"Any good starfighter rules out there for Star Wars?" Topic

What rules are being used for starfighter combat at the moment. I have just got hold of a large number of Star Wars Micro machines Tie fighters and X-wings. Any thoughts on good rules or do make my own?

There's a set of Silent Death rules for both original trilogy and Episode 1 ships knocking about.

G.

I think the Star Warriors rules for Silent Death are still out there somewhere for download. These were official rules published in a magazine Iirc

I saw somewhere that someone had converted Wings of War to a Star Wars game. It looked really neat but I have no idea where I saw it at, but it did look good. I've also read about "star max" (Blue Max goes Star Wars) but I haven't found anything hard and fast about the rules.

The TooFatLardies has a variant of their WWII air warfare rules ("Bag the Hun") called "Bag the Jedi" in one of their Summer or Winter specials that deal with starfighter combat. Very good they are too.

The SD rules seem to be the best I've run across thus far.

Haven't tried, or heard much info about Bag the Jedi.

As mentioned, there is the Star Warriors boardgame too, which is worth checking out.

The Silent Death rules are indeed darned good, as is Star Warriors (which has aged surprisingly well, all things considered.) I keep meaning to do a bodge job on Blue Skies or Luftwaffe 46 some time for bigger engagements though.

Dom, who also has way too many Micro Machines….

I must be the only one that finds SD slow and clumsy. Exactly what you DON'T want in a star fighter game.

So I created these – Black Skies

Easy & fast, found here – link

And no, they're not a copy of Wings of War, they've been there since before WoW became popular.

I wish I had better search-fu with this forum; there are a number of good suggestions out there.

I know I've seen Full Thrust used, but can't find the SSD's created.

I'll definitely take a look at Black Skies. Thanks, Dan!

Doug

The full thrust SSD's are somewhere on the SCN forum if that helps.

Robert

Check out the SSSW yahoo group. (Small scale Star Wars)

There's a couple of rules there including "Rebellion in Space".

A gaming buddy of mine did the Wings of (Star) Wars. You can see pictures of its debut here, 3rd or 4th entry down: speedrally.net

Some good stuff there guys cheers.

I have used the large scale Action Fleet star War's fighters along with the Full Thrust variant. It was a great time!

Rules variant here:

link

Just scroll down to the Fighter Rules and record sheets.

Thanks,

John

Here's a direct link to the Star Wars FT variation: PDF link

I particularly like the pegboard tracking system they set up for each ship's stats. I use similar ones for a lot of my convention games, and the ease of use (and reuse) makes a huge difference.

Also, looks like the Silent Death variation is gone from the WOTC site, but you might be able to pull it from this archive: PDF link

(Found that link over at BGG btw)

Tony, consider yourself invited to PM me if you'd like me to email you a copy of the SD Star Wars rules.

- Martin

Jape – probably no surprise that your buddy and I have nearly the exact same solution to the maneuver problem with starfighter gaming – big versions of the WoW cards! My congratulations to him for beating me to the hosting of the first game!

(And as for that glowing Lightbikes table – OH MY GOOD LORD!)

I agree with Dan – Silent Death is overly complicated and slow. The maneuver method and pilot/gunnery skills are quite good but the damage track is ridiculously complex, and missiles slow the game down a lot. More than a few fighters per side and things bog down – I want EPIC BATTLES!

*Maneuvering must matter
*Better pilots should have a big advantage
*Capital ships should be included and be able to have ship-to-ship battles simultaneous with the fighter action

So far only DP9s 'Lightning Strike' comes close, and the big ships are a tad complex and the fighter maneuvers a tad simplistic…

@MacrossMartin — even less surprising for me, as I had a similar idea over, umm, almost 35 years ago. When Star Wars first came out, and it was clear there wasn't ANY sort of boardgame on the horizon, I tried to adapt Richthofen's War to X-Wings & TIE fighters. (Even still have the chits I tried to draw the ships on -- actual size!) The adolescent game-designer in me couldn't quite get the conversion to work, though I'm glad someone eventually did.

Well evilleMonkeigh…

Our FT Star Wars Variant mentioned above puts on epic battles, but the fighter rules are somewhat streamlined to make it playable at a convention (for new players)..

PDF link

Technically it is not a fighter game, but a fleet battle game set in Star Wars fiction (it plays like a WWII carrier battle).

picture

PDF link

Thanks Dervel – I did download it and will give it a spin…

I ran a Star Wars fighter game at Recruits in March using War Rocket. It was well received and handled lots of fighters quickly and easily.

Have some suggestons for Star Wars using Full Thrust:

link

--was at past GZG con;scroll down for SSD's.

link

--this is my escape from Hoth scenario,only played it solo and with my son.Planning on running it at a con next year.
Note it uses some other FT variants,two noted on the webpage but also can use the Beta fighter rules:
link

Last there was an older version for FT using fighters for both FT and BSG that had its own SSD's too.Will see if I can dig up a copy.

If what you're wanting are big waves of nimble fighters zooming around and blowing up all over the place, take a look at G.O.B.S.!:

Independent, individualized fighter movement: Check.
Capital ships: Check.
Easy damage tracking: Check.
Guided missiles/torpedoes: Check.
Lots of explosions: Double check.

A special movement rule also allows fighters to dart in, take a shot, and dart away before taking return fire.

Of course, even with that, you'd better have a lot of fighters handy, 'cause once the battle starts, they ain't gonna last long.

thegobspage.com