As promised, I shall now offer a thorough description of a game
using only the basic quick-start rules - in other words, the version
you are most likely to meet if you play for the first time, or use
when introducing new players to the game.
Let's start with the box; as you can see below, the starter set is
crammed with high-end heavy duty cardboard counters and game aids -
actually everything you need to play is included.
Special dice, movement rulers, orders wheel - you name it, it's
got it!
The set is really good value for money, but you'll probably want 2 sets
for both players to have a full set of dice and rulers. The extra Tie
Fighters and one more X-Wing should come in handy, too ;o)
Have a good look at all the components
– with the prepainted models an impressive sight, right?
Well, let's get down to business! The
basic scenario pits the rebel Rookie Pilot against the Empire's
Obsidian Squadron Pilot and Academy Pilot.
 |
| Starting positions as seen from the Rebel Player's side |
I opted to use a 3' x 3' / 90cm x 90 cm
board for the game, which is the recommended size - and just happens to be the size of my Black board - although a larger or smaller area can be used. I
would not recommend using a smaller surface than 2' x 2' / 60cm x 60
cm for this game, and I would not use a smaller table than 3' x 3'
for engagements with more than 4-5 ships per side. You do need some
room for maneuvering, if you want to use any kind of tactics, rather
than just attack head-on.
 |
Starting positions seen from the Imperial side,
with the Order Dials in place |
The antagonists start on opposite table
edges, otherwise there is no restrictions. The board here is laid out
with ships at starting positions and the tools of trade ready for
use.
TURN 1
The first thing to do is chosing an
order for each pilot. Every ship type in the game has its own unique
'Maneuver Dial' (which is assembled from 2 punch-out components and
a plastic nave). To select an order, just turn the dial until the
maneuver, you would like the pilot to make, shows, and then place the
dial face-down next to the ship.
Some maneouvres have green or red
arrows instead of white, but these are not used in the basic starter
scenario, just as 'Actions' are not.
When all orders have been placed, the
pilot with LOWEST Skill
reveals
his order and takes the movement ruler associated with the manouvre
on the wheel.
Bank (soft turn) to the
right. The ruler is placed in front of the ship (it fits between 2
tabs on the base), and is held firmly in place on the table while the
ship is moved to the front end of the ruler and placed so that the
ruler againg fits between 2 tabs, this time at the rear of the base.
As you can see,
the Imperial Academy Pilot (with Skill 1) performs a Speed 3
Bank (soft turn) to the
right. The ruler is placed in front of the ship (it fits between 2
tabs on the base), and is held firmly in place on the table while the
ship is moved to the front end of the ruler and placed so that the
ruler againg fits between 2 tabs, this time at the rear of the base.
The rebel pilot
(with Skill 2) has chosen to outflank his opponents. With a Speed 3
Turn to the right, he seeks to avoid being caught in cross-fire
between the 2 Ties.
The Imperial
Obsidian Squadron Pilot (Skill 3) has not foreseen the maneouvre of
the X-Wing, and makes a soft turn to the left – undoubtedly to try
getting behind the Rebel, but now seemingly leaving the lesser
skilled Academy Pilot to exchange the first blows with him.
After all
maneuvers have been completed, it's time to check if any enemy ships
are within the firing arc (indicated on the front part of the ship
base) and firing range (the firing ruler) of each ship, but the ships
have not moved far enough for
that, yet.
TURN 2
The Academy Pilot proceeds cautiously
with a Speed 2 bank left, while the Rebel pilot continues circling
his enemies with a Speed 3 bank right.
The Obsidian Squadron Pilot, realizing
his initial mistake, makes a Speed 3 bank right to start closing the
gap to his wingman.
The X-Wing and the Tie-Fighter of the
Academy Pilot are just outside range of each other, and the turn ends
with no shots being exchanged.
TURN 3
The
Tie Academy Pilot, anticipating that the Rebel will continue circling
him, decides to make a Speed 4 Koiogran Turn, which makes the ship
fly in a straight line, turning 180
on the way, ending up
pointing in the opposite direction.
The shrewd
Rookie Pilot, though, makes a Speed 2 turn right, which may be very
bad news for the Academy Pilot, while the Obsidian Squadron Pilot
makes a Speed 3 turn right to join the fray.
Closely tailing
the Tie-Fighter, the Rookie Pilot opens up with his primary weapons,
the laser cannons.
When firing its
primary weapons, a pilot rolls the number of RED Attack Dice
indicated by the RED number on the Pilot Card (and Ship Base), 3 in
the case of an X-Wing. In addition, the target is in Range 1, giving
the firer 1 bonus attack die.
The result of
the roll is: 1 Blank, 1 Focus, one Hit. The eye is asociated with the
Action 'Focus', and thus counts as a blank in this scenario, as
actions are not used under the Quick Start Rules. The bonus die comes
up with another Focus.
To counter an
attack, the defender rolls the number of GREEN Defence Dice indicated
by the GREEN number, 3 in the case of a Tie-Fighter. The result of
the roll is 1 Blank, 2 Evade.
Each Evade
cancels out one Hit, thus the Imperial Pilot easily escapes the
deadly laser bolt hail, and the turn ends.
