Hello all,

Tonight I'm gonna play this game with my girlfriend who seemed to be interested in discovering this game. I'm quite familiar with the rules and stuff...however I need some input on which hero seems best fitted for novice players.

Any thoughts would be welcome. I need to explain the rules first step by step but what hero/character do you think is best suited for learning the game and isn't too complex right from the start?

Are you playing Campaign or Skirmish? It sounds like it is Campaign by the way you ask about selecting a hero... This will be tricky, as she is likely to end up with 2 or 4 heroes to control - is she new to these sort of games, or to any games?

As far as heroes go, the game can be played with any combination, but usually a balance is helpful: Melee, Range, Tech/support, all rounder etc, but not necessary! That's why the game is awesome - as you probably already know! It can be played differently and deliver a different experience...

Just to start off with the game, try skirmish? Otherwise doing one mission in campaign if the new player knows nothing, or even if they like it or not (and you don't have a group that have an idea of what they are in for and want to play regularly), it might feel "flat"? The skirmish will allow you to complete a game, thereby giving a full experience - allbeit just one dimension of the game.

Perhaps pick a few squads from the multitude on the internet - unless you have a load sorted out already...

I would recommend not to play Subversive Tactics as your Imp Deck if the whole rebel group is a new one to the genre as it nerfes down the "We are heroes" feeling. Maybe Gideon is not a good one to start with because he doesn't do that much by himself, only commanding. Otherwise just let her choose by fluff.

Just the two of you? If so, might not skirmish be better?

Okay, so I was in the same situation with my wife, and I got her hooked on the game. She's gone through the campaign, Twin Shadows, and soon we're doing skirmish.

First off, I'd say start with the campaign. It's simpler at first, more thematic, and more personal. My wife played Jyn and Diala, and honestly - those two ROCK as a legendary team.

I second the advice about NOT running subversive tactics. Don't run anything that is going to make her job harder. Make your guys better, but don't undercut her. There's a certain level of frustration and complication that comes with that and you don't want it. I think a solid pick would be Military Might.

Okay, so I was in the same situation with my wife, and I got her hooked on the game. She's gone through the campaign, Twin Shadows, and soon we're doing skirmish.

First off, I'd say start with the campaign. It's simpler at first, more thematic, and more personal. My wife played Jyn and Diala, and honestly - those two ROCK as a legendary team.

I second the advice about NOT running subversive tactics. Don't run anything that is going to make her job harder. Make your guys better, but don't undercut her. There's a certain level of frustration and complication that comes with that and you don't want it. I think a solid pick would be Military Might.

I third the advice to avoid Subversive tactics. Also got my wife hooked but the minute I purchase surgical strike. It's all down hill.

What I'm seeing:

Hi all

Well We played the first mission just as a "kind of get the feeling of the game". She really liked the game, only thing was the lenght of the game in campaign. She thought it better to plan an afternoon instead of starting in the evening.

But that said; she played 2 heroes. She played Gaarkan and Fenn as they seemed to her to be the most straight forward damage dealing characters. She tried Dialla but at the start she found it too complex. I guess Fenn and Gaarkan are gonna be her 2 to go heroes.

I have to say I "forgot" to play imp deck cards just to make it more easier for her. Unfortunately for her ( ) she lost the missionin the last round and now she's like "oh no, i'm gonna play this again, I know what I did wrong.... I tried to reason with her that it doesn't work that way but ...she can be persistent

Sounds fun, keep us updated!

Finn is a beast.

Hi all

Well We played the first mission just as a "kind of get the feeling of the game". She really liked the game, only thing was the lenght of the game in campaign. She thought it better to plan an afternoon instead of starting in the evening.

But that said; she played 2 heroes. She played Gaarkan and Fenn as they seemed to her to be the most straight forward damage dealing characters. She tried Dialla but at the start she found it too complex. I guess Fenn and Gaarkan are gonna be her 2 to go heroes.

I have to say I "forgot" to play imp deck cards just to make it more easier for her. Unfortunately for her ( ) she lost the missionin the last round and now she's like "oh no, i'm gonna play this again, I know what I did wrong.... I tried to reason with her that it doesn't work that way but ...she can be persistent

My suggestion would be to let her play it again. This lets her get a better feel for what's going on now that she's had her first taste.

That being said... If you guys just played Aftermath for the first time, I would definitely choose different options for your timed events, (like "Lockdown") just to show her the game's flexibility and to make the game not quite such a cake-walk for her.

I always let my players play the introductory mission as many times as they want. Its good to know the rules and to learn the synergys among the heroes.

Well, this weekend we tried the game again but this time we used an alternative approach. We used "Redjack Automated Emperor version" (i guess it's called, available on Board Game Geek) as she kinda felt it would be more enjoyable to play co-op then solo. Now ofcourse, the cards can't really replace the human mind of an Imperial player but we managed pretty well. Keeping this logic as much as possible.

So we each played a hero using the legendary reward; additional 10Health and each an extra activation token. So far we played four mission (introduction mission, 2 side mission and 1 story mission) and are doing pretty well. I increased the difficulty (adding more BLitz cards) and I have to say she really enjoyed the strategic value of the game. So far she's like "ok, this is way more fun then just sitting in front of the television".

Of the four missions we only lost the story mission A New Threat and manly because we had the "wrong" heroes to complete the terminals. I'm playing as Fenn who has balanced attributes (all blue and green) and she is playing Jynn (tech attribute is amazing but her might is useless). So we investigated 2 terminals and then we had to slice the "might" terminal. Jynn her might is only 1 blue if i'm remembering correctly. So Fenn (me) had to rush to the other side to investigate the terminal. How hard can it be right? Well 4 activations token and ...never 2 surges! But nevertheless it felt fun to us and very thematic.

I have to say I thought Jynn would be a bit complex for her; Quick shot and opportunist abilities require attention to keep in mind, but she did awesome and used it to full potential. Many times it was that Jynn saved the day with her extra movement and attack first options. Fenn just tagged along it seemed, killing some troopers. Oh well, Fenn is just protecting her I guess

So probably next weekend we delve again into the game and try to resolve the "Fly Solo" story mission. Any strategy advices on how to tackle this with our 2 legendary heroes Fenn and Jynn?

PS1: to clarify how much she is liking the game, she bought Twin Shadows for me!!! . So anxious for the delivery now. And as she heard that Return to Hoth is in development she was like "ok, we really need to keep track on when it's available to purchase"!

PS2: you guys think Biv and Saska (new heroes in Twin Shadows) are any good? Like if you would use them more then the ones we are using at the moment?