StarCraft: The Board Game | BoardGameGeek

Reply: StarCraft: Brood War:: Reviews:: Re: "(monkeys screaming in background) Who set all these lab monkeys free!?" - A Brood War Review

XGDragon — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 21:03:55 +0000

I believe with all morphing of units, it requires one to destroy the to-be morphed unit. And the invisible 'destroy units' step (which may be done at any one's order, not just yours) is always the very first step. Exception: when withdrawing is not possible due to unit limit.

Reply: StarCraft: Brood War:: Strategy:: Re: Emperor Arctursk I

blarknob — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 19:51:07 +0000

by blarknob

I Tried the Mengsk + Typhon + Erebus strategy. Wow is it unfair, I might add a house rule that Mengsk is not allowed to pick Typhon with his leadership card.

Reply: StarCraft: Brood War:: General:: Re: Card 1/18 of Zerg - Can we change it?

blarknob — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 19:43:35 +0000

by blarknob

the 4/5 zergling card is actually useful with metabolic boost. you get the power high enough with supporting zerglings and the cheerleader card and you get a seven health zergling out of it.

Thread: StarCraft: Brood War:: General:: Card 1/18 of Zerg - Can we change it?

XGDragon — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 18:57:56 +0000

by XGDragon

Card 1/18(or 20) is the Zergling only 4 attack/5 defense card.

This has to be the most useless card of all. I'd never pick this one over the ample supply of 5/2 cards. In my opinion this card needs to be changed in a 6/5 card or something in that area. In comparison, the marine has a 6/4 and a 6/6 card, why should Zerglings only get the 6/3 and that's it? I mean, I understand that Zerglings need to be spammed but if this card is ONLY for the Zergling surely some use should come out of it? I mean, the 6/3 is golden but Zerglings miss what I call the ultra-card. Such as the 7/6 Hydralisk, the 7/6 Zealot card, the 7/7 Vulture card etc..

Discuss!

Reply: StarCraft: Brood War:: General:: Re: What is your favorite unit?

XGDragon — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 18:51:31 +0000

by XGDragon

Basic: Zergling, I love never running out of cards with a minimal attack of 5!

Ground: Reaver, I once killed an Archon together with a high templar and a base all with one reaver and two cards (he used hallucination).

Caster: Hands-down the Queen. Spawn Broodling everything!!

Flying: Wraith. Using Cloaking against random Scourge stealing CPs is great!

Top-tier Flying: Devourer, I have not seen it die as of yet :) Or NOT be able to kill something for that matter.

Thread: StarCraft: Brood War:: Variants:: New Technology card

Nugen — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 16:38:06 +0000

by Nugen

I think a lot about technologies in SC:tBG & BW expansion...
After that I decided to do some additional upgrade cards for all three races.
All this cards have 3 levels, and must be placed in play area.
Each level provide some bonuses. Cost of upgrade increases by 1 mineral and 1 gas per level.

Terran:
Tech name Units Action Base cost(M/G)
Infantry armor Marine, Firebat, Ghost each lvl +1 HP 1/1
Infantry weapons Marine, Firebat, Ghost each lvl +1 Att 1/1
Vehicle plating Siege tank, Goliath, each lvl +1 HP 2/1
Vulture
Vehicle weapons Siege tank, Goliath, each lvl +1 Att 1/1
Vulture
Ship plating Wraith, Valkyrie, each lvl +1 HP 2/2
Battlecruiser
Ship weapons Wraith, Valkyrie, each lvl +1 Att 1/2
Battlecruiser

Zerg:
Tech name Units Action Base cost(M/G)
Melee attacks Zergling, Ultralisk each lvl +1 Att 2/1
Missile attacks Hydralisk, Lurker each lvl +1 Att 1/2
Carapace Zergling, Hydralisk,
Ultralisk, Lurker, each lvl +1 HP 2/1
Infested Terran
Flyer carapace Mutalisk, Scourge, each lvl +1 HP 2/1
Guardian, Devourer
Flyer attacks Mutalisk, Guardian, each lvl +1 Att 1/2
Devourer

Protoss:
Tech name Units Action Base cost(M/G)
Ground weapons Zealot, Dragoon, each lvl +1 Att 2/1
Archon, Reaver
Armor Zealot, Dragoon, each lvl +1 HP 2/1
Archon, Reaver
Plating Scout, Corsair, each lvl +1 HP 2/1
Carrier
Air weapons Scout, Corsair, each lvl +1 Att 1/2
Carrier
Plasma shields Any each lvl -1 Att 3/2
from enemy's support units

Thanks for any feedback.

Reply: StarCraft: The Board Game:: General:: Re: Brood War TuckBoxes

Mark T — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 10:24:20 +0000

by Mark T

Matt, there were none that came with the game. But there are a few Fans who like to design extra stuff for the game and sometimes they share their methods on board game geek.

Someone had designed the instructions for making a set of boxes to keep the different decks of cards in for the base game. But when the expansion was released, the old boxes weren't nessessarily all the correct size to hold everything together properly.

The first poster was asking if anybody knew if there were updated instructions. That's all.

Reply: StarCraft: The Board Game:: Rules:: Re: Conquest Points, Combat cards/Reinforcement

Mark T — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 10:17:23 +0000

by Mark T

Also of note is that some cards last only the duration of the skirmish they are played into. Like Imporved Carapace.

A battle is composed of one or more skirmishes.

So something that happens in one skirmish doesn't usually have an effect in another skirmish, even if those skirmishes are from the same battle. They are considered separate. That imporved carapace you were talking about would only count in the skirmish that it was specifically played in, and not in any others from the same battle. You would have to play another (separate) carapace card to a different skirmish if you wanted to have that effect apply to the unit in that one other skirmish.

There are some cards however that will affect all skirmishes of a battle. These are usually activated at the 'start of a battle'. These would be things like the terran 'Scanner Sweep' or the zerg 'Parasite' for all your queens in a battle. Also, event cards like 'flawless defence plan' would have an effect on each of your skirmishes for that battle.

But most of the time the cards you will play only affect just the skirmish that it is specifically played into, and not have any effect on any other skirmishes happening at the same time from the same battle.

Reply: StarCraft: The Board Game:: Rules:: Re: battles and retreats

Mark T — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 09:49:17 +0000

by Mark T

The zerling will survive as a non-assist unit and thus the attacker (the marine) will be forced to retreat to an open / freindly space either on the planet that was attacked or to an open / friendly space on an adjacent planet which has a transport from the planet the attack was made to.

The marine will only kill the hydralisk in the situation you described and not the zergling (unless the marine used the 6 attack + 6 health card with marine / zergling / zealot splash).

If the zergling had been instead replaced by an assist unit (these are noted on the faction cards by having the word "assist" where a unit's support value is indicated), say a queen or defiler, then because the defender would only have assist units left, the attacker would take the location and force the defender to retreat.

Again the supporting zergling is not an assist unit, so the rule regarding only assist units remaining as defenders is not invoked, and thus the zerg forces hold the location, forcing the attacker to retreat instead, even though the attackers killed some of the defenders.

Reply: StarCraft: Brood War:: Rules:: Re: simple rule

Mark T — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 00:47:27 +0000

by Mark T

Relating to the original post.

It should probably be pointed out that in the case of a Ghost vs a Dragoon supported by a Zealot in which the Ghost plays a Lockdown card, that the Dragoon + Zealot combo loses the capability to attack because the Dragoon is in the frontline.

At the point that you are playing combat cards, it is past when you can use a defensive module to do a swap as well.

So in this case the Zealot's support value is not going to matter. Only the health value of the dragoon vs the attack value of the Ghost. The Ghost doesn't even need to worry about being killed no matter the strength of the Dragoon's attack value plus the Zealot's +1 support value.

Just because the Dragoon loses it attack capability doesn't mean the Dragoon gets ignored and the Zealot steps up to use the cards primary values. The dragoon is still considered the Frontline unit and everything follows from that - most importantly the attack capability in this case. The zealot can do nothing to affect this ghost from its supporting position in this setup.

