To me it depends if you are doing a strategy that, at its core, is all about running down the probe deck. Â If I am, then I will use that mission as long as there are at least 8 units on the Rebel Base space. Â If not, then I think moving ships around is better.
I think all Imperial strategies fall into one of two camps: Search & Destroy or Highly Targeted Sweeps. Â That mission supports the latter of those strategies.
Last game I honestly started with your plan to seek and destroy, but my mission cards in the first 3 rounds were to good to pass up… that’s when I realized how little my forces were moving around the board.
Playing SWR with a first time player today… decided to conduct a little experiment. Instead of my previous house rule idea, I have placed the rebel reputation marker in the 16 spot instead of 14, I will explain the rules as much as I can before I ask him to choose a side.
Regardless of which faction he chooses, I will tell him that the rebel symbol in the 14 spot simply means that the rebels will receive a free objective card when they reach that space.
If I end up with the rebels, than I secretly understand the added challenge I bare, and the new player unknowingly has an extra time bonus. If I end up with the Empire, I will play to win, and if I defeat the rebels… I will omit to cheating and forfeit the victory.
(Plus… I want a longer game today).
I think even a seasoned player would have a hard time winning with the Rebels and the reputation marker at 16. The Empire is virtually assured of draining the probe deck and has time to mount an assault on a base that can’t move any longer. But I would be interested to hear the results.
Young Grasshopper, you seem pretty hell bent on making house rules for this game…. I think the game is fairly balanced as is.
So my friend picked the Empire…
It didn’t take us long to realize that the probe deck was shrinking fast and I didn’t have any reputation earned… so we ditched the 16 starting rep house rule and put it back to 14. My buddy caught on fast and I was on the ropes for most of the game, but his units were never close to my base (Which was in Dantooine). Luke was turned to the dark side, Leia went to Yoda, Obi Wan sacrificed himself, Lando was captured twice (frozen once), and Han rescued him twice. Very fun game, there was one factor in balance that I wasn’t counting on… and that was the advanced setup (first game using it) so I’m inclined to agree based on my few games that the game is balanced. Although, there was the same repeated moans coming from the Empire player (like each game I’ve played) about the ability to move the base whenever the Empire threat is knocking on the door. I definitely learn new things every game, and the lack of probe cards when moving the base is a big deal (so getting lots of probe cards is a must)… also, the ability to always attempt capturing a rebel leader is huge for the dark side. I think losing 1 reputation the first time the rebels move the base is a viable solution to the crying coming from the Empire’s side… but we won’t be using house rules for this game for a while now that we are using the advanced setup… as for results, the Empire beat me due to one rebel mission card played a fraction too late (and the fact that I foolishly talked about my new base location before the fat lady sang :oops:). Lot’s learned every game… thanks for the help, I’ll have more questions for sure.
All of this Rebellion talk is really giving me the itch to play this… Sadly, players are in short supply around my neck of the woods…
There’s a mod for the game on Vassal, on online tabletop engine. It takes some getting used to but seems to work fine.
I’m not a fan of those programs. That’s not to say theh are bad. They’re pretty awesome as a matter of fact. But part of the experience for me is the social interaction.
I agree. The thing with this game is you want to have a stable of opponents with similar experience levels to make for lively games. I have a few friends with varying levels of skill with the game but I do feel like I need a challenge at times.
I honestly think more A&A enthusiasts will love this game when they discover it. The scale and production value is tremendous, and the strategy depth evolves after each game played.
@Young:
I honestly think more A&A enthusiasts will love this game when they discover it. The scale and production value is tremendous, and the strategy depth evolves after each game played.
I couldn’t agree with this more! It’s my 2016 game of the year.
Young Grasshopper- Have you had an additional games of this here lately?
Young Grasshopper- Have you had an additional games of this here lately?
Yes… 1 more since last known game. I was the rebels and barely won by the skin of my teeth. Luke was turned to the dark side early, Han Solo was captured late game, and I sacrificed Obi Won around mid game. He had a ton more leaders than I did at the end, and the probe deck was down to just three when I was forced to move my base… like I said, the skin of my teeth.
Wow! Sounds like a great game!
How are you feeling about the balance now?
Wow! Sounds like a great game!
How are you feeling about the balance now?
Balance is good if you use the advanced setup which favours the Empire, if the Empire takes advantage of their initiative and waits for the rebels to make their decisions first, and if they deplete the probe deck as much as possible.
I finally got this to the table again tonight! I played my neighbor and absolutely trounced him! He did a cheeky base placement on Dantooine despite the fact that I has a small force starting in Mygeeto. I found the base turn 4, but as I just had a scout force, he held on. However, I was able to bring in reinforcements the next turn and wiped out the base.
Putting the base Dantooine is gutsy, but it’s not as brazen as picking Alderaan! This was earlier on when my friends were goofing around, I’m glad they’ve shown more interest in refining their strategies since then.
I love this game so much I made a video for it on my YouTube channel!
I love this game so much I made a video for it on my YouTube channel!
Removed?
There was a major audio error that I had to fix.
Try this link!
