Star Fleet Battles has a long an largely unknown history. Task Force Games created it in 1979, as a hex and counter game that allows a player to take command of their favorite ships from the Star Trek universe and battle them at warp speeds. However, being only a hex and counter game, it used to be considered a little lack luster.
But what it lacked in visuals, it has made up for in detail. The rule book is over 200 pages long, and covers all the ship systems of your chosen vessel and their operation in game. It requires two sheets to command a single ship: an energy allocation sheet where you record your power usage each turn, and your ships stats page (SSD), where you record damage, and learn the various capabilities of your vessel. Here is the SSD for a Klingon D7 cruiser:
Now most of that will be gibberish, but it covers shield strength, warp power, phaser power and type, and the list keeps going and going. It's got all the detail on paper, but what this game has always needed was something more visual. In 1988 Star Fleet Battles was sold to the Amarillo Design Bureau (ABD) and they released a line of miniatures for it.
Star Fleet battles is now on its fifth generation of miniatures with ABD's Starline 2500 series and they keep getting better and better. There are dozens of ships, including some old favourites:
They have also added in new ships and created ship models for species mentioned in the Star Trek universe, as well as some of their own.
After choosing your fleet, players tally and then allocate energy to their ships different systems, including, phasers, disruptors, shields, life support, and warp travel. After Energy Allocation, comes the action phase, which is segmented into 32 small rounds called impulses where you move and shoot. You move one space for each energy you put into movement. So if your speed was 10 you would move 10 spaces over the course of the 32 impulses, and they have a chart that tells you when to move your ship.
Damage is done by rolling d6's and comparing it to a table to determine the damage. Shields can absorb some damage, but once they go down they are difficult to get back up, and the player then gets to roll for damage on your vessel itself which causes systems to fail and you to lose your fighting spirit.
If you are looking for an exciting, in depth look into starship command, then look no further then Star Fleet Battles!
Star Fleet Battles
Reviewed by JADE Gaming
on
4/16/2014 02:06:00 pm
Rating:
Where would i get a space battle mat with numbered hexes for miniatures?
ReplyDeleteThere you go!
Deletehttps://www.starfleetstore.com/general-miniatures-c-12_13/module-w-space-battle-maps-125-p-27.html?zenid=ac1tntbme4nj6jb6ac016jeo01