The Empire (Tries to) Strike Back!

As you may recall, the last foray into space for the gaming group ended with a horribly lopsided victory of the Rebels over the Empire. So when we gathered for a return event, things were definitely going to be different...

The Combatants (L to R):
Commander Will—Rebel
Darth Ben (No, Not *That* Ben)—Empire
Darth Jim—Empire
Darth Alexander (Hiding in the Shadows)—Empire
Commander Not Appearing In This Photo (AKA Yours Truly)—Rebel

And Now Begins...

EPISODE XXL

THE EMPEROR'S NEW UNDERPANTS

In the aftermath of glaring defeat, gasps were heard throughout the corridors of the Imperial military. These were followed by loud thumps as various admirals and generals involuntarily acknowledged their errors and accepted their permanent removal from their positions without protest. Once the bodies were cleared, the Empire’s new top military leaders pledged to serve Emperor Palpatine with renewed vigor and diligence...

The first step was a complete review of the Imperial Navy Manual of Starfighter Doctrine   (e.g. the Star Wars X-wing Miniatures Game Rule Book), to see whether all official guidelines and procedures had been properly adhered to. The new leaders found that while procedures had mostly followed expected protocol, proper attention had not been paid to force makeup and battlefield effectiveness and equivalency. An exhaustive study revealed that Imperial projections as to levels of training and armament required to adequately combat Rebel capabilities had been woefully underestimated. (In short, we had the point matchup totally out of whack.)

In an effort to correct this error, the Imperial high command began planning the next mission with strict attention to both mission objectives and adequate combat capabilities. 

Emperor Palpatine himself had great interest in the battle that would ensue, as it involved the carefully guarded delivery of several autonomous unmanned cargo containers, each carrying materials of a highly sensitive nature for the Emperor’s administrative purposes. [The Imperial Office of Truth and Selective Openness completely denies allegations that the contents were in any way pink or frilly and certainly not feminine at all. And yes, the Emperor wears a size 18... wait, strike that. Execute that reporter! Now!  (SKEPEWWW! SKEPEWWW! Sizzle....)]

Ahem, as we were saying, it was imperative that these important and essential materials not fall into Rebel hands. The Rebels, of course, sent their top men to intercept the cargo, promising a full exposé of the contents in The Galactic Enquirer (“Enquiring Minds Do Want to See This Paper”).

The orders were issued, the site was chosen, and the various commanders were directed to assemble... and in the cold, hard depths of space, battle commenced.

The Nitty Gritty

After the last debacle, I decided to go strictly by the book. Selecting the “Thieves In the Night” scenario included in the Millennium Falcon Expansion Set, I put together an equal points balance collection of some of the Rebel’s best versus the Empire’s best.
The scenario itself calls for the Empire to shepherd three automated cargo canisters from one end of the battlespace to the other. The canisters move independently, always straight and in the same direction; they cannot maneuver in any way, nor stop, nor change direction. Two Empire fighters act as “Escorts”, who can boost the speed of the canisters if the fighters stay within one range band of a canister (or canisters). Meanwhile, the Rebels designate a ship to be the “thief,” which can attempt to snatch a single canister at the end of the movement phase, if the canister is within one range band of the “thief” vessel. (The Rebels have the advantage of being able to shift which ship is the “thief” at the end of the planning phase. The Empire has the advantage that if an Escort is destroyed, another vessel automatically becomes an escort... if they have any vessels left.)

The victory conditions are simple: The Empire must successfully escort at least two of the containers across the battlespace (a our table was 4’ long, we marked the correct distance with a line of asteroids that were otherwise not considered as elements of the battle). The Rebels must successfully steal two containers to win. Note that while destruction of the enemy is certainly helpful, it isn’t necessary, and the Empire can still win even if all its vessels are destroyed, if the Rebels fail to snatch the containers!

Though the book suggests a 100-point per side battle, I wanted to max out the Rebel forces as much as I could, and do the same for the Empire. The result gave 165 points  to each side, which I ran as a solo test scenario (ending in a narrow Empire victory). It seemed to work well, so I offered the same set up to my gaming group.

The Battle Begins
Note that the Rebels can set up very close to the Empire in this scenario; combat begins immediately!

The Forces:

Rebels (165)

Millennium Falcon YT-1300
Chewbacca as pilot
Nien Nunb as crew
MF Title Upgrade
Elusiveness Upgrade
Engine Upgrade
Assault Missiles
Wedge Antilles X-wing
R2F2
Proton Torpedoes
Luke Skywalker X-wing
R2D2
Proton Torpedoes
Deadeye
Biggs Darklighter X-wing
R5D8
Proton Torpedoes

Empire (165)

Turr Phennir TIE Interceptor
Marksmanship
Soontir Fel TIE Interceptor
Daredevil
Howlgunner TIE
Swarm Tactics
Backstabber TIE
Night Beast TIE
Dark Curse TIE
Winged Gundark TIE
Academy Rookie TIE

(The above may be off; I forgot to record all of the upgrade cards, and I’m working from memory.)

