Hey all!
While I am an Armada and X-Wing player, I am also a big wargamer.
I thought I would share a new game that was just released by Sam Mustafa, veteran wargames designer and author of such games as Longstreet...
Maurice...
Blucher...
LaSalle...
and the classic Grande Armee.
Just this past weekend he released his newest game, and his FIRST non-historical game, "Freejumper!"
In it you design a ship, grab some crew, and then adventure around the universe, fighting other players and gather loot. The game is different than Armada or X-Wing in that you usually fly only a single ship, and you design your ship from the keel up, choosing from a variety of systems to make a truly custom ship. You then go to battle and have to really manage your ship, bringing up shields, fighting off viruses, blasting away with cannons, and all the rest. As with all of Sam's games, it is a VERY fluid and intuitive system, stripped of all non-essentials and boiled down to a SIMPLE system which just WORKS. You get the basics in about five minutes, but holy crap... as enemy beams are frying your central computers, shields are getting battered down by cannons, viruses are punching through the firewalls that protect your systems... it is amazing that it can be so involved in one way and yet so simple in another.
The game is fun and SUPER quick (you can play a four player game in less than an hour) and REALLY intuitive and subtle. As a serious gamer I was a bit surprised when I first played it, but **** if it wasn't a HELL of a lot of fun. NOT a fleet game at all... a lot more focused on the combat management of a single ship. 22 bucks for the pdf, and the cards you need are free to download. I really cannot recommend it enough, especially here, where everyone loves a good spaceship game:) This is the chance to cobble together YOUR version of the Falcon and fly around the universe! It is NOT a tournament game... it is a "let's have a few beers and play a game with friends" game.
Anyway... for a really in-depth look, check out my blog...
http://lordashramshouseofwar.blogspot.com/2016/05/sam-mustafas-freejumper-detailed-look.html
Or check out Sam's page to buy it!