Reply: StarCraft: Brood War:: General:: Re: What is your favorite unit?

MordredofFairy — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 15:42:48 +0000

by MordredofFairy

defilers.
with plague(detect air/ground autosplash) and gamete meiosis.(recharge tech card).
hands down my fav combo.
close second are high templars with psistorm and kaydarin core.
third place is ghosts with nuke and lockdown.

yep, i do like some tech combos...2 researches go a LONG way if used well... ;)

Reply: StarCraft: The Board Game:: Rules:: Re: Assist units - pairing in battles?

MrSkeletor — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 00:16:50 +0000

by MrSkeletor

gexthegreengecko wrote:

or would an assist support an assist in 1 skirmish?

That one.

Reply: StarCraft: The Board Game:: Rules:: Re: Assist units - pairing in battles?

gexthegreengecko — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 19:19:12 +0000

by gexthegreengecko

What would happen if the defender had 2 high templars (2 assists) defending against 2 siege tanks (attackers, normal units). Would it be divided evenly, or would an assist support an assist in 1 skirmish?

Reply: StarCraft: The Board Game:: Rules:: Re: battles and retreats

fleetwood — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 22:49:32 +0000

by fleetwood

Capoeirista wrote:

1. No, if the defender is left with any non-assist units, regardless of whether the were front line or support, the attacker must retreat.

.

Hmm so say the attacker has a marine versus a hydralisk supported by a zergling, if the marine kills the hydralisk, then what happens to the zergling? Does the zergling die too? or does the defender win because it still has a support unit left over while the attacker still has a front line unit,....how can the marine kill the zergling so he doesn't have to retreat?

Thread: StarCraft: Brood War Promotional Leadership Cards:: General:: A printable Text of the Cards

Sillion — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 13:35:46 +0000

by Sillion

United Earth Directorate

I.1 Eliminate Alien Threat

Starting Units:
3 Marines,
1 Siege Tank,
1 Transport,
7 Workers

Special Victory Each time you destroy an enemy base, gain 1 Conquest Point.

I.2 Advance War Machines

Immediately build a level 1 Factory, and level 1 Starport for free.

Starting Units:
3 Marines,
1 Firebat,
1 Transport,
9 Workers

I.3 Special Funding

Place in your play area.
At the start of the game, receive 4 Mineral and 2 Gas resource Tokens.
At the start of each Regrouping Phase, gain 1 resource token of your choice

Starting Units:
2 Marines,
2 Vultures,
1 Transport,
8 Workers

II.1 The element of Surprise

You may immediately activate a mobilize order on any planet.
OR
You may immediately activate a build order on any planet.

II.2 General Dugalle

Hero
Place a Battlecruiser with a hero token underneath it in any friendly area.

When it is present at the start of a battle, opposing non-cloaking units that retreat or withdraw are instead destroyed.

When this hero is a front-line unit, gain +1 health in the skirmish.

III.1 The Time for Victory

Place up to 4 guard tokens in different areas you control. Then destroy 1 enemy transport on any navigation rout

III.2 Orbital Bombardment

Remove all guard tokens from one planet. Then choose an opponent with a base on the planet. You may discard one module or building token from his faction sheet. If it was a building, replace it with the token of 1 level lower.

Reply: StarCraft: The Board Game:: Rules:: Re: battles and retreats

Capoeirista — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 09:17:48 +0000

by Capoeirista

As a general note, Front Line and Support are only meaningful during an individual skirmish. When determining the outcome of the battle, the only point of interest is Assist or non-Assist units. If you bare that in mind, many of your questions become clear. I'll provide answers below anyway.

1. No, if the defender is left with any non-assist units, regardless of whether the were front line or support, the attacker must retreat.

2. The attacker must retreat, but he may retreat to an empty or friendly area on the same planet or on an adjacent planet (assuming he has a transport in place).

3. If both have units left, the attacker is forced to retreat - unless the defender is left with only Assist units. If that is the case then, regardless of whether the attacker's units are Assist or not (although he must have at least one unit), he wins and the defender must retreat.

4. If the defender is left with only assist units and the attacker has at least one unit left, the attacker wins and the defender must retreat.

5. No, it only reduces a support value to 0. A support value is how much the unit adds to the attack when it isn't in the front line. It's also worth noting that Assist units don't actually have a support value in the first place.

6. It can attack but, unless it has a special power which can destroy units, it will be unable to kill the opponents. Assist units have no ground or air attack, so they are completely unable to affect their opponents through conventional means. You do still play a card for them and use the lower value for their health but the attack is irrelevant.

Reply: StarCraft: Brood War:: News:: Re: Rules online!

MrSkeletor — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 00:32:07 +0000

by MrSkeletor

nybba wrote:
What is this?

36 Zerg Combat and Technology cards
(17 Green, 19 Purple)

Why only 17 Green?

2 of the purple ons are for the purple hero (Kerigan)

Reply: StarCraft: Brood War:: News:: Re: Rules online!

nybba — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 22:06:47 +0000

by nybba

What is this?

36 Zerg Combat and Technology cards
(17 Green, 19 Purple)

Why only 17 Green?

Reply: StarCraft: The Board Game:: Rules:: Re: Conquest Points, Combat cards/Reinforcement

fleetwood — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 21:49:07 +0000

by fleetwood

[q=sigmazero]
I think the big one could be the "attack" value staying in play. I think there are some cards (maybe Spawn Broodling? I'd have to look) that can kill the opposing unit before the "remove casualties" step of the skirmish; however, if that happens, the attack value of the killed unit is still in effect until the end of the skirmish, even though the unit was "killed" early.

I'd have to look at the cards to see if this is a valid scenario for this interaction, but I think it may be.

You don't mean major and minor "attack" values written on the cards do you?

Thread: StarCraft: The Board Game:: Rules:: battles and retreats

fleetwood — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 21:44:27 +0000

by fleetwood

in a battle if the attacker destroys all the defenders front line units and still has frontline units of his own (but the defender only has support units) does this force the defender to move his support units to an empty or friendly area on a planet and if there is no room (due to unit limits or enemies on the area) those units are killed (they cannot move to an adjacent planet even with a transport)?

in a battle if the attacker loses his front line units (but still has support units) and the defender is left with 1 front line unit, does the attacker have to retreat to a friendly or empty area on the planet (and cannot retreat to an adjacent planet) ?

in a battle if the attacker has all his front line units killed and the defender has all his front line units killed, but both sides have support units left , does this count as a draw and always forces the attacker to retreat? what if both sides each have 1 remaining assist unit? does the attacker still retreat?

what if the attacker is left with some support units and the defender only has assist units left, does the attacker win? and if the defender is left with support units but the attacker just has an assist unit, does the attacker retreat?

Reply: StarCraft: Brood War:: Reviews:: Re: "(monkeys screaming in background) Who set all these lab monkeys free!?" - A Brood War Review

blarknob — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 14:35:08 +0000

by blarknob

no, he is saying it takes three production slots to merge two templar into an archon and rebuild the two templar in the same build.

Reply: StarCraft: The Board Game:: Rules:: Re: Simple NOOB Questions?

Elsospechas — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 07:26:07 +0000

by Elsospechas

Oh yea! Forgot about that part, so thank u again

Reply: StarCraft: The Board Game:: Rules:: Re: Simple NOOB Questions?

Windopaene — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 06:38:26 +0000

by Windopaene

No!

They lose it yes.

You only gain it IF you have a base on that planet.

Reply: StarCraft: The Board Game:: Rules:: Re: Simple NOOB Questions?

Elsospechas — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 06:25:37 +0000

by Elsospechas

Ok thanks for the info and just before i open the rule book, when you invade a space containing enemy units and mineral and you win the battle the enemy lose control of the resource card and worker on it, then on the regrouphing phase you gain thatcard! Is that right?

Reply: StarCraft: The Board Game:: Rules:: Re: Simple NOOB Questions?

