Game: Mag·Blast Third Edition

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jsper — 2008-07-28T02:44:35+00:00

Promotional sheet in spanish

Thread: Re: A Game of Screaming Dissapointment

baradifi — 2008-07-01T02:49:31+00:00

foxxdye wrote:

So, I get to make a ton of noises while both girls look at their command ships in almost terrified confusion.

Could skip the sound effects rule when playing with people who don't like it...

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burbidge — 2008-05-08T01:02:00+00:00

Thor (Cruiser type A)

Thread: Recyclons v40k - change in their special ability

Lord_Kristof — 2008-05-02T17:40:44+00:00

I think they shouldn't receive a card every time ANY ship is destroyed - it's a very powerful ability, and gives the Recyclons player too many cards. My idea is to change it to every time THAT PLAYER'S ship is destroyed. Of course he still gains three cards when ANY mothership is destroyed.

Thread: A change of the flow of play - proposal

Lord_Kristof — 2008-05-02T17:36:08+00:00

Ok, what bugs me the most in Mag-Blast is that any played could be actually eliminated from the game before he even plays a card (especially in a bigger group of players). My idea is - you play your cards one blast/special card at a time, clockwise. Player A plays a blast, then player B, then C and etc. until they run out of cards. Of course, if you can play a Direct Hit, you can do that and then play an effect (using three cards in your turn, instead of one, but it still counts as one action).
The movement phase should also proceed in this fashion, as well as any other thing I might have forgotten about.
When all the players say "pass" after playing all the cards they wanted, the turn ends and a new one starts.
Of course the effects of the Minefield and Asteroids last for the whole turn (that is: until all the players pass).
What do you think? I haven't tried it out yet, but I'm almost certain it's going to give the game a bit of a more tactic curve and it'll become more even.

Thread: Re: Thinking about buying it, but I already own Bang! Is this game still worth getting for me?

nutrimat — 2008-05-01T22:54:35+00:00

It's very light, and not meant to have really deep strategy, so it is easy to learn and plays quickly. Its appeal depends on the group you're with: it will REALLY drag with anyone who's prone to analysis-paralysis, or trying to calculate the precise number of hits required. It's a good game with people who don't really care about who wins, just having fun playing it.

It's a good filler between intense, long, brain-twisting strategy games, if you want to shout and throw cards around, and generally blow off steam. The "you must make a space-battle sound when playing your card" rule pretty much is the litmus test - anyone who'd refuse to do that, wouldn't enjoy the game in the firs tplace.

It's also a game you can play with kids - my 11-year old nephew and my friend's 10 year old son both picked it up quickly and had fun playing it.

Whether it's worth it to you might also depend on how much you spend for it. To use an analogy, if this game were a movie, I wouldn't spend the money to go see it on opening night - I'd probably catch it in a second-run theatre or rent the DVD.

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burbidge — 2008-04-24T01:23:09+00:00

Nimbus (Flagship class)

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burbidge — 2008-04-20T07:36:52+00:00

Mag-Shields

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burbidge — 2008-04-19T03:06:29+00:00

Disruptor Blast

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burbidge — 2008-04-10T03:58:42+00:00

The Resilience

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burbidge — 2008-04-10T00:48:27+00:00

Battleship Class Fleet Ship

Thread: Ideas for new cards?

burbidge — 2008-04-07T20:08:41+00:00

I've started working on a few new cards including new fleet ships, new command ships, new weapons, and new action cards.

Does anyone have any suggestions/ideas for new cards?

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burbidge — 2008-04-06T18:49:11+00:00

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burbidge — 2008-04-06T08:54:01+00:00

D.O.O.P.

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burbidge — 2008-04-05T00:16:52+00:00

Jupiter IX a Dreadnought with Space Torpedoes

Thread: Re: Direct Hit Effects?

dysjunct — 2008-03-28T17:31:49+00:00

Trying to recall, based on my 2e knowledge and without having the game in front of me:

1. Yes. But this is highly unlikely -- you'd need to have a blast, a direct hit, and Catastrophic Damage all in your hand, out of a hand size of five cards. And then your opponent would have to leave a quadrant open, in which case he probably deserves it.

2. No.

Thread: Direct Hit Effects?

ebridge — 2008-03-28T16:02:54+00:00

I just got the game, so please forgive me if the answers to these are obvious.

1) Can Direct Hit effects be used on Command Ships? It seems a little shocking that a Scout could take out a Command ship with a lazer blast and a Direct Hit effect.

2) Can Direct Hit effects be played after a fighter or bomber attack?

Thanks.

Thread: Re: A Game of Screaming Dissapointment

foxxdye — 2008-03-11T20:33:28+00:00

Well the thing is, they both like other board games, so I thought: Mag Blast. No big deal right?

Well, turns out...BIG DEAL.

Thread: Re: A Game of Screaming Dissapointment

Faerun — 2008-03-11T00:03:37+00:00

Doesn't seem like the right crowd for this game ^_^

Thread: Re: A Game of Screaming Dissapointment

brumeister — 2008-03-10T19:52:38+00:00

Maybe you shouldn't have grabbed the girls in the office, of all places.
You should know better.

