Friday 31 July 2015

First Star Wars Armada game

On the last Sunday in July I took my new Star Wars Armada game to the Conwy Wargames Club to try it  out for the first time.

I couldn't find my black cloth so I had to make do with the bare table tops. The scenario I selected was straight from the book using the figures out of the box and specifically designed to help you learn the rules.

The game was a meeting engagement without using any of the special cards you can take to enhance your ships.


The Rebels advanced on the flanks with Chris commanding the frigate and Dave the corvette

Tony took command of the Imperials and set a course straight up the table but focusing all his fire power on the Rebel corvette.

It took a few goes to get the placing orders in advance right but as a mechanism is worked well.

Firing and the impact on shields worked very well. I liked the dials on the stands showing the weakening shields. 

Once the squadrons got in to range the fighting was brutal. It took a couple of goes to get this right. The rule book and glossary book had to be used. I'm sure these 2 books could have been made in to 1.

By the time this picture had been taken the corvette was gone as were most of the squadrons on both sides.

End game. Imperial victory. They had destroyed more points of rebels and the Imperials had learnt they could repair their weakened shields.
Definitely not as easy as X wing but it was still good fun with a lot more nuanced play e.g. X wing relies on spatial awareness to get your ship where you need it, Armada requires the same skill but with more tactical planning to take in to account condition of shields,  and making repairs.

We all enjoyed it and agreed we'd love to play it again.

I certainly enjoyed the game and it convinced me to shell out for additional ships!