Windopaene — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 06:14:03 +0000

by Windopaene

You can move to an empty area on a planet that an opponent has a base on. This does not cause a battle.

No - a movement order on planet A means you will either move units from area to area within planet A, OR that you will move units from a planet adjacent to planet A to planet A.

No - Builds must take place on the planet on which the build order is on.

And just to jump the gun, read carefully the sections on obtaining and losing resource cards, and the requirements to do those things. They are the trickiest of the rules, and the easiest to mess up.

Thread: StarCraft: The Board Game:: Rules:: Simple NOOB Questions?

Elsospechas — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 06:07:17 +0000

by Elsospechas

Can i move to an empty space in planet wheres enemy presence with out going to battle?
Or do i have to battle?
If i put a move order on planet A can i still move to planet B?
Build order just affect the planet where they are place or can i place a build order on planet A and build a comand center or units on planet B?

Reply: StarCraft: Brood War:: General:: Re: What is your favorite unit?

blarknob — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 15:31:08 +0000

by blarknob

Aarontu wrote:

Second place ground thingy: ~~Carnifex~~ Ultralisk! These guys are just cool.

Blizzard does games workshop better than games workshop does.

Reply: StarCraft: Brood War:: General:: Re: What is your favorite unit?

Aarontu — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 13:12:55 +0000

by Aarontu

Big flyer: The Carrier, a giant floating beehive of doom! Probably the favorite. Plus, their tech is great for any unit.

Small flyer: Wraiths, pretty nifty with their cloaking abilities.

Caster: Queen, very useful caster for the Zerg. Spawn broodling woo yay! Also, Ensnare is always useful, plus it's one of the Zergs few cards with detector.

Ground thingy: Vulture. Those spider mines; ouch! Plus, they don't have an annoying motorcycle-riding goatee-wearing douchebag attitude in the board game!

Second place ground thingy: ~~Carnifex~~ Ultralisk! These guys are just cool.

Reply: StarCraft: The Board Game:: General:: Re: Brood War TuckBoxes

fleetwood — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 23:18:19 +0000

by fleetwood

tuckboxes? what's that? you mean your SCBG came with a place to store the cards in? Mine didnt

Reply: StarCraft: The Board Game:: Rules:: Re: Conquest Points, Combat cards/Reinforcement

sigmazero13 — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 18:29:58 +0000

by sigmazero13

fleetwood wrote:
Thank you for your explanation. I still am a little weary of the rule on page 32 that states
Note: "Compare Attack and Health Values" is the only step where players check to see whether their combat card icons match their front-line units. Once the operative attack and health values have been identified, and any operative special abilities have been identified, they remain in effect as determined until the end of the skirmish, even if the matching units are somehow eliminated before the entire skirmish is resolved."

How does this remain in effect work? Once you draw combat cards and determine which unit dies, which abilities would still remain in affect after both matching units die, since this wouldn't seem to affect anything anymore since the skirmish is over? (other than splash damage or ...cloak..?)

I think the big one could be the "attack" value staying in play. I think there are some cards (maybe Spawn Broodling? I'd have to look) that can kill the opposing unit before the "remove casualties" step of the skirmish; however, if that happens, the attack value of the killed unit is still in effect until the end of the skirmish, even though the unit was "killed" early.

I'd have to look at the cards to see if this is a valid scenario for this interaction, but I think it may be.

Reply: StarCraft: The Board Game:: Rules:: Re: Conquest Points, Combat cards/Reinforcement

fleetwood — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 18:12:46 +0000

by fleetwood

Thank you for your explanation. I still am a little weary of the rule on page 32 that states

Note: "Compare Attack and Health Values" is the only step where players check to see whether their combat card icons match their front-line units. Once the operative attack and health values have been identified, and any operative special abilities have been identified, they remain in effect as determined until the end of the skirmish, even if the matching units are somehow eliminated before the entire skirmish is resolved."

How does this remain in effect work? Once you draw combat cards and determine which unit dies, which abilities would still remain in affect after both matching units die, since this wouldn't seem to affect anything anymore since the skirmish is over? (other than splash damage or ...cloak..?)

Reply: StarCraft: Brood War:: General:: Re: What is your favorite unit?

blarknob — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 17:26:14 +0000

by blarknob

My favorite all around unit is the Archon, it hits hard and is very versatile.

by category:

base unit: Marines cheap powerful and versatile

ground pounder: lurkers, these guys are devastating with ground splash and cloak.

caster: Dark Archon is by far the most powerful caster, maelstrom alone makes them amazing.

low lvl flyer: mutalisk, versatile and opens up the big zerg flyers too.

big flyer: battlecruiser, big beefy and yamato cannon doubles duty as a great marine card too.

Reply: StarCraft: The Board Game:: Rules:: Re: Conquest Points, Combat cards/Reinforcement

Windopaene — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 04:21:26 +0000

by Windopaene

Starting from the bottom:

Card abilities don't "carry over" between skirmishes. Each skirmish will have a card or two played to it. Those only apply to that particular skirmish. Splash damage is a slightly different case. Doesn't matter whether "the Ultralisk" dies or not. If you didn't play the Improved Carapace card in the skirmish in question, it doesn't apply to the other one.

You do not need to have a base on a planet to get the conquest point(s). If you have a unit in a conquest point area when you reach step 5 of the Regrouping Phase, you get the points. Note however, that in order to get any of the resource cards for any area, you DO have to have a base on the planet, (see page 15 of the rules). Your comment about moving in one unit and retreating doesn't make any sense, because if they retreated before the regrouping phase, they wouldn't have a unit in the conquest point area. You do NOT get the conquest point, even if you have a base on the planet, if you do not have a unit in the area. Conquest points and resource cards are handled differently.

And Conquest points are scored during the regrouping phase, and are scored each and every turn, with no "memory" of whether or not you held it in a prior turn.

Thread: StarCraft: The Board Game:: Rules:: Conquest Points, Combat cards/Reinforcement

fleetwood — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 04:02:30 +0000

by fleetwood

Hello. I have a few questions.

Firstly, to acquire a conquest point from the planet you are on, do you have to have a base on the conquest area of the planet (not the mineral or gas area) OR as long as you have a base on any area of the planet, you automatically get the conquest point for that planet?

If I had a base on a planet, and got the conquest point..say later on in the game my base on that planet was destroyed totally, If i somehow got control of that planet again by building a base on it, could I get the conquest point again adding to my overall CP score??

Is it possible for someone to use a mobile order to take 1 unit to the conquest point of a planet and get the conquest point and retreat back to another planet (without building a base)?

If somehow a planet has a base on all areas and all of these bases are a controlled by a different team -- then do all players gain that planets conquest point?

ALSO, when you enter combat, say if I have a ultralisk vs a tank, and another battle with a zergling vs a marine, IF i play the carapace +1 health (reinforcement?) card in the ultralisk vs tank skirmish, and then the ultralisk happens to die, does this +1 carapace also affect the zergling in the next skirmish?

ALSO say if the combat card played in the ultralisk was something like if your frontline unit is a ultralisk gain +1 attack, if the ultralisk died or did not die, would this +1 attack be carried over to the zergling skirmish? If not , if the zergling was say another ultralisk, and during this skirmish another +1 ultralisk frontline attack card was played, would this ultralisk now have +2 attack from the earlier played card from the other skirmish, and the card played in the current skirmish?

Do both reinforcement and combat card abilities carry over to the next unit ONLY if that unit is displayed on or mentioned on the card?

Thread: StarCraft: Brood War:: General:: What is your favorite unit?

Dillosaur — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 21:20:34 +0000

by Dillosaur

I've been wondering what unit is everyone's favorite from the starcraft boardgame. Please say what it is and why it's your favorite unit.

Reply: StarCraft: Brood War:: Reviews:: Re: "(monkeys screaming in background) Who set all these lab monkeys free!?" - A Brood War Review

Dillosaur — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 21:10:37 +0000

by Dillosaur

MordredofFairy wrote:
what cesar says, plus special care with archons...both of the high templars have to pre-exist-...ALSO, upgrading a unit takes one "build" spot. So as a protoss, to upgrade 2 templars into an archon, then rebuild the templar, you need a pylon or golden build order.