The Commanders
Rebels:
Commander Will, controlling the Millennium Falcon and Wedge Antilles.
Commander Not Appearing In These Photos (AKA yours truly), controlling Luke Skywalker and Biggs Darklighter.

Empire:
Darth Jim
Darth Alexander
Darth Ben (No, Not *That* Ben)

 I can’t recall who controlled what on the Empire side, but the forces were pretty well split up evenly. I think Darth Jim and Darth Ben (No, Not *That* Ben) controlled one each of the Escort vessels, as well a support fighter each, while Darth Alexander was assigned to general assault detail with a squadron of three TIEs.

First Blood
Darth Ben's wingman goes down early, and the Falcon swoops in on the first canister (token in foreground).

Will and I planned a bait-and-switch with the “thief” vessel, starting off with the Falcon assigned to snatch the canisters, to draw the Emperor’s forces away from Luke’s X-wing, so we could switch to it mid-battle. It didn’t quite work that way, as the Empire had a lot of fighters to throw around, but things got hairy around the Falcon very quickly. In a boost to the Rebel side, the Falcon snatched the central canister fairly early on, so we left it in charge of going after the next canister.

Hairy Furball
Ya know, all  those TIEs were *supposed* to chase the Falcon!

The Empire however, interrupted this effort, boosting one of the remaining canisters quickly across the battlefield, while the Falcon and Wedge were drawn off from the canister moving up the far side, and got bottled up in a dogfight with the TIEs. Darth Ben (No, Not *That* Ben) saw his TIES blow up rapidly, much to his despair (see photo above and below).

Why you? Because it's Star Wars, and nobody named Ben is gonna survive to the end...

Meanwhile Darth Alexander proved quite deft at both his shooting, taking out the vaunted Wedge Antilles (“So, I guess he’s not the ‘one other’ you meant, Yoda?”), and his dodging, avoiding all attempts to clobber his last TIE! (See his “moment of triumph” picture as he dodges the crit that would have taken him down... yes, fired by Dad...)

Wedge bites the big one, courtesy smilin' Darth Alexander.

Another TIE bites the dust...

Smilin' Darth Alexander celebrates the Dark Side of the Force.

With both sides now caught out of position, the battle became a desperate race to reach the last canister, which had slowly been crawling through space. The escorts were too far from the canister to assist it, but the Rebels were too far away to capture it. The game might well come down to which side got close enough to use their ability on the lone pod! 

The Rebel commanders realized that it was time to call the switch. Luke took over “thief” duties from Chewie, and roared full tilt after the distant cargo pod, with the Falcon acting to block the escort TIES from catching up. The asteroid field loomed close as Luke drew near— there was little time for targeting; it was grab or give up!

“Use the Force, Luke!”
“Uh, Ben?” (Yes, *that* Ben.)
“Yes, you ninny! Who did you think it was, Avon calling? NOW SHUT UP AND USE THE FRICKIN’ FORCE!”

Staring off into space with a vague expression that was supposed to be intense concentration, Luke activated the tractor beam on his X-wing (didn’t know they had one, did you? Ain’t retconning grand?)...

Stealing a Win!
(Needed more crits than evades on equal dice! And holy cheese, it happened!)

... and snatched the final canister!!!

Victory: REBELS (Again...)

The Rebels soared off with their prize, the Empire slunk away in despair (expecting another round of “abrupt resignations”), and supermarket magazine racks across the galaxy displayed very embarrassing photos of the Emperor’s feminine undies.

(“That’s alleged feminine undies!”— The Imperial Office of Truth and Selective Openness.)

Wrap Up

Although another Rebel victory, this time it was definitely a close call; the force matchup was nearly perfect. Had the Empire boosted the canister a little sooner, or had the Force turned against Luke, this would have been an Empire win. The photos don’t show the number of hits all sides had been taking— the MF was shieldless, with hull hits mounting up, and only R2D2 was holding Luke together, rebuilding his shields to block what at any moment could be a killing blow (two hits out of three hull points). Ironically, Biggs Darklighter, the pilot whose ability is to make people shoot him (!) was soaring along quite unperturbed. (Of course, the TIEs kept maneuvering to keep Biggs out of their firing arcs so they could focus on Luke or the Falcon. Sneaky little blighters...)

Really, victory came down to a dice roll, and a rather improbable one at that, since the “thief’s” dice and the canister’s dice are equal, and the “thief” has to roll more crit results  (1 in 8 per die, or 12.5% odds) than the defender rolls evade results (2 in 8 per die, or 25% odds). I rolled one crit for Luke; even a single evade would have stopped the attempt... and none appeared. (There was much cheering for this result on the Rebel side, and much groaning from the Empire side.)