Thread: Re: A Game of Screaming Dissapointment

unixrevolution — 2008-03-10T19:40:47+00:00

They are obviously more concerned with their image among their co-workers than with having fun. Funwipers.

Thread: A Game of Screaming Dissapointment

foxxdye — 2008-03-10T17:13:19+00:00

Ok, so I love bo bo's (street slang for "Boardgames") and so I'm always trying to introduce new games to the non-gamers in my department here at the corporate office.

I grabbed one of my staple players, Becky, and then a girl I haven't played with before at all, Jessica. Hand in hand like the Wizard of Oz, we descended upon a lounge area with sole purpose of making fun happen. :sauronSauron indluded for aesthetic purposes)

This is gonna be a short session report. Why? Well, first of all, both girls refuse, absolutely refuse to make sound effects when they play blast cards. Becky actually says *secretly* before the game that she is getting depressed just thinking about making the noises. Depressed? Depressed!

Fine, I say, I'll make the sound effects for you. Sure enough when she plays a card I make a tiny sound effect to get it over with and she says, "Hey, that sound effect was weak!" Make your own then! "No, I don't want to," Becky says as she looks over her shoulder at some of the other people eating their lunches. When it comes to Jessica's turn she waits for me to make the noise. "Both of you want me to make your noises?" Of course. Both of them.

So, I get to make a ton of noises while both girls look at their command ships in almost terrified confusion.

Wow, who would have thought a sci-fi theme would freak these two ladies out so much. In the end I just scooped up the cards and said, "Ok that's it, I'm done." I'm sure that in some far, deep corner of their mind, they enjoyed themselves.

Thread: Re: Thinking about buying it, but I already own Bang! Is this game still worth getting for me?

cerulean — 2008-03-04T14:57:11+00:00

If you want direct conflict in space, but want something a little more different from Bang, I recommend Alpha Strike. It's the kind of game that MagBlast wanted to be.

Thread: Re: Thinking about buying it, but I already own Bang! Is this game still worth getting for me?

dysjunct — 2008-03-03T19:45:03+00:00

These games have very little in common other than being card games with direct conflict.

The main difference is the hidden roles and the teams these create. In Mag*Blast it's a free-for-all, with constantly shifting alliances and temporary truces. The strategy comes from how you manage your resources (keep fighters, or use the cards to draw a new ship?) and deploy your fleet around your flagship to best protect against threats and maximize your offense.

I wouldn't consider either of these games to have a whole lot of strategy or depth. They're both light and fun but in different ways.

Thread: Thinking about buying it, but I already own Bang! Is this game still worth getting for me?

Megasabin — 2008-03-03T19:18:31+00:00

I've been thinking of purchasing this game after having it recommended to me in a thread which I asked for games with similar gameplay to Bang! I made this thread, because my friends and I have been playing Bang! for about 2 years now, and it has yet to get old to us. It remains fun and different everytime we play.

After reading up on this game I'm just not sure about it. It seems like a much simpler version of Bang!, but without the elements that enable Bang! to have long lasting fun factor.

What we like about Bang! and why I think it is still fun after 2 years is that no game is every the same and there is no way to "figure the game out". With a combination of different roles, 34 characters all with different abilities, and 30 High Noon/Fistfull of cards effect cards each game experience is completely randomized and different. Since you get a different role each time and the roles are always hidden, there is no way to make the "perfect strategy" for your role, because you never know who your fellow allies are and how they play the game. There is no way to plan in advance, you just need to make a plan as the game goes along and try and figure out who your allies are. People can come right out and say who they are, bluff about their roles, or just not saying anything at all and hang back till the right moment. I find that all of the above adds a lot of depth and lasting power to the gameplay.

When I read about Mag Blast, it seems like it has the same gameplay mechanics as Bang! (Cards that shoot, dodge, have special effects, permanent items/weapons), but that it doesn't have hidden roles and it only has 6 unique characters compared to 35. I just don't see the strategy if there are no hidden roles? How do you decide who to shoot? Do you just randomly decide to go for someone? Where is the depth in the gameplay, where is the strategy? What keeps the game from becoming stale if you play it a lot?

Now, I'm not trying to bash this game without playing it. These are just some perceived problems I see after reading the rules. I actually really want to like the game, as a new card game is always a welcome addition. However, I don't want to make a purchase that I won't use.

So basically, what is great about this game? Does anyone have an answer to my above problem with the lasting power/lack of strategy? What aspects of this game are better than Bang! What about this game would make me choose to play it over Bang! at any given time?

Thanks very much

Thread: Re: Solo Variant - Standing Alone Against the Armada

matthewjhoskins — 2008-01-06T01:23:38+00:00

David,

I love this variant! I've played about 15 solo games using your framework.

Notes:

1st edition doesn't work well solo. I tried it out of curiousity. The ship mix and race abilities don't combine for fun solo play.

