Alien Creature Enclosures: Life Finds a Way with Far Away
Survive the challenges of an alien planet and ecosystem while completing an interesting mission with Far Away.
My campaign continues! Although progress has been a bit slow with Far Away, it’s constantly on my mind and a source of so much intrigue. The alien creatures always bring the worlds to life, and this next mission gave me some wonderful Jurassic Park vibes… Or maybe that was dangerous to get excited about? Ha ha! In any case, onward to a new planet!
Spoiler Alert
This post includes some details about mission 03, which has some fun surprises in store. Nothing is entirely spoiled, yet I still feel like reading too far ahead might take away some of that sense of intital wonder. Skip right on by if you’re looking to play through the campaign without knowing what kinds of missions are ahead for your explorers!
Game Overview
Game Name: Far Away
Publication Year: 2020
Designer: Alexander Jerabek
Artist: Jake Breish
Publisher: Cherry Picked Games
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game (Cooperative)
Each mission offers different objectives, all while the planet takes shape with unique creatures. Resources are vital, and when they’re too scarce, additional buildings can help produce them. Explorers must survive a variety of challenges to make the Federation Alliance happy!
First Play
January 28, 2023
Complexity
3
Latest Play
February 25, 2023
Expansions
0
Setup Time
10 Minutes
Lifetime Plays
8
Play Time
2 Hours
High Score
N/A
Game Area
50" x 26"
Low Score
N/A
Preserving Wildlife
As I read through the mission briefing, I had a couple of laughs as I recognized the general idea here. It was all about creating enclosures around the creatures.
Space tourism at its finest with holo-drones, too! Nothing could go wrong with this scenario, nor the fact that maintenance drones would take over. Not at all. Ha ha!
I continue to enjoy the wide variety in what these missions are about and how they’re on the creative side.
Things were definitely taking off from the first basic mission, and I eagerly set out to get this preserve built!
A Peaceful Existence
As luck would have it, the creatures here were quite docile to begin with: Herbivores who were either very passive, or would defend their nest from damage. Simple and quiet.
I’ve seen many of the creatures at this point, and it still holds true that a single difference can change the ecosystem drastically. Non-aggressive is great, though!
This starting lineup gave Katherine and Samuel a little breathing room in terms of the initial exploration.
But a single predator could send this spiraling out of control, and possibly even trigger a stampede. Yikes!
Welcome to Jurassic…
I may not have flipped over any dinosaur-like species, but this was a park to remember! All I really wanted was to know what was available in this mysterious gift shop…
Each enclosure held a different species, and the idea was that they would have enough to eat and live comfortably.
In the wilds, though, symbiotic species worked together in harmony. The food chain was more about some creatures collecting or producting food, then sharing it with others.
The danger of a stampede remained, yet the explorers were careful not to startle anyone by offering gifts.
Life Finds a Way
Naturally, it wasn’t perfect… This species acted like sentries, but an enclosure around their den kept them contained. But what happened when they all gathered?
Broken enclosure! They swarmed forth, taking on the aggressive trait from being cooped up in a small space.
This would have been a disaster, had not Samuel been in the area ready to act. He was doing so well at not exploring too much! Yet he was still perpetually injured, so no risks.
A new enclosure took shape before the creatures could escape, and this time, it would hold them for good.
Expecting the Unexpected with Contingencies
From afar, it might look like these missions have been simple to work through, possibly with a few minor challenges. However, this isn’t an inherently deep strategy game, but one much more involved with crafting a narrative. Nothing is obvious, either, especially with the way missions can take slightly different paths. Want a perfect example?
The creatures who broke out of their enclosure did so when I fulfilled a contingency, quite by accident. All I knew was that something would happen when 6 of the same creatures made it into their enclosure. Good or bad? No idea! It very easily could have wiped out the population, led to a scientific discovery, or given Samuel another injury. Ha ha!
I also haven’t seen all of the contigencies or outcomes of each mission. Granted, I’m doing very well and seeing lots of the successful options, but every mission beyond the tutorial has left something open. This makes me excited to play through the campaign again one day, although hopefully not before Katherine and Samuel finish all the missions!
A Remarkable Group
Either the Federation Alliance did an excellent job finding this planet, or I got extremely lucky! In the end, this group of creatures turned out to be the nicest around.
I recognized some of them, yet there were still some new faces! With the way ecosystems work, a species might be more or less dominant, too. Lots of differences!
Would I call this a boring group? Not at all! I saw friendly cooperations pop up, and no one went hungry for long.
It also made sense thematically with everyone able to eat plants, making meat delivery completely unnecessary.
Mission Complete
Katherine and Samuel made it! They worked together to create all sorts of enclosures, yet it was important to fit in with this very cooperative ecosystem from the start.
They often spent entire turns producing food from plant resource sites, attracting nearby creatures to show that they weren’t a threat. Enclosures were peaceful, too.
The creature who gifted resources was almost like a pet as they sort of created a trading situation for food.
Quite the unexpected behavior, but it made sense with these creatures. I was actually sad to leave the planet!
Session Overview
Play Number: 7
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game (Cooperative)
Play Details: Mission 03
Outcome: Win
Success! Actually, it was even better than that. The holo-drones that came by for the grand opening tour were very impressed with the handiwork. The explorers earned the maximum amount of Federation credits. Guess it isn’t always about watching a T-Rex eat a goat for entertainment purposes! The campaign continues on, and I simply can’t express how much fun I’m having with it!
%
1 Play
Affordability
Price & Value
7
Functionality
Challenges & Mechanics
7
Originality
Design & Theme
6
Quality
Components & Rules
7
Reusability
Achievement & Enjoyment
8
Variability
Distinctness & Randomness
10
+ Pros (Positives)
- With different missions and creatures, there is a sense of wonder and discovery present in every play.
- Hints of humor, or even outright jokes, add laughs to lighten the mood and keep the game fun in every way.
- Seeing the ecosystem grow with new creatures is excellent and helps guide the way everything interacts.
- Play time is easily broken up into separate sessions, since many missions can take up to 90-120 minutes each.
- The explorers may not be the main characters, yet their resource management and actions are imperative.
- Branching storylines with contingencies create unexpected outcomes and twists that add to the overall story.
– Cons (Negatives)
- There are a lot of possible buildings to construct, and keeping track of the options can feel like a lot at times.
- Individual creatures of the same species are hard to tell apart, and it would have been nice to see unique icons.
- The map can spread out quite a bit, with individual hexes getting very busy with cards, resources, and tokens.
- A narrative focus means that the best-laid plans could be thwarted with a new creature or random mission card.
Victory Conditions
Complete the Mission
- Overall Goal Progress 100%
Goals and Milestones
Complete mission 00.
Complete mission 01.
Complete mission 02.
Complete mission 03.
Complete mission 04.
Continue the Conversation
What do you think of the missions in Far Away? Do you have a favorite one? I’m very excited about what’s next, particularly since everything is just so very different! The stories here are a lot of fun to experience, as is the constant discovery of new creatures. I know there are some hiding in the decks I still have yet to see… Can’t wait to play again!
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