In the end, we had a well-fought match. As with most X-wing dogfights with lots of ships, we frequently found ourselves blocking each others’ actions because of the overlap rules, although in some cases this was deliberate. It can be tricky to remember who’s moving first when you’re planning your maneuver; if you forget that someone will (or won’t) be in the same spot as they currently are when your ship moves, it can mess up your plans.

Overall, I really enjoyed this scenario. It certainly forced us to make different tactical decisions than we otherwise would in order to meet the goals of either snatching the canisters or getting them across space as quickly as possible. For both sides, you have to realize that maneuvering to attack the enemy may not be the best choice for a given situation. Indeed, as the Rebel force, we realized that in some cases shooting the escort vessel might be a bad idea, if it would cause another TIE to take over escort duties and boost a canister that otherwise would be moving more slowly.

I can certainly see that we’ll be trying more of the suggested scenarios, and sticking fairly closely to the points system for future battles.

Thanks for reading, and may the Force be with you!

--- Commander Parzival, the Wargamesmonger

It's a Frickin' Flying Shark!

Okay, there's been a lot going on which I have to blog about, but I'm wanting to get something up, and this seems timely.

In honor of the recent release of one of what must be the Greatest Movies Ever Made for a Minor Cable Channel, that masterpiece of cinematic excess, the incomparable Sharknado (google it, if you've been living in ignorance), I present The FRICKIN' FLYING SHARK!

Download it, size it to fit 8.5" x 11" paper, print it on card stock, cut, glue, assemble and throw as directed. Make a passel of 'em and you can create your very on whirling cyclone of carchardon carchariases, aka Great White Sharks.

You will need something to weight the nose, and you may have to fiddle a bit to get a decent gliding action, but it will fly.

And it's just in time for the next showing of Sharknado.

Aren't you happy now? :-)

--- Howard Shirley

P.S. If your friends want this (and of course they will), please send them directly to my blog to download their own copy. Yeah, it's a shameless way to build viewership, but hey, where else can you get such an awesome shark glider for free!

P.P.S. A few tips:

The glider may have tendency to stall. You can adjust this by making a small slit in the rear of the wing centerline (or making the slit in the fish itself longer towards the rear) and sliding the wing backwards, or by adding more weight around the nose.
Also, a gentle wrist throw will be much more satisfactory than an arm throw. Think "light toss" rather than "big hurl."

Back to Earth and Back in Time

Getting the Drop on Some Germans...

Some of the stuff in the box.

Well, we’ve been in fantasy land and a galaxy far, far away... maybe it’s time for a return to Earth!

Now, if you know wargames, well, there are wargames and there are wargames. Some players are fond of extremely complex historical simulations, with lots of specific unit counters and intense rules and sub-rules and sub-sub-rules. While there’s a lot of fun in that, personally I favor a more relaxed type of game— not the least reason being that less-complicated games, as a rule, tend to play a bit quicker. That works out well with my limited gaming schedule, and also means I’m more likely to entice my teenage son into spending an hour or so facing the old man across a table. (If you’ve got a teenager, you know that’s quite a feat to pull off— especially if food isn’t involved.)

A New Classic: Memoir '44

One of the games that will draw my son in is Memoir ’44 by Days of Wonder. Created by Richard Borg, this recreation of World War II battlefield warfare is both pleasingly simple, yet surprisingly effective at capturing the feel of the era— and it’s challenging and fun to play.

If you’ve ever played Borg’s Battle Cry (Wizards of the Coast/Hasbro), BattleLore (Fantasy Flight Games), or Command & Colors (GMT), you’re already familiar with the basic concepts of the game: Two armies face each other across a large hex map, with terrain features represented by hex tiles (allowing for multiple scenarios to be easily created with the same features). The battlefield is divided into three equal sections by dashed red lines: Left Flank, Right Flank, and Center (always relative to the player’s view; one player’s “left” is the other’s “right”).

Control of the forces is determined by a hand of cards, drawn by both players from the same deck. Each card designates one or more sections in which a player may issue orders to his troops, as well as the number of those troops which may move and fight in that section. So, for example, a card may state that the player can move and fight with two units on the Right Flank. If played, the player may only move and shoot with two units, and those units must be in the rightmost section of the battlefield (relative to the player’s view). If the player doesn’t have any units in that section, the card is useless. If he has only one, he can move it but the extra unit move is ignored. If he has three or more units in the Right Flank, he can choose which two move and fight, but the rest do nothing. There are also cards with special effects, like restoring lost forces, or calling in artillery barrages and “air strikes” (basically, attacks against any enemy unit, regardless of location), and more.

