Hello all,

Veteran player here looking to *continue* teaching my roommate and good friend how to play Armada.

Problem is, I haven't taught anyone how to play Armada from the ground up since Wave I, and things are quite complex now.

So, I was wondering if anyone had any trainer lists to share or any experiences teaching people how to jump into the game now that we're 5 waves of complexity deep.

My friend is knowledgeable about the game, and about strategy games in general. Just looking for specific ways to ease him into the game and approach some of the complex topics.

Also looking for ideas on two "trainer" fleets, one for each side obviously, that are balanced enough against each other to be a toss up for either side to win given a rotating set of objectives. Not looking for initiative bids or some of the more advanced list tailoring, yet.

Was thinking about maybe doing the two lists that WWPDSteven did for his recent youtube vid where he was bringing his friend up to speed on Wave V, but I was just curious if anybody had any better ideas?

(Note: I'm well aware that there are other teaching topics here somewhere in the forum. I did not do a search. I think this is a worthwhile topic to revisit every now and again and think this is more of a unique situation, i.e. an experienced player looking for ideas on how to bring an almost complete nub into the game rather than the nub trying to learn themselves.)

Here you go. 2 lists hopefully balanced.

I have left out intel, snipe and other wave 4-5 rules but there are a few later wave upgrades present

That's a good starter Mad Cat, thank you.

I think I might boost them up to 400 though, just to skew closer to a full game.

I like the thinking though!

I'd say to make a 400 point list with no upgrades and generic squads. Give a very generic commander, like Dodonna and Motti. Try to incorporate a large ship on both sides, and 1 ship from each wave to give the different flavors of what is available. This way they can see that an Arq flies very different than a Glad, and an ISD II is the center piece.

Don't worry too much about the finesse with the squads, and do only wave 1 squads. It takes a long time to understand that part, and this game is based around ships.

Don't let them build a list. They won't have the understanding to know what is good/bad. Also, don't try to correct them on how the move or attack. You will just cause analysis paralysis. They will have to learn how they should move and attack, and force them to ask questions. When they come to you, it means they will be more invested in the game.

3 minutes ago, Undeadguy said:

I'd say to make a 400 point list with no upgrades and generic squads. Give a very generic commander, like Dodonna and Motti. Try to incorporate a large ship on both sides, and 1 ship from each wave to give the different flavors of what is available. This way they can see that an Arq flies very different than a Glad, and an ISD II is the center piece.

Don't worry too much about the finesse with the squads, and do only wave 1 squads. It takes a long time to understand that part, and this game is based around ships.

Don't let them build a list. They won't have the understanding to know what is good/bad. Also, don't try to correct them on how the move or attack. You will just cause analysis paralysis. They will have to learn how they should move and attack, and force them to ask questions. When they come to you, it means they will be more invested in the game.

Yup. All of this.

I've mentioned this before..but first time I tried teaching my son how to play (Wave2?) we went all in and he just didn't get it. He never came back for another game.

He showed interest again and this time i tried no upgrades except the commander and only generic squads. We also played 200 points to make it really simple. He caught on right away and was itching to build his own fleet and play at the 400 point level.

When I then showed him the Upgrade Cards, he was hooked. He read them all and began to understand the interactions.

Bottom line: Teach the basic mechanics first - Commands, Navigating, firing, etc. Then get into all of the upgrades and uniques squads.

Now my son is part of our CC group at our FLGS and has taken over my rebel ships...Rebel scum...

For the first game, keep it simple - no upgrades, no commanders, no obstacles, and no objectives. I usually build lists of about 200 points with 3 ships per list (any less and you don't get the full experience of activations) and some squadrons (usually 4 X-Wings and 4 TIEs). You don't want too many different ships & squadrons that they need to learn, but you want to show all aspects of the game (so one ship should act as a carrier, don't use Rogues).

I've found this approach very successful as it gives a good feel for the game without being bogged down with lots of rules and abilities.

Tried and true.

Used this for teaching. Much more approachable, and serious fun for old-timers too.

Have the newbie make 2 lists, and play them randomly.

I'm probably going to stick to 400 point lists, just because the player in question has already played several games and I personally feel the game loses a lot with a reduction of points.

All the other points are very well received, thank you all!

for a first timer I do zero upgrades outside of a commander 200 points.

just focus on core mechanics.