2nd edition is playable using your rules. However, there are a few cards that should be culled for more streamlined play if you plan to play 2nd ed solo. The ship upgrades don't work so well - they are dead for the armada ( barring use for symbol driven reinforcements ) and they aren't too meaningful for the player ( making an opponent who has no hand... c'mon )

Fighters and Bombers are the key to winning. I've only won 2-4 games. I've had blowout victories using the Recylcon40k race. (You'll draw an awesome number of extra cards fighting the armada. )Most of the other races have a tough go of it. Ironically, the Freep are the worst race for solo play.

Thanks for posting this variant!

Thread: Re: Mag Blast - House Rules suggestion. What do you think?

JazzeroKi — 2008-01-04T04:28:52+00:00

Mag Blast has become my most played game that I own. Personally I hate having to make silly noises, so I just consider that rule optional and just ignore it.

Thread: Re: Mag Blast - House Rules suggestion. What do you think?

Kodeir — 2008-01-02T16:26:32+00:00

Gatekeeper3000 wrote:
Thanks for all your input. If I recall, the rules state that if you don't make "sounds" then your laser misses.

Does that then mean that if you ignore the rule, every blast "hits" ?

Yup: as the above stated, that rule just adds a bit of fun an silliness to the game. It isn't there to make some blasts miss, just to add chrome. If you don't like it, skip it and make every blast hit.

As a side note, make sure you state the difference in between a fleet ship (any ship except the command ship) and a ship (command ship also): it's something that affects quite a bunch of cards and isn't particularly well stated in the rulebook, so it's easy to skip it the first times you play the game.

Thread: Re: Ramming speed varient (use hull instead of speed)

Bexarath — 2007-12-21T14:45:08+00:00

I, too, feel that Ramming Speed is a bit underpowered. This variant seems a bit better, but wouldn't it make more sense to make the damage equal to the hull strength the ship has remaining (i.e. subtracting damage taken)? That's my gut reaction, at least.

Thread: Re: Mag Blast what a blast, Bang in Space but smoother!

Karlsen — 2007-12-15T14:25:41+00:00

I would suggest not playing the 3rd edition with two players, it seems to be balanced for about four.

Thread: Re: Mag Blast - House Rules suggestion. What do you think?

Gatekeeper3000 — 2007-12-13T07:24:48+00:00

Thanks for all your input. If I recall, the rules state that if you don't make "sounds" then your laser misses.

Does that then mean that if you ignore the rule, every blast "hits" ?

Thread: Re: Mag Blast - House Rules suggestion. What do you think?

Ed_the_Red — 2007-12-11T23:22:58+00:00

leungd wrote:
We got this as a Secret Santa gift this year. We're flying to Hong Kong for the holidays and were planning on breaking it out on the plane. However, I have the feeling that making blast noises on the plane wouldn't be very good. (I'm a little wary of rolling and losing dice on a plane as well).

It looks like a quick, silly filler, and I'm certain that in "non-plane" situations, making blast noises would make it feel even more like a party game. We'll see...

There aren't any dice in the standard game, only in the variant proposed above, so no worries on that score. However, it does need a fair bit of space, so unless you are travelling in a higher class of seating than I ever have it may not be all that practical! I would agree that making shooting noises might not be the best idea too....

I wonder if there is a Geek List of games to take (or not take) on an aeroplane??

Eddy

Thread: Re: Mag Blast - House Rules suggestion. What do you think?

leungd — 2007-12-11T19:18:29+00:00

We got this as a Secret Santa gift this year. We're flying to Hong Kong for the holidays and were planning on breaking it out on the plane. However, I have the feeling that making blast noises on the plane wouldn't be very good. (I'm a little wary of rolling and losing dice on a plane as well).

It looks like a quick, silly filler, and I'm certain that in "non-plane" situations, making blast noises would make it feel even more like a party game. We'll see...

Thread: Re: Mag Blast - House Rules suggestion. What do you think?

avyssaleos — 2007-12-11T11:21:56+00:00

I agree. If you don't like making sounds just don't. This was probably added to the game to make it more fun. Whenever I've played it we never force each other to make sounds. We sometimes do, other times we just say jokes, in general we are just trying to have fun.

So, my suggestion is: don't try to force this "rule", just play the game and try to have fun. That's all this is about.

Thread: Re: Mag Blast - House Rules suggestion. What do you think?

Ed_the_Red — 2007-12-11T10:25:44+00:00

I think this would cause the game to go on for ever. With fewer actual hits, the opportunities for defence (getting new ships, repairing them and so on) become more pervasive.

This is a silly and fun game (but hopefully quick). The simplest house rule if you don't like making the noises is just not to make the noises. I only ever play this with the children, and making the noises is part of the fun. Your game group may feel differently!

It's not a 'serious' game though, it's a take-that, wham, blam, thank you ma'am type of game. Having to make noises when you fire your weapons sums up the level of intelligence required! So if you think your group wouldn't like this aspect, they might well not like the game anyway.

Eddy

Thread: Mag Blast - House Rules suggestion. What do you think?

Gatekeeper3000 — 2007-12-11T09:21:16+00:00

I picked up Mag Blast 3rd Ed about a month ago, however I havn't yet had a chance to give it a try.

I've read through the rules, and i'm a little apprehensive about the whole "Kapoow, kablooie" making sound effects when you drop a card. It seems a little too silly, but I would be willing to give it a try, however the couple friends I had told about the game have given me similar looks. Like "you have to make sounds?"