Terrain affects movement, offers protection from attacks and/or limits the ability to attack, and blocks line of sight. Terrain includes hills, forests, waterways, towns, hedgerows, etc., as well as special features like bridges, fords, bunkers and so on.

Units typically consist of two, three or four figures, depending on whether the unit is “artillery,” “armor,” or “infantry,” respectively. The figures represent the “hit points” of a unit— one hit removes one figure, which is an easy and effective tracking system. Otherwise a unit’s strength remains the same regardless of how many hits it takes. If a unit typically rolls three combat dice, it rolls three dice whether it has four figures or one remaining. Otherwise the number of dice can be modified by range or terrain effects (usually a penalty), or boosted by special cards.

The dice are unique, displaying images representing infantry (2 sides), armor (tanks), a grenade, a flag and a star. If you roll the symbol of the unit being attacked, each symbol equals one hit on that unit (the “tank” symbol represents hits against both armor and artillery). The grenade is a “wild” hit that applies to any unit, the flag forces a unit to retreat a hex (1 hex per flag rolled), and the star is usually a miss (certain cards can change this). Note that while infantry units take more hits, they are more likely to be hit than others (50% chance vs. 33% chance).

The game is played in scenarios based on actual WW2 battles, sometimes with special scenario rules based on the history of the event. Victory is gained by eliminating complete enemy units— one “Victory Medal” for each unit, regardless of type— or by achieving battlefield objectives (usually taking and holding a specific town, hill, bridge or other terrain feature). Typically a side must amass four to six Victory Medals to win, as set by the scenario. The first force to achieve the required total wins the battle.

And that’s pretty much it— simple, but quite versatile in play, and very challenging as you struggle to plan how to use your cards most effectively... especially as each player is limited to a hand of six or fewer cards, depending on the skill of the historical commanders for each side. Since you don’t know what new card you will draw at the end of your turn, you can’t be certain that your strategy will work as planned. If you’re not careful, you might even wind up with your forces essentially stuck in one section of the battlefield, unable to take action because you don’t have a card for that section in your hand!

My son and I have played the game several times, but as we’d not touched it in a while, I opted for a simpler scenario to get started— but it’s no less an important battle for that!

The D-Hour of D-Day

The scenario selected was in fact the first battle of D-Day. In the early darkness of June 6, 1944, gliders filled with British commandos flew behind German lines into Occupied France. Their objective: seize two key bridges across the Caen Canal and the Orne River, and hold them for the Allied advance later that day (assuming, of course, the Allies were successful in defeating the German defenses at Normandy). In history, the gliders landed with pin-point accuracy, giving the commandos complete surprise on the German defenders, and both bridges were swiftly secured. Although two separate bridges across separate waterways were involved, the battle has always been named after the bridge over the canal and the famous “flying horse” badges of the men who captured it— the Battle of Pegasus Bridge.

The Battle of Pegasus Bridge

The Beginning of the Battle: The gliders have landed.

The scenario begins with the gliders already “landed” and the troops deployed. The view is from the Allied Commander’s “side,” so I will refer to the battlefield sections accordingly. In the Left Flank are the Pegasus Bridge and canal (no units may cross the canal except at the bridge; however, they may freely shoot at enemies across the canal). In the Center is an impassable pond and a few woods (the latter block line of sight, stop a unit’s movement when entered, and provide a -1 attack dice protection for a unit inside a wood). To the Right Flank are the Orne River and bridge. Grey units are German infantry, Green units are British infantry (green figures are interchangeable among the Allies, depending on scenario, so some visual discrepancies from the actual troops present should be forgiven).

To reflect that the Germans were caught unprepared, the German Commander begins the battle with only two command cards versus the Allied Commander’s six. However, the German commander adds an additional card each turn (as he “comes to grip” with the situation), though his maximum hand size is four cards. That might seem unfair, but watch as the fight progresses and you’ll see that even an undersized hand can be very, very good.

In this scenario (and in history) the British commandos have the first move. Alas, I didn’t have particularly great command cards, but I could at least advance a few forces here and there. I opted to start off with an attack on the forces guarding the canal bridge, in hopes of driving them back and gaining some early Victory Medals (note that in this scenario, the two bridges each represent a Victory Objective for the British side— one Victory Medal each towards the required goal of four).

Early A.M., June 6, 1944: The commandos advance...

My initial charge clearly caught the Germans half asleep. Despite being hampered by barbed wire (the grey “jelly rolls” on the board), which penalize attacks by one die for any infantry shooting from the barbed hex, I managed to wipe out one entire infantry unit— one Victory Medal gained in the very first move!

The German Commander responded with an echoing move, bringing up his forces on my Left Flank to protect the bridge. He also succeeded in reducing my leading unit by half. No commander likes to see that!

The Brits face stiff resistance!

