less war game. It is run on a battle level of strategy, so no requirements are made for resource allocation beyond your army at the present moment. On the other hand, it’s perfect for what it is and quite addictive. This is probably one of the most under-rated war games around.

Tao
www.starlitcitadel.com

Thread: Re: Trouble downloading from yc-games.com

Sarnon — 2008-10-29T17:03:04+00:00

Thanks for the response. I created a new account today which allowed me to download successfully.

Thread: Re: Trouble downloading from yc-games.com

Subhuman — 2008-10-28T22:29:10+00:00

You are not alone. It takes alittle clicking around to get them downloaded. It was discussed in this thread:
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/309064

I personally was only able to download after switching to FireFox from IE.

If you really get stumped shoot a geekmail to Clem (First poster on the link above) and he should be able to help you out.

Thread: Trouble downloading from yc-games.com

Sarnon — 2008-10-28T19:36:34+00:00

I'd like to download the English PDF expansions.

I've created an account and confirmed it using the email link. But when I log in, I'm greeting with:

Problem in access permission

The site accepts my user name and password, so it seems there's something faulty with the site.

Can anyone help?

Thanks.

Thread: Re: 2 Questions

Garzini — 2008-09-21T10:35:54+00:00

Shot on the Run is the card, and it says "Unit"

Thread: Re: 2 Questions

gschmidl — 2008-09-18T22:08:25+00:00

1. That's how we always played. It's an explosion, so would logically cover more than one unit if you're unwise enough to have them so close together...

2. Are you sure the card isn't limited to infantry?

Thread: Re: do the pirates have a deck?

gschmidl — 2008-09-18T22:07:04+00:00

They come with a PDF deck, yes. It has some... interesting things in it.

Thread: do the pirates have a deck?

NDjunkie — 2008-09-18T21:04:39+00:00

I realize that the deck would be mostly like the other two, but it would be nice to have another deck printable if this isn't the case.

For their special ability, it should be something like 'salvage:
when in contact with a destroyed vehicle, pirate vehicle can remove the destroyed template to recover 1 wound'...

I thought it would fit the theme of them being more scavenger cutthroats.

Thread: 2 Questions

Garzini — 2008-09-18T16:47:19+00:00

1. Can you aim "between units" with a template weapon to try to get more than one, or do you have to centre the template over the target unit ?

2. there is a card that allows you to move and attack at any point of the movement. How does that effect large vehicles with more than one command counter on it ?

p.s nice pirates faction, although, I am now sick of cutting out circles!!!!

Thread: Re: Flip questions

harro — 2008-09-15T06:09:18+00:00

Sorry I'm still a little confused by this.

Take the tripod for example.

If I move I must also flip to the dismantled side (not mounted).

Once flipped to the dismantled side I cannot flip it back during the reserve phase because it had an order on it.

During the next turn can I activate to fire - can I flip back to the tripod mounted side during this phase (i.e. before resolving the dice)?

If I did not fire (and placed no order on the unit) then I could either move or flip back to being tripod mounted in the reserve phase?

Thread: As the game's designer... 2 questions!

NDjunkie — 2008-09-10T20:36:23+00:00

If you were to give smaller oval vehicles (quad, raider, etc) an extra wound / damage instead of one, how much would you increase their cost by?

Also, for the zirl and legion large vehicles, how much would you increase their cost per +1 of 'Crushing'?

I think that as they are large vehicles, they too should be able to crush infantry, but perhaps the vega tank should have... +3 crushing and the Zirl biggest vehicle should only have +@ crushing skill (it has legs, however that might effect it's crushing ability). It's hard to figure (unless you want to suggest their crushing levels), so how much would you scale their cost per +1 bonus of crushing?

thanks in advance!

Thread: Re: Hmmm... A few more questions on vehicles....

leberegel — 2008-09-08T09:11:32+00:00

One more question: How does turning of oval units work? Are the allowed to turn at all time points during movement, also at the end of movement?

