Vyrago...if a ship is at speed Zero it cannot use the defense tokens. A VSD trying that is dead meat.

I know that. But the tactic is to sit as long as possible at the back, forcing the enemy to waste its movement and turns getting to you. Then, once they are in range you creep forward so you can use your tokens again. This leave very little room to get behind a VSD. Depending how fast the opponent races into the fight, there can often only be 2-3 turns left. The VSD can engage fighters or a weak ship to score a quick kill before the game ends and take the win.

A few problems with that. 1. Many of the game objectives will make the empire lose if they try it. 2. Ships start at Speed 2 so that they have to move at least 1 the first turn and use a Navigate Token to do so.

Vyrago...if a ship is at speed Zero it cannot use the defense tokens. A VSD trying that is dead meat.

I know that. But the tactic is to sit as long as possible at the back, forcing the enemy to waste its movement and turns getting to you. Then, once they are in range you creep forward so you can use your tokens again. This leave very little room to get behind a VSD. Depending how fast the opponent races into the fight, there can often only be 2-3 turns left. The VSD can engage fighters or a weak ship to score a quick kill before the game ends and take the win.

A few problems with that. 1. Many of the game objectives will make the empire lose if they try it. 2. Ships start at Speed 2 so that they have to move at least 1 the first turn and use a Navigate Token to do so.

The Tactic worked well when we only had the core set and payed at 180. but now that we are on the 3x6 and playing 300 it is not as big of an issue.

Right now it's one of my favorite games. I haven't played xwing since it's been out.

I still play imperial assault though and think it's a great game too.

I would say when it comes to fleet games this is by far my favorite over the years. Battlefleet Gothic was great until they broke it with the last few races they added. Their system was too simple in the end IMO. Armada does everything I want from a bog ship game. There is nothing stopping players from creating their own scenarios and or objectives for home brew or club games. Potential everywhere.

Malifaux is my number one by far.

But I am very much enjoying Armada, which is a good sign considering the game is in its infancy. Has a few issues (still dislike how cards are handled), but I can;t wait to see where the game goes.

Vyrago...if a ship is at speed Zero it cannot use the defense tokens. A VSD trying that is dead meat.

I know that. But the tactic is to sit as long as possible at the back, forcing the enemy to waste its movement and turns getting to you. Then, once they are in range you creep forward so you can use your tokens again. This leave very little room to get behind a VSD. Depending how fast the opponent races into the fight, there can often only be 2-3 turns left. The VSD can engage fighters or a weak ship to score a quick kill before the game ends and take the win.

A few problems with that. 1. Many of the game objectives will make the empire lose if they try it. 2. Ships start at Speed 2 so that they have to move at least 1 the first turn and use a Navigate Token to do so.

Incorrect, ships start at any speed listed on their card. (Rulebook p.23). Only when using the core-set intro scenario do they all start at 2.

I like the presentation of armada and i dont mean the models. i think the encoding of hit and damage tables in the colored dice as well as the MTG style squadron cards explaining their own keywords and the displays of ship stats on theire cards and bases are what helps the game in beeing so easily accessible. Compared to other tabletops ive played this is the biggest evolution making the game so accessible and hassle free imo.

I would realy like to see additional keywords/dice colors/ keywords/ general game mechanics added in upcomming waves. I.e. the introduction of the new defense tokens and a new ship size in wave 2 is the kind of new mechanics i would like to see in upcomming waves.

It very quickly became my favourite game too, for all the reasons given

But what makes it best for me is the alternate ship activations. I've said this a few times before, but in games like 40K and WM there is nothing worse than sitting there for 10 mins whilst your opponent decimates your army. That just doesn't happen in Armada, with the added bonus that it makes the game more reactive, forces tough tactical decisions, and makes you feel more involved in the game.

I think the six-turn limit is necessary and sufficient for a game like this. It gives the game a time restriction without feeling too constrained. Only once in all of my games of Armada did I feel that 6 turns was not enough to determine the outcome of the match... and I think then, it was a matchup of fast ships against fast ships. In every other instance the battle had tilted decisively to one player or another.

Up until now, the most satisfaction I've had with a table top game of this scale was Epic 40K. Even then, I wasn't certain of all the nuances. With SW: Armada I picked it up a lot quicker and there are a lot less tables to memorize and a lot less paperwork to have on-hand (already giving it a leg-up over previous generations of Tabletop wargames).

