I sat down to read the Starfleet Battles rules and found my eyes glazing over. It does seem quite complicated, but I can see how that can be very appealing. I may find something a bit more simple, perhaps a Star Trek Full Thrust ruleset (any suggestions?) but until then, here's a few pics I snapped of the great ships Craig sent!
14 comments:
Try Federation Commander--it's a simplified version of SFB by the same company.
I used to play SFB with a friend and we really enjoyed it. I liked the complexity, but I can see the desire to cut some of it out.
I'll have to see if I still have my box lying around somewhere... I don't have figures, its all cardboard cutout counters! Fun game though!
SFB is a little rules intensive with a lot to keep track of, especially if you start firing drones and plasma torpedoes. I was more then happy to share SFB with you. Now if only you and your band of merry men would share the secret to make painting infantry enjoyable........
Basecoat- if I ever find that secret I'll share it :) I, too, loathe infantry painting. It's the only reason I haven't done Soviets!
SFB is well worth the investment IF you like really detailed wargames. I used to play tons of this a decade ago. I still have yet to find a game that gives as much satisfaction as SFB when you finally are able to get your ship positioned to fire an alpha strike through a downed shield. OH THE CARNAGE!!!!!
But Soviets are the easiest to paint! slap a khaki basecoat on 'em, paint up the minimal webbing (one bag), boots, flesh and rifles. Magic wash. Optional highlights... Done. Rinse and repeat 150 times :P
Then there's basing... ok maybe not simple, but craploads easier than Germans (damned splinter and SS camo).
Out of curiousity, what company produces the minis for SFB?
Cheers,
Mike
@Todd- thanks I will definitely stick with it. I like the idea of a crunchy ruleset where each player commands a single ship. Full Thrust is great for big fleet engagements, but it leaves a bit to be desired.
@Mike- Not sure who made the ships, I'll ask Craig. I see you're planning to do soviets soon! I wish you luck :)
Mike, you are going to make me go soviet .... is that your evil plan ? Damn you and your temping writings on the Soviets ! lol ...
i also find that a little but of drinking helps when painting infantry. actually the trick is finding a base coat color that works or is close and priming them that color. eliminates a lot of brush strokes. then three dots of flesh for hands and face, webbing and pouches and the guns. then wash and dry brush.
Come on man! All the cool kids are playing Soviets. You don't want to be a square do you? I submit that you do not and therefore should play soviets.
Also, I always have evil plans...
I found this in connection with Full Thrust Star Trek: http://www.star-ranger.com/SRStuff.htm
Excellent find! Thanks :)
ADB (Amarillo Design Bureau) produces SFB these days and also does the minis - and there is a huge selection of minis these days. They also do (as previously mentioned) the simpler Federation Commander ruleset, which has a lot of similarities with SFB but is much faster playing (while still fairly detailed). They have a free preview on their website, I believe, and it's fair to say that Federation Commander has been a HUGE hit and is taking up the lion's share of their output these days.
I used to play SFB back in the day and still collect whatever they put out for it but it's more out of habit these days than any likelihood of actually playing it. If I want to play an SFB-style game then it's FC all the way. Check out the demo download located in the middle of the screen here:
http://www.federationcommander.com/
Hope this helps! Newcomer to the blog, a lot of fun reading everything so far!
Bob
Thanks Bob- I'll definitely give their free quickstart rules a shot!
Welcome to the blog, glad you're enjoying it :)
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