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View Full Version : Pick-up BSG Game: Follow-up 'Shot Taken' Marker Game



OldGuy59
03-11-2022, 13:58
This is a trial of the "Shot Taken" marker idea.

See the previous game were the idea developed here: Pick-up BSG Game: First of the New Year 2022 (https://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/showthread.php?35015-Pick-up-BSG-Game-First-of-the-New-Year-2022&p=566351&viewfull=1#post566351)

Setup:

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The Colonials are on a survey mission in hostile territory, with a Combat Raptor doing the surveying and escorted by two Vipers. Colonials are coming in from the top left. 356 Points of ships and pilots, using Racetrack for the Raptor pilot, and Starbuck for the lead Viper. The second Viper has an Average pilot with no To Hit bonus and no Talents. Oh! And the Raptor has a DRADIS Jammer (3 Pts), so the Total was 359.

The asteroids to be surveyed are across the center of the map, from top right to the bottom left. All asteroids are sparse. Colonials must scan at least three asteroid groups, but they can't be adjacent to each other.

The Cylons have four Raiders, but all are Average pilots, with no To Hit bonuses, nor Talents. 360 points for the ships.

Turn 1:

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The Colonial Raptor FTLs on the first turn, but scatters straight into an asteroid group (using a planetoid marker) at speed 6! The damage is outrageous, and nearly game-ending...

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Racetrack has the 'Lucky' Talent, and decides to use it to get a better result. This was allowed because my opponent hasn't played this game much (Like I have all the pilots and their Talents memorized...). Changing one of the original die rolls by two (Changing a "5" to a "7") puts the FTL scatter back on the path my opponent intended, and the game continued. Things like this would crop up throughout the game, as we tried to remember all the fiddly bits that Talents could effect. I had none of that with my ships, but Starbuck has a mitten-load of Talents.

With the FTL scatter redone, the Raptor had scanned one asteroid field, and was almost in range of the second, non-adjacent group. The Vipers were closing into escort/intercept positions, and the Raiders were fanning out to weave through the asteroid field.

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Turn 2:

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Maneuvering through Turn Two, and still no shooting. The Raptor is under the lead Viper, and has completed the scan of the second group. Not necessarily visible in this image is that Raider "A" does, in fact, trim the tip of the asteroid group as he attempts to maneuver around it at 5 KE (The range ruler indicates "A", as we were checking for any possible shots.). The damage was extensive, with no Talents to mitigate it.

Turn 3 -Step One:

Shooting starts. But not well.

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All ships were travelling at high speeds to close the distance. This added to die rolls, and hits were hard to achieve.
Only the Viper winger had a shot at a Raider, shooting at "A". Firing while over 5 KE, at a ship at 6 KE, through an asteroid group, at long range... A 'Shot Taken' marker is placed with the +2 showing.
The Raiders didn't do any better, with the speeds and distance not helping. "B" shot at Starbuck and missed, and "D" could just squeak a shot past the end of the asteroid group, but speed denied a hit. Raider "A" was out of arc. "C" was under "B" and out of range/arc.

Turn 3 -Step Two:

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The Raptor was racing past the asteroid field, trying to get to the next scan, Starbuck was attempting to shield it. The winger misjudged the turns, and pulled out of arc.

Raider "A" turned into a good firing position, and was able to see a sliver of the Raptor's stand past Starbuck (This image shows the pre-roll markers, but A hit the Raptor in this turn. The Shot Taken marker was turned over to the +3 side for the next turn). Raptor "C" was now in range and arc, however speed and distance saved the Raptor from damage. Raiders "B" and "D" had fired in Step One, so were not able to fire in this step. Markers were all in place for the next turn.

