I'm a regular X-Wing player and love it to bits but until last Friday I'd only ever played the Armada Tutorial from the Core Set.

On Friday due to a low turnout, I was asked by the owner to make up the numbers in my local FLGS Sullust event and played using his kit.

I really wanted (and indeed want) to love the game and I'm more than prepared to buy in, but the games I played on Friday I found to be frankly quite dull. I'm sure that this is due to my lack of experience and knowledge of the game so I'm wondering if anyone can point me in the direction of some really good articles or YouTube videos that will show me why it's as exciting as X-Wing or Imperial Assault (the other game I play) before I drop a couple of hundred £'s on this.

Haha...I'm already sold on the models (of the capital ships anyway). It's the gameplay I'm struggling a bit with.

There was another thread from 2-3 weeks ago. It's pretty detailed with reasons to like the game.

It's definitely chess vs X Wings ckeckers mentality. That's a thing to remember as well.

Haha...I'm already sold on the models (of the capital ships anyway). It's the gameplay I'm struggling a bit with.

On a serious note Armada is great less be cause it feels Exciting and tense (which it does but to a lesser degree than x-wing) and more because it feels significant and Awesome. With every decision Affecting an entire FLEET and having lasting repercussions more so than x-wing (where the decisions of last turn are frequently forgotten rather quickly)

Games boil down to the players both formulating mental picture of how the game should go in order to win and then making decisions to try and make that picture a reality while responding to the enemy's attempt to make his picture happen. This creates an Epic Strategic duel that leaves little to improve on at its finest moments.

Simpler put, Armada is not as "Exciting" as x-wing but is Far more Rewarding (at least in my opinion) in the way that chess is. Another excellent point is that it is still new, compared to x-wing which is already starting to feel bloated (May or May not affect you but some consider it a major issue.)

Also STAR DESTROYER

I don't know - I find good games to be very exciting; however if you or your opponent don't move to engage decisively it can seem slow but tense.

I will say this:

The first full game we played of Armada took 3 hours, with constant rules checking, and was very boring.

Now a game takes about 1 hour and change.

There is a massive learning curve with regard to information, and it's hard to figure out what the game is like until you climb a decent portion of that curve, otherwise you are still so new that your equivalent is being the guy who doesn't know what maneuver templates, dials, and dice there are for x-wing so to make a move, you have to look every single thing up every turn.

With that said, if your main goal is FAST FAST FAST, you will not like Armada, just like if your main goal is strategic depth, you will not like X-Wing.

I will say this:

The first full game we played of Armada took 3 hours, with constant rules checking, and was very boring.

Now a game takes about 1 hour and change.

There is a massive learning curve with regard to information, and it's hard to figure out what the game is like until you climb a decent portion of that curve, otherwise you are still so new that your equivalent is being the guy who doesn't know what maneuver templates, dials, and dice there are for x-wing so to make a move, you have to look every single thing up every turn.

With that said, if your main goal is FAST FAST FAST, you will not like Armada, just like if your main goal is strategic depth, you will not like X-Wing.

The last sentence says it all.

There was another thread from 2-3 weeks ago. It's pretty detailed with reasons to like the game.

It's definitely chess vs X Wings ckeckers mentality. That's a thing to remember as well.

Also Drasnighta put it quite well, "Its the difference between slamming a 6-pak of beer(xwing) and sipping a fine single malt scotch(Armada)....

Some People like Beer hanging out with their Buddies. Drink a few Cans and see where it goes. But its hardly a Slow Contemplative drink, after all.

Some people like the slow contemplation of a nice class of Scotch. But you don't go slamming that down quickly.

That's the main difference there

There was another thread from 2-3 weeks ago. It's pretty detailed with reasons to like the game.

It's definitely chess vs X Wings ckeckers mentality. That's a thing to remember as well.

https://community.fantasyflightgames.com/topic/189808-sell-me-on-armada/page-1The thread.

Haha...I'm already sold on the models (of the capital ships anyway). It's the gameplay I'm struggling a bit with.

Well that ISD is the Reason I started playing when it was released, don't know what your problem is needing this "Gameplay" lol

On a serious note Armada is great less be cause it feels Exciting and tense (which it does but to a lesser degree than x-wing) and more because it feels significant and Awesome. With every decision Affecting an entire FLEET and having lasting repercussions more so than x-wing (where the decisions of last turn are frequently forgotten rather quickly)

Games boil down to the players both formulating mental picture of how the game should go in order to win and then making decisions to try and make that picture a reality while responding to the enemy's attempt to make his picture happen. This creates an Epic Strategic duel that leaves little to improve on at its finest moments.

Simpler put, Armada is not as "Exciting" as x-wing but is Far more Rewarding (at least in my opinion) in the way that chess is. Another excellent point is that it is still new, compared to x-wing which is already starting to feel bloated (May or May not affect you but some consider it a major issue.)

Also STAR DESTROYER

So first off, this game FEELS right. Having played Battle Fleet Gothic, Firestorm Armada, Halo Fleet Battles, and many more space based games. This is the only one that truly captures the movement, gives me that rush, that makes me want to play every day!

Really it comes down to a single question.

Do you want to be a fighter jock, or do you want to be an Admiral?

I will say this:

The first full game we played of Armada took 3 hours, with constant rules checking, and was very boring.

Now a game takes about 1 hour and change.

