Circadians: First Light Review

INTRODUCTION

Ever since an early age I have always had a fascination for deep space and the idea that humanity will one day be able to travel between galaxies. Growing up, I never dreamed of becoming a firefighter nor a police officer. No, I wanted to be Han Solo: traveling from planet to planet in the outer rims of the galaxy, getting into bar brawls and smuggling cargo to however is willing to depart of their hard-earned cash. Ah good times indeed. To this day I still find myself occasionally staring at the night sky in awe of the sheer magnitude of how insignificant we are when compared to the bigger picture, both in a literal and figurative sense. Given this origin story of sorts it should come as little to no surprise that I was intrigued to try the solo mode in Circadians: First Light, the dice based board game about interstellar exploration designed by S J MacDonald and published by Garphill Games.

COMPONENTS

Much has been said about the art in Circadians: First Light. In fact, one might even go so far and say that some people have voiced shall we say rather strong opinions regarding the subject matter. I for one feel that at the end of the day, what we have here is yet another fine example which serves to highlight the old saying: art is truly a subjective experience. Personally, I really like Sam Phillip’s interpretation of the sci-fi genre but to each their own. Setting aside the rather hypothetical discussion concerning art critique, let us instead shift the focal point to the actual components that are included in Circadians: First Light. For the past couple of years publisher Garphill Games has been churning out high quality board game productions and Circadians: First Light is no exception. Everything, from the custom shaped wooden resource tokens to the cardboard chits has a nice feel to it. The included translucent six-sided dice all have a wonderful glow to them and the cards are made of black core with a linen finish. The game even comes with a plastic moulded insert that can accommodate sleeved cards, albeit after some re-arrangement of the compartments.

My only gripe with Circadians: First Light, in regard to the components, has to do with the modular board setup. In addition to the boards for excavating resources, exercising diplomatic missions with the indigenous alien races and fulfilling item cards, each location has its own individual board for dice placement. This modular setup can either be described as flexible, allowing for players to customize the layout as they see fit. Alternatively, one could make the claim that Circadians: First Light when set up becomes something of a table hog. Personally, I would have preferred a more centralized main board but I also recognise this being more of a “me problem” than an actual fault of the aforementioned game.

OVERVIEW

In the distant future, thanks to technological advances, mankind has reached the capability to travel between galaxies in order to finally slip the surly bonds of Earth and touch the face of God. On their interstellar voyage, many lightyears from the planet they once called “home”, the elite reconnaissance crew known as The Circadians discover an ancient celestial body named Ryh populated by intelligent humanoid lifeforms. In order to ensure a peaceful first encounter, you will engage in diplomatic negotiations with the three main clans that govern this planet whilst simultaneously gathering intel and organic samples for further analysis.

*Each character has a unique special ability, allowing you to try out different strategies. Photo: Fredrik Schulz*

At its core, Circadians: First Light is a worker placement where your crew is symbolised using dice. Throughout the course of the game, players will roll their dice and then allocate them to various locations in order to perform the associated actions with said locale. Some areas provide valuable resources while others allow you to acquire upgrades to your Research base in order to perform more powerful actions on future turns. A game of Circadians: First Light lasts eight rounds, each divided into four distinct phases starting with Plan. Here, the top card of what is known as the Event deck is flipped face-up and revealed for the players. This deck of cards serves a dual purpose, in addition to acting as a time marker they also present some form of game altering effect that lasts throughout the current round. The majority of the cards grant you some form of bonus, like using item cards as resources or gaining additional die at certain action locations. Some cards however do have a negative impact, for example one Event may decrease the amount of resources your farms can generate that particular round. After the Event card for the current round has been revealed, each player rolls their pool of dice and then start to assign them onto their own player board for the upcoming phases of the game.

The individual player board, known as the Research base, where you will assign your dice to either the Garage or Farm row during the Planning phase of the game. Photo: Fredrik Schulz — The individual player board, known as the Research base, where you will assign your dice to either the Garage or Farm row during the Planning phase of the game.
Photo: Fredrik Schulz

