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> Results: Strange Adventures in Infinite Space!
Format For Printing | Tell A Friend | Digg | Slashdot | del.icio.us Scroll down for our Kid Factor. Back in 1986, during a screenwriters strike, David Letterman introduced a segment on his NBC show ﾓLate Nightﾔ named ﾓHal Gurneeﾒs Network Time Killersﾔ. Hal Gurnee was Lettermanﾒs yeoman director who played the straight man in some of his Daveﾒs finest work. Everyday Letterman would try to fill time that would otherwise be dead air (and support the writers, as he was one himself) with insanely brilliant deadpan segments that poked fun at NBC network that employed him, and itﾒ mega-corporate parent G.E. One of my favorite skits was ﾓWhat Halﾒs Wearingﾔ, in which Hal Gurnee would describe his outfit for the day, which always turned out to be ﾓblue shirt, brown shoes, tan Chinosﾔ. It was Daveﾒs dark and comical way to jab the network for making him produce a show without a writing staff. The irony was, that even though the skit was short, and repeated every day, it got funnier and funnier as the weeks went on. Viewers who had invested time in the show were rewarded with an inside joke that never seemed to get old. Lettermanﾒs independent take on the situation was refreshing, and rewarded patience and persistence from his audience.  Why do I bring up a nearly 20 year-old ﾓLate Nightﾔ segment in reference to the Cheapass Games title Strange Adventures In Infinite Space? Because their game rewards the player much the same way as those old ﾓHal Gurnee Network Time Killersﾔ (albeit, without the dark humor). It may not be a comedy skit, but the game is short, interesting, and rewards the player for persistence and loyalty. Like the great David Letterman of the 80ﾒs, the designers at Digital Eel seem to be thumbing their noses at the establishment, and doing things their own fresh and independent way. The producer, Cheapass Games, is known in some circles for their extremely playable board and card games that take any where from 1 minute to two hours to play. They and Digital Eel have taken their skills at solid game design, and have successfully translated them into Strange Adventures In Infinite Space.  The game is set in the 22nd century, 2300 light-years from Earth. Your ship of colonists has just awoken from cryogenic sleep, and it is time to start exploring the new galaxy of Glory you have discovered. You begin on the temperate, Earth-like planet of Hope. The ﾓnotorious robot smugglerﾔ Lexter Mucron gives you a ship with weapons, and sends you out on an illegal mission to garner as much booty (technology, life forms, battle victories) as possible in 3600+ days time. You start on a randomly generated 2-D star-map, with the option to travel to any system of your choosing. The further away the system (and the more purple nebula in the way) the more days it takes to get there. Once you arrive at a system, several things can happen. You can find a rare object or ship part, you can find aliens to trade with, find companion ships to join your armada, or find hostile aliens to fight. You can run from fights, decide to not trade, and decide to leave any object you find. Itﾒs all up-to-you and your strategy. Whatever you do, you must land on the planet of Hope by the time all your days are used-up, so Lexter can tally your points and tell you if you have succeeded or failed.  This is a short game. There are not two ways around it. It really is the ﾓnetwork time-killerﾔ of strategy games. Itﾒs a great choice if you have a short time to ﾓwasteﾔ, and want play something more significant than solitaire. Sessions can take anywhere from 1 minute to about 15 minutes to play, and are rarely if ever the same. How you play the game is completely up-to-you. Are you looking to fights? They might be waiting for you. Are you just looking to collect life forms? You can do that too. Do you just want to explore the farthest reaches of the galaxy? That can be arranged. Events happen at random, which means, for instance, that some games will be filled with fighting, and others will have none at all. This can be annoying if your playing style leans one way or another, and the current game you are playing has randomly chosen to not include your favorite elements. However, you can also view this as a challenge to your game playing style, and just go with it. The galaxy map and ship graphics are small, but nicely drawn. Sound is sparse but used effectively. Combat is handled in real-time, with rudimentary, but clean and appealing graphics. Fights can be a bit frustrating, as it usually seems like you have little control over the outcome. When you start a game you can choose from several levels of difficulty, and each has a notable effect on game play. A combat simulator is included to help hone your skills when meeting hostile aliens. Mods are available, and a mod kit is provided when you install the game. This game of ﾓcompact strategyﾔ reminds of the gleeful times I had many years ago playing TSR mini board games like Remember The Alamo, and old Windows 3.1 games like Indiana Jones And His Desktop Adventures. Those games were great to play, and could be satisfying in short bursts without the overbearing need to play for hours. Still, this game might not be for you. If you require your games to provide 50+ hours of continuous game play, then Strange Adventures In Infinite Space simply wonﾒt satisfy you. Others though, just might be surprised how enjoyable it can be. Kind of like a classic Late Night skit that appears to be a throwaway ﾓtime wasterﾔ from the outset, this game can seem a bit shallow and useless at first. However, just like the epiphany that occurred for me while watching the same Late Night segment for two weeks and suddenly realizing its brilliance, this game can as well reached an existential height of great re-playability and meaning. Given time, patience, and a small but significant emotional investment, the amazing elegance and simplicity of this game just might dawn on you as well. After that, you will never feel like the time you have killed with Strange Adventures In Infinite Space has really been a ﾓwasteﾔ after all.  Kid Factor: This game is simply not for little kids. There is too much reading, and the game is a bit too abstract for anyone under the age of 8 or 9 to really understand. This game would be perfect for 10-12 years old who has shown interest in strategy games, but hasnﾒt yet developed the patience to play something more involved. Note: Strange Adventures is not available in stores. Get it from its maker Score: 3.5 stars Age: 8+ ESRB: NR Producer: Cheapassgame.com Developer: Digital Eel 
This game is simply not for little kids. There is too much reading, and the game is a bit too abstract for anyone under the age of 8 or 9 to really understand. This game would be perfect for 10-12 years old who has shown interest in strategy games, but hasnﾒt yet developed the patience to play something more involved.
Kid Factor by Steve Fulton
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