After a few days of contemplation, I made the tough decision and sold my Armada collection.
I've been a star wars fan all my life, and the spaceships hold top place for me; my favorite movie scene remains the ROTJ space battle. When FFG announced Armada, I was overjoyed. Finally, a top-notch star wars space combat game! After what seemed like a long time, I received the core set. Solid mechanics, well-thought out rules- good stuff! Then wave 1, and 2. More good stuff! But it's time to move on.
Armada is a great game. But in the end, I had a few main challenges:
- it was hard finding enough time to play it (three young kids will do that)- 3 hours seemed to be the minimum game time for me, and with only one friend willing to play- and his own availability limited- I could get in only one game a month.
- its tactical focus was fun, but made it difficult (and expensive) to play 'true' Armadas- fleets of 10+ ISDs, with supporting ships, taking on an equivalent Rebel force.
- the scale was great in many ways, but the size of those big ships made it hard to find sufficient gaming table space (in my house, at least).
Being a fan of more strategic games, my hope (and it's a small one, I realize) is that FFG will release a card-only, strategic star wars space combat game. Something, perhaps, similar to the upcoming Rebellion in flavor- where the whole galaxy is in play, and players must play and move fleets strategically to gain the upper hand. Maybe it would even play in 1-2 hours, making it possible to do more than one game a night. I would gobble that up.
I walk away, but without bitterness or regret. The games I did play were fun; Armada is solid. I wish everyone the best, and may many more waves grace your gaming table.
Edited by dvryan
