High Frontier

Plan rocket trips, haul water through orbit and build an asteroid factory in a long, hard-science space economy.

Designer: Phil Eklund
Published by: Sierra Madre Games

High Frontier is a hard-science space economy game from 2010. In the near future, nanofactories can build amazing materials atom by atom, but only in zero gravity and high vacuum. Companies and governments race to set up a buckytube factory on a carbonaceous asteroid. To get there you need rocket propellant, which means water in low Earth orbit, first hauled painfully out of Earth's gravity well, then more cheaply from Luna, the moons of Mars and other hydrated bodies, using in-situ resource utilization. You also need remote-controlled robonauts for the grunt work. Expect a very long, heavy game about fuel, orbits and planning, for people who love rocket science.

Water as fuel, from Earth or from Luna and moonsRobonauts and in-situ resource utilizationOrbital routes with real physics flavor

Who it's for

You love space, physics and long planning games, and have a patient group of two to five.

Not for you if…

You want a quick or light game, or dislike heavy rules. This is a big, long simulation with a steep learning curve.

Vibe's take

Cerebral and slow-burning. You are plotting fuel, orbits and timing with a pencil-and-spreadsheet mindset, and every launch is a small calculation.