Are you saying to upgrade 2 templars to an archon it would take up 3 unit build spots? That's not right. It only counts as 1 unit build to make 2 templars into an archon. So why would you need a pylon or spec. build?

Reply: StarCraft: Brood War:: Reviews:: Re: "(monkeys screaming in background) Who set all these lab monkeys free!?" - A Brood War Review

blarknob — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 16:09:17 +0000

by blarknob

You can't use recharge on Maelstrom. Recharge can only be used on REINFORCEMENT technology cards, meaning tech cards with the plus sign on top.

Maelstrom is still very good but you need a tech order to get it back.

Reply: StarCraft: The Board Game:: Variants:: Re: 20 vp variant

spacemanc — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 21:44:36 +0000

by spacemanc

My friends and I have been trying to come up with a balance of good winning conditions. We already tried 30vp or End is Near x3, and it still felt not quite right. Your method of incorporating SVC's to victory points seems perfect.

This is a great Idea and looking forward to trying it out next game.

:thumbsup:

~C.

File: StarCraft: Brood War:: StarCraft BW Improvements , addittions, clarifications...

hypaspist.guard — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 02:14:55 +0000

by hypaspist.guard

StarCraft BW Improvements , addittions, clarifications... for Board Game: StarCraft: Brood War ]]>

Reply: StarCraft: The Board Game:: Strategy:: Re: Aldarchons!, Win Starcraft the easy way.

magic gecko — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 02:06:06 +0000

by magic gecko

193, Actually.

Reply: StarCraft: The Board Game:: Strategy:: Re: Aldarchons!, Win Starcraft the easy way.

rokkko — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 08:39:48 +0000

by rokkko

192 posts.....WOW!

you really must be magic.
this thread is magic.
are you sure you didn't mind control us all through BGG into endless posting in this thread?

Reply: StarCraft: The Board Game:: Strategy:: Re: Aldarchons!, Win Starcraft the easy way.

magic gecko — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 03:47:55 +0000

by magic gecko

mattshiznits wrote:
Played Aldarchons! the other night for the first time. Made a couple rookie mistakes . . .But Aldarchons! Kicked serious butt otherwise. Good Strat. Heck of a lot easier than the first time i played Aldaris,

mattshiznits, thanks.
You are the target market for this.

Reply: StarCraft: The Board Game:: Strategy:: Re: Aldarchons!, Win Starcraft the easy way.

magic gecko — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 01:52:38 +0000

by magic gecko

Boring.

Yeah!
Was That's great!

Go on.
Give it a go!
Everyone together now!

1, 2, 3 . . Boring!

Reply: StarCraft: The Board Game:: Strategy:: Re: Aldarchons!, Win Starcraft the easy way.

magic gecko — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 01:50:26 +0000

by magic gecko

Hey Mr Skellie.
Have you considered not posting on topics you are ignorant about and are not interested in?

I could find you some stuff on quantity surveying, or paint viscosity in sunlight. . . if you like.

You could go there and say "Boring"
Doesn't that sound neat?

Reply: StarCraft: The Board Game:: Strategy:: Re: Aldarchons!, Win Starcraft the easy way.

magic gecko — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 01:40:26 +0000

by magic gecko

"Dude, you may, or may not be right. I never checked this strategy out (but may, rather out of curiosity), mostly because I would think it's plain boring"

Wow.
You haven't played this boring strategy, but you might because it is interesting. :)

" - as any other strategy that is supposed to work 100% of the time."
It is always great when people wish to venomously disagree with stuff no claims.
Yeah!? Well I say you are not a small orange.

" If I wanted to have a flawless strategy that's a no brainer, I would've run Starcraft, the PC game and type in a code for invulnerability, then whip the ass of my enemy with a single Marine, or a couple of Zerglings. Using the flaws of a game to win is, simply put - lame."

So you are happy to cheat in the computer game.
I never tried to find out how to cheat in the computer game.
That does sound lame.

"One thing is certain - you're an ADHD pain in the ass."
ADHD means they lose focus.
Attention Deficit is hardly appropriate to the lone nutter proving the world wrong over a number of YEARS.

" I mean, how old are you? 11? You've proven your point a while ago."
Really?
Mr Skellie needs to write "boring" & "never worked".

You are quite happy to insult creative strangers without trying out what they are saying.
You are quite happy to insult ideas you know nothing about and call them "LAME".
How would you feel if you figured out the best strategy in a complex, intricate Wargame only to have complete strangers insult it without even trying it out?

" I'm not saying your "genius, game breaking strategy" doesn't work."
Then what are you saying?
My Genius Strategy is not worth playing because it is too strong?
My Genius Strategy is cheating?
How would you know?

"Don't bother answering me. I may be tempted to read what you wrote, but will most certainly NOT reply."

OK.
You are the same as the vast majority of people on this thread.
You have not played Aldarchons!
You are happy to insult it and me.

"I'm just saying your style of writing throughout this topic is really overbearing."
Yeah I suppose it is.
You are being rude to a stranger.
You wish to insult brilliant ideas you have no knowledge of.

I am right, this strategy is stupidly over strong.
All of the rude strangers that have been insulting Aldarchons! and me for the last 8 pages are wrong.
At what page number would you have got fed up with wrong abuse?

"you're an ADHD pain in the ass."
And, bear in mind that if I call you what you are calling me, Octavian would ban me instantly.
Did you get banned?

Reply: StarCraft: Brood War:: Rules:: Re: Hero bonuses

MordredofFairy — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 00:26:35 +0000

by MordredofFairy

the reason i would do that, would be that your corsair cannot attack the tank. thus, the tank survives, but has a valid target.
if i attack zeratul directly, it would most likely be a mutual kill.
aside from that: i choose the example to place a hero in a support role where his boni are not applied...just because he is a hero, does not mean i need one "extra" damage to kill him.

as for withdraw, naturally in that setup scanner sweep would be active.

Reply: StarCraft: Brood War:: Rules:: Re: Hero bonuses

Waylander1 — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 23:34:33 +0000

by Waylander1

I think you are conceptually right, but the prior poster said:

MordredofFairy wrote:

think i am attack you . . .. i arrange the battle placing a corsair in front of my tank, and zeratul behind that corsair.

So, he was assuming that he set up his tank to attack the corsair. I wondered why he would do that since his siege tank couldn't hit the corsair, but could hit zeratul.

I agree that the tank could hit zeratul anyway given the rules about not being able to hit flying units, etc. But, where ever he his when he gets hit, the cloaked zeratul can withdraw (assuming no detectors).

I do agree that he is hit easier in a support role than in a flu role.

So, I guess I've answered my own question why MordredofFairy would attack the corsair instead of zeratul.

While I like the game, there are a handful of these convoluted outcomes that make the game less than intuitive.

Reply: StarCraft: Brood War:: Rules:: Re: Hero bonuses

cyb3k — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 22:59:29 +0000

by cyb3k

Waylander1 wrote:
I guess, but wouldn't you just put your siege tank up against Zeratul from the outset?

Unless defender has Defensive module, attacking side is free to set skirmishe(s) in most beneficial way to it. That's the reason why you should always build it - it protects you valuable units of being destroyed so easily.

Remember, in this case Zeratul could withdraw (thanks to Cloaking).

Most of attack/health bonuses for heroes (excluding Raynor "leadership aura": +1 to attack in ALL skirmishes) are available to player ONLY if he sets hero as a FLU. Supporting hero has the support value like a regular unit ot that type.

Reply: StarCraft: The Board Game:: Strategy:: Re: Aldarchons!, Win Starcraft the easy way.

Lord_Kristof — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 19:37:28 +0000

by Lord_Kristof

Dude, you may, or may not be right. I never checked this strategy out (but may, rather out of curiosity), mostly because I would think it's plain boring - as any other strategy that is supposed to work 100% of the time. If I wanted to have a flawless strategy that's a no brainer, I would've run Starcraft, the PC game and type in a code for invulnerability, then whip the ass of my enemy with a single Marine, or a couple of Zerglings. Using the flaws of a game to win is, simply put - lame.