Turn 4 -Step One - First Image:

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Shot Taken markers are placed to indicate what ships would be fired upon by whom. Raider "C" on the top left could get a part of the Raptor past Starbuck. Raider "B" couldn't get a clear shot at the Raptor, so shot at Starbuck. Raider "A" near the center was able to shoot past Starbuck at the Raptor. The Raptor was rotated and moving at 6 KE. Raider "D" was maneuvering aggressively around an asteroid group, not wanting to suffer like the leader had. Viper Two didn't change targets, so that marker stayed where it was. Starbuck and Racetrack fired on Raider "C", resolved in the next image...

Turn 4 -Step One - Second Image:

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Starbuck unloads on Raider "C". At this point, Starbuck needed two to hit, with the Raider target at 3 KE, and close range. Starbuck was at 6 KE, drifting sideways, but with her +3 To Hit bonus, it was still nearly a guaranteed hit. Then the double "sixes" happened. Somehow, this didn't destroy the Raider, but it was very seriously colanderized. Racetrack didn't manage to hit the Raider. The other Viper shot at Raider "A", and brutalized it. With the previous asteroid damage, Raider "A" was destroyed. Thanks to simultaneous shooting, he did get to contribute to the mayhem before being removed.

Turn 4 -Step One - Last Image:

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Shots by the Cylons were then resolved. Raider "C" couldn't hit with the speed penalty, even at close range. Raider "B" shot at Starbuck, and missed. Raider "A" hit the Raptor again, and this was bad. My Opponent wasn't able to use two Talents to avoid all the shooting at the same time, and I think he used Evasive to dodge the "C" hit. This allowed the "A" hit to go through, and Special Damage was done. He lost G rating and Acceleration. With the Heavy Wing Guns already lowering the Raptor's Acceleration to "2", this was crippling. The Raptor was rotated and moving at 6 KE. Using a Change Direction card was not an available option to maneuver away from the gathering vultures... Raider "D" was maneuvering aggressively around an asteroid group, not wanting to suffer like the leader had.

Turn 4 -Step Two:

No image of this step, as all the shooting was done in Step One. The ships on overboost were moved, and wreckage removed.

Turn 5 -Step One:

Lots of rotated, drifting ships...

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Raider "A" was removed, and Raider's "B" and "C" decided to rotate. Raider "B" messed up, and took himself out of arc. Raider "C" managed to get into perfect shooting arc for the Raptor, but the Viper winger was also in a perfect position and range. Raider "D" had managed to skirt around the asteroids and was also in a great position. I don't recall and there aren't any images, but it was possible Raider "D" didn't fire upon Viper Two at the end of the previous turn. If so, the Shot Taken marker for Raider "D" should have been removed from Viper Two at the end of the last turn, as Raider "D" hadn't managed to fire upon Viper Two for the entire turn. However, I may have squeaked a sharp turn and hit him. I just don't recall. In any event, Raider "D" did hit Viper Two in this turn, so the +3 marker would be placed on by the Viper for the next turn.

Viper Two destroys Raider "C" with the shot in the rear. With the damage done by Starbuck in the previous turn, the two would have been enough.

We called the game here, but I think I only had Raider "D" remaining on the table at the end of the shooting. The Raptor had drifted by the last of the asteroid groups it needed to scan, and could have FTL'd away at the start of the next turn. If Raider "C" could have shot at the Raptor, and I think it did, Racetrack 'Evaded' the shot to survive the round.

Summary

The Colonials got their scans, and got away with their ships. They didn't get away unscathed. The Cylons got their butts handed to them. I think one ship was undamaged, and one ship was mauled. Two Toasters are expanding clouds of busted spare parts...

The "Shot Taken" markers helped a lot in this mess. It isn't foolproof, as you have to remember when they change, and whether you've actually shot at the ship that turn, or not. We may have messed that up at least once, in all the shooting. It was definitely better with them in this game, than without.

They may have slowed the game down a bit. With players familiar with the game, and not trying to keep track of three-four ships at a time, and all the Talents of the pilots, it shouldn't mess up the flow of the game. I'm gonna keep using them in the future.