There is a massive learning curve with regard to information, and it's hard to figure out what the game is like until you climb a decent portion of that curve, otherwise you are still so new that your equivalent is being the guy who doesn't know what maneuver templates, dials, and dice there are for x-wing so to make a move, you have to look every single thing up every turn.

With that said, if your main goal is FAST FAST FAST, you will not like Armada, just like if your main goal is strategic depth, you will not like X-Wing.

The last sentence says it all.

Okay...sold :-)

Okay...sold :-)

I know you're already sold, but I'll add one more thing. The reason why I switched to Armada was because there is much less reliance on luck. I play X-wing with B-wing swarms and I can't tell you how many times I lined up the perfect shot only to roll blanks or have them be evaded. In Armada you can still roll blanks but not as often; it's your positioning and smart use of commands that will really win the day. Like they said above with the beer analogy, X-wing is still fun to do with my local group but I only do casual play, not really caring how well I do.

I know you're already sold, but I'll add one more thing. The reason why I switched to Armada was because there is much less reliance on luck. I play X-wing with B-wing swarms and I can't tell you how many times I lined up the perfect shot only to roll blanks or have them be evaded. In Armada you can still roll blanks but not as often; it's your positioning and smart use of commands that will really win the day. Using the beer analogy, X-wing is still fun to do with my local group but I only do casual play, not really caring how well I do.

I have heard of these green dice. . . I think we have a guy on here who's name is a play on how fickle those green dice are ^_~

Much of the time when I'm not "getting it" with a game I find it not fun and lose interest. With this one that feeling made me want to play more games.

I know you're already sold, but I'll add one more thing. The reason why I switched to Armada was because there is much less reliance on luck. I play X-wing with B-wing swarms and I can't tell you how many times I lined up the perfect shot only to roll blanks or have them be evaded. In Armada you can still roll blanks but not as often; it's your positioning and smart use of commands that will really win the day. Using the beer analogy, X-wing is still fun to do with my local group but I only do casual play, not really caring how well I do.

I have heard of these green dice. . . I think we have a guy on here who's name is a play on how fickle those green dice are ^_~

All dice are fickle. The only sure thing about "luck" is that it will change.

Yes, I've seen X-wing matches won by people who deserved to lose and vice versa all because of the dice. I know on the X-wing forums they say that a bad roll is no excuse, but I've seen it happen too much. In my 3 matches yesterday I had a single bad roll and I'm blaming myself for wasting my concentrate fire token earlier when I didn't need to.

P.s. I don't mean for this to turn into an X-wing hate fest...

Blue fighter dice. I'll roll unlimited accuracy...

I had FOUR consecutive rolls from my B Wing against a TIE bomber of 3 accuracy during my one round of Sullust. Mind blowing!

But yes, a lot less chance than in X Wing.

Blue fighter dice. I'll roll unlimited accuracy...

I had FOUR consecutive rolls from my B Wing against a TIE bomber of 3 accuracy during my one round of Sullust. Mind blowing!

But yes, a lot less chance than in X Wing.

I had two in a row of all critical results for B-wings. Still won but lost attacks that could have gone on a ship.

Without wanting to take this even further off topic, I find the crazy lucky / unlucky dice rolls in X-Wing some of most dramatic and therefore best bits.

The roller coaster feeling depending which side of the table you're on when you see 4 critical hits come in against the same number or more blank green dice is just amazing.

For the moment I find dice variation to be more decisive in Armada than X-Wing. In X-Wing I can build and act around dice failure; target locks, focus tokens, evade tokens, autothrusters, lone wolf. In Armada, if my expanded launcher gladiator delivers a bunch of blanks, I can modify one of the results with screed, and that's it.

Wave 2 is delivering a lot more die modification options, but they're not here yet.

Welcome to Armada, my pitch is coming anyway however.

The Core Game: Awesome in its own right, especially when you first crack open the box, but quickly you feel this game has more to offer then the core is capable of delivering. The Core set does however offer some unique items that are only available within it, along with the required tools of the trade. 180 pt games.

Wave I: The Rebels gain a ship (Assault Frigate) that can go toe to toe with the vaunted core set Victory Star Destroyer and get the better of it. Fighters of all types are introduced and give a glimpse of squadron versatility. The Empire gains its first taste of a fast deadly short range brawler, bringing much fear to smaller Rebel craft normally able to simply skirt the Victory. The individually packed core ships gain several upgrade cards give a distinct flavour to both factions. The visual of fleet combat is starting to emerge. 300 pt games.

Wave II: After several Sullust events and a few open box sets, we discover the first true Carrier vessels along with the cards to boost your squadron effective coverage. New Rogue and Villains further impact the squadron game with boosts and compliments. We see the additions of ships to both factions which help round out their selection while still keeping both fleets very distinct in their tactics (Raider/MC30). The new wave gives you twice as many upgrades/ship types to use in your games with a yet to be determined meta. 400 pt games ensue.

I guess my point is the game has yet to round out its first year, and has already begun its journey into becoming the best selling fleet combat game ever made. Not to mention the most fun I have had wargaming in that genre. Just having to think of my battle plan turns ahead of where I am is enough to give me that sense of importance to every decision. The lack of defense dice forcing you to actually think out the best use of your defenses is also frustrating and thrilling. Do I use that exhausted brace now, or hope I can survive the pounding I am about to recieve...

Finally, it is Star Wars, and thats all it took.