New Frontiers

About this board game

New Frontiers is a standalone galactic empire-building board game for 2–5 players, with play lasting about 75 minutes. It belongs to the Race for the Galaxy family while introducing its own approach to exploring, settling, and developing worlds.

Players take turns selecting an action that everyone may perform, while only the player who selected it receives that action’s bonus. This shared-action system makes every choice relevant across the table, as one player’s decision can open an opportunity for everyone else.

The developments available in each game are determined during setup. One group of eight developments is always in play, while a suggested set of sixteen additional developments supports a first game. In later games, players randomly select which sides of eight double-sided small developments and eight double-sided large, 9-cost developments will be used, creating a different set of possibilities to consider.

During the Explore phase, worlds are drawn from a bag. Worlds must be settled with colonists as well as either payments or conquest, giving expansion a distinct process from Race for the Galaxy. Many worlds also provide special powers that can shape a player’s growing empire.

• Windfall worlds receive a good when they are settled.
• Production worlds receive goods when the Produce action is selected.
• Goods can be traded for credits or consumed for victory points.

Play continues until one or more of four game-ending conditions is reached. After all actions for that round are completed, the winner is the player with the most victory points from settled worlds, developments, 9-cost development bonuses, and victory point chips earned by consuming goods.

With its changing development pool, shared actions, world exploration, and multiple paths to points, New Frontiers gives each galactic empire a distinct route to victory.