Turn 2 saw the Germans far more ready for battle, issuing orders to units on both the Right and Left Flanks! (A “Pincer Move” card— wish I’d had it.) On the Right, he occupied the Orne Bridge, preventing an easy grab by me, while on the Left, he took out my weakened unit and set up a fire team across the canal to harass my supporting troops! 1 Victory Medal for him— (Lucky kid. Grumble.)

(You can see in the photo that I had limited card choices. Two were for my Right, where I had zero forces, and I had drawn no moves for the Left, where the action was the hottest!)

Bringing in the reserves— one hopes not too early.

I decided to use an “Infantry Assault” card, which allows all the infantry in any one section to move (and move an extra hex, too). Although I had wanted to use it when I could actually turn the move into a broader firefight, I decided I had to bring in my back reserves to shore up my badly mauled Left. I also moved units into the Right flank to menace the Orne Bridge. On both sides I managed to weaken his forces, but gained no VMs.

Still, I thought things were looking up... but the German Commander had other tricks up his short sleeves.

What Happened?!?

The Jerries fight back! I say, that smarts.

Look at that photo. Just look at it. WHAM. I lost another whole unit on the Left, underwent a general retreat there, and saw my Right almost shattered by two guys running off a bridge! Another one of those dang Pincer Moves— what, do they print them in Berlin? Now the kid had two VMs to my one! Blimey!

Oh yeah? Well... take that!

Fine. I had forces on the right now, so I could use that blasted Probe card I’d had since turn one, and attacked with two units. RAT-A-TAT-TAT! Those two Jerries should’ve stayed on the bridge. That gained me a second VM, too, and allowed my attacking unit to immediately gain a free advance into the space vacated by the enemy— one step away from claiming the Orne bridge!

But Fritz wasn’t done yet— he responded in the same area, and took out a three-man unit! (Lousy dice— bet they were made in Berlin, too.) Now he had three VMs— just one away from victory.

That could not be allowed to happen! History was at stake! Plus, he’d lord it over me for the rest of the night!

A battle in the balance...

Time to pull out the secret weapon. MUAH-HA-HA... wait, that’s probably not right for this genre.

Uh... “For King and...”

No, these chaps probably just yelled, “At ‘em, lads!”

I played the “Behind Enemy Lines” card, which allowed me to advance one unit three hexes (normal max is two), fight, and advance three more hexes. Roaring out of the woods, a fresh unit of commandos poured down on the German left, avenging the lost British comrades and then racing to claim the undefended "Horsa" Bridge.

HISTORY IS SAVED!

It was a timely play, as that move netted me two VMs and the game. 

Victory for the Brits! Huzzah! Huzzah! Huzzah!

T’was yours truly who claimed the laurels for the evening— though, very nobly, I did not lord it over my son, but offered him a gentleman’s handshake. That’s sweet victory enough for the old man.

After Action Debriefing

My son put up a good fight, and the game was in the balance down to the last (one mark of just how good a game Memoir ’44 is). If I hadn’t drawn the Behind Enemy Lines card, I’d have been facing real trouble. (I will note that I had the Ambush card, and completely failed to use it an opportune moment— not an unusual drawback for a card you play out of turn. One has to remember one has it when the other guy makes his move. Instead, I was too busy reacting to the danger to recall I had a handy solution. "Typical officer," my men probably muttered.)

In any case, even this basic scenario (which features only infantry) is a solid challenge and a lot of fun. If you have the game, I hope I’ve whetted your appetite to pull it out again. If not, I encourage you to find a copy!

--- Howard Shirley

P.S. Oddly enough, my version of the game— which I picked up used— did not have enough components to actually lay out the Pegasus Bridge terrain as pictured in the book— there simply aren’t enough canals (straight waterways). I think, however, that's probably true of the standard boxed game, too, as the component count is right for my set. So in setting this up, you have to use the curvy river pieces instead. The game effects aren’t any different, but I find the straight components fit actual overhead pictures of the canal and river at the time:

The "Pegasus" Bridge and Caen Canal (upper left)
and "Horsa" Bridge and Orne River (middle left)
Horsa gliders (for which the Orne Bridge was renamed) can be seen in the photo as well (click to enlarge).

Fortunately, I also have the Terrain Pack expansion set, and between the two I could approximate a somewhat “historical” look.

First Flight: The Millennium Falcon

PROLOGUE

Pilot’s mess, Imperial Death Star

HOWLGUNNER (angry): “Backstabber!”

BACKSTABBER: “That’s my call sign. Don’t wear it out.”

HG: “It was you, wasn’t it! You blabbed to the Colonel!”

BS: “Can’t hang it on me. You’re the one had the fling with the Rebbie chick on Coruscant.”

HG: “I didn’t know she was a Reb!”