So my feeling is that this could be one of those games that heavily depends on "Your gaming group". Maybe I'm wrong, maybe when everyone gets into it, it'll be fun.. But it's hard to say.

So I decided to create a small house rule to circumvent the need for making silly sounds, and If anyone has the time to try them, I'd be interested to hear your thoughts..

House Rules:
-----------
(need a 6 sided die)

Instead of making sounds when you drop blast cards, roll a 6 sided die.
For the Laser Blast, you need a 3 or more to succeed
For the Beam Blast, you need a 4 or more to succeed
For the Mag Blast, you need a 5 or more to succeed

The idea being that smaller weapons are easier to move and aim, them large bulky mega blast weapons.

You can however reduce the die rolls needed by spending a credit (one of those symbols in the upper left corner of some cards). One unique symbol = -1 to die roll.
If you want a -2, you need two different symbols
-3, one of each symbol.

If you use a card that has two of the same symbol, you only get a -1, not a -2.

I thought that these rules may allow for a little random chance that occurs in big battles.

Thoughts?

Thread: Re: Mag Blast 3rd edition VS 2nd Edition

matthewjhoskins — 2007-12-05T03:16:26+00:00

Karlsen wrote:
I actually prefer the art on the 1st and 2nd editions, although I am fan of the 3rd edition artist's work on other games.

I'll second that. John Kovolik's art really works in most games he illustrates. In Mag-Blast his work really detracts from the game. I'm not hugely into aesthetics and theme, but the cutesy art pulls you away from the game.

As for gameplay - Carriers get a Laser Cannon, which is a small but very effective tweak. Minesweeper was a good addition to the ship classes. The Freep/X'xacha were finally balanced in 3rd ed. too.

Thread: Re: Mag Blast 3rd edition VS 2nd Edition

Karlsen — 2007-12-01T11:47:06+00:00

I actually prefer the art on the 1st and 2nd editions, although I am fan of the 3rd edition artist's work on other games.

The real difference to me between the 2nd and 3rd edition, is that the 3rd edition seems to have been balanced for more than two players. The 1st and 2nd editions play much better if you only have two players. Some of the alien races in the 3rd edition are very substandard if you only have two players.

Thread: Re: Mag Blast 3rd edition VS 2nd Edition

Palpatine — 2007-11-30T00:24:35+00:00

I really like the 2nd edition better in terms of its looks.

Thread: Re: Mag Blast 3rd edition VS 2nd Edition

Lancer4321 — 2007-11-29T19:26:03+00:00

I own 2nd Edition (with the "realistic" artwork). When I moved away from my previous gaming group, taking with me my copy of "MagBlast" (the only one anybody in the group owned), the others immediately tried to go out and buy their own copy, but they were insistent that it *HAD* to be 2nd Edition because the new cartoony artwork of 3rd Edition utterly "ruined the ambiance of the game" for them. They still haven't been able to find a copy of 2nd Edition, and they still refuse to buy 3rd Edition -- so they don't get the opportunity to play a game that they all thoroughly enjoyed, even though it's readily available.

What I find truly strange about the whole situation is that none of the group ever took the game seriously. It was always a complete lark when we played, replete with all the required "Zap! Boom!" sound effects, and most of us using faux alien voices while trash talking our opponents. That's what makes the situation truly weird: the notion that the 3rd Edition is somehow less fun simply because of the "cartoon" artwork, when it's entirely a tongue-in-cheek silly game, strikes me as just plain idiotic.

Thread: Re: Mag Blast 3rd edition VS 2nd Edition

TGov — 2007-11-29T15:49:39+00:00

I felt the exact same way about the 2nd edition, until I caved and bought the 3rd edition. After I got used to it, I really enjoy the artwork and find it a bit easier to introduce to non-gamers because of the cartoon look of it.

Thread: Mag Blast 3rd edition VS 2nd Edition

JazzeroKi — 2007-11-29T12:00:34+00:00

I was introduced to Mag Blast in my gaming group using the 2nd edition. I'm a fan of Twilight Imperium and I loved the pictures and the gameplay of second edition. Eventualy I decided to pick up my own copy of the game, but I was disapointed to learn of the change in themes. I intended to look for a copy of the second edition but in the end I went with the 3rd edition just to check it out.

I brought the game to one of the gaming nights with my group. We all loved the 2nd edition but we found we liked the third edition much more. I've yet to see a review take note of the changes other than the pictures in the game, but there were several changes in game play balance. Overal we found third edition to play much better.

I don't have a copy of the 2nd edition to make an exhaustive comparison of the 2 versions. Suffice it to say for now that the game did play much better and we loved it.

Some changes of note, are the new races, at least 1 new direct hit option, and carriers can now shoot small blasts. Also the new cards are printed on much better quality paper like the current version of citadels.

To sum up, while I originaly wanted the 2nd edition over the third edition, I now find I much more prefer the third edition over the second, and I wouldn't even want the second edition anymore. My friend who has the second edition is also planning on upgrading to the third edition.

