Topic: Who has played or continues to play Star Fleet Battles (Board Game)

[KBFLordKrueg]

Needs one more option..."have not played, would like to play, but does not know where to get started"

Having read LordKrueg's post, I suspect I may not have the time...unless you can leave it set up and go back to it whenever time permits

Yeah, back in "the good ole days" (before multiple children  ) I could do that, it did help greatly for the larger games. A duel between 2 ships might take a little as 1/2 hr to resolve.

[Magnum357]

I discovered SFB when I was a young teenager.  I use to buy and collect comic books, but the book store I went to all the time started carring SFB Material.  I originally was a huge Star Trek fan before, but I had no idea what SFB was.  So I did a little research and asked a few people that asked the Book store why they liked SFB. 

I kept buying SFB materal over the years, but unfortunetly their are hardly any players in the part of the country I live and the rules of SFB are pretty complex for the average person, so getting players to play with locally was next to impossible. 

Anyway, I loved SFB, and still do today, but my favorite game of all time from Taskforce Games was Starfire.  Buy far easier to play with then SFB and much more customizable. 

[Rod ONeal]

I liked Starfire a lot myself. It was much more streamlined for fleet play and tactical and strategic was all rolled into one. Babylon 5 always made me think of Starfire. Oh yes, for those that would like to have a system worked out for it, ramming is allowed.

[KAT Chuut-Ritt]

Played and playtested SFB way back when.  

Still remember seeing the old Task Force Games #4 in a plastic ziplock bag at the hobby store and purchasing it for $5.00, then after a quick look giving S'Cipio a phone call to tell him what I had found.

Lost interest later with the advent of the X-ships and discovering Role-Playing games untill S"Cipio and Agave introduced me to SFC.

BTW:  I invented an ESG weapon before ADB did,with a different name, just ask S'Cipio, used by an Andromedian race called the Kelvans from a TOS episode, which I also invented......

[KAT Chuut-Ritt]

Started playing back in the late-late 70's.  Loved it then; still love it now.  (Only now, the rules book is just so much *bigger*)

-S'Cipio

More rules, and Chuut really dreads the though of playing SFB with S'Cipio, the ultimate rules lawyer for old times sake.......

[Max Power]

For those that wish they could play SFB but can't because they can't find an opponent, SFB online can be subscribed to for something like 40$ for a year. The first editions of the game only allowed tournament ships, but this is no longer true; basically, if it's in the game, it's in SFB online. As for the F&E players, I have a cyberboard advanced ops gameboard for it if anyone wants it. If there's enough people maybe we should get a game going...

[Capt. Mike]

I started back in '79 or so (too many beers)...collected a lot as mid shifts at Hill AFB in Utah are boring...played until '85 or so, when interest dropped off (base reassignments, etc..)..stll have the stuff, but have just been having fun on the computer..no fights over where the damage gets assessed..


Mike

[Ronin]

Used to play it from around 1979 to 1985 or so. Loved it. Then I moved and had no friends to play the game with. Waited about twenty years constantly checking with game companies knowing that SFC would happen some day. I actually had a VERY basic Star Trek combat game on my 64k Franklin PC (IBM compatible) in about '82 or so that had only movement, direction, shield reinforcement and firing orders with number of ships in the engagement as a user defined variable. I have no idea who made it, but it was a lot of fun for the time.

Was walking through a Target store with my wife (I have this theory that you can tell a lot about where a society is going by the games it promotes and was talking to my wife about this as I walked through the toys) when I saw SFC1 on the shelf. My wife thought I had lost my mind. I told her I had been waiting twenty years for the game, she smiled and said something along the lines of, "that's nice dear" and I never looked back.

Probably a lot of us with a similar tale...

[jualdeaux]

I played it some when I was a kid. My cousin introduced myself and my brother to the game and we played a number of times. I remember setting up a game with four maps on a pool table. Each of us had ten ships. That game took forever and I don't really think we actually finished it.

As a side note, my brother, S'Raek, and a friend came up with the cloaked decoy for the romulans that was published in the third installment of the Commander's edition rulebook.