BS: “Ain’t my problem you didn’t check your six.”

HG: “I’m grounded ‘cause of you!”

BS: “Because of you, sir.”

HG: “Sir?!?  They gave Black Squadron to you?!?”

BS: “What can I say. Opportunity just falls into my lap.”

HG: “Oh yeah. ‘Cause you’re a no-good lousy backstabber.”

BS: “Like I said, don’t wear out my call sign, Reb-lover.”

HG (lunging for BS): “Why you!!!”

[KLAXON SOUNDS]

ANNCR: “Black Squadron. Black Squadron. Report to Hangar 12. Report to Hangar 12.”

BS: “Duty calls, Reb-lover. Your time to consider your sins, my time to outshine the stars.”

Exit BACKSTABBER.

HG: “Oh, I hope you do, pal. I hope you do.”

END SCENE

Elsewhere, Outside the Death Star...

It’s the final moments in the desperate rescue of Princess Leia from the clutches of Darth Vader. The tractor beam is shut down, and everyone but the now vanished Obi-wan are aboard the Millennium Falcon, racing to escape from the Death Star, carrying the princess to safety and the stolen Death Star plans to the Rebel Alliance. But there’s one last obstacle in the way— four of them, in fact: the TIE fighters of Black Squadron. Little does either side realize that’s all one big set up...

Star Wars X-Wing’s Millennium Falcon

Well, there’s your intro for this week’s blog. You know the scene, with the turret guns of the Millennium Falcon blasting up TIEs in a race for freedom. What could be a better test for the new Star Wars X-Wing Miniatures Game Millennium Falcon Expansion Pack— which plopped out of hyperspace and onto my doorstep on Saturday!
Naturally I had to open it and give it a proper first flight. :-)

“You came in that thing? You’re braver than I thought.”

Straight from the shipyards!

I must say, the ship is a beauty. First of all, it’s huge— I’ve never had a miniature quite as large as this. But the scale is visually spot on for the game. I don’t know if it’s exact or not, but it looks good with the TIEs (as you’ll see in the battle report photos). So kudos to Fantasy Flight Games for getting that right. The details are also well done, and I’m very impressed by the paint job— it’s far beyond my skills, and certainly superior to what you typically expect from pre-paints (and waaaay better than die-cast toys). The only lackluster portion is the exhaust strip, which is just a pale blue-grey. On the other hand, it shouldn’t be too hard to juice it a bit— just paint a bright blue around the edges and white down the middle and voila— engine flair! (I suspect that FFG might have left the area so simple to allow the painter-minded to give it a go.)

The other components are the large base, the assorted punch-out components for use in the game (including markers and bases for different configurations of the “YT-1300 Light Freighter”), pilot cards, upgrade cards, and a rule-book addendum with extra stuff for this vessel and a special smuggler scenario. All very impressive, and well worth the $29.99 retail price.

The rule changes are minimal and specific to the ship, as well as some new types of upgrade cards: Crew, Modifications, and Titles.
Crew cards allow you to add support personnel to your ship, rather like the Astromech upgrade for fighters. Support personnel can improve your ship’s capabilities. Some are generic, like the “Weapons Engineer,” meaning multiple ships could have one. Others are specific individuals, and thus unique (like pilots). In a few cases, certain main characters like Chewbacca and Luke Skywalker can be added to your crew— but that means that their pilot cards can’t be used by someone else in the same battle. (The Force is strong, but not *that* strong.)
Modifications are upgrades to a ship’s systems, such as engines or shields. Note that the Modification symbol (a pair of crossed tools) doesn’t appear on the upgrade bar of any ship. I gather, therefore, that any ship can be modified. However, only one Modification card can be used per ship; so you can’t boost both engines and shields.
Lastly are the “Title” cards. These indicate that the vessel is a very specific vessel, rather than just a plain-vanilla stock freighter (for example). The Millennium Falcon has special abilities that any other YT-1300 won’t have. Just as with named crew cards, only one version of a “titled” vessel is allowed per battle— you can have as many YT-1300s as your points will allow, but only one can be the Millennium Falcon.

But how does she fly?

“I’ve made some special modifications myself.”

The Millennium Falcon: Maxed out.

I decided to test the ship out as the full-bore Millennium Falcon from the original Star Wars film. For that, I took the “Han Solo” pilot card, the Millennium Falcon “title” card, the “Engine Boost” modification card, the “Elusiveness” upgrade card (which gives the ship the Evade action, fitting for Han’s ship), the Chewbacca crew card (which can block a hit) and the Luke Skywalker card (which can re-roll a whiffed attack). No, there’s not a Princess Leia card, but in the battle scene in the film, she really didn’t add anything anyway, aside from the occasional “look out!” I’m certain at some point one of Chewie’s growls translated as “backseat pilot.” Princess Leia: great in a blaster fight or when soothing potentially hostile teddy bears— not so much use in a space battle.