My only real complaint about the third edition is that the wording on some of the cards and in the rules could be a little clearer. I've had to reread cards and rules multiple times to figure out some of the finer options in the game. Once I got over that the game is as it says a "BLAST".

Thread: Re: Mag Blast what a blast, Bang in Space but smoother!

Milarky — 2007-11-24T23:51:27+00:00

ive had a look at 2nd ed, while the art work is very cool very good and quite fitting the space theme, the style of the game is much more suited to the funner comic side, maybe not screaming space battlebut laughing space battle, the serious art work belongs in a more involded game, a deeper game then mission red planet even(not played many space space game and keep saying this should be rethemed to space on games like catan or jambo lol),
this game it's just not got the tactics to pull of deep or stylish, its got the in your face i'll blow a hole the size of a planet in your space ship hummour though. the other ediation does seem to have diffrent action cards ive not looked deeply yet but they said the 3rd edition does balance some cards, as the review said its pue and simple and felt the need for a bit cards i.e expansion btu maybe that would detract to much from the simple fun game it is. less is more is the moto

Thread: Re: Mag Blast what a blast, Bang in Space but smoother!

astroglide — 2007-11-24T19:22:48+00:00

gmarius wrote:
I MUCH prefer the new Kovalic artwork of the new edition!

same here. i don't think that serious art suits the game.

Thread: Re: Mag Blast what a blast, Bang in Space but smoother!

gmarius — 2007-11-24T19:04:36+00:00

I MUCH prefer the new Kovalic artwork of the new edition!

Thread: Re: Mag Blast what a blast, Bang in Space but smoother!

swandive78 — 2007-11-24T10:43:31+00:00

If you can get hold of a copy of 2nd edition, do so. It's a better game, in my opinion, without the silly artwork. I like this much, much better as a Twilight Imperium universe game; I don't want it to be a Munchkin look-alike.

Thread: Mag Blast what a blast, Bang in Space but smoother!

Milarky — 2007-11-24T00:15:14+00:00

Mag Blast what a blast, Bang in Space but smoother!

What you get :-

You get to remember and re-live all those sci-fi themes, quotes and sound-effects

You’ll feel similar if you played:-
Bang! ( you shoot each other and there’s player elimination, card play similar)
Munchkin (humour of sci-fi programs, cute pictures)
“Chaos” the computer game but with space ships?( well kinda)

How to play:-
Basic summery you all have a command ship with special powers
(cat people, Klingon types, Cyclon types, Blob types etc 9-11 races?)
You then have 4 other ships each with different gun turrets (yellow green red) each sitting in defence in 4 zones around your command ship.
The different turrets allow you to fire different blasts for different damage, (1 point= yellow 3 point=green and 5 points= red)

Your Ships have 3 to 11 hit points before they are destroyed,

There’s also some movement and zones, basically a easy version of distance instead of the some times confusing bang sitting place distance system, I won’t go in to detail here.
And some resources to buy new ships (very few of these though)

You get a hand of 5 cards each round containing special power and Blasts(as mentioned above) these blasts work a little like the Bang! Of the Bang game i.e they inflict the damage of blast type to a ship in your range (zone)

Other specials include asteroids which act like a defence for a turn
Squadron, if you have a carrier in your ship these act like blasts but return to your hand and can cancel other squads or bombers
Bombers similar to squadron but more damage
There are powerful after blast cards called direct hits
Boarding actions, evasive actions and temporal fluxes and a few more odd ball cards

(you could easily imagine more cards to add like the bang expansion, but as it is now its pure and simple unencumbered with to many rules and specials)

So it comes down to chaos a bit of luck ( hope your blasts match your ships turrets or you have carriers and squadrons) BUT its fun, there no rules for who you need to shoot, its basically go for it try and survive,

Each turn each ship can fire once at a ship its Zone, if the zone is clear it can shoot the command ship Simple!

The main rule for the game is the shooting, when you play a blast(we played all other cards too) you have to make a sound effect (before the card hits the table is preferable)
Our games have simple “pow’s“ and “Zaps” to dramatic speeches and famous scenes played out by over zealous players! Too jokes, too pistol or cannon fire or fire cracker sound effects! All quite nuts and adding to the funm if you don’t make the noise you miss for no effect.

With out this the game would fairly dull it’s the batter and trash talk that make the game.

In Bang you have sub goal, you must eliminate players in a certain order work out your friend from your foe, but you also have the arkward range and gun and lack of cards to content with, the Bang and missed card play never realy worked well in my bang games, this game does have as many counter (missed cards) its basically has more hit points and several ships over just one character card, as I say more stream lined and smoother to play.

To me in a few words Mag blast 3rd ed is an easier smoother running game of Bang! For less people. Bang needs at least 5-6? Min ive played Mag blast with 3-4 players so far.

I doubt id ever try this game with more then 5 though. A good opener or end game, game, or a good game to spring on sci-fi buffs with a sense of humour

I hope I’ve not put you off and I’ve made some sense,

This is the new game I want to pimp and add to lists, I want it to be higher rated then bang!

I also want it to have a few expansion, I’ve a few in mind any way!