Speaking of, the individual player board is known as the Research base. Here is where you will assign your crew i.e. dice in order to perform actions and gather resources. The Research base is divided into two main areas. The top section of the player board is called the Garage. By placing one or more of their dice in this row, players are opting to undertake the various actions associated with the Location boards that make up the main bulk of the play area in Circadians: First Light. For each subsequent die placed, the cost for deploying additional members of your crew onto the planet increases in the form of algae which is one of the main resources in the game. The second area of the Research base is where the Farms are located. These spaces are used for collecting resources at a later stage of the game. Unlike the Garage, assigning a die to a farm does not cost you any resources. However, it is the case that some farms require a die in order to actually activate and in the process generate a certain amount of resources based on the numerical value of the allocated die. Other farms provide you with a passive, ongoing resource reward throughout the course of the game without having to assign a die. Seeing that you only have three dice at the start of Circadians: First Light, deciding where to assign them during the Planning phase can be quite an agonizing choice seeing that certain Location boards require two dice in order to perform the associated action. Do you spend your third die on gathering resources at the farms or take a chance hoping you can perform an additional action?

I say take a chance because there is one thing that I have neglected to mention about the Planning phase: it is done in secret by the cover of the player screen. Only after all the players have finished assigning their dice are the player screens lifted, revealing each space explorer’s attempt at fulfilling their master plan during the second phase of Circadians: First Light which is called the Execute phase. This is the stage where you will perform the actions for which you assigned your dice to the Garage section of your Research base i.e. player board. For me to cover every single Location board in detail would be a fool’s errand seeing there are six of them. Suffice to say, the Location boards provide you with opportunities to either spend resources in the form of Water, Power and/or Algae in order to acquire upgrades to your Garages or Farms. Alternatively, you can recruit newly graduated crew members from the Academy which in practice earns you additional dice to roll in future rounds of the game.

*By activating and positioning their Harvester, players are able to collect various resources from the surface of the planet. Photo: Fredrik Schulz*

However, there are three locations of importance that I will cover in greater detail starting with the Control Room. At the centre of the playing area is the Planet Board: this double-sided board represents the surface of Ryh and is also one of the main ways that players will gather the precious resources needed to perform the various actions throughout the course of the game. The planet board consists of several hexagon shaped locations, each one producing a certain amount of resources provided you have your harvester situated at the aforementioned part of Ryh when it is time to collect resources. This forward planning of where to move your harvester becomes a critical strategical choice, considering the fact that different areas of the planet are more focused towards a particular type of resource. Will you focus the movement of your harvester towards the regions in the west where there are large algae deposits up for grabs? Or how about heading east where water is abundant? Another key aspect of the planet board has to do with the Gem cache tiles. At the start of the game, the six tiles are randomly seeded face-down on the outer edges of the planet board. Each one of the gem cache tiles rewards an amount of victory points at the end of the game, the catch being that they are revealed during the eighth and final round (it is worth mentioning there are certain exceptions which allows a player to peak at the gem cache tiles prior to being revealed to the public so to speak). In order to be eligible for this point reward, players will have to position their harvester on a gem cache tile before the end of the final round. The mechanism of revealing the tiles at the very end of the game creates a feeling of flying by the seat of your pants, where you take a gamble at venturing forward to one particular corner of the planet in hopes of striking gold.

*The negotiation board. Photo: Fredrik Schulz*

The second location is known as the Negotiation board. Here, players can engage in diplomatic discussions with the three clans that govern the alien planet in hopes of collecting victory points at the end of the game and also potential immediate bonuses. In order to gain the trust of the ruling tribes you will need to provide them with resources, for example Leyrien who reside below the surface of the emerald sea wants algae while the proud mountain dwellers of clan Jrayek asks for gems. The more resources you can hand over to the clan leaders as a sign of good faith, the greater your reward will be in the form of victory points at the end of the game. In addition to providing points, each clan has a unique ability that triggers when players assign dice to their column. For example, the aquatic Leyrien clan grants you the temporary ability to change a die currently assigned in your Research base to any value, while clan Jrayek allows you to take a peek at two face-down gem cache tiles on the planet board. Each clan tile is double-sided, allowing for variation from game to game.

But sometimes, much like in the real world, negotiations will grind to a halt and trigger what is known as a setback. At the bottom left of the Negotiation board is a track containing six tokens with a numerical value printed above them. When assigning subsequent dice to a clan, the player looks at the total value of all the dice that are assigned to the clan in question. Should that sum equal or exceed the threshold values printed at the bottom of the board, then a setback will occur forcing the active player to suffer a “punishment” either in the form of resources or previously implemented upgrades on their base. The setback mechanism acts as a roadblock, preventing players from simply hogging all the dice allocation spaces on the Negotiation board.