Thread: Re: New Army!

leberegel — 2008-09-08T09:04:33+00:00

Will there ever be an official expansion for Frontiers? I do not have the time for glueing and cutting hundreds of circles... :-(

Thread: Re: BookShelf Games Video Review

Subhuman — 2008-09-07T15:03:05+00:00

I dont think Asmodee is going to be doing the expansions. From my understanding you can only download the PnP versions from http://www.yc-games.fr for free. I wish Asmodee would sell them though because I would love to buy professional quality counters.

Also the designers had said that the WW2 version was going to be published and I think that they are hoping that version will do well and bring more attention to the Sci Fi version. There is a discussion of it here: http://boardgamegeek.com/thread/318694

Thread: Re: BookShelf Games Video Review

Robotman — 2008-09-07T03:13:11+00:00

asmodee has a few more armies and edxpansion figures.

Thread: Re: tweaking eh?

picoloclem — 2008-09-04T09:17:29+00:00

For us it's the highest height shown by the smaller player...
For the grenades the rule is the ususal firing rule.
But if you want throw grenade by droping them, just make a normal drop and mesuer after if the template center is within 3lns? If not the grenade is ignored.

Thread: Re: Flip questions

picoloclem — 2008-09-04T08:57:06+00:00

No, you need to activate it (flip the token) during the activation order with an order or during the reserve pahse for free.

Thread: Re: melee attackers

picoloclem — 2008-09-04T08:56:17+00:00

Moves are made BEFORE firing. So if the blaster is killed, too bad for him and you're safe.

Thread: Re: loading and unloading units

picoloclem — 2008-09-04T08:55:22+00:00

You don't need to order your troop to board a vehicle if you do it during the reserve phase.
You need an order for each unit to unload them during the activation phase (and no order during the reserve phase).
One step of damage for each unit in the destroyed vehicle.

Thread: Re: tweaking eh?

NDjunkie — 2008-09-02T21:18:58+00:00

I'm finding the drop rules a little problematic, given that the table height can often vary between games (it may even be on the floor)

has anyone used any rules like 2 feet above playing field? what is a good height to ensure some sort of randomness?

also, does this mean that we can (should) throw grenades anywhere within 3lns?

Thread: Re: Loving the game but I've got a few rules questions......

NDjunkie — 2008-08-31T23:15:33+00:00

what about for special ammunition? it says 'an additional 2+ bonus", so does that stack?

ALso, can i use the special ammunition on a melee unit for it's melee attack?

Could I use special ammunition / automatic weapons crate to give a melee character who has the 'no fire' icon on it the ability to fire?

Thread: loading and unloading units

NDjunkie — 2008-08-31T22:52:32+00:00

In the faq there's a neat tip for legion troops about loading and unloading troops while using the 'gogogo' card. It seems great and quick.

What i'm wonder is if someone could explain in more detail how loading and unloading works.

Must I order my troops to board vehicle that can carry crew? Can I use the reserve phase movement to do this?

Must I have a separate order (for the passengers) to drop them off? Or must the vehicle with passengers have an order to unload them?

If the vehicle that is carrying troops is destroyed, what happens to the onboard troops?

Thread: melee attackers

NDjunkie — 2008-08-31T22:47:00+00:00

If I attack with a melee character (a charge), and my enemy is firing at my melee unit, does my damage resolve first, or do our damages resolve together simultaneously?

ie, I use a scroller to attack a blaster unit (who fires on my scroller). If I kill his blaster with my move, does he still get to fire back?

I'm wondering this because moves resolve before shooting, which resolves before special abilities.

Thread: Flip questions

NDjunkie — 2008-08-31T22:43:58+00:00

For abilities like tripod, transformation, and energy shield, are the flips (activation of ability) 'free'?

for example, can i move the scroller, then transform him with just one order?

or at the start of the turn, move a unit with tripod and then deploy the tripod with one order?

or for the virus sniper, can I move and energy shield him?