(As for the reference to chaos the computer game, in that you where a wizard just had tp blasting it out with other players, the ships are your summoned creatures, well in my eyes)

Thread: Re: "Cartoony Funness" - Mag Blast 3rd Edition

Karlsen — 2007-11-08T11:31:16+00:00

Rompcat wrote:
I love this game, and, you're right, it is much deeper than is expected.

I love love love this game as a 2-player game . . . starting with either 6 or 8 ships.

With more than 2? It's just an okay game.

Have more fun with MAG(dot)BLAST!

KJ

I find that the 3rd edition is the poorest of the three as a two player game. It looks like some of the races were optimised for three or four players and just are really as good with two players. No problem with this in either first or second edition though.

Thread: Re: "Cartoony Funness" - Mag Blast 3rd Edition

Rompcat — 2007-11-08T08:07:01+00:00

I love this game, and, you're right, it is much deeper than is expected.

I love love love this game as a 2-player game . . . starting with either 6 or 8 ships.

With more than 2? It's just an okay game.

Have more fun with MAG(dot)BLAST!

KJ

Thread: Re: "Cartoony Funness" - Mag Blast 3rd Edition

Lancer4321 — 2007-11-08T03:46:49+00:00

Xanthos wrote:
I have never played previous editions of this game. I'm sure that some will not like the cartoony look of this edition. For me and for my group both the game play and the look and feel of the game is a huge hit.

Although the game itself differs little between the second and third editions, the artwork is significantly different. And it turns out that for some, the artwork's an important and very subjective matter.

I've got a friend who loves the game but absolutely will *NOT* play 3rd edition because he feels the "cartoony" art ruins the feel of the game. Since I moved away (taking the only 2nd edition copy of the game in our gaming circle), he's been frantically hunting for a used 2nd edition copy so he can introduce the game to his kids, but can't find one -- he insists it'll be a cold day in the infernal regions before he lets them try 3rd edition.

Go figure.

Thread: Re: "Cartoony Funness" - Mag Blast 3rd Edition

djbcrawford — 2007-11-08T01:59:14+00:00

We have had many enjoyable games of Mag Blast and the only problem we found was player elimination on bigger games (speaking as someone who was once taken out on the first turn without getting to firie a shot).

We get round that by playing first to 3 kills with a player "respawning" with a new command ship, fleet and hand if destroyed.

With these rules, the most annoying race is the Freep, who often deliberatly go for a smaller fleet in the hope of going first and using their ability 3 times at the start to strip their opponents hands. If this backfires, the accepted response is for everyone else to shoot everything they have at them so either a) they don't get a chance to use their ability or b) they don't get any cards. Sometimes it is worth not taking them at all. For 2 player games we leave them out all-together.

Thread: "Cartoony Funness" - Mag Blast 3rd Edition

Xanthos — 2007-11-07T21:03:39+00:00

I recently played about 5 games of Mag Blast 3rd edition with three 14 year olds at youth group last Sunday night. Let's just say we were having such a good time that other people naturally floated over to our table to see what we were doing and just enjoyed how silly we were being.

We, or rather I, decided that we would be playing with partners with the person across the table being your partner. I also set the stage that we would gang up on one person to eliminate them. I think we still played things out to the bitter end the first game. But, when it is two against one unless the one can finish off one of the opponents in the next round it is pretty obvious to figure out who will win in the end.

We had to stop playing in the middle of the 5th game to participate in the lesson for the evening. While were heading over there one of my opponents (the one who described the game to his Mom as "cartoony funness") was saying how much he was enjoying the game but that luck played too big of a role. I pointed out that even though in that final game we were playing three against two (I was part of the two and he was part of the three) that we were likely going to win because we were using better strategy. His team focused on taking out my best ship which yes would minimize the damage I would be able to do. As it happened, I never had a Mag Blast card in my hand the whole game. So they were attempting to prevent something I was never able to do anyway. On the other hand my team focused on taking out one his wimpy ships and proceeded to take advantage of whole to start picking away at his mother ship. My partner and I were actually able to defeat him and one of the other girls in order to declare our victory. Our superior tactics ... and certainly some lucky card draws won the day.

We had fun the whole time. One of the girls was our official card shuffler as she was the best of the four of us playing the game. We eventually did switch the teams up. I think I was generally the target of my opponents which was fine. I believe my team won three of the five matches but I don't remember for sure. What I do know for sure is that we were laughing and smiling most of the time. Oh, there certainly were times of "Ha! In your face!" as a Space Dock or Temporal Flux card were played to foil an opponents carefully laid plans.

The game is deeper than I originally thought. It isn't a deep game by any means but there is much more to it than it may appear at first. I didn't have much trouble at all explaining the game. I gave a quick demonstration of how things work. I explained about how to set up initially. I didn't actually explain any of the special cards but rather said, "Just read the text on the special cards and figure them out." I wouldn't normally recommend this. With the group I was playing with it was fine. It didn't take them long to figure out certain combinations of cards or cards that countered others.

I have never played previous editions of this game. I'm sure that some will not like the cartoony look of this edition. For me and for my group both the game play and the look and feel of the game is a huge hit. When I went to teach a Bible study recently they wanted to know if I had Mag Blast with me in my bag since I'm pretty much known to always have one or two with me at all times. I'm sure he wanted to show his mom the game to make sure it gets on his Christmas list. Well, that and he was hoping I would end it early so that we could play another game or to of ... MAG BLAST!