The third and final board is known as the Depository, another avenue of importance regarding collecting victory points at the end of the game. At the start of Circadians: First Light and throughout the course of the game, players can acquire Item cards. These cards represent the various technological advancements that the Circadians have developed through their contact with the alien races of the planet Ryh. Each item card grants you with an amount of victory points and also some form of ongoing bonus; the higher the cost of resources, the greater the reward in the form of victory points at the end of the game. However, assigning dice to both the Negotiation and/or the Depository comes with an perhaps even greater cost than resources: the dice you allocate to these boards are not returned to your worker pool at the end of the round, unlike the dice assigned to the Location boards. As a result, players will need to carefully plan when the time is right to recruit new crew members or face the consequence of rolling fewer dice on subsequent rounds of the game.

*XIAO, one of four available automated opponents when playing solo. Photo: Fredrik Schulz*

THE SOLO MODE

When solo playing Circadians: First Light you will be competing against an artificial opponent of cybernetic heritage. Managing and performing the various actions of the artificial opponent is a really straightforward affair. Much like previous board game designs published by Garphill Games, the core game mechanism in the solo mode for Circadians: First Light centres around a deck of cards known as Schemes. This deck of 20 cards dictate what course of action the artificial opponent will perform during their turn of the game. Each card contains two features. The top section depicts a numerical value of a die, this tells you in which direction the AI will move their harvester across the surface of Ryh. Unlike the human player, the AI’s harvester is not restricted to a movement of one hexagon. Instead, it will continue to move in a straight line until it either lands on a hexagon containing a gem or if it reaches the end of the planet board. Once the harvester deployment is completed, the lower part of the Scheme card is activated.

Each card contains three rows which indicates what action the AI player wants to perform. If the first suggested action is unavailable for any reason, be it insufficient amounts of resources or otherwise, then the AI player moves on to the second suggested action and so on. Unlike the human counterpart, the virtual opponent never rolls their dice. Instead, the numerical value at the top of the card indicates which value the AI player’s die will have upon performing the targeted action. Once the AI has performed between two and three actions, depending on certain in-game conditions, then it is the human player’s turn to perform their actions.

*The scheme cards are used to perform the neutral player’s actions. Photo: Fredrik Schulz*

One clever aspect of the solo mode in Circadians: First Light is the way it manages to replicate the sense of unpredictability emanating from assigning your dice in secrecy during the planning phase of the game when playing against a human opponent. A round of solitaire play starts off with you rolling and assigning dice to your Research base the same way one would in a multiplayer session of Circadians: First Light. The key difference though is the fact that once you have finished your planning, then the AI gets to perform their actions ahead of you. And since you do not know what your opponent will do until the top card of the Scheme deck is revealed, a sense of mystery arises that emulates the level of uncertainty that is present when playing against others. You can map out your entire round in minute detail, only to have you plans thwarted by the actions of the AI. In order to be successful in the solo mode of Circadians: First Light you will need to be able to quickly pivot and change your cause of action based on the outcome of the Scheme cards. Play continues for eight rounds the same way as in a multiplayer session, revealing and resolving Event cards at the start of each round and taking actions. After the final round you will tally up the score for both you and the AI opponent, whoever has the most points wins. In a lot of ways, the AI receives points based on the same set of rules as the human player. The key difference being that the AI always receives the gem cache bonus at the end of the game as a result of being magically teleported to the nearest tile regardless of its current position on the planet board.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Once again, producer Garphill Games proves that they are a key player in the field of solo board game designs. When the solo mode of any given board game manages to create a sensation equivalent to a multiplayer session, then I am one happy camper. It does not have to be an exact replica, so long as the core game mechanisms remains intact which is the case in Circadians: First Light. For you as the human participant, playing the game in solitaire differs next to nothing compared to the company of others. The only key difference being that there is no drafting of item cards during set up, instead you simply draw five cards and select three to keep. Apart from that minor rules alteration every single thing that makes Circadians: First Light so a great dice placement experience remains intact in the solo mode. Regarding board game design, having the artificial opponent perform its actions before you is a design choice that manages to be both simple and clever in mimicking the level of uncertainty that comes from players assigning their dice in secrecy during the first phase of the game. In order to be the most successful space explorer in the history of humanity you need to take into account both tactical and strategical choices, which is a combination that I personally really enjoy in any given board game.

Regardless of differences of opinion as to what constitutes as good art, as far as board game designs goes Circadians: First Light is a solid and highly enjoyable entry to the dice placement genre and I for one am looking forward to potential future entries to this new series from designer S J MacDonald and publisher Garphill Games.