Rock Hard: 1977

2024 · Music

Rock Hard: 1977

Players take the role of aspiring 1977 musicians building a new band over a nine-round season from April to December. Each round represents a day of the month during which players rehearse, write songs, book and play gigs, and allocate time and money toward promotion and recording. Actions and resource management increase chops, reputation, and the band’s song catalog while opening opportunities for record deals, royalties, production and publicity bonuses, and higher-profile concerts. The game resolves through a mix of planning and luck; the player with the most accumulated fame at the end of the season wins.

Players
2–5 best 4
Playing time
45–90 min
Age
14+
Complexity
2.5 / 5
7.4 on Ludoyafrom $47.99Set CollectionWorker PlacementVariable Player Powers

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On Ludoya's tables

Full stats in Ludoya
147
Plays logged
301
Players
1h 55m
Average play
99
In collections
16
On wishlists
1
Pre-ordered

7.4/10

from 31 Ludoya reviews

  • Fun6.3
  • Interaction6.6
  • Replayability6.9
  • Uniqueness6.9
  • Looks8.8
  • Accessibility10.0
  • Pere5.9

    Very good immersion to the life of a rock star wannabe, but it's not great for my taste. Mechanics-wise it's basically about increasing the dials in a balanced way, and not much more.

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Rules questions

Answered from the rulebook by Ludoya's rules assistant.

Can I take the Work action more than once each round? What happens if I miss work?

You can take Work only once per round; if you miss work you receive a Missed Work token and accumulating Missed Work can lead to being fired from your job (see p.10 and p.20).

What exactly are 'Anytime actions' — can I do them even when spaces are full?

Anytime actions (Buy/Sell Candy, Donate Blood, Write Song, etc.) may be taken outside the normal limited-space actions, but Work—though listed—is restricted to once per round and still requires an Open Space during the job phase (see p.12–13 and p.20).

How does Candy/Craving and Low Blood Sugar work — can I choose to recover?

Eating Candy advances your Craving and when you hit Low Blood Sugar you must recover; you may also choose to voluntarily recover to remove Low Blood Sugar per the Candy/Craving rules (see p.13).

How many gigs can we play each round, and do I need Crew or my Manager to meet venue requirements?

You may play at most one gig per round; to play you must meet the venue's listed requirements (Rep, Songs, demo, etc.), and Crew or Manager abilities can help satisfy those requirements—see venue rules and gig resolution (p.16–17) and Crew rules (p.15).

What happens with Record Deals and royalties — do I pay or receive money each round?

When you take a Record Deal you get the demo/benefits for that tier, and during clean-up you pay/resolve royalties as specified by the deal tier (see p.15 and the clean-up/royalties step on p.21).

How is the final score calculated and what are the tiebreakers?

Final scoring sums Fame plus end-game bonuses and Personal Goals, you also get +2 Fame for each stat at 11 (and a bonus if all are 11) and convert money to Fame at 1 Fame per $3; ties are broken by Rep, then cash, then Royalty (see p.22).

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Score sheets and play helpers

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Game facts (players, playing time, age, credits) from BoardGameGeek.