I'm reintroducing my 9 year old to Star Wars Armada (we tried a year ago but it was too advanced for him at the time).

After diving right in, even with minimal upgrades the 400 pt game was too much.

So we did the starter scenario and it worked well. He even won! (tricksy Rebels).

I'm trying to figure out the best learning curve to go with. I have most of the ships but I don't know much of the ins and outs of the game.

The main question I have is if there are any ships that really do need upgrades (at least one or two) in order to be reasonably effective. I'm not looking for crutches, but for instance, it seems that taking the Interdictor without a gravwell generator of somesort seems silly.

Suggestions?

Yes, smaller games and very few upgrades help a lot.

Taking the dictor is always silly.. love the ship but it is a tad too expensive.

try using corrilean conflict rules, 1 title or upgrade per ship to start with then maybe build from that.

On your flying triangles gunnery teams are good and anything with a lot of firepower likes xi7s.

those neb b titles are outstanding although yavaris is the better of the two.

Just a couple of pointers but don't go upgrade happy, lots of players go skinny on upgrades anyway.

Yes there are ships which love certain upgrades. However trying running single upgrades in a game. Showcases the game without going over the top in complexity. And if your opponent has minimal upgrades then even the interdictor is quite good.

I play with my 10 and 8 year old. The ten year old can handle the full game, but with my 8 year old I typically play with a Comander and no upgrades or obstacles. She, the 8 year old, is getting the hang of it and I think she is ready for single upgrades per ship. Teaching the different commands and movement was the key. The boy, the 10 year old, recently taught his cousin to play with the learning scenario and now has an even better understanding of how to play. He is ready for advanced strategies, especially when it comes to the squadron game.

the key is to just have fun and enjoy playing together.

Going minimal on upgrades is by far the best option. Also avoid mixing too many squadrons. They just add too many different effects. All X & Y-wings is great, maybe an ace or two, but if you have more than 4 squadron cards for them to keep track of it is just as bad as lots of upgrades. Personally I would start him out with 4-5 generic squadrons with an ace of the same type, but switch them up each battle. A-wings this game, X-wings the next. He will get a feel for them, without being overwhelmed. Add in as he can handle more.

I'd take zero upgrades and zero objectives. Just learn the game. Play "fun" games, without worrying about pts. Make it a narrative.

For new players I think it's best to move through the waves respectively. Start with the core at 150, then core 300, then +wave 1, then +wave 2 at 400, so on so forth.

if you use armada warlords fleet builder it says which wave everything is from.

9 hours ago, Benji1980 said:

those neb b titles are outstanding although yavaris is the better of the three.

FTFY

In all seriousness, everyone else is right. Working up by simple steps (single upgrade cards. moving through the waves) is probably for the best. Avoid anything with delicate interactions, like the Arquitens and JJ, or any other group that seems to demand complicated set up. I'm sure he'll do fine. For your own edification. @Snipafist and @geek19 run a blog that has, among many other features, detailed breakdowns on individual ships and squadrons, so you can look through there and see when and where you want to introduce things. (Example: there's a long article on the Raider , just because it's one of those easy to learn, hard to master type ships.) @Truthiness , @BiggsIRL , and @shmitty also have a good blog that may provide a good contrast to the other one. Good luck.

yeah with my kids, just play with the ships, no upgrades, no obstacles. Just play to wipe out each other. Might start ramping up with upgrades shortly.

The interdictor is expensive but I enjoy running combat refit with high capacity ion turbines. I run as a broadside and have had a decent amount of success. Also the 5 engineering and some other upgrades make it very tanky. Maybe not practical in competitive play but fun none the less.