I keep on playing Gen Con games, and Rock Hard 1977 was at the top of my list to get through. Why, because it was one of the most anticipated and talked about Gen Con games. It took a bit longer because it is a multiplayer game. But I got my rock on and Rock Hard 1977 has been played and explored, and time to talk about the craziness that is the 1970’s rock lifestyle that it gives you.

How To Play Rock Hard 1977

Rock Hard 1977 takes you on the rock and roll lifestyle as you try and go from garage band to playing the biggest stages. All of this while which gives you points as you play shows and hangout after hours with fans, business, or whomever is at the late night locations.

Rock Hard 1977, at it’s core, is a worker placement game. You place your worker three times each round. One time in the day phase, one time in the night phase and once in the after hours. Each area has their different elements that they focus on, but there are also some generic actions that you can do every time.

The Three Phases

In the day phase it is about leveling up your reputation and chops. Things that you need so that when you when your demo tape is ready you’ll be ready to rock and sign a record deal. Because in the day you also might be getting crew so you can play bigger shows or getting that record deal.

The evening or night is about performing. There are small bars or locations you can play at, but as you play more, and level up you gain access to bigger venues that are going to give you more points and raise reputation or chops and give you points.

After hours is about hanging out at different hangout spots. You might run into fans which can boost your reputation. You might strike up business deals, get inspired for a song or get some candy. But you can also get your demo tape ready and work on getting ready to record.

Basic Actions

You always have four basic actions that you can take. And three of them it doesn’t matter what time of day it is. You can buy or sell candy. I will talk about candy next. You can donate blood and get a dollar. Or you can write a song.

The final option is one that you do during a specific time of day. But for the player it might vary as to when that is. Each player starts out with a job. You are not a successful rocker yet, you don’t get income from it. So you work a job, but you can skip. However, skip three times and you’re fired. But each job is during a specific time of day

Candy

Finally it’s time to talk about the candy. You can infer that candy is whatever you like in the game. But it is a resource that you use to potentially get extra actions. So if you take a candy in the day phase you might flip over soft or hard candy and get an extra 1 or 2 actions. But there is a risk that you flip over sugar-free candy and then you don’t get anything.

There is also an added risk because when you increase your cravings for candy as well as then need to roll a die. If you roll less than your craving level you crash and the next day phase you need to go to recover. It doesn’t mess with the actions you get, but it will mean that your day phase is locked in. And if you crash on the last round, you lose five points.

At the end of the day the rocker with the most points wins. And checkout the Man vs Meeple playthrough below.

What Might Not Work?

I think for some people there is going to be an element of randomness that they don’t like. There are a few points where the randomness can come in. Firstly there is an event that happens each round. That might mess you up because it blocks off a location that you’d wan to go to in some phase.

That is probably the biggest random element along with what you draw for candy. There are eight candy cards and one is hard candy that gives two actions. One is sugar-free that gives no action, and the rest are soft candy that give one action.

The final thing is what you get from the hangout spots. A lot of the time you can kind of guess, but it isn’t a guarantee. And while most of them are good, not all of them are great. As some of them might care if you are a guitar player, lead singer, etc. to get the better reward on it.

What Works?

Let me just go ahead and push back on what might not work. I think that element of the game works well. For me, it is a way to remove planning out something perfectly. Sometimes the ideal spot isn’t available, so how do you adjust to that? I like that a lot in a game because it adds replayability to the game.

The game is also pretty simple once you get down the basics. You place your worker at one spot per phase of the day per round. That is simple. There are a couple of things that make it a bit trickier. But the game itself does a good job of showing it. So the two things are what is a cost versus a requirement versus a reward. It can be a lot of symbols but they color coordinate them. And then how turn order works, but that sorts itself out as well.

The theme is also great for the game. There is a ton of flavor on the text of the cards. But the actions you do are also thematic. You need to complete certain things, like bump up your reputation or write songs, before you get a record out there. And the text on the cards, you can tell that the designer knows the 1970’s rock scene well.

The Designer

A little tangent, but let’s talk about the designer. This is one of the big reasons, to go along with an uncommon board game theme that this game has been so hot. Jackie Fox, the designer, was the bassist for the Runaways. She is also obviously a big board game fan and less obviously a lawyer and four time Celebrity Jeopary champion.

I think that is why the theme can come through so much. It is theme put out there by someone who was there. That is a fun element to the game. But for designing a bigger game, this is a very impressive design.

Who Is Rock Hard 1977 For?

I want to say it is for people who dig the rock and roll lifestyle, but really Rock Hard 1977 is for gamers. While the game isn’t the most complex, there is enough going on that would make it a bit of a teach for people who just like the theme. Not to say that it’s too complex, but know how to play before you teach it. And keep it simple.

But for lighter worker placement, I think that Rock Hard 1977 really hits that niche well. And I think for people who maybe look at a lot of worker placement games as too dry and themeless, this is going to fix that for them. They will get a ton of theme while getting to experience the mechanisms.

I don’t know how heavier gamers will take to it. The randomness is likely going to be the element that gets them because a plan can’t be perfect. However, I will caveat that and say, with the theme, there is likely going to be more general appeal to all types of gamers.

Final Thoughts on Rock Hard 1977

First off, I really enjoy this game. And I do believe that the theme helps some with that. I say some because I don’t think it’s the biggest element that makes the game good. The streamlined nature of the game and the actions really are what shine for me. I appreciate it when a game can give me good choices but no overwhelm me with so many complex options that I can’t figure out the next turn quickly.

Overall, though, the game just provides fun. And how a game provides fun, that doesn’t matter as long as it does. This does through both avenues. And the thematic flavor on the cards is a ton of fun. It’s a bit raunchy at times and obviously there is the whole wink and a nod to what candy actually is. But all of that leans into the rock star lifestyle that you are trying to achieve in the game.

My Grade: A-
Casual Grade: C
Gamer Grade: B+

Send an Email
Message me on X at @TheScando
Visit us on Facebook here
Support us on Patreon here