There have been a lot of posts about how long it took to get started with a game of Epic. So I just thought I'd post a few tips about how I get my game on in less than 15 minutes.

Granted, it took more than 15 minutes to get to this point, but I did it while not wasting precious table time the night of play.

Basically, I make sure I'm ready to play except for getting things on the mat.

A. Print and play. Screw cards for tonight; you've got more than enough bits in ships, dials and tokens.

B. The chit box. Pretty standard, I suspect.

C. Have your ship list on stands and with bases. I like to use those cheap photo boxes and make dividers out of scrap foam bricks. You can't be super rough with things, but for a run down to the FLGS you should be good.

You're playing Epic tonight--which means you need just one list because you are probably only going to play just one game, period. Have the whole thing decided and ready.

Close up of the ships' box. Grab a ship on plop it on the mat, tout suite!!

The whole kit fits in a nylon bag; I have gotten at least 2 or 3 in the closet that have come to me for free that are perfect for having everything sit flat in the bottom; ships then chits, templates on the top, and paper playlists down the side. There is also easily room for a second photo box with a Huge ship or more starfighters. I need to get a full sized 2.0 damage deck; it's the only thing I need to still toss in.

When I get there, everything is in the Ready One position. I can start playing in less than 30 minutes, guaranteed.

At least part of the reason it's taking people so long to set up Epic matches is the number of ships being fielded. Another reason is everyone having to read over the scenario which all have different suggested point values, setup rules, and deployment rules. In addition to possibly having additional rules you need to be aware of. You might have a 300 point list made up. But what if the scenario chosen calls for you to field 350 or 400 points, and all you brought was the stuff for your 300 point list?

4 hours ago, Faerie1979 said:

At least part of the reason it's taking people so long to set up Epic matches is the number of ships being fielded.

Which is what my original post was all about--bring only what you need, ready to play.

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Another reason is everyone having to read over the scenario which all have different suggested point values, setup rules, and deployment rules. In addition to possibly having additional rules you need to be aware of.

I'm going to guess that most folks are not playing "spontaneous Epic." Hopefully all players have read the scenario before game night.

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You might have a 300 point list made up. But what if the scenario chosen calls for you to field 350 or 400 points, and all you brought was the stuff for your 300 point list?

As above. But also, create a few "modular lists." Have a 300 point list, with a 50 point and/or 100 point Addendum List you can use or ignore as required on game night.

*****

Last night I went to the FLGS with my 200 point Standard list. It was Aces High night. It took my Seventh Sister build from my list, said it was The Grand Inquisitor with the same loadout, and played. While it would have been fun to have the 75 point Ace of my Dreams, it was far more fun to just play.

These are good and solid suggestions, thank you. My issue has been with the scruffy crew of rogue independents with whom I play. Who, much like the Scum faction itself, simply cannot coordinate. Who, like the scrubs that we are, cannot think far enough ahead to be this prepared. I like your set-up; it is very similar to what we had going on back in the bad old days of 1.0 when we played HotAC instead of broken combo-wing (and yes, that last statement is a wee bit tongue in cheek). No matter how I try, it always degenerates to "spontaneous" Epic. So far. Perhaps yesterday's fiasco will...provide stronger motivation.

Those printouts are gorgeous. Strange Aeons?

3 hours ago, Kleeg005 said:

These are good and solid suggestions, thank you. My issue has been with the scruffy crew of rogue independents with whom I play. Who, much like the Scum faction itself, simply cannot coordinate. Who, like the scrubs that we are, cannot think far enough ahead to be this prepared. I like your set-up; it is very similar to what we had going on back in the bad old days of 1.0 when we played HotAC instead of broken combo-wing (and yes, that last statement is a wee bit tongue in cheek). No matter how I try, it always degenerates to "spontaneous" Epic. So far. Perhaps yesterday's fiasco will...provide stronger motivation.

Those printouts are gorgeous. Strange Aeons?

For thinking far enough ahead, we decide on the next play session's theme/mission at the end of the current game. Everyone goes home knowing what to plan for. Of course, everyone needs to be a regular, or have a plan for player change-ups.

My problem, then, is that I get all geeked up, build a list, and 2-3 weeks later have forgotten what all the synergies were supposed to be! 🤣

As for the print-outs, that's the fine work of @J1mBob at Infinite Arenas. Bummer is, FFG kinda screwed his ability to include huge ships by not putting them in the official app.

Infinite Arenas, that's right. "Strange Aeons." I've got Arkham Horror on the brain!

19 hours ago, Darth Meanie said:

As for the print-outs, that's the fine work of @J1mBob at Infinite Arenas. Bummer is, FFG kinda screwed his ability to include huge ships by not putting them in the official app.

Thanks for the shout-out!

I spent some significant time a couple weeks ago making huge ship cards for the Quick Build Squad Builder. As you mention, FFG isn’t supporting Epic/Huge in their app, so there was a lot more work involved. As soon as personal Christmas preparations give way to some down time, I’ll be adapting the template I developed for QBSB into something that’ll work for Custom Quick Builds.

5 minutes ago, J1mBob said:

Thanks for the shout-out!

I spent some significant time a couple weeks ago making huge ship cards for the Quick Build Squad Builder. As you mention, FFG isn’t supporting Epic/Huge in their app, so there was a lot more work involved. As soon as personal Christmas preparations give way to some down time, I’ll be adapting the template I developed for QBSB into something that’ll work for Custom Quick Builds.

Did the maneuver reference sheets today? The maneuvers weren't loading earlier but they are now.

5 minutes ago, Hiemfire said:

Did the maneuver reference sheets today? The maneuvers weren't loading earlier but they are now.

I added huge ship metadata a couple weeks ago, so they are showing up in the maneuver reference sheets now. But I need to spend more time on the maneuver sheets to fix a couple things:

1) Hyena bombers are missing their k-turn.

2) Huge ships have 6 possible speeds (from 0 to 5-fwd), which is a first! Previously, any ship that had a stop maneuver could not go 5-fwd. So I need to reformat my boxes to accommodate this.

1 minute ago, J1mBob said:

I added huge ship metadata a couple weeks ago, so they are showing up in the maneuver reference sheets now.

Must have been an issue with my connection then. Still sweet to have at hand.

1 minute ago, Hiemfire said:

Must have been an issue with my connection then. Still sweet to have at hand.

The pro web developers know how to force browsers to refresh a page... I have to ask my visitors to Ctrl-F5 or to clear their cache to get the latest. I'm glad you find them useful!