One thing is certain - you're an ADHD pain in the ass. I mean, how old are you? 11? You've proven your point a while ago. I'm not saying your "genius, game breaking strategy" doesn't work. I'm just saying your style of writing throughout this topic is really overbearing.

Don't bother answering me. I may be tempted to read what you wrote, but will most certainly NOT reply.

Reply: StarCraft: Brood War:: Rules:: Re: Hero bonuses

Waylander1 — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 19:27:55 +0000

by Waylander1

I guess, but wouldn't you just put your siege tank up against Zeratul from the outset?

Reply: StarCraft: The Board Game:: Strategy:: Re: Aldarchons!, Win Starcraft the easy way.

mattshiznits — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 19:14:41 +0000

by mattshiznits

Played Aldarchons! the other night for the first time. Made a couple rookie mistakes but they turned out not to be too detrimental (i used 2 health cards when i should've saved them since they didn't save my archons anyway).

But despite the couple set backs I planned the last turn so that tons of event cards were drawn so the last "End is Near" card would be drawn, bought an air defense and entrenched on Vyctor V so that the Overmind couldnt kill my one 'Goon and win his 3 base SVC easily. The terrans had 2 BCs on the other area which died and the zerg built his base. Then the terran brought in a huge force to kill the zerg off. I was one battle between the zerg and terran away from winning the game when the but the terran player didnt have any Battlecruiser cards to win :cry:

But Aldarchons! Kicked serious butt otherwise. Good Strat. Heck of a lot easier than the first time i played Aldaris, with just diverse zealots, dragoons and reapers. Too many Combat Cards, and never in my hand where i needed them.

Reply: StarCraft: Brood War:: Rules:: Re: Hero bonuses

MordredofFairy — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 13:15:25 +0000

by MordredofFairy

not true!

think i am attack you, with a single siege tank and a marine(who dies due to zeratuls ability).
i arrange the battle placing a corsair in front of my tank, and zeratul behind that corsair.

now, you can't attack me, i can't attack you, BUT, if my attack rating is higher than your defense rating, i can kill a supporting unit that i can hit...for example, zeratul, who is the only unit here. He does NOT have +1 health in that case, he is not the front line unit. So if my siege tank attack is higher than your corsair def(possibly with shields) zeratul is history.

as for the attack, ya, possibly to make sure people don't add +1 to his support value if he's somewhere behind...you could read the support value as an "added" attack bonus...so just saying he gets a plain +1 bonus on attack could lead people to having support heroes give extra attack value...

I am not really sure and i agree things could have been worded better and more clearly, but hey, we are talking FFG here ;)

Reply: StarCraft: The Board Game:: Strategy:: Re: Aldarchons!, Win Starcraft the easy way.

MrSkeletor — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 10:35:45 +0000

by MrSkeletor

Boring.

Reply: StarCraft: The Board Game:: Strategy:: Re: Aldarchons!, Win Starcraft the easy way.

magic gecko — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 08:59:45 +0000

by magic gecko

I think about Aldarchons sometimes.
It is a fascinating piece of history for me.

It is so obviously, screamingly overpowered in the base game.
But, after the expansion it just dont work.

I reckon there may be a whole lot in that.
I reckon the game as such was always a lot larger than we got to see and was cut down to make the base game.

If that was the case I can easily see how Archons end up massively overpowered.
Having areas that ground units just can't get too is huge.
Having all of the extra "Free" stuff turn up does have a significant crushing of undercosted units.
Maybe that is complete twaddle, I dont know. But it really rings true.

The other bit that really sticks with me is that I really should just ignore large chunks of what gets typed here. The level of "groupthink" on BGG is amazing.

Expecting random strangers to actually have a clue about advanced strategy is really quite an ask.
I mean Mr Skellie and Mr Camel are STILL certain Aldarchons! does not even work, and never has!
And, trying to get random boardgamers to actually play the boardgames they are reading about is also largely foolish. Especially if the suggestions being given are "outside their ken".

Aldarchons! is as simple a strategy as can be written about any complex wargame. It didn't help. Not one person was willing to even try it out.

I did.
Repeatedly.

Everyone and their dog was happy to insult and belittle.
Noone wanted to play.
"Win Starcraft the easy way." is not exactly claiming to be rocket science is it?

Next time I take a serious game and snap it in two, wonder how quickly Octavian will ban me?
After insulting it, deleting it and sending private email I am not allowed to publish, of course. :)

Wonder if just typing this is enough to get me banned.
I spoze that is the problem when you are not allowed to know the rules, and the referee hates you.

Hi Octavian, It has been a couple of years.
Have you played Aldarchons yet?

Reply: StarCraft: Brood War:: Rules:: Re: Hero bonuses

Waylander1 — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 00:12:33 +0000

by Waylander1

I am pretty sure I agree with your view of these heroes, but I still think they are awkwardly written at best. For Zeratul, if he isn't in the front line, then who cares if he has +1 attack and +1 health? So, the "if he is in the front line" qualifier is somewhat meaningless. I think that is the primary reason for my confusion.

Reply: StarCraft: The Board Game:: Rules:: Re: Repair Card

godfeather — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 21:16:44 +0000

by godfeather

You can use this card even if you don't have any worker left to move to unavailable worker area.

Thread: StarCraft: The Board Game:: Rules:: Repair Card

mattshiznits — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 20:59:59 +0000

by mattshiznits

The repair card for the terran factions says on it [paraphrased] add +1 health to the front line mech unit and, IF ABLE, move one worker to the unavailable worker area. Does this mean that you can play this card regardless of the number of workers you have unused and only assign a worker if you have one available? Or if you have no more workers available can you not use this card?

Reply: StarCraft: The Board Game:: Rules:: Re: The Retreat Event Card

mattshiznits — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 20:54:22 +0000

by mattshiznits

So what people here are saying is that when this event card is played, the defender leaves the area and the attacker enters unopposed? (then does whatever regarding extra units) Not that both parties leave the area empty?

Reply: StarCraft: Brood War:: Rules:: Re: Hero bonuses

MordredofFairy — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 15:58:52 +0000

by MordredofFairy

just to clarify further: the bonuses are very explicit in stating what and WHEN they are triggered.

They don't affect anyone unless they say so.
So Raynor DOES indeed provide +1 attack to all skirmishes in a battle. But the +1 Health(or +2, was it?) is only for HIMSELF

The Dark Templar Hero(Zeratul) kills ONE enemy ground unit at the beginning of the battle(before skirmishes are made) and gets +1 attack and health if he is in the front line.

The Battlecruiser of the UED-faction destroys all non-cloaking units that withdraw or retreat at the END of the battle, while gaining a +1 to health.

The one question that WOULD be intersting is as to wether you allow the hero's bonuses to stack with others. Zeratul, with the best DT card and a shields bonus(OR defense order, those don't stack) can reach quite high defense. We always read it as stacking, though, as it seems to be the intent.

Reply: StarCraft: Brood War:: Rules:: Re: Hero bonuses

Capoeirista — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 15:06:03 +0000

by Capoeirista

They are very different abilities. Just to get the terminology straight:

A skirmish is a pariring of one front line unit and 0 or more support/assist units from one side with one front line unit and 0 or more support/assist units from the other side.

A battle is what occurs when one side moves into an enemy occupied area. A battle will consist of one or more skirmishes.

So, Jim Raynor will add +1 attack and +1 health to each skirmish in any battle where he is present, regardless of which skirmish he is in and what role he has (front line, support).

By contrast, the Dark Templar hero will only add +1 attack and +1 health to a single skirmish if and only if he is the front line unit in that skirmish.

Thread: StarCraft: Brood War:: Rules:: Hero bonuses

Waylander1 — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 14:49:58 +0000

by Waylander1

I am unclear on some of the bonuses that the heroes have on their cards.