Thread: Re: Mag Blast 3rd Ed - A Quick Review. PPPAAAAZZZZZzooowwwww!

caradoc — 2007-11-02T10:16:36+00:00

Thanks Jesper

Cheers.

Giles.

Thread: Re: Mag Blast 3rd Ed - A Quick Review. PPPAAAAZZZZZzooowwwww!

jtspecial — 2007-11-02T10:01:55+00:00

You is funny fella!!!

Thread: Third Session Recap - 8 players!

willk_1230 — 2007-10-26T04:03:51+00:00

We started our local game club session Tuesday night with a game of Mag Blast. If you've read my other 2 session reports on this, you already know that I think this is a fun little game with a lot of laughs.

While I won't go into the details of the entire game (as they're largely similar to my other 2 session reports), I wanted to highlight the differences in a 2 or 3 player game and an 8 player game.

First, explaining the game to 1 or 2 other players takes a good 5-10 minutes. The game's just got more rules than your average filler game. However, explaining it to 8 people was just plain painful. Then again, I guess this is the case with most any game. You just have to repeat yourself. A lot.

So after about 20 minutes of explaining rules, we dealt the starting hands and I must say, I drew what has to be the suckiest starting fleet in all of Mag Blast history. I drew 5 Scout ships and 1 Mine Sweeper. Even the complete noobs were offering their condolences upon seeing my abysmal fleet - at least the ones that weren't eyeing me like vultures.

I volunteered to go first (since it might be my only chance to get to play, LOL). Equally unluckily, I'd drawn a fighter, a minefield, and 3 laser blasts, only one of which I could use. I fired my laser at an opponent to demonstrate how it was done, then I passed my turn. That was the last thing I remember.

Seriously though, the next person destroyed the scout on my left flank, and the next 2 players each followed suit firing into my Command Ship via that same flank. Out of the game I went. Within 2 minutes, another followed suit.

This continued until the game stabilized with about 3 players left. Then it seemed to bog down. Honestly, I was playing Saboteur at this point, so I can't explain what exactly bogged it down, I just know it took a long time for the last 3 players to finish each other off.

The winning race was the Recyclons. Perhaps because (I think) we may have misplayed their special ability. It says they get to draw an action card everytime a ship is destroyed. Well, let me tell you... in an 8 player game... that's a LOT.

Where I think we may have misplayed is we let her draw one for each fleet ship that was removed from play when it's mother ship was destroyed even if the fleet ships weren't destroyed first. For instance, when I left the game, even though I'd only lost 1 fleet ship, when I removed my ships from the table, we let her draw 4 more cards - one for my command ship and 3 for my other ships that were removed. In retrospect, we think this was probably an error. She probably should've only drawn for ships that were actually shot down. Even so, she'd have still had a pretty big card advantage.

Other than that, the game was pretty much the same. Luck plays such a large part of this game, and as long as you're fine with that you'll enjoy it. Unless of course, you don't like making silly laser sounds when you play your games!

Thread: Second Session Re-Cap (3 players)

willk_1230 — 2007-10-16T18:11:49+00:00

Yesterday, I reported on our first game of Mag Blast and what a great little game it was. If you didn't catch that review, shame on you! No, seriously, if you didn't catch it, it was a 2 player game with yours truly coming out as the victor.

Today, we had a 3rd player join us, and the dynamics of the game were a bit different. Adding a 3rd player doubled the amount of damage that can be done to your fleet before your turn comes back around. With 2 players, all you had to be concerned about was your lone opponent, so you could throw your forces at him much more recklessly than you can with 3 players. I found myself valuing cards that allowed me to mitigate damage much more than I did in the 2 player game.

Today, I drew the Fleep race, and I must say that I only remembered twice to use their ability to steal 3 cards. One of my opponents drew the Recyclons, and put their ability to good use. With 3 players, lots of ships were getting destroyed and he was drawing lots of cards. All-in-all though, we probably got about the same number of "extra" cards.

My other opponent hit the mother-load when it came to races. He drew the Glorp which cuts squadron damage to it's fleet in HALF! What a huge advantage. In retrospect, maybe I shouldn't have taken two carriers into my fleet after seeing his race, but they performed so well for me in the previous game, I felt they were the winning strategy.

My fleets did perform well against the Recyclons, ultimately destroying his command ship and sending him crying home to mommy. However, they were pitifully weak against the Glorp. When the smoke cleared, the Glorp won the battle taking ZERO casualties and very few points of damage.

One other thing bears mentioning. A player can get very lucky in the draw of their fleets (or unlucky!). The Glorp player drew THREE Dreadnoughts (the most powerful ship in the game) and a carrier! I got 2 carriers, a destroyer and a scout - probably an average draw. The 3rd player drew a scout and three destroyers - probably a weak draw. And, that's exactly the order we finished in - the same order I would've ranked our starting fleets. Coincidence?

Still, regardless of potential balance issues, it's a great game that's great fun. BzzzzAAAAT!!!

