Inevitably when I try out a new list, I end up forgetting a card interaction, pilot ability or some other thing that would/could help me do better.
Short of doing 100 reps with the lists I bring out, or taking way too long to re-read all the cards during play, is there anything that you do to to help yourself remember what your ships & upgrades can do?
I'm great at maneuvering, bad at remembering...
1 minute ago, Force Majeure said:Inevitably when I try out a new list, I end up forgetting a card interaction, pilot ability or some other thing that would/could help me do better.
Short of doing 100 reps with the lists I bring out, or taking way too long to re-read all the cards during play, is there anything that you do to to help yourself remember what your ships & upgrades can do?
I'm great at maneuvering, bad at remembering...
Whenever a new step happens for instance Start of Combat triggers I say, “okay start of combat, do you have anything and do I have anything”. For longest time I had trouble with Rebel Captive, so I left an acrylic stress token in my hand and squeezed it until it triggered that round.
4 minutes ago, Tbetts94 said:Whenever a new step happens for instance Start of Combat triggers I say, “okay start of combat, do you have anything and do I have anything”. For longest time I had trouble with Rebel Captive, so I left an acrylic stress token in my hand and squeezed it until it triggered that round.
These are the basic techniques I try to practice. Verbalized triggers, like the beginning and ending of phases, can help a lot. Keeping a hold of something and fiddling with is also a good reminder, like the old "Tie a string to your finger" trick.
Verbalising each step and having tokens helps (Kallus /Rebel Captive, Mara Jade tokens etc).
Trying to smoke less weed before a game. Usually helps
For a unique ability, for example "Marksmanship" I put a focus token on top of the ship base (vs. being behind the ship base) as a reminder that I've taken it as my action, so when dice start rolling, I remember that this is a "special" focus token (per se) it helps me. Could do the same with different tokens placed on the ship base to remind you. You could even use one of the mission tokens from a core set placed on the ship base to equal something.
Hope that helps
, God bless.
Just remember what to do and the problem goes away
41 minutes ago, Tbetts94 said:Whenever a new step happens for instance Start of Combat triggers I say, “okay start of combat, do you have anything and do I have anything”. For longest time I had trouble with Rebel Captive, so I left an acrylic stress token in my hand and squeezed it until it triggered that round.
Official rules state Rebel Captive isn’t a missed opportunity as it is a “must” effect and is therefore mandatory. Not having a dig btw, I forgot I had it on RAC in 2 of my 5 rounds at GVC a few weeks ago! Cost me dearly in 2 close losses but live and learn I guess. I’ll try your idea of holding the token next time I run it
It’s not like your opponent will remind you, eh?
As a general rule I try to relax and internally talk myself through the steps of the game to remind myself when things trigger but it’s not always easy. In fact I’m terrible and have to make a conscious effort. First time I used palp it was just an OGP with 8 extra points for my opponent.
33 minutes ago, RufusDaMan said:Trying to smoke less weed before a game. Usually helps
Also; this.
Just now, Smutpedler said:Official rules state Rebel Captive isn’t a missed opportunity as it is a “must” effect and is therefore mandatory. Not having a dig btw, I forgot I had it on RAC in 2 of my 5 rounds at GVC a few weeks ago! Cost me dearly in 2 close losses but live and learn I guess. I’ll try your idea of holding the token next time I run it
Yeah, but I ain't going to tell my opponent when he dials in a white/red move next turn that he should have been stressed. Kind of a **** move lol.
19 minutes ago, Tbetts94 said:Yeah, but I ain't going to tell my opponent when he dials in a white/red move next turn that he should have been stressed. Kind of a **** move lol.
For sure. No one wants to be “that guy”.
I use Lego minifigs when I can for triggers ... a Palp sitting below the Lambda, or if rebel captive on a small ship, the figure holds the peg perfectly ...
Every time I miss an opportunity, I cut off a finger ...
You have no idea how long it takes to post with just one finger.
2 hours ago, Goseki1 said:Verbalising each step and having tokens helps (Kallus /Rebel Captive, Mara Jade tokens etc).
Perfect. It will be just like playing with this guy:
Remembering abilities with a new build can be a pain in the butt. My friend had Predator in a build and used it the first turn of combat and then forgot all about for the rest of the match. I was no help in reminding him either.
What works for me, when I remember, is look at and reread each pilot card when it activates. Works especially well when running a new build. Or you can avoid all the problems by running a naked squad. Four T-70s or eight Academy Ties.
I find myself narrating the whole game, which might be a bit annoying and can give my opponent too much insight into what I'm thinking, but really helps us both remember things.
It's good when we're both trying out new stuff and I try not to do it in tournaments unless I'm playing someone who knows me already.
Maybe get some duplicate/printout cards of the ones that cause effects and put them in a row/column on another part of the table? Make that your 'cheat sheet' for the abilities you intend to use in the game. Every time it comes to your turn to do something, skim it and ask 'does this trigger right now?'. It gets a lot easier with multiple ships with the same cards but can still be a bit cluttered if you've got a bunch of Test Pilot A-Wings with unique EPS on each.
I think there is some good advice here, especially the suggestion to verbalize the steps. Doing this will help not only with the list you're learning, but it will help internalize the steps and help with any future lists and their triggers.
I would also recommend trying out a new list in an environment suited to doing new things: for example with a practice partner or at a casual game night: not at a tournament! You can set appropriate expectations with your partner about reminding one another of steps and triggers.
When I was starting, I used a notecard with the different phases listed and pilot/upgrade abilities that could trigger in each. To this day I still forget to use Intel Agent often though.
As others have pointed out, I call out each step and take a few seconds to see if I forgot something or not: start of combat is a popular one along with end of the round.
It serves 3 purposes:
- It helps me remember
- It helps my opponent remember (because some of his steps, like illicit cloaking device, are not optional)
- If my opponent forgot something anyway, once we move on, there is no going back and I don't feel guilty about anything. I quite litterally called it.
Another one on the verbalising the steps camp here. It also helps the general flow of the game and helps your opponent to remember their triggers, which can avoid the possibility of bad blood if they think you're deliberately trying to short-change them, as opposed to just being forgetful!
Thanks everyone. I'm sure you've helped more than just me with these tips.
Going along with the verbalization suggestions, it reminded me of that old trick of creating a sentence where the first letter in each word is there to remind yourself of something. Like " M y v ery e xcitable M ailman j ust s howed u s n ine p lanets" to remember the names and order of the planets.
I'll give this a shot.
8 minutes ago, Force Majeure said:" M y v ery e xcitable M ailman j ust s howed u s n ine p lanets" to remember the names and order of the planets.
This has been modernized to recognize the loss of Pluto as a planet and to make it more culturally relevant. "My very erotic Moff just sent us nudes."
For bomblet generator, I put s bomb down even if it is not going to hit (as long as my own ships arent at risk) so I remember when it counts.
I had a hard time remembering Rey, but in big tournaments I take my time so I dont forget.