Star Wars: Armada

I'm surprised to hear you say it seems less cluttered. The system seems considerably more involved.

Michael Barnes wrote: It really does look amazing on the table. Even though the fighters are "relative scale", they look great on the different formation stands.

I've just played the intro setup, but it seems less cluttered than X-wing. Having one of each, there are like 1/10th the chits and 1/5th the cards.

It's really, really good. It's tragic that it is so expensive, but it is definitely a Cadillac game. Lots of custom engineered pieces, great minis...if you can get it played, it may actually be worth it.

Are you annoyed by the little activation base things? That was one of the most fiddly things that bothered me with the game when I was playing it. Especially when things clump up, trying to get your hands into a group of fighters to do that or track health is a bitch.

I can see that being a pretty big issue if you are really anal about where the pieces are. We were just picking them up and putting them back down approximately where they were. So it didn't really bother me.

The system is more involved, but there are less cards and chits, that's what I meant. It could just be a result of playing a low-point game though. There's quite a bit more going on, that's for sure. I didn't expect there to be some actual energy/shield management stuff going on...and queing orders can get pretty thinky. Definitely a heavier game than X-Wing, but it feels somewhat cleaner to me.

Hehe, I think you'll be surprised at how much stuff is on the table once you hit 400pts. Like a 4 foot+ strip of cards and dials. People who like to toss around the word "fiddly" a lot would get frowny. This is not the game for them.

2016 prediction: Gary Sax will finally cave in and buy this.

Here's a pic from my last battle. Before the game came out I thought it might be better with activation tokens for the squadrons. In practice it would just be a pain in the ass remembering to move them with the damn model, figuring out which one goes to whom, and also making the play area look like shit. FFG did a great job making this as user friendly as possible.

Yes, the Empire (my gf) totally annihilated me here. I took down a cruiser though =p

Hex Sinister wrote: Hehe, I think you'll be surprised at how much stuff is on the table once you hit 400pts. Like a 4 foot+ strip of cards and dials. People who like to toss around the word "fiddly" a lot would get frowny. This is not the game for them.

2016 prediction: Gary Sax will finally cave in and buy this.

My guess is that at some point that prediction will be fulfilled. $$$.

Come on man, EVERYBODY is doing it.

On average, how much does it cost per point, and how many points are on the table in an average game? I'm tempted to trade for the base set, but not if I have to spend another $300.

Is the rebel Assault Frigate more powerful than the Mon Calamari ships?

craniac wrote: On average, how much does it cost per point, and how many points are on the table in an average game? I'm tempted to trade for the base set, but not if I have to spend another $300.

Haven't done a cost to point analysis...Wave 1 games were 300 pts, with Wave 2 that was bumped to 400. The Imperial Star Destroyer, biggest ship in the game is 120 pts. The MC80 is 114. The max points you can spend on fighters is 1/3rd of the total pts. Smaller ships fall into the 40-60 pt range. Medium ships in the 60-90 pt range.

So, if you wanted to get exposure to the game first, go 300 pts. After the starter I'd recommend fighters for both sides. Gladiator for Imperial and Frigate for Rebels as the first purchase to expand. Naked that 157 for the Rebels and 147 for Imperial (excluding upgrades and fighters). So that'd get both sides with fighters to 300 pts fairly easily. Variety would be limited but it'd be a good start. Online that's about $150 if my quick math is worth a damn.

Gary Sax wrote: Is the rebel Assault Frigate more powerful than the Mon Calamari ships?

Yes. It's about 33% more points, gives two extra hull points, extra side and rear shields as well as an extra two dice on the broadsides not to mention a few more other stat perks but it comes at the cost of maneuverability with a lower top speed.

Michael Barnes wrote: Come on man, EVERYBODY is doing it.

I totally just watched the Shut up and sit down playthrough of the game to convince myself to part with a couple hundred dollars.

Maybe next paycheck, ha.

So what mats do you guys use for this game? I saw some grippy ones being sold somewhere and it seemed like a good idea with all the handling that goes on of the units.

The local shop just has a handful of the FFG X-Wing maps laying out on the tables. Those are really nice and would like a pair myself.

I'm just using my old felt from X-Wing. It's pretty non-slip (but not quite black enough) but I like the cheesy glittery stars on it because they reflect light. The maneuver tool tends to get caught on the threads a little bit though. I'm in the camp that prefers a simple black star field instead of the fancy hubble telescope looking ones. I don't like the background to be too busy.

Also, a bit of a pro-tip for this game: Try to get used to using the movement tool backwards. What I mean by that is that the ruler functions the same way moving from 1-3 as it does from 2-4, except without as much extra ruler sticking out ahead. For example, look at this image:

You can adjust the tool backwards one, still create the same shape but avoid that excess hanging out past the front of the ship which comes in handy when there's a mess of fighters or you're close to another ship. That extra overhang is just moved from the front to running parallel to the ship's base.

Nice one, VT. It seems really obvious after you see it but I would have never figured it out. I got a 2-stick and since I have 3 joints left over I'm gonna see if I can make a fugly 3-stck. I think it will work.