As an example, Jim Raynor says something like, "If he is in the battle, add +1 attack and +1 health to each skirmish."

The yellow Protoss Dark Templar hero says something like, "If he is in the front line, add +1 attack and +1 health to the skirmish."

Are these supposed to affect everyone? Just the hero? Are they supposed to be the same? Different?

Reply: StarCraft: The Board Game:: Rules:: Re: Tech cards on ref sheet

nybba — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 11:43:35 +0000

by nybba

I got mislead by the any icon on Metabolic boost and the fact that is is always active.

Reply: StarCraft: The Board Game:: Rules:: Re: Tech cards on ref sheet

MordredofFairy — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 11:19:26 +0000

by MordredofFairy

or, in other words: zerglings are the small ground-guys coming in double-packs, hydralisks are the guys looking like xenomorphs from alien...not the other way around.

otherwise: as mumu said.

Reply: StarCraft: The Board Game:: Rules:: Re: Tech cards on ref sheet

mumushanshi — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 05:04:15 +0000

by mumushanshi

Zerglings have Burrow and Metabolic Boost.
Hydralisks have Burrow.
(And all have Improved Carapace, which isn't counted for this purpose.)

Thread: StarCraft: The Board Game:: Rules:: Tech cards on ref sheet

nybba — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 00:05:15 +0000

by nybba

I have seatched the Tech deck but ca only find one Tech that aplies to the Zerglings, and that is Burrowing but on the referance sheet there is 2. There is 2 for the Hydralisks in the deck and only one on the sheet.

Is this a misprint?

New Image for StarCraft: Brood War

jsper — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 03:23:36 +0000

by jsper

Spanish edition by Edge

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Reply: StarCraft: Brood War:: Rules:: Re: Just to make sure we are playing correct.

MordredofFairy — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 12:25:35 +0000

by MordredofFairy

also, by blocking that build order until after the mobilise-orders have been discarded, destroying a single transport may stall an otherwise overwhelming offensive push for a whole round(at the end of the round, he'll get the transport when he finally gets to do his build order).

it's a question of strategic opportunities and needs.

Reply: StarCraft: Brood War:: Rules:: Re: Just to make sure we are playing correct.

Windopaene — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 02:03:28 +0000

by Windopaene

Forces an opponent to do a build order before they can attack. That gives you an order in which to prepare your defenses...

And no, you place transports with a build order on an adjacent planet.

Thread: StarCraft: Brood War:: Rules:: Just to make sure we are playing correct.

keighleyrob — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 23:23:52 +0000

by keighleyrob

A simple if not stupid question.
When you build a transport you do not need to use a mobilize order to place it on the game board do you.

Looking at event cards that let you destroy a transport and it seems pretty useless to me as at a cost of 1 mineral it is more annoying than costly.I know you need a build order to build one but you will probably be using a build order anyhow.
It just seems a waste of time playing the event card to me.

Reply: StarCraft: The Board Game:: Variants:: Re: cloaking variant

arturi — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 17:49:43 +0000

by arturi

Mark T wrote:
blarknob wrote:

Not pretty.

......mmmm is not pretty as : 3 BattleCruiser against 4 defending lings ! BattleCruiser must retreat! lings can attack battlecruiser? and so why must battlecruiser retreat?

So for me this cloaking houserule is good!

Reply: StarCraft: The Board Game:: General:: Re: . . . And then it just ENDED! Does this game end just as it begins to become involved?

MordredofFairy — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 14:34:10 +0000

by MordredofFairy
omg. First, yes, if you are just camping, and all of you do, naturally it will end like this. You need to be attacking a LOT more here. The game IS incredibly player-dependent...larienna, one of my game group USED to play like you describe...sit on his planet(s), build, research(also to get better combat cards)...until he realized he lost 9 out of 10 games by being overrun. 2 times per total extermination(which is HARD to achieve in starcraft if the other player doesn't turtle up when hurt).

Besides the fix of using other Leadership cards provided by Brood War,
the "obvious" fix needed to be spelled out here:

Variant 1.: Just use more Event Cards. Don't sort any out, keep the decks full...increase the V-points needed to 20 or 25, depending on players.

Variant 2.: Just ignore the SVC. They never happened. Player with most VP when 2 end-draws near-cards come, wins.

Variant 3.: Use all event cards and Variant 2...there you have a long game. Plenty of high-level units, research, orders, and still enough uncertainity to make for interesting end-games.

Variant 4.: Use Variant 3 and 3 planets per player, possibly with a neutral planet in the middle.

Really, there is ONE factor you don't like(game lenght) and two mechanics directly affecting it(event deck, SVC's). Rather than complain the game is feeling bad or like some euro you didn't want, just fix the one aspect not feeling right for you.

Reply: StarCraft: The Board Game:: Rules:: Re: Assist units - pairing in battles?

MordredofFairy — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 14:13:05 +0000

by MordredofFairy
just to mention: skeletor is right, but also: the high templar has no attack capabilities, so even with psi storm it would get it's ass kicked by a BC. Also, adding the High Templar to the Archon would not have made a difference in that battle, as it doesn't provide a support(since it's an assist unit(and unless she wanted to play hallucination or have a unit remaining in that territory(for example if that was your base...as most likely, the archon didn't survive that))). Still, your GF got it right, with psistorm, it's a kick-ass, combo...ludicrously high attack with 2 splashes triggered.

Reply: StarCraft: The Board Game:: Sessions:: Re: VP lead to unsatisfying victory

MordredofFairy — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 14:08:45 +0000

by MordredofFairy
besides, there is 2 plague cards in those zerg decks. If they decided to obliterate you, even in the base game, those BC's would not save you. even if each zerg only gets 1 plague on-hand, thats 2 consecutive attacks with ONE automatic kill each, against a maximum of 4 units, attacking with at most 6 units. Since you play with brood war(otherwise no 2 BC's thanks to eco ability) there's also the recharge of plague and offensive module to bring troops in from off-planet. taking that further, with an assist module and the research for pneumatized carapace, the zerg could attack with one defiler plus 7 units, against your 4-unit territory, getting one auto-kill from a recharged plague once per turn, just sending in stuff...or how about a scourge backupped by a devourer? Your BC's like 11 attack? this is NOT a defensive game, and those last 2 turns of you holing up in a single territory while waiting for your win, i guarantee you, would NOT happen in our game group...if it got that far, they got economy, if you got to BC's, they also got some buildings and tech up...if not, they already failed earlier...
If they did, it should NOT feel like a empty victory, surviving a onslaught of 2 capable zerg on a single territory is nigh impossible if they are determined, let alone for 2 or 3 consecutive turns...

Reply: StarCraft: The Board Game:: Rules:: Re: Is the following statement correct?

MordredofFairy — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 13:58:40 +0000

by MordredofFairy
lockdown and cloaking are your friends.

Often times, Protoss will have areas without organic units/archons, so defensive module won't help. And Zerg often have territories without units capable of detection, so cloaking takes care of that...IF you want to use nukes against zerg, at all.(mostly only seen them against toss in my games, because of lockdown and more expensive units-)

Nukes are costly, returned to tech deck after use, and not guaranteed to be useable/too useful- so it's pretty fine as-is...

File: StarCraft: The Board Game:: Starcraft Flowchart - includes Broodwar Expansion

MrSkeletor — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 17:00:11 +0000

by MrSkeletor
Starcraft Flowchart - includes Broodwar Expansion for Board Game: StarCraft: The Board Game ]]>

Reply: StarCraft: Brood War:: Reviews:: Re: "(monkeys screaming in background) Who set all these lab monkeys free!?" - A Brood War Review

Padachan — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 15:03:07 +0000

by Padachan
Great review!

Reply: StarCraft: Brood War:: Variants:: Re: New Stage 1 Leadership Cards

Padachan — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 14:59:56 +0000

by Padachan
Really nice and interesting leadership cards! I would love to try them out. :)

Reply: StarCraft: Brood War:: Rules:: Re: simple rule

keighleyrob — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 11:50:02 +0000

by keighleyrob
The rules themselves seem quite simple, but every now and then a combat card or technology card comes up against something or some card and you have to re-interpret the rules.