I apologize for
the awful fotos of the dice; I played in our conservatory, and the
glass walls let so much light in, that the slightly glossy surface of
the dice reflected it from every angle. I'll experiment with the
camera settings the next time.
TURN 4
Dodging the laser bolts, the Academy
Pilot makes a Speed 1 turn left to get out of the rebel scum's visors
while the Rookie Pilot uses full thrust with a Speed 3 bank right to
face the Obsidian Squadron Pilot now rapidly approaching with a Speed
5 straight. I like to leave the movement rulers in place to visualize the dodging and weaving of the fighters, that's why the right turn shows fot the X-Wing in the first pic.
The Obsidian Squadron Pilot, Skill 3,
opens up first, rolling 2 attack
dice for the Tie's primary attack
value, and 1 bonus attack die for Range 1. Results are: 1 Focus, 1
Hit, 1 Critical Hit. The Critical Hit just counts as a normal hit in
this scenario.
The Rookie Pilot rolls 2 defense dice,
resulting in 2 Evade; No blood is drawn, and the X-Wing returns fire,
rolling 3 dice for the pilots attack value, and 1 bonus die for Range
1.
The Rookie Pilot then returns fire with
its 3 attack dice + 1 for range 1, scoring 1 Critical, 2 Hits, 1
Blank. A Tie-Fighter has Defense Value 3, and rolls 1 Focus (Blank),
2 Evade, cancelling out 2 of the hits – BUT the Tie has been hit 1
time and suffers 1 damage – marked by a card from the Damage Deck
face down on the Pilot Card
(under the full rules, if suffering a Critical Hit, the card would be
face up, and the
effect on the card would come into play.
NOTE:
Under the Quick
Start Rules, Shield Tokens are not used. Normally, if a ship has
shields, it has a number of Shield Tokens equal to its Shield Value
(a Tie-Fighter has Shield Value 0, an X-Wing 2), and it spends Shield
Tokens to cancel out Damage (the shields are knocked down first).
Under the QSR, though, the ships are just able to sustain damage
equal to its Hull Value + its Shield Value.
The Academy Pilot
has no bearing on the X-Wing, and the turn ends.
TURN 5
The Academy Pilot wants to turn as
quicly as possible to follow the X-Wing. Normally, this would be
accomplished with a Koiogran Turn, but it requires a certain speed,
and the Tie-Fighter is too close to the table edge at this point. If
a any part of a ships
base at any time crosses the
table edge, that ship is considrered to have fled the battlefield.
Thus,
the AP uses a Speed 1 Turn instead, minimizing the distance traveled
away from the action.
Having
tasted blood, the Rookie Pilot takes his cumbersome X-Wing into a
Speed 2 turn right to bring his laser cannons to bear as soon as
possible, and the Obsidian Squadron Pilot makes a Speed 3 Koiogran
Turn to get behind the RP.
I
think I have forgotten to take a pic of the OSP measuring the
distance to the X-Wing, but it must have been in Range 2, with no
bonusses to either attack or defense.
The
OSP rolls the 3 Attack Dice of the Tie-Fighter, 1 Critical, 1 Hit,
and the RP rolls the 3 Defence Dice of the X-Wing, resulting in 1
Blank, 2 Evade, cancelling out the hits.
”Only
Imperial Stormtroopers are that accurate” - Oh, well, but this is a
pilot XD
The AP
is still too far away, end of turn 5.
This conludes Episode I of this AAR. To be Continued!
The Academy Pilot (AP), makes a Speed 3 (I think - that pic is really blurred) bank left to close in on the X-Wing, which in turn makes a Speed 3 bank left, too, to avoid getting in the crosshairs of both Ties.
I must have forgotten to take some shots, here, but the Obsidian Squadron Pilot (OSP) seems have taken a Speed 3 bank right, then fired at the X-Wing.
The AP, thinking that the rebel pilot is trying to circle his wingman, makes a Speed 3 turn left to cut the enemy off.
The Rookie Pilot (RP) makes a Speed 3 turn left, tailed by the OSP who fires another salvo at the rear of the X-Wing at Range 2.
The Imperial Player rolls 1 Critical, 1 Focus, countered with 2 Blanks by the Rebel. The X-Wing takes 1 Damage.
The RP (Skill 2) fires first at the AP at Range 2, both pilots rolling 3 dice. The RP rolls 1 Hit, 2 Focus, while the AP rolls 1 Evade (cancelling out the hit), 1 Blank, 1 Focus.
Unharmed, the AP fires back, rolling 1 Critical, 1 Focus, and the RP 1 Evade, 1 Blank - and again, no harm is done.
The AP makes a Speed 4 Koiogran Turn, while the RP tries to avoid being caught in cross-fire by flying Speed 4 straight.
The AP also gets to try his skill at shooting, Range 2. He rolls 1 Hit, 1 Blank, which is countered (and cancelled) by the RP's 1 Evade, 1 Blank.
The OSP fires at Range 2, rolling 1 Hit, 1 Focus, again countered by 1 Evade, 1 Focus.
The AP also fires at Range 2, rolling 2 Hits. This time, the RP again rolls 1 Evade, 1 Blank, only cancelling out 1 Hit. The X-Wing takes another point of damage!
