indierockclimber | 30 Mar 2015 6:40 a.m. PST |
Link to the full AAR: link
The small Rebel strike force consisting of the CR90 Corvette "Dodonna's Pride", and the Nebulon B Escort Frigate "Redemption" was not expecting trouble. The listening station "Outpost Zero" was presumed abandoned, and was thus easy pickings for a quick raid. The Rebels hoped to scavenge any equipment they could get their hands on- particularly sensitive long-range sensor equipment which would help alert them to the approach of any Imperial task forces. When the fleet dropped from hyperspace, they were not expecting what they saw through the asteroid fields and debris from long-ago battles: A Victory Star Destroyer. Was it a random patrol? Were they detected on approach? Was it a trap? General Dodonna gave a concise, bold order: "Attack!"
Link again: link |
Norrins | 30 Mar 2015 7:02 a.m. PST |
Many thanks for the AAR. I'm still toying with the idea of buying the game. How'd the rules play? Did it feel like Star Wars? |
indierockclimber | 30 Mar 2015 7:23 a.m. PST |
So I will reply with this big caveat: I only own the one core set now, and have not played a 300 point, full-sized game. BUT: "How'd the rules play?" I'd say they work really well, but aren't groundbreaking. They're streamlined, pretty intuitive once you've done a turn or two, and capture the right feel. Some things are a bit confusing, and take some careful reading to understand- but now that I have some games under my belt, I get it and there's a lot of genius in the subtlety. "Did it feel like Star Wars?" Yes, absolutely. The fighter played the way you expect- X-wings shred TIEs, but the TIEs are fast and can swamp you. They're a tarpit- their job is to die while keeping the X-Wings away from the Star Destroyer. The X-Wings, if allowed to get on it, can swamp the Star Destroyer and (with some assistance from the rebel cap ships) bring the beast down. The Star Destroyer has tremendous firepower to the fore, and can take a lot of punishment, but it's slow and unwieldy. The rebel ships are speedy and nimble, but if they get caught in the wrong spot they can go down very quickly. So far, I'm enjoying it! |
AUXILIAPAL | 30 Mar 2015 8:05 a.m. PST |
Very nice story, good work, thanks! |
elsyrsyn | 30 Mar 2015 8:30 a.m. PST |
I'm on the fence on this one, too. Thanks for the report! Doug |
VonTed | 30 Mar 2015 8:33 a.m. PST |
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seldonH | 30 Mar 2015 10:11 a.m. PST |
looks like a very fun game despite only having the core set stuff… great report… thanks! Franvisco |
TheBeast | 30 Mar 2015 10:14 a.m. PST |
I'm already sold, no matter. ;->= I let the first set go to a customer at the store, but I intend to get one of the second wave that's supposed to appear today! It does sound like it's fine as stand alone, but does anyone get a sense of connecting with X-Wing? Doug ΔΝΨΦ |
Tom Reed | 30 Mar 2015 10:40 a.m. PST |
Nice AAR! I love the X-Wings. How hard was it to paint them? I just picked up the core set and want to do the same with my fighters. |
indierockclimber | 30 Mar 2015 10:55 a.m. PST |
Wasn't too bad- I wrote up what I did: Red markings (just some vallejo red or whatever) (Will do Blue and Green on the next) following the mold lines. Black for the cockpit/Engine fronts. Orange for the engine rear. Then I used a small brush to put 3 dots of varying colors for the R2 units. Finally, hit them liberally with Magic Mudd by CGR painters, and used Q-tips to soak up excess/clean up flat surfaces. Took all of 15 minutes. image: link |
Tom Reed | 30 Mar 2015 1:12 p.m. PST |
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jpipes | 30 Mar 2015 2:10 p.m. PST |
Do these come pre-painted? Or did you mean how hard is it to add additional details to the models? |
Tim White | 30 Mar 2015 3:28 p.m. PST |
I picked up the core box too and our first game was quite fun. The play-aids are fantastic and turn what could be quite a bit of book-keeping down to nothing. -Tim |
indierockclimber | 30 Mar 2015 5:04 p.m. PST |
The Capital ships are pre-painted, the fighters are not. |
ajbartman | 30 Mar 2015 5:12 p.m. PST |
Thanks for the report. Looks like fun was had by all, and that's the point right? |
TheBeast | 31 Mar 2015 7:02 a.m. PST |
…the fighters are not. Whoops, missed this on, though I did pick it up. Ball park on how large the fighters are? Might have painted proxies to swap in for the time. Doug ΔΝΨΦ |
indierockclimber | 31 Mar 2015 8:38 a.m. PST |
Bout the size of a small chessex die for the fighters. There, use a measurement we're all familiar with :) |
indierockclimber | 31 Mar 2015 8:39 a.m. PST |
I've since painted my TIEs:
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Norrins | 31 Mar 2015 1:43 p.m. PST |
Saw this over at Board Game Geek. Looks like Imperial Star Destroyers are coming in wave 2. link I may be getting into this game… |
TheBeast | 01 Apr 2015 5:41 a.m. PST |
Thanks, Indie! Finally opened the box and… Oh, THOSE dice. ;->= Have to admit a bit of disappointment with the box itself. I know you have to pump a lot of hype for the price, AND you have to show off the ships, but the fact that there's a heck of a lot of air is made worse by the hole in the top. Cuts into the usefulness if you do buy into the add-ons. Doug |
indierockclimber | 01 Apr 2015 6:51 a.m. PST |
Agree. The Physical box leaves a lot to be desired. Can't even really use it for storage because of the cut. |
billthecat | 01 Apr 2015 9:12 a.m. PST |
Agreed. FFG boxes and prices are getting larger, and the product remains the same. at least this was my experience with 'Imperial Assault' (a great game nonetheless)…I expect we are paying for the StarWars license. |
Tim White | 01 Apr 2015 11:34 a.m. PST |
I think I might remove the folded cardboard insert from the box to make more space – and cut a portion of that insert out and tape it on the inside of the top to cover up that whole. The box is BIG, and I'm gonna use it! Hoping all of the Wave 1 ships fit in there. Good thing they provided lots of baggies for all the counters. Gotta say, there are a lot of counters for identification that I doubt I'll use. -Tim |
svsavory | 01 Apr 2015 5:41 p.m. PST |
Just tried Armada tonight (a friend's copy). It was merely okay IMHO. I will stick with X-Wing. A few observations: The unpainted fighters look really sad compared to the painted large ships. Sequence of play is strange, I don't like that firing takes place before movement. X-Wings roll 4 blue dice but the game only includes 3. |
Tim White | 04 Apr 2015 8:59 a.m. PST |
@svsavory Don't forget this is just the base set of Armada. If you recall the base set of xwing was not that thrilling with just 1 xwing and 2 ties. It also lacked enough dice. -Tim |