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

[Dash Jones]

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.

I play Warhammer!  Does this mean I must stop playing SFB?

[Cleaven]

Only if you try and play them both at the same time.

[Dash Jones]

Only if you try and play them both at the same time.

I must suck...I just got me rear beat around the universe and back in SFB...Perhaps I should buy some Federation models and try them instead...

Hmm, Warhammer and SFB...now that's a thought I hadn't thought of before.  Use boarding parties and resolve it using Warhammer 40k rules...could be interesting...

I wonder what the Feds would do if they encountered Chaos?



Come to think of it, I don't know the rules to large ship combat for WH40k, now you have me thinking, I wonder if SFB could be used in that context?  Interesting idea...

Anyways, won't hijack the thread on it hopefully.

[FPF-Jem]

They already have a large scale Naval Combat system for WH40k, it's called Battle Fleet Gothic IIRC

[Dash Jones]

They already have a large scale Naval Combat system for WH40k, it's called Battle Fleet Gothic IIRC

Ah, never played that one...explains a lot though.

How is it in comparison to SFB?

[Mantis]

I have not played SFB in 15 or so years, should still have all my materials in the garage if my wife has not "recycled" them. Loved playing it, just had a hard time finding anyone to play with. Sounds like there have been quite a few changes. Is there a place where I can get the executive summary of the changes? All these new races, and I assume weapons. I have also heard some think the races have become more generic in ship capabilities. I am just confused ??? I dropped out shortly after the ISC appeared.

[Cleaven]

http://www.starfleetgames.com/prod_update.htm

[Cleaven]

And a question for the players, do you prefer plotted or free movement?

[Rod ONeal]

And a question for the players, do you prefer plotted or free movement?

While I appreciate the theory behind plotted movement (things would be happening too fast for you to make the instant course corrections that free movement allows) I feel that it detracts from maneuvering and speed change tactics and helps the weaker player. In fleet battles it's just a freakin accounting nightmare. Just my oppinion. I never really played it (plotted movement) very much though. Maybe it requires more skill than I'm allowing it.

So, free movement.

[FPF-DieHard]

And a question for the players, do you prefer plotted or free movement?

While I appreciate the theory behind plotted movement (things would be happening too fast for you to make the instant course corrections that free movement allows)

Considering the course corrections that you can make in double-time (Speed this theory doesn't hold water.

[Cleaven]

I should mention that I learnt to play with plotted movement and subconsciously blotted out the section of the rules on free movement until I found other players from outside my group who only used free movement. I had this mindset that plotted movement was just the way it was, and had not considered the merit's or otherwise of free movement. Currently I think that (full) plotted movement adds to the character of SFB.

[GDA-S'Cipio]

And a question for the players, do you prefer plotted or free movement?

I prefer free movement.  However plotted is interesting to try from time to time; it completely changes the flow of the game.

I used to do plotted movement when I played by mail.  The mechanics of that system just required plotted movement.

-S'Cipio

[kadh2000]

Thankfully the default system has gone to free movement.  I always found the plotted movement made it more of a guess. One misguess could loose a game and waste a lot of time.  Free movement makes the game go faster and isn't it long enough anyway.

[Nerroth]

I play BFG, and it's FAR more simplified than SFB (cruisers have either 6 or 8 hit points, escorts only have 1, no shield arcs, hardly any range-dependant shooting or damage - the weapon batteries use a gunnery table depending on what way the enemy ship is facing, with column shifts for stuff like blast markers, being at a certain range, ehe effects of a holofield etc - and VERY different movement and tactics depending on your fleet (Imperials, Tau - whose resin ships from Forgeworld look a lot like the ISC ships in SFC2 - etc move like sailing ships, Eldar ships have a double move and can turn on a pin, Necron ships can manouvre at high speeds and generally scare the heebie-jeebies out of their opponents and so forth) but it's also FAR less trouble to play a fleet engagement with the rules and unlike SFB or F&E I have had harrdly any problem finding opponents.

I'd love to see the BFG game engine as a basis for Star Fleet Action, but SPecialist Games and ADB could end up being rather too jealous of each other's systems too let that happen...

Oh, and I have F&E (and will get ISC war) and have yet to play either it or SFB against anyone (I have seen very few converts to the game my age - I'm 24 - and nobody in Ireland seems to take ADB or TOS stuff seriously at all, hell even I would rather have the movie-era ships in a tabletop game than the TOS stuff, I think the old designs aren't so great but that's more of a personal taste thing)

Gary

[Don Karnage]

for those who have sfb books can you give me the spec of fed frigate, destroyer, light cruiser, x-ship and if you have anything on starbase space station and other stuff like that, i only want the spec for the ship  for my eaw spec so i will have more accurate info for the ship, i don't know the name/class of the ship so just tell me what you have, beside the saladin class for the destroyer.

[IAF Lyrkiller]

I played w/ a school buddy of mine and really got into it. now it is very hard to find the time to play anymore.

and not too many players left in the Dallas area.

[Rod ONeal]

I played w/ a school buddy of mine and really got into it. now it is very hard to find the time to play anymore.

and not too many players left in the Dallas area.

I live in Wills Point and work in Mesquite. Maybe sometime we could get together? I'd love to have a game or two.

[theSea]

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

If you installed OP with the standard install you already have what you need to get started... go to the folder where you installed SFC:OP ("C:\Program Files\Taldren Software Inc\Starfleet Command Orion Pirates\") and look in the SFB folder.  Print the PDFs for the cadet rules, SSD's and counters.  The Cadet scenarios take you from the ground up to where you should be able to manage a CA vs. CA duel.

The pray to whatever gods you worship to deliver you an opponent.....

Anyone in Western Connecticut feel free to PM me -

theSea