Thread: First Session Re-cap (2 players)

willk_1230 — 2007-10-15T20:20:30+00:00

I picked this game up this weekend as a lunch-break game to play with the guys at work. I was looking for something fun that can be played 1-2 times in under an hour. I was not disappointed!

As with most of the Fantasy Flight Games products my group owns, this game is of exceptional quality. We love the textured cards, and the artwork is interesting and adds to the "fun" atmosphere of the game.

There were only 2 of us playing today, and I had read the rules the night before, so it only took about 3-5 minutes skimming back over the rules to explain the play.

My opponent drew the Overseers of Malgon command ship (draw 3 blasts from the discard pile 3x/game) and I drew the Brotherhood of Peace (move a blast from one of my fleets to an enemy fleet 3x/game). When I first read his special ability, I thought "Aw man! He got the *good* command ship", but as it turned out, I was able to use my ability to better effect than he was.

We started by drawing fleets. My fleet started with a gunship, 2 destroyers, and a carrier. He started with 2 destroyers and 2 gunsships. We then filled our starting 5 card hands. I got a fighter a mine field, 2 laser blasts, and a Direct Hit effect.

As a result, I was able to use a fighter and the blasts to take out one of his gunships on his flanks. On his turn, he replaced his gunship and fired at mine. When my turn came back around, I then used my special ability to move the blast back to his own shiny new gunship. I also drew another fighter and a blast or two. With such power, I was able to finish off his 2nd gunship and pour 4 points of damage into the hull of his command ship "Ka-BLOOIE!!".

His turn saw him trading cards for another fleet ship - this time a carrier (oh noes!). Luckily he wasn't able to draw any fighters or bombers for his carrier. He took out my frontal destroyer and place 3 dmg on my 4pt flank gunship. Bad mistake. This allowed me to again transfer 3 dmg - this time to his Carrier.

My draw this time included yet another fighter and a card that let me draw 3 more actions cards which all turned out to blasts and Direct Hits. As a result, my Carrier was able to finish off his carrier with a blast - direct hit - blast combo and I could then send my fighters barrelling back in to finish off his command ship.

All in all, it was a great game that we thoroughly enjoyed and look forward to playing again. Luck is quite a factor, but as long as you understand that going into the game, you shouldn't be disappointed. Also, we can't wait to see how the dynamic of the game changes when you add more people.

Thread: Solo Variant - Standing Alone Against the Armada

FatherNature — 2007-08-31T00:16:14+00:00

Ok, This is my first try at a Solo-Variant. Please tell me what you think of it.

Back Story:
As a decorated hero for your homeworld you have remained undefeated in battle. Numerous command ships have fallen before you, but a recent alliance of worlds has decided that once and for all your rein of terror will end. Cornered in a remote system the Armada of this fledgeling federation stands before you, if you survive you know you can raise your people up to their rightful place as rulers in this universe. If you fail... But of course, you shall not fail.

Setup:
Randomly select your command ship. The remaining command ships are placed across from you (face down) on the table, this represents the enemy forces and does not take damage - it will simply help to figure out which sector is which. Next, draw six ships and select the four to defend your command ship, discard the remaining ships.

On each of the four sides of the enemy fleet draw three ships and place them to defend that sector.

Remove the minefields and asteroids from the deck (they were outlawed by treaty years ago). Shuffle the remaining deck and deal out five cards as your starting hand.

Gameplay:
You go first, play is as per the normal rules. Discard, Draw up to five, Reinforce, Maneuver and then Attack.

On the enemies turn each of the four sides gets an action phase (even if there are no ships on that side since they may be able to call reinforcements). The action phase is detailed below:
1. draw three cards.
2. automatically play any reinforcements or strategic allocation cards.
3. If you can purchase another ship (with matching symbols) do so immediately.
4. If you get space dock remove the highest damage counter from this sector (if any ships are damaged otherwise it will be discarded).
5. If you can attack (blast matches the turret)
a. if a ship can be destroyed by this blast the largest hulled ship that can be destroyed will be attacked first.
b. otherwise the weakest ship on that sector is attacked.
c. if there are no ships on that sector your command ship is attacked.
d. if a direct hit / effect combo can be played it will be.
e. fighters / bombers will follow the same rules except they prefer to take out ships within this sector prior to attacking other sectors.
6. any remaing cards are discarded at the end of each phase.

If you manage to destroy every ship in the armada you win. If your command ship is destroyed you lose.

Additional Rules:
If you find this variant too easy try playing four cards per sector instead of three. For an easier game you can use a six card hand limit instead of five.

Hope you enjoy, and please leave comments.
David

Thread: Re: Cranium Consortium's special ability problem

Pedrator — 2007-07-31T11:03:48+00:00

I'm pretty sure that the cranium consortium ability does not work on the brotherhood ability, the ability of the brotherhood does not play any card, but rather replaces one that had already been played before.

Thread: Re: Cranium Consortium's special ability problem

Boogers — 2007-07-30T11:34:27+00:00

Doesn't it require 2 resources to cancel the blast on the Consortium? I guess it's a to-and-fro between 3 times in a game vs paying 2 resources to cancel.