I feel one criticism of Armada not being big enough to justify the title does have some credit to it (compared at least to Firestorm armada, which can have entire units of half-dozen ships each in conflict), but I feel Armada still has room to expand. For instance, multi-player battles of two fleets vs two fleets can give the game that epic Armada feel that is invoked by the title. If you think of every player as a commodore within a larger fleet, then the feeling of an Armada becomes clear.

I haven't had the experience with other miniatures tabletop games to judge if it is the Best. But, given the popularity of X-Wing's streamlined model and how Armada follows suit, it must definitely be one of the strong contenders (surprising from a company that is fresh to the Tabletop scene).

I think a more agreeable statement is "Armada is the best Fleet combat miniatures game." I think the mixture of component quality, succinctness of the rules, and the fact that it's still in print (sorry BFG), put it at the top. Obviously others are going to disagree on personal preference but for whatever it's worth, SW:A has been trending on the Boardgamegeek hotness list for a while, even over X-Wing. Given how long X-Wing's been there (at least over a year), I think Armada is going to grow in popularity as it begins to expand outward. Another success for FFG.

Totally agree Norsehound. Although I think that the somehow forgotten BFG is at least on par. But Games Workshop can only learn from FFG how they introduce and substain their second tabletop game with greqat sucess and how to make tabletop movie adaptions (GW showed us how much you can fail with it).

While I don't agree with absolutely everything you said Norsehound you said it well and you voiced many of the same reasons I love and adore this game. The pace is slower than X-Wing but somehow feels so much more rewarding, engagements between ships and fighters have careful decision making for attackers and defenders, and building your fleet for each game offers a lot of options, and all of them feel viable and have their own ins and outs. It never feels like you lack control of how you play your ships while also having consequences for every decision you make. The gameplay is simple but never lacking in depth. It is truely a wonderful game, and captures a lot of the excitement and drama of the Star Wars universe. I haven't had this much fun since... I can't remember when.

I love the 6 turn limit way more than I expected to. It actually became one of my favorite bits because it imposes a sense of urgency that may not have been present otherwise. Playing defensively in the last couple turns for victory point denial is one thing, but beyond that every activation feels vital to your cause.

The turn limit feels like it belongs in large scale games as well. I played a 650 point game that still took about four hours. To speak to the balance, my Rebel fleet lost, but the margin of victory was only in the mid 20s. As for fluff, turn six just happened to be the point where I would have wanted to disengage as damage cards were piling up! Another turn would have been a disaster, and I like that there is a built-in implication of "yeah we're going to live to fight another day" rather than the every game deathmatch of X-wing.

I agree with the Imperial Assault love in here as well - and maybe for similar reasons. You don't have to clear every model off of the board to win the game... It certainly helps, but it isn't the only thing to focus on.

Armada is good no doubt but have a few gripes about it.

first the time table for releases is shockingly bad and long 3 months per 2 ships for your side is so so slow and is making me a bit bored of the game.

Secondly some of the ships are stupidly proportioned and ugly yes the assault frigate I am referring to you what the hell is that the design team needs a bit of an eye test I think it looks horribly sized and ugly design.

Lastly and most importantly the time table and amount of releases at a time sucks yes this is the same as the first point but was so large a point had to be mentioned twice

You also have to keep in mind game size and point limits are only really there to tailor to the in out game crowd. We can do 3-4 games in an afternoon at 300 pts, so nothing is stopping 600 plus pt games. All I am waiting for to go really big is more variety in my options.

STAR WARS: ARMADA is best for me at this moment in my gaming 'Mood'. Lots of games have filled that niche and have been revisited often. My personal gaming mood swings have me wanting to play games of certain speeds and genres.

Long story short, there is a BEST game for for most every 'Mood' I'm in. I'm currently in an Estarg Warse mood.

Armada is good no doubt but have a few gripes about it.

first the time table for releases is shockingly bad and long 3 months per 2 ships for your side is so so slow and is making me a bit bored of the game.

Secondly some of the ships are stupidly proportioned and ugly yes the assault frigate I am referring to you what the hell is that the design team needs a bit of an eye test I think it looks horribly sized and ugly design.

Lastly and most importantly the time table and amount of releases at a time sucks yes this is the same as the first point but was so large a point had to be mentioned twice

You don't like Space Whale?

