Invasion from Outer Space expansion

[Raynor]

Hmm, good life to game transitioning there.
Perhaps Jumbo draws only event cards and shuffles anything else drawn along the way back into the deck. Something like... was it the Antique Shop? in the LNoE Growing Hunger expansion? Not sure...

[Skip Nicholson]

Yeah, there are a lot of fun options for Jumbo. Maybe she can't go into any other venues but the middle of the board or the elephant tent. Or maybe she keeps events and other cards go to the bottom of the deck. Lots of ways to play it.

Skip

[Alf Zombie]

I like the idea of a clown. A carnival without clown it's like Star Wars without Han Solo.

[LabRat]

This game definitely needs a Magician and some Magik, what with a pickup location for Magik already available.

And if a Clown is too regular, what about a MIDGET CLOWN?

[Bokya]

How about a Clown Car? That would give you a SWARM of Midget Clowns.

[LabRat]

Reviving this thread because:

(1) We had news that there will be an expansion for IFOS called Scorched Earth some time last year (or was this news released as early as 2011?)

(2) COPE: Apocalypse possibly hints on Scorched Earth being released soon (Only the Union of Freedom can defeat the invasion!)


What do you want Scorched Earth to be? An expansion like Growing Hunger that fully complements the base set, or a standalone expansion like Timber Peak that still serves as an expansion but doesn't continue the theme set by the base?

Personally, the base IFOS set feels more complete than the LNOE base set, it doesn't need a "Growing Hunger" improvement anymore. And a Timber Peak-like standalone expansion can move the theme away from the circus, which I think is something that resulted in the game not being as popular as LNOE. I have nothing against the circus theme, but I can acknowledge that it's a flavor that's very limited. How many different circus characters can you come up with anyway? Can we have up to 16 distinct IFOS circus characters/archetypes?

With Scorched Earth, we can start with a new idea that still incorporates the circus freaks without sticking to the circus theme - what if it's "superhumans" against the invasion? Superhumans in the sense that they're humans with special abilities like the carnies had, joining the Union of Freedom. We can have sports athletes, military/special ops characters, people that are a little less realistic but still believable.

I think this is too much thought for something that's not even sure, but hey, I'm bored and there's little to no discussion about IFOS, so why not start some talks right?

[D. Boon's Ghost]

Thanks for continuing this thread, LabRat. After playing it countless times, Invasion from Outer Space is still one of my favorites of the Frog games.

The 'Union of Freedom' jazz seems to indicate a superhero group of some kind. Perhaps a group with a younger Captain Fantastic?

I was listening to an interview with one of the Hill brothers not too long ago. In it, he mentioned that they wanted super humans vs. martians in Invasion - eventually settling on the carnival theme. Now, I really appreciate the carnie setting, but I do recognize that it is niche squared; you'll either love it, or get pretty turned off by it.

Personally, I am hoping that the 'Union of Freedom' is a superhero group enjoying a day off at the carnival/circus. By doing so, the Frog could expand the scope of the theme, while still giving them opportunity to flesh out the carnie/circus side. Because in that I do disagree with LabRat; there is potential for a lot of new carnies; Seal Trainers, Space Benders, Jugglers, Clowns, Magicians, etc.

And while 'The Martian Game' tagline limits the possibility, the Scorched Earth proto-title also gives rise to the potential inclusion of the Vyborian Arbiters. If you've played Conquest, you know that the Scorched Earth dubbing fits the Arbiters perfectly.

Martians & Arbiters vs. Carnies & Superheroes sounds pretty darned cool.

[LabRat]

I wouldn't go as far as using the term "superheroes", but rather "superhumans". You know, humans with extraordinary abilities that would make it to a "Ripley's Believe It Or Not" article or something.

And I agree with you, there is potential for new carnies, all I said was that it was very limited - I guess I should've been clear, I noted that it was limited with Last Night on Earth in mind. In LNOE, you can basically make anyone a character, but with a strict carnival theme you'd come up empty after the 20th character.

[fitzgrimm]

I think the Union of Freedom is going to be a military group with members from around the world something like the UN or GI Joe. This could start moving the game away from the circus theme and more to a 50s b alien film. No mater what the expansion is about I can't wait for the Frog to start selling it.

[fitzgrimm]

So the more that I think about it the more I like the idea of a military expansion for IFOS. It would fit in easily with LNoE and the national guard is a strong factor in the old 50s alien invasion movies. I see it as the heroes get the military and the martians would get killer robots in a Growing Hunger size expansion. Then we could get a Hero Pack that has the magician in it along with magic and fish cards for the board pick ups.