Outreach (board game)
Outreach, subtitled "The Conquest of the Galaxy, 3000 AD", is a strategic board game designed by Irad Hardy and published by SPI in 1976. The players gather resources to expand their empires through the Milky Way galaxy. Although the term was not used at the time, "Outreach" is an example of the 4X genre. Many of the gameplay elements are adapted from the earlier SPI game, "". Gameplay. "Outreach" is played in the game universe introduced in "", where starflight is achieved through telepathy and occurs instantaneously. The game's fleets and stargates demonstrate massed sentient activity that powers  movement. The "Outreach" playfield consists of a hex map covering approximately of the galaxy. Hexes on the majority of the map are of one of three types, differing in their stellar density and the types of resources. There are an additional two types of hexes in the galactic core. Each hex is about 1200 light years across, so different race's fleets can inhabit a single hex without meeting. Combat can only be achieved by first finding the opposing force, which is subject to a number of factors. Fleets are represented by a single marker on the map, but contain  multiple ships of three basic types. The details of the fleet makeup are recorded separately which adds a level of bookkeeping to the gameplay. Ship movement is effected by random events that may cause a fleet to "scatter" and be lost, so traveling long distances is very difficult until the player improves their tech level. There are a number of random events like these in the game, but they can be affected by the user spending their resources so the outcomes are rarely purely random. As is the case of the related game, "StarForce", the game ultimately proceeds by building  StarGates, space stations that lay claim to a hex. These generate resources which are used to build tech levels, fleets and affect the outcome of the random events. Reception. In his 1977 book "The Comprehensive Guide to Board Wargaming", Nicholas Palmer noted that "various plausible scenarios feature, with an entertaining diplomacy rule whereby both players benefit if both vote for cooperation, but each may stand to gain from aggression, either as a surprise stab or a pre-emptive strike." Lynn Willis reviewed "Outreach" in "The Space Gamer" No. 9. Willis concluded that ""Outreach" is highly playable and wildly variable. Counting  time in centuries, it is logical, realistic [...] and evocative. The components are a very high quality." In Issue 8 of "Phoenix", Stuart McGregor thought "The play of the game is very simple." He also liked the use of Fate in the game, calling it "an interesting aspect of the game." However, he found the quality of printing on the die-cut counters "below normal SPI standards." Nonetheless McGregor concluded with a strong recommendation, saying, "I consider Outreach to be one of SPI's best games, and well worth the money." Eric Goldberg reviewed "Outreach" in "Ares Magazine" #1, rating it  a 6 out of 9. Goldberg commented that ""Outreach" has enough play value to entertain the first few times it is played, but then degenerates into a mathematical puzzle. Still, the ideas and general direction of the design allow the enterprising player to design a much better game."