I finally got some BSG ships on the table. It occurred to us that this might be the first game in two years? Really?
Anyway, I threw a bunch of ships on the table and we had at it.
We rolled for sides, and my buddy ended up on the Colonial side. He had Starbuck and a nameless winger in Mk II vipers, and Racetrack in a Combat Raptor (guns only, as he didn't want the maneuvering loss). I had the Veteran Heavy Raider and two standard Raiders as escort. The scenario was an intercept of a transport (FTL inoperable) attempting to get across the map.
Using the points system, this was approximately 354-ish (Colonials) to 325-ish (Cylons). I calculated this after the fact, and it isn't exact, as not all the features and Talents were well used. My buddy was having difficulty remembering the acceleration rules, let alone keep track of all the different Talents Starbuck could use. I noticed as I totalled all the points that Starbuck's Quick Reaction Talent was never used.
Having six ships on the table, and a very robust Heavy Raider (24 Damage) ship, as well, we used the Damage Tracking Sheet system for this game. Every shot was drawn and resolved (doubles, Talents, etc...) and recorded, with the chits immediately returned to the chit bin. Then, the next shot was resolved. This way, all the chits and special damages remained in play on every shot. Damage taken in a single phase was not applied immediately, as all shots are assumed to occur simultaneously.
Link: BSG Damage Tracking Sheet - Version 2.0
First Turn:
The Colonials attempt a preemptive strike, and the Raptor FTLs behind the Cylon group. The Raptor ended up overlapped with one of the Raiders, so no shooting.
Second Turn:
A kinetic energy weapon sandwich. All the Cylons maneuver agressively, with the Heavy Raider maintaining 3 acceleration and rotating, and the winger Raider also rotating. The Raptor ended up in the firing arcs of all three ships, and not able to fire at any of the Cylons.
Racetrack survived this.
Third Turn:
Lots of shooting in this turn.
The Heavy Raider was seriously damaged by Starbuck and Racetrack, with the two Vipers hit by the Raiders. The Colonial winger did tag the lead Raider.
Fourth Turn:
Lots of rotating and close in shots in this turn. The overlaps and blocked lines of sight helped? Not really.
The two Vipers were under the lead Raider, but Starbuck had rotated and drifted into a awesome close-in shot on the Heavy Raider that had rotated forward to continue running. Too late. Starbuck was shooting with a 5+ (Pilot skill, close range, speed bonus) and then rolled doubles. One double was 10 points, the second was zero! By this time, the Heavy Raider was down to 6 damage remaining, and was destroyed. Mission accomplished for the Colonials. We kept flying and shooting...
Fifth Turn:
Most ships were stationary or moving at 1 acceleration, and I FTL'd to shoot at the Raptor with my lead Raider. This destroyed Racetrack.
Sixth Turn:
A few choice maneuvers and My injured lead Raider attempted to destroy Starbuck.
Even without Starbuck's Talents, I missed this shot.
Seventh Turn:
This was a close-in street brawl.
Starbuck was again in the pocket, and I was hitting. But, not doing massive damage.
Same turn, return fire by Starbuck.
My Raider winger gets damaged. This kills the winger.
Same turn, Raider winger fires on Starbuck.
Good thing there are no "Jam" rules in this game. Dying while returning fire threw off the Cylon's aim? Interesting to note: Starbuck would still have hit, and doubled, on this shot.
Eight Turn:
The lead Raider takes revenge!
This was my buddy digging around in the chit bin for all the big chits. This was the end of Starbuck, for this game.
Ninth Turn:
The clutch shot fails to hit.
Tenth Turn:
Maneuvering for a shot, but no shooting on this turn.
Eleventh and Final Turn:
I manage a final FTL blip to get out of the Colonial's arc, and fire. Mission was still lost, but none of the Colonials had ships left.
Butcher's Bill:
Colonials lost all their ships, two Vipers and a Combat Raptor. The Cylons lost the Heavy Raider and the VIP passenger, and one Raider. The remaining Raider was a sieve.
Good use of FTLs during the game, but perhaps the Colonials jumped a bit too early, leaving the Raptor over extended and allowing the Cylons to concentrate on it early. The "Roll Doubles" rule to inflict more damage did in the Heavy Raider, and the Raider Winger. I never got doubles for the Cylons, and missed a few shots.
Oh! And besides not taking advantage of all the Talents on the Colonial side (the Cylons only had one Ace), we forgot to use the Aim bonus rules (+2 if you shot and missed at a target the previous turn, +3 if you shot and hit the previous turn).
We need to get this game on the table more often. Lots of fun, and some serious twists and turns of fortune.
PS: The last photos I can find of a BSG game is of the Cylon AI Solo testing in February of 2020. Wow!
PPS: Having attempted to calculate points for this game, we need an App. The ships (two rules versions, different program versions {Mk VII}, different gear and weapons options, etc...) and the pilots (to hit bonuses & Talents/Flaws) makes tallying up points a real challenge. Note that some Gear and/or Talents are not applicable in some scenarios, so I don't think they should be counted as part of a specific scenario's points balance. Towing for instance.
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