(Note: Yes, in the film sequence Chewie flies the ship and Han & Luke man the guns. While the set includes Chewie as a pilot, it doesn’t include Han as gunner crew. So I went with Han as the pilot and Chewie as crew to create a full complement.)

“This had better work.”

The Sacrificial Lambs... uh, the Black Squadron.

Of course, the above configuration practically maxes out the vessel at 64 whopping points, which meant my Imperial opponents couldn’t just be four random Academy noobs, as would make sense for intended blaster fodder. But simple math meant I could go with four TIEs at 16 points each, give or take. Three Black Squadron Pilot card fit the bill well, with one upgrade card each, but I still needed to round out the 64 points with someone a little more costly. As in the film the squadron were intended to be unwitting sacrificial lambs, I chose “Backstabber.” I figured the call sign implied more than just skill at fighting, but a nasty, self-serving personality that the Flight Officer might not be all that reluctant to write a letter home about. (Heck, it’s the Empire. They probably don’t even bother with a telegram.) Hence my little imagined scene at the start of the blog.

Actually, Backstabber turned out to be a bit of a wasted point choice— his ability is to gain an attack die when outside his target’s fire arc. But the YT-1300 has a 360° turret arc for it’s primary weapon; it’s impossible to be outside the Millennium Falcon’s firing arc. (Yeah, Backstabber was definitely hung out to dry by the FO on this assignment.)

“C’mon, buddy. We’re not outta this yet.”

The battle begins. Four against one— not fair. For the four, that is.

And so the fight began.

With a pilot rating of 9, Han Solo had a distinct advantage— he would always move last and shoot first (well, of course, on the latter). And with his ship’s “Boost Action” capability, this meant he could potentially set up shots at preferred ranges, once he had seen the TIEs' maneuvers!

Now, I played this as a solo game, which meant I strived to make the best maneuvering choices for both sides, based on what each might guess was likely to happen. But at least the Boost ability made it possible for me to reasonably “outguess” myself, as I could avoid planning that element until after one side was done moving.

On to the first move.

The Boost, in action.

The TIEs made a general advance, assuming (as I would have) that the Falcon would fly towards them as well. But I felt the Millennium Falcon player would expect the advance and try a little fancy flying, making use of the Boost ability to try to flank the TIE line, or at least be out of range of part of the swarm. You can see how the Boost Action works in the photo; it can produce very radical moves, not unlike the Barrel Roll ability of the TIEs. (On a side note, I started my TIE formation at “barrel roll spacing”— meaning a TIE could safely barrel roll towards his wingman without colliding.)

Han Shoots First!

Thanks to the Boost, that put all but one TIE in firing range. Han shot first, trying for Backstabber, but didn’t achieve anything, and... uh... well, I forgot to have the TIEs shoot back. (One of the hazards of solo gaming is forgetting that you have *two* sets of everything to do in a “turn.”) Oops.

Watch my six. I've got a turret, baby!

The TIEs converged on the Falcon for the next turn, but Han expected this (no, really, it makes sense) and pushed through the formation to wind up behind the TIE line. At this point the advantage of the turret’s arc really shows, as despite racing away from the TIEs, the Falcon can still shoot— and quite well. Han placed a target lock on Backstabber, but hit him twice without needing it. (I think I goofed somewhere, as in the photo I can see a Focus marker on the MF. The marker shouldn’t be there, since Han used the Target Lock as his action. Didn’t matter, as I didn’t modify the dice in this turn.)

The Falcon takes some hits. "Angle the deflector, Chewie!"

Backstabber replied with some equally effective shooting, knocking out two of the Falcons shield tokens— but the ship had three left (and 8 hull points), so Han shrugged it off (good thing, as one hit would have been a crit). The other TIEs had been caught out of position by Han’s fancy flying, so that ended the exchange of fire.

In Turn 3 the Empire managed to pull some tight turns and barrel rolls to line up shots on the MF... before Han moved.

Howlgunner gets his wish, and Backstabber gets it.

The TIEs close in...

Pulling away, Han blasts the closest TIE— which happened to be Backstabber. The initial roll was actually a miss, as Backstabber rolled two evades to Han’s two hits, but Han used the Target Lock to take a chance on re-rolling one die... and got a hit! Scratch one TIE— and the flight leader, no less!

But Han pulls away... and gets a kill!

Han Gets Cornered...

Caught in a tight spot...

Turn 4, however, sees Han flying into a tight space. (Do they have table edges in space? Let’s just say it represent’s the Death Star’s firing range.) Realizing this means an Immelman “flip” is imminent, the Empire sees the opportunity to press the attack. All three TIEs wind up with the Falcon dead in their sights. Han, however, thinks he can push the envelope, and opts to continue forward, planning to flip on his next turn. This keeps the range a tad longer, which benefits the Falcon, which has better guns but poor evasion skills (one die!). Han decides to aid the latter by using his Elusiveness upgrade to place an Evade marker.