I don't remember if it was my brother that told me about SFC or if I saw it first. Anyway, I waited for the demo to come out and that hooked me. I even put my name in the hat when SFC2 needed testers.

[zerosnark]

I played alot in the 80s.

I played a bit less as the updates went more and more drone/fighter crazy and all the ships were too so well play balanced. Same warp. same batteries. Same weapons.

The big drone / plasma battles were fun, but were basically too time consuming. Especially if you started using "special" or "double space" drones in the mix.

SFC revitalized my interests. Especially with the cool models. Now I fly my Larsons, Saladins, and Suryas every night. Still tend towards the older (pre general war) ships.

[Rod ONeal]

I played alot in the 80s.

I played a bit less as the updates went more and more drone/fighter crazy and all the ships were too so well play balanced. Same warp. same batteries. Same weapons.

The big drone / plasma battles were fun, but were basically too time consuming. Especially if you started using "special" or "double space" drones in the mix.

SFC revitalized my interests. Especially with the cool models. Now I fly my Larsons, Saladins, and Suryas every night. Still tend towards the older (pre general war) ships.

I know exactly what you mean. That's one of the reasons (besides the tactics) that I really love playing Andros. (don't have to push all of those little counters all over the board). It's also another reason I enjoy SFC, or the whole idea of having SFB on my PC. I don't mind the EA, selecting drones (specialty etc...), or other intricatsies. (I really love the Impulse activity chart). Keeping track of a jillion counters is the pain in the arse for me.

[KBF-Dogmatix_XC]

I haven't actually played SFB in about 14 years...but I really enjoyed it.  I have repurchased most of the current materials as source data for SFC pursuits as well as just to have because I loved the game so much.  I'm so totally out of practice with actually playing the game that it would almost be like starting over...

[KBF-Dogmatix_XC]

Started playing back in the late-late 70's.  Loved it then; still love it now.  (Only now, the rules book is just so much *bigger*)

-S'Cipio

Man..I hear that.  I started playing in the early 80's and bought all three volumes of the boxed set and all the SSD modules..some of the Captain's Logs, etc.  My pile of "new" stuff seems larger...more complicated...heheheh.

[kadh2000]

I'm an avid player still and have been one since 1984.  I hadn't played for a while then was talking about it with my D&D group.  It turned out that all but two of us used to play it.  We immediately started back up and one of them learned.  We now have a group of eight regulars who play once a week.

We're going to start a second complete Operation Unity campaign this fall.  We played it through once and have made a few modifications and a few suggestions to SVC.  Now we're ready for it again.  As with the last time through, I'll be updating the results on my website.

[Chris SI]

Man, operation Unity.

If only SFC OP let us play campaigns like that!

[KBF-Kapact]

I've got a basic set.......... and downloaded the demo online game. The $40 a year has to wait... yeah, that's pitiful.  I've even thought of trying to talk my non-gaming wife into it....

[Vysander]

Inherited the game in a bag SFB from my Dad along w/ Expansions 1-3, the carrier expansion, and the commander's rulebook.  Only found 1 person who was willing to play that game with me

Later when Doomsday came out I bought the basic, advanced rule books, C1-C3, and battleships

It's some good reading all on itself, I loved reading the ship biographies.  It's sitting on my bookshelf next to me gathering dust.. I might have to relearn the game and play a few battles. 

[Cleaven]

There are players out there. Trust me!

If you have a table top gaming club in the vicinity and the members who aren't just teenage WarHammer players, then you have potential SFB players. You just have to drag your shaggy butt along and announce yourself. I found that there are often a couple of others there who used to play but ran out of opponents too.

And it sure beats stupid arguements about commando ships fighting AI.

[Dash Jones]

Hmm, my parents think said on their last visit I should do something more than spend so much time on the computer!  I think perhaps I'll go play a game of SFB today with my sis...make her play the Klingons!  Fits her attitude.



Betcha we won't have an argument about magic photons!  That is if I can get her off the gamecube and advance wars.

[FPF-DieHard]

And it sure beats stupid arguements about commando ships fighting AI.

I just noticed how brilliant this satement is.   Anyone else notice that 90% of the D2 balance issues wouldn't exist if the AI weren't so frucking stupid?