Reply: StarCraft: The Board Game:: Rules:: Re: Assist units - pairing in battles?

Lord_Kristof — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 11:46:15 +0000

by Lord_Kristof
Oopsie then. I wasn't sure about this one since we rarely play SC (a shame, really) and I had all kinds of rules mixed up. She whooped my ass any way, so I guess it didn't make much of a difference. But I'll remember that for the future.
Thanks for clearing that up.

Reply: StarCraft: The Board Game:: Rules:: Re: Assist units - pairing in battles?

MrSkeletor — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 11:30:56 +0000

by MrSkeletor

Lord_Kristof wrote:
A situation from yesterday. Two Battlecruisers are attacked by an Archon and a High Templar. I told my girlfriend that attacking like that is silly, because the attacker has to make as much pairs as possible - that would mean the Templar would be paired with a Battlecruiser and would get his ass kicked (she didn't have Psionic Storm). In the end, the Archon took on two Battlecruisers.
Was my interpretation of the rules correct, or did I misread something? She wanted to put the HT behind the Archon against my Battlecruiser supported by a second Battlecruiser. Was that an option?

You were wrong.
High Templar is an assist unit. Assist units do not go into the front line unless there are only assist units on that side. The Archon is not an assist unit so this was not the case. Ergo the ONLY way the above fight could be set up is as follows:

1 Skirmish
- Battlecruser front, battlecruser support.
- Archon Front, High Templar support.

No other combination is possible with the scenario you gave.

Thread: StarCraft: The Board Game:: Rules:: Assist units - pairing in battles?

Lord_Kristof — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 11:12:01 +0000

by Lord_Kristof
A situation from yesterday. Two Battlecruisers are attacked by an Archon and a High Templar. I told my girlfriend that attacking like that is silly, because the attacker has to make as much pairs as possible - that would mean the Templar would be paired with a Battlecruiser and would get his ass kicked (she didn't have Psionic Storm). In the end, the Archon took on two Battlecruisers.
Was my interpretation of the rules correct, or did I misread something? She wanted to put the HT behind the Archon against my Battlecruiser supported by a second Battlecruiser. Was that an option?

Reply: StarCraft: Brood War:: Rules:: Re: simple rule

MordredofFairy — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 10:58:31 +0000

by MordredofFairy
nope, you can't. one combat card, one reinforcement card.

We once tried as a home-rule-variant to allow playing multiple reinforcement cards...it worked surprisingly well, but got crazy fast...playing feels a lot more balanced with only one card.
(especially the shield cards for toss and the cheerleaders for zerg kind of get overused...and stimpacked marines with bunkers and medics kind of...well, that didn't work in the computer game either ;) )

Reply: StarCraft: Brood War:: Rules:: Re: simple rule

keighleyrob — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 08:20:30 +0000

by keighleyrob
Ok thanks for that , can you use just one reinforcement card per skirmish?
Not got book in front of me at the moment,don't think you can but wondered out of interest if you can use more than one reinforcment card.

Reply: StarCraft: Brood War:: Rules:: Re: simple rule

MordredofFairy — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 07:52:40 +0000

by MordredofFairy

keighleyrob wrote:
MordredofFairy wrote:
unless you use an defense-module beforehand to switch them around :) purple is right-

Cant swap flu for support unit though with the defense module.

not true:
from the rules...
"When defending, after matchups have been made for a skirmish, the player may switch any two of his units between skirmishes(they may be front line or support units, but not assist units). A player may only switch a unit into the front-line of a skirmish if the opponents front line-unit has the ability to attack it."

You can't swap in assist units, thats about it. The "switch any two of the units between skirmishes" for me always included switching units in a single skirmish(otherwise lockdown+nuke kind of completely renders the defense module useless), so swapping a FLU with a support-unit completely makes sense in both literal reading and intentional reading.
(also think the same example with 2 skirmishes...i can place the support unit zealot in the line NOT containing your ghost, then swap it in for the FLU-so why shouldn't it work with only one skirmish-?)

Reply: StarCraft: The Board Game:: General:: Re: 2 Players?

Lord_Kristof — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 22:06:50 +0000

by Lord_Kristof
I feel the game is rather lacking with only two players. I've played only games with 2 and 3 players, and the one with more people was visibly better. With 2 I find it irritating that it's so easy to block eachother and since the galaxy is small in this setting, it often leads to having to fight on round one and that first victory often means fast defeat for the loser.

Reply: StarCraft: Brood War:: Rules:: Re: simple rule

keighleyrob — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 15:52:35 +0000

by keighleyrob

MordredofFairy wrote:
unless you use an defense-module beforehand to switch them around :) purple is right-

Cant swap flu for support unit though with the defense module.

Reply: StarCraft: The Board Game:: Rules:: Re: Leader cards vs SVC

ianpwilliams — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 15:04:38 +0000

by ianpwilliams
Yeah maybe one of us will choose an SVC card eventually, or try a variation using both SVC and Stage 1 cards. I think the main reason no-one has chosen them is because it would be like going back to the original game, but then I suppose you still get the Stage II and Stage III leader cards too.

Reply: StarCraft: Brood War:: Rules:: Re: simple rule

MordredofFairy — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 14:32:12 +0000

by MordredofFairy
unless you use an defense-module beforehand to switch them around :) purple is right-

Reply: StarCraft: Brood War:: Rules:: Re: simple rule

Purple — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 13:38:23 +0000

by Purple
The Zealot is still only a support unit, so it gives only a +1, regardless of the card.

Thread: StarCraft: Brood War:: Rules:: simple rule

keighleyrob — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 13:30:37 +0000

by keighleyrob
Please could someone verify this for me.
A ghost has lockdown which locks down a dragoon,
his support unit is a zealot, now his combat card has a dragoon and a zealot on it, since his dragoon is locked down is his attack just 1 for the zealot's assist or does the zealot use the cards big numbers or small numbers, bearing in mind the combat card has a picture of both dragoon and zealot on it.

Reply: StarCraft: The Board Game:: Rules:: Re: Leader cards vs SVC

haslo — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 17:42:49 +0000

by haslo
Well, the SVC ones are good leadership cards :) They enable you to win really quickly before anybody else realizes that you do, and many of them have awesome synergies with stage II or stage III leadership cards as well. In fact, the SVC leadership cards are so good that many game groups will obliterate anybody who chooses one of these before they get a chance to sneak in their win, exactly because sneaking in a win is so incredibly easy once you have a SVC.

Personally, I was very positively surprised when I saw that FFG made the SVC optional in that not everybody necessarily has one. Games for me always felt like they were over too soon because somebody did the few things he needed for winning without going for CP.

That just as a word of caution, don't underestimate the SVC leadership cards :) On the other hand, of course you can try variants that enable SVC and stage I leadership cards that are good on their own. I am sure there are people who have more experience with that than I do, too :)

Reply: StarCraft: The Board Game:: Rules:: Re: how many units can i transport at once

Escher26 — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 14:12:29 +0000

by Escher26

LordStrabo wrote:
Yes.

Transports can transport an unlimited number of units.

If ONLY that were true in the computer game as well... :cool:

Thread: StarCraft: The Board Game:: Rules:: Leader cards vs SVC

ianpwilliams — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 10:15:40 +0000

by ianpwilliams
We've just bought the Brood Wars expansion for Starcraft, and we really enjoy the new leader cards and the special abilities which they give you. But we have found that because the abilities are so good, all of us always end up choosing those instead of the Special Victory Condition cards. This means that our games are now always a straightforward battle for conquest points, which I feel takes away from the strategy, after all, before the expansion in a four-player game there would be five different ways of winning (four SVC's and conquest points). So I'm wondering, has anyone tried taking out the SVC leader cards, everyone chooses one of the other leader cards each, but everyone can still win by conquest points or by their SVC at Stage III, like in the original game. Does anyone know if that would work, or if not then has anyone thought about any rules variants which might include the SVC's and the good leader cards at the same time?

