Outpost Expansion Gamekit

This gamekit is only useful for those who own a copy of Outpost by TimJim Games. The gamekit contains two parts.
  1. A set of random event cards and rules for them to be added to the standard Outpost game.
  2. A set of artwork to make replacement counters for the game.
The two parts are independent. To use this gamekit, you will need Microsoft Word and a program that can print JPEG files. (The former is needed for item 1. and both are needed for item 2.)

Assembling the Random Events

To build the random events deck, print the MS-Word files Outpost *.doc and Items *.doc onto card stock. Then either cut out the cards along the indicated marks or take the stack to a copy store and have them do it. If you cut them yourself, I suggest using an Exacto knife and a metal straightedge. I cut on a healable cutting surface, but that's not necessary unless you do a lot of this sort of thing. Alternatively, you can print onto paper and have a copy store copy them onto card stock. (Most copy stores can also print from disk onto card stock directly.) If you copy from paper, I suggest cutting out the cards yourself. The copy store can do it, but the cards will not be exactly aligned. The result will be adequate, but not perfect. Also print the rule set, outpost.html.

Assembling the Counters

This kit contains three sets of counters, men, factories, and robots. The men are in "grid of pop.doc," and the robots are in "grid of robots.doc," each MS-Word files. The factories are in factories.JPG, an image file. Print a copy of each of these files. The factories need to be printed on colored paper. (If printed at 150 pixels/inch, the factories will be the right size.) A copy store can do this for you, or you can do it yourself if you have the paper. Factories will be needed to be printed in Brown or Orange (Ore), Blue (Water), White (Titanium), Yellow (Research), and Green (New Chemicals).

To mount the counters, I use artist's illustration board stock (costs about $1/large sheet) and Spray-Ment permanent spray adhesive. A burnishing tool is handy. I cut out the counters with a metal straightedge and a carpenter's utility knife. And a lot of elbow grease. I find that it's convenient to cut the counters into strips first, then cut all the strips at once. Corner clipping for the factories is most easily done with a fingernail clipper.

Contents, recap

Card Template.doc     --- blank card template
Items 1.doc	      --- Sheets of items used in 
Items 2.doc		  random events.
Items 3.doc
Outpost 01-04.doc     --- Random event cards.
Outpost 05-08.doc         These are stored as
Outpost 09-12.doc         individual pages for 
Outpost 13-16.doc         a bizarre reason.
Outpost 17-20.doc
Outpost 21-24.doc
Outpost 25-28.doc
Outpost 29-32.doc
Outpost 33-36.doc
Outpost 37-40.doc
Outpost 41-44.doc
Outpost 45-48.doc
Outpost 49-52.doc
Outpost 53-56.doc
Outpost 57-60.doc
Outpost 61-64.doc
Outpost 65-68.doc
Outpost 69-72.doc
Outpost 73-76.doc
Outpost 77-80.doc
Outpost 81-84.doc
Outpost 85-88.doc
Outpost 89-92.doc
Outpost 93-96.doc
Outpost 97-100.doc
Outpost 101-104.doc
Outpost 105-108.doc
Outpost 109-112.doc
Outpost 113-116.doc
factories.JPG         --- Image for factory counters
grid of pop.doc       --- population counters
grid of robots.doc    --- robot counters
outpost.html          --- rules
setup.html            --- this document

Other details

I'd like to know how this kit worked out for you. If you had problems printing or if the images printed poorly, please tell me. I used the original artwork (except for the robots) and didn't scan them in except for distribution, so I don't know if I've left off any details or frankly, if this print scheme will be adequate.

I'd also like to know how well the game played for you. We've playtested the set for five years or so, but there's always something new that comes up. If you want to tone down the events somewhat, you might want to prevent some of the nastier ones (Godzilla, Volcanic Eruptions) from occurring in Phase 1, or you might take them out entirely.

I've included some blank cards so that you can build your own. If you make some that are particularly good, please tell me about them.

Colophon

The robots are scanned from the final Outpost counters. They are used without permission, but since Outpost is now out of print and the kit can't be used without the game, I suspect it's OK.

The factories and men are old Macintosh clip art, given to me by Jim Hlavaty for prototyping the game. Yes, oddly, this is a step backwards in time, and a clear improvement, in my opinion.

The cards were originally built with MacDraw, but converted to Microsoft Word when the Mac that had them on it died. The images were scanned and hacked with Adobe Photoshop 3.0.

Jeff Goldsmith, jeff@tintin.jpl.nasa.gov, May 6, 1998