How can you not like space whale?

As for the wave release most of that was not their fault. I don't think anyone can plan around a strike slowing production and such down as it did

what the hell is that the design team needs a bit of an eye test I think it looks horribly sized and ugly design.

IMO it looks better than the other options they had, and does in fact look just like the Assault Frigate MkII should.

I agree with most of Norsehound's prior views expressed.

As far as Fleet Combat games goes, Armada is at the top of my list. The rules are simple yet nuanced with layers of subtle complexity. I really appreciate that aspect of the game. The models are great, the production is great, what is not to love. I have played just about all the fleet games over the years, and Armada knocks BFG off the pedestal I had placed it on, that is for sure.

I really enjoy it, but as for best I would not go that far. My thoughts on the best space table top that I have played is Babylon Five Wars, more involved but really has the feel of space to me. Do I still play it, yes but not near as much as Armada. Armada is a good fast fun game.

Dropzone would have been good with a defence mechanic.

You have obviously never fought Shaltari.

Heh, most of the Joes at my FLGS are pretty heavy into DZC, and I had started taking an interest, but having watched a battle against those guys and how horrifically one-sided it was, I lost interest.

That and it seems like the rules are in pretty heavy flux and full of imbalance and flaws that they are still hammering out.

That may be an incorrect observation, but I think I'll wait and see if it matures a bit.

I agree that with attack-defense dice in X-wing, you can get some pretty wild outcomes. Armada mitigates the randomness by removing defense dice and allowing freedom of movement. I have one issue, however. This came up in core-set battles and i've yet to play a Wave I battle. Using Tarkin, it's very easy for an Imperial player to drop speed to 0 on turn 1 and basically 'park' along the back of the map. moving forward only when the enemy is in effective range to use defense tokens. This can really make it difficult to flank a Star Destroyer, particularly if they park in the back-corner of a map. I found it a cheesy tactic, but also very effective against rebels.

I've heard tales of 2 VSD builds that are parked in an L-Shape at the back corner, thereby effectively covering all approaches with the front arc of a star destroyer. Rules wise, nothing prevents this. I just find it cheesy, and it took away from what was once an amazing game experience. We'll see if this parking tactic/fortressing catches on.

It won't - no defence tokens can be used, sitting ducks, Rebels free to capture objectives, etc.

X-wing remains my favourite but I'm really enjoying armada and can't wait for wave two when ISD hits with home one.

It's not hard to see why AW players are leaving that for this.

I couldn't really afford to support X-Wing AND Armada, so I recently just sold all my X-Wing stuff.

I liked X-wing, don't get me wrong... there was a majesty to that game in the way your fighters could dance around each other and jockey for best position (thinking mainly of A-Wings and Phantoms, which were awesome).

But...Armada was the game I wanted in the first place. When I bought into X-wing, it didn't exist... although typically it was announced literally the week after I bought my core set >.<

But yeah, initially I was annoyed with the round limit and the basic game - had several situations where me and the rebel player were just circling each other out of range because I couldn't catch him and he wasn't closing in until he could get behind me. He won because he managed to kill more fighters than I did >.< which kind of sucked.

With a full-rules game, including Wave 1 however... I mean the objectives really make things interested. It's less about killing everyone and more about an objective, which changes the nature of the game completely (and helps make up for the fact that, barring certain ships, the Rebel 'theme' is that they are always under-powered compared to the Imperials).

Really looking forward to getting more games in and throwing my full weight into it.

My favorite tabletop mini game in a very long time!

There are so many features that make this game epic... but my favorite by far is the quick back and forth interaction between players. A player doesn't sit around for long periods of time waiting to have a turn to react! Very smart player vs player interactions, fast paced. I really appreciate the thinking behind that aspect of the game.

Very excited to be a part of the growth of this one..., Bring on those Waves!

My favorite tabletop mini game in a very long time!

There are so many features that make this game epic... but my favorite by far is the quick back and forth interaction between players. A player doesn't sit around for long periods of time waiting to have a turn to react! Very smart player vs player interactions, fast paced. I really appreciate the thinking behind that aspect of the game.

Very excited to be a part of the growth of this one..., Bring on those Waves!

Very much agree. I think the best thing they did was keep the time between player actions short. It keeps everyone engaged.