The shooting is furious from all sides. The Falcon puts two hits on one of the TIEs, but the Emperor’s lackeys manage to burn off all of the Falcon’s remaining shields! She can start taking crits, which is the last thing Han wants for his baby.

Flip the Ship

Turn the ship, turn the tables.

At the last second, Han flips the Falcon, aiming straight for his pursuers. (One corner of the base was barely off the table edge— I ruled it inconsequential. The point is to keep playing, not grant a win to either side by default.) One of the TIEs is too far out of range to shoot, and everyone else is at extreme range, leaving nothing happening but a pretty light show for Turn 5.

“Well, it worked in the Death Star hallway scene... Charge!”

Out of position— and the hunted becomes the hunter!

Forced to turn back themselves to avoid the table’s edge, the TIEs suddenly found themselves being pursued— a classic Solo move. One TIE opted to press the attack, but found himself dodging the oncoming Falcon, much to his surprise. That left every fighter unable to shoot at all, while Han could freely open fire. Shifting targets off the wounded TIE, Han puts two hits on another opponent. The lambs are beginning to sense the sacrifice coming.

Comin’ Through!

Zap. Zap.

Boom.

One TIE barely made his Immelman to stay in the battlespace, while the others opted for tight maneuvering to try and get the elusive freighter back in their sights. Han swings through the formation, leaving the flipping fighter out of range, and only one TIE able to sight in on the Falcon. But before he can, Luke sights in on him— BOOM— Scratch another TIE.

Fancy Flyin’

Oh, look! Another target...

...Another kill!

Han cuts back across the TIE formation, coming behind the lead TIE (who expected a different position, obviously). Already wounded, the TIE is no match for a range 1 roll of 4 dice from the Falcon, which adds his atoms to the cloud of particles created by his buddies.

Lucky shot!

Chewie! Fix that!

Feeling lonesome and desperate, the final TIE opens up, and manages one hull hit on the Falcon... “Chewie!” yells Han, and his able first mate leaps to damage control— and even brings a level one shield! (The “Chewbacca” crew card cancels one hit and restores a shield, but only once per battle. I opted to save it until the hull was exposed in  case I needed to void a crit.)

Final Dance

Grab your partner! (Point blank... and we both miss?)

More ineffectual shooting.

It was down to a duel. The next move found both ships at point blank range... and both managed to evade the shots! Han swept the Falcon around, using a Boost to make almost a full half circle, leaving the TIE out of position— but again he evaded the Falcon’s guns.

The last TIE fighter.

The TIE tried to come in around to catch the Falcon’s flank, but another Boost move left him with no shot, and another point blank opportunity for Han and Luke— and they made the most of it— three hits in one shot, and the TIE (who had barrel rolled) couldn’t roll any evades. BOOM— the last obstacle to escape was gone!

Victory!

“You call that easy?” or, the Follow Up and Review

I have to say, I love the Millennium Falcon in game. This is the second time I’ve seen her in action, but the first time to “pilot” her myself. The Boost upgrade is an incredible advantage, especially when the pilot has a high ranking as Han Solo does. As you could see, I used it several times to alter the shooting positions after movement, denying shots to the TIEs while lining up shots for the Falcon. Also, despite the Falcon having a top speed of 4, the combination of the Boost upgrade and the YT-1300’s longer base make it a very fast ship indeed— even an unmodified TY-1300 is almost as fast as a TIE, and effectively faster than an X-wing!

The 360° turret also adds to the YT-1300’s advantage, as it needn’t worry as much about setting up a shot— it always has one, if the target is in range.

I was a little disappointed that the Falcon could only shoot at one target with the primary weapon— after all, in the films we see that she clearly has two independent turrets, as well as other weaponry (though the latter appears to be anti-personnel, not anti-ship). Though if you gave the Falcon two shots, you’d have to up her point cost considerably.

As it is, the Falcon with a full complement of upgrades seems to be more than a match for an equal point base of TIEs. Granted, I missed the first firing opportunity for the Empire side, and it’s possible that against an opponent other than myself, I might have gained some of the maneuvering advantages I ended up with— it’s hard to maintain a “fair” solo game. But even so, the TIEs only managed to burn off shields, and with no shields themselves were at higher risk of crits. The fact that they could be caught out of position to shoot, but the Falcon never could, also clearly made a difference.

The only way to know for sure is to bring some buddies over and see what they can do with (or to) Han’s little beauty. And when they do, you can be certain I’ll tell you all about it.

May the Force be with you!

--- Howard Shirley