Also, If i have an energy shield activated from a previous turn, and my opponent and I both attack each other at the same time, which defence does he use to calculate my shielded-now-firing-unit? the basic defence, or the shielded defence?

Thread: Re: tweaking eh?

gschmidl — 2008-08-29T19:00:38+00:00

One of the expansion vehicles specifically has crushing. For the others, I think it's assumed your dudes just run out of the way.

And the English version also has indirect fire to anywhere on the board. Lift the small template shoulder high, drop it on the board, if anything is under the template, it's hit.

Thread: tweaking eh?

NDjunkie — 2008-08-27T21:56:59+00:00

I was thinking that trap crates and buildings falling on troops should have a +something bonus to attack (just at least 1 or 2). Being crushed by a building or standing next to a bomb should have a greater chance of hitting.

I was also thinking that all vehicles should be able to have a chance to crush enemy troops if they move over them, dependent on their type of locomotion. legs would have the least amount, treads would probably have the biggest bonus?

finally, I was thinking that buildings should be slightly easier to kill, maybe playing with their defense -1 or 2 or something?

Also, I heard someone say that the french version of the files has indirect fire to any space on the board? can anyone clarify this?

PS thank you for making this game!!!

Thread: Re: New Army!

Xscreamist — 2008-08-16T11:33:55+00:00

Yes the rulebook specifically says round counters are the only ones which can enter buildings, oval counters are considered vehicles.I believe units like infiltrators are considered to be wearing power armor but are still human/alien size.

Thread: Re: New Army!

Subhuman — 2008-08-15T20:08:31+00:00

I think this has been asked else where but can vehicles like the infiltrator enter a building since they are still round counters?

Thanks again guys for continuing the game. The artifacts sound cool and I will definitely buy a pro copy of this and the other expansions if they make it to print.

Thread: Re: New Army!

Garzini — 2008-08-13T22:11:01+00:00

I now have a third person who wishes to play, and being a fan of Pirates, this will be right up his alley

Thank you Yann and Clem

Thread: Re: Red Skull

OUFMAN — 2008-08-13T14:55:03+00:00

Here it is ! Red Skulls army's ready to fight ! So, at your printers, cisors and glue ! And fight for freedom..

http://www.yc-games.com/

Thread: Re: New Army!

OUFMAN — 2008-08-13T14:53:45+00:00

Here it is ! Red Skulls army's ready to fight ! So, at your printers, cisors and glue ! And fight for freedom..

http://www.yc-games.com/

Thread: Re: New Army!

LilRed — 2008-08-12T17:15:04+00:00

To dl you must use the member access at the left bottom from the page, then go to the news select the article, click on the picture and then again to dl the zip.

Thread: Re: New Army!

ScottE — 2008-08-12T06:10:03+00:00

Gamethyme wrote:
ScottE wrote:
gschmidl wrote:
The new army's now up in French. English version to follow in a week or so.

Thanks Yann and Clem!

I checked the file section and couldn't find the new army. Are you waiting for BGG Admin approval?

It's on the YC Games website - http://www.yc-games.fr

Eric

Thanks. Sadly will have to do the download dance on that website. Remember having a real tough time previously getting it to download anything. If the designers are listening please consider posting here on BGG.

Thread: Re: New Army!

gschmidl — 2008-08-12T06:06:04+00:00

Gamethyme wrote:
It's on the YC Games website - http://www.yc-games.fr

Eric

Thanks, Eric - I should've mentioned that.

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Meat — 2008-04-05T02:21:54+00:00

Box Front

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mwda — 2008-02-26T11:25:06+00:00

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mwda — 2008-02-26T11:24:54+00:00

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mwda — 2008-02-26T11:24:36+00:00

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mwda — 2008-02-26T11:24:20+00:00

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mwda — 2008-02-26T11:24:12+00:00

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mwda — 2008-02-26T11:23:57+00:00