FSA Introduction Game

Duh, spaceships? I take a nap.

Tonight was my first introduction game to Firestorm Armada (FSA). I knew it plays very similarly to Dystopian Wars, but like with a new car it takes a while to adjust.

Looking back I don't even know where the major differences are. For me it's that you can defend your ship against torpedoes only once per turn and, oh yes, flying through other models is quite nice, too. Movement can still be tricky because of asteroid fields, however.

Tonight I played the Terran Alliance, +Andre Suwanda the Sorylian Collective, +Tudor Stanescu the Dindrenzi Federation, and +Sven Emmert The Relthoza.

This is how we set up: Sorylian Collective (lower left), Terran Alliance (lower right), Relthoza (upper left), and the Dindrenzi Federation.

The Sorylian Collective.

The Dindrenzi Federation.

The Relthoza.

The Terran Alliance moves forward, but one Cruiser is being shot away by the Dindrenzi and one Frigate is already lost in the asteroid field. o.O

On the left side of the table, the Sorylian Collective moves out...

... and starts to target the Relthoza. (look 'ma, real lasers!)

Unfortunately, the Relthoza make a statement with a counterattack causing a magazine explosion.

On the other half of the table, the Terran Alliance desperately tries to pull the Dindrenzi into close combat so their long range weaponery can't use its full potential.

In the meantime, the Sorylian Collective seems to enter a stalemate with the Relthoza...

...while the Dindrenzi move up their ships on the Terrans and start boarding actions that can still be momentarily fought off.

The Sorylian Collective continues to suffer casualties while boarding the Relthoza in return...

...as the Terrans and the Dindrenzi fly past each other and are forced to do turn maneuvers.

On the other side, the remaining Sorylian have to turn as well...

...but two Relthoza ships escape their grip and fire at the last remaining Terran Cruiser to win the game. Voilà.

All in all this was a very enjoyable evening with the only downside that there were certain waiting times. However, I assume once we're more familiar with the ships and the rules, this will be much better. Also, I still believe this system is better where players alternate in moving units rather than players on one side move their entire army in one turn while the others wait and then they get to move their entire army. I am looking forward to the next game!

As a really nice surprise, +Tudor Stanescu gave me his leftover Terran Alliance starships, so I'll soon build my own fleet. :-)