Reply: StarCraft: Brood War:: Variants:: Re: New Stage 1 Leadership Cards

MordredofFairy — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 07:34:13 +0000

by MordredofFairy

xvzinjvx wrote:
Interesting takes! I am a heavy Zerg player BTW so I have more comments from their point of view.

thanks ;) me too, often- i like swarming...

xvzinjvx wrote:

My quick comments
Aldaris
-Interesting. Would it work on Defend orders?

thats a very good question and one reason i asked for feedback. I am inclined to say it would be very strong if you could block defense orders, since there's only 1 and that was introduced to fix some things from the base game(among other reasons).
How about the blocked player still gets to play it, but it takes 2 orders(so he is skipped once in the place orders phase). In that case, for those absolutely vital cases, you can't block the only defense order someone has, but if they decide to play it, the cost is high.

xvzinjvx wrote:

Tassadar
-I like it.

Raynor
-Fits with the theme of being on the run.

thanks.

xvzinjvx wrote:

Arcturus
-Maybe a tad to strong? I can imagine quite a few uses for it though.

Ya, i was considering wether unit limit should apply or not...the thing is, the unit takes part in combat and needs an extra skirmish, but is NOT moved to the area...so maybe handle it like this: if all other units are destroyed, the base is "empty", and therefore the attacker wins...
or, we can limit it to assist or tier 1 units. as you say, still quite a few uses, and much easier and quicker to replace.
the other aspect is: if a unit is on the card, it stays there until destroyed or disbanded...so if you place something strong here, you can't use that strong thing on the offense.

xvzinjvx wrote:

Overmind
-Too powerful w/9 workers
-No reason to pick A when you can pick B?
-Accidents can happen and more then 2 orders might be shown
-A better balance? 7 workers + only A option and show to you only?

as for the workers, i just juggled a bit, the starting loadout is week in units. so sure, add a zergling, remove a worker.
as for A or B...with A, you can react. if a player places a first token on a planet and you get to place on top, it can often be very important wether that was a mobilize or something else(like a build)...you get to react WHILE placing orders...with B, you only see afterwards, when you already gambled(as normal) and can, in the above example, decide not to execute one of your orders, or send extra troops in...so yes, there's actually quite a difference between A and B...
as for the accidents, i see where you're coming from. also to place them back in the right order.
so maybe you are right in limiting it to option A for now? the flip side up was actually intended as further side effect, but sure, let them show it to you only.(since it's all house rules, such slight variations are fine, i supppose), but i'd keep more workers or strenghten them.

xvzinjvx wrote:

Kerrigan
-To defensive for Zerg/Kerrigan IMHO.
-Maybe have starting tech as a ability as a way to explain her mixed human/zerg bonus?

I wanted something of the conclave fleet/covert ops style stuff for the zerg as well, as they can be fun cards to play with. it's defensive if used for defense, but don't forget you can also add them in basically any attack? I was only looking for a sensible way to get lurkers in play back on this card, but failed to find something useful...starting techs would be interesting, but the problem is that every free tech not only means a "turn" as gift, but also the resources for the tech...and adding only 1 or 2 techs will not influence things sufficiently to make the card stand out...

Oh yeah, one alternative exists:
Kerrigan
Human flexibility
After all orders have been placed, place ONE of your remaining silver orders face-up next to any order stack containing at least one of your orders. When executing one of your orders from this stack, you can decide to either execute the original order OR the one placed next to the stack. If the extra order is executed, place it in your special order area. If you can't do that, you have to execute the stacked order instead.
1 transport, 3 zerglings, 1 hydralisk, 1 golden order module(forgot name)
7 workers

(thoughts behind: Allows a variation on the star order of arcturus...you choose one order(say, mobilize) at the end of the round and place it next to a stack...any ONE order you have in that stack may be exchanged for the choosen order, at the prize of executing a silver order for a special order prize...on the plus side, you get to decide where your "special" goes AFTER all other orders were placed...unlike arcturus. fine for that bottom-of-stack build/mobilize hybrids...more aggressive for zerg, and unique in that it starts you with a module...).

Reply: StarCraft: Brood War:: Variants:: Re: New Stage 1 Leadership Cards

xvzinjvx — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 17:45:15 +0000

by xvzinjvx
Interesting takes! I am a heavy Zerg player BTW so I have more comments from their point of view.

My quick comments
Aldaris
-Interesting. Would it work on Defend orders?

Tassadar
-I like it.

Raynor
-Fits with the theme of being on the run.

Arcturus
-Maybe a tad to strong? I can imagine quite a few uses for it though.

Overmind
-Too powerful w/9 workers
-No reason to pick A when you can pick B?
-Accidents can happen and more then 2 orders might be shown
-A better balance? 7 workers + only A option and show to you only?

Kerrigan
-To defensive for Zerg/Kerrigan IMHO.
-Maybe have starting techas a ability as a way to explain her mixed human/zerg bonus?

Reply: StarCraft: The Board Game:: General:: Re: Bluffing Hallucination

HivedOne — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 14:43:51 +0000

by HivedOne
I've only played once,
this evening, my second game starts and I remember, that in my last game a player used Hallus.
I don't know if we played it correctly, but afaik, you have to lay behind ALL frontline units cards BEFORE your opponent may choose to play a Hallu. So when battling with e.g. 3 frontline-units, there are even three choices of "removing" an opponent card... or am I wrong? Of course some frontline-combats seem more important then others, but however you can't be sure which card he will replace (if he will replace one at all).

I'm also not quite sure, if we even showed BOTH combat-cards BEFORE a Hallu was played. In that case bluffing makes no sense at all.

maybe I can report you more, after play tonight :-)

Greetz, HivedOne. Hope I won't be archonized this time :-/

Reply: StarCraft: Brood War:: Reviews:: Re: "(monkeys screaming in background) Who set all these lab monkeys free!?" - A Brood War Review

mwdalrymple — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 12:48:18 +0000

by mwdalrymple
ahhh.. I see. We had been playing it all wrong for a long while now. Makes sense though, slows down the game some and increases the importance of Tier1 units.

Thread: StarCraft: Brood War:: Variants:: New Stage 1 Leadership Cards

MordredofFairy — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 12:13:16 +0000

by MordredofFairy
Stage 1 tends to be most game-defining, while later stages provide situational choices...so Stage 1 is most playstyle-influencing and thus offers the greatest "replayability".

So i decided to try and introduce a new Stage 1-Leadership for all factions...trying to introduce new abilities to interact...here goes:

Aldaris:
Psionic Assault
Every round, prior to the first order being placed, you may set aside, face up, one of your own orders, and choose one enemy. That enemy has to set aside the same order and neither of you can use it this turn.
1 transport, 2 zealots, 1 high templar, 7 workers

(thoughts behind: since every order is there 3 times, and often a good mix is used, often times the influence won't be too drastic...but taking away that golden attack order if not planning on using it himself or a early build order(before gold becomes available) may well be felt. It's also a weak economy card, but adds one high templar to the zealots...enabling e.g. a first round psistorm(build for gold module, golden research to get it on hand, enjoy)

Tassadar:
Twilight
When this card is in play, one Dark Templar Unit you have per planet is placed in the exact center of the planet tile. It is considered to be in any of the territories of the planet it could legally occupy, if you so choose.
1 transport, 1 zealot, 1 Dark Templar, 8 workers

(thoughts behind: Cloaking is good as-is, but this adds a little to DT...they are on-planet, but nobody knows WHERE...unless they go there and hear a distinct warp-blade sound. so: one DT can be in any one area on the planet where you want him, deciding on-the-fly where he is considered to be.)

Raynor:
Nomadic Lifestyle
When choosing this card, you do not need to place your base on one of your 2 drawn planets. Instead, you may place it on any free planet either when it's your turn to place a planet, or at the end of galaxy creation(your choice).
1 transport, 2 marines, 1 vulture, 1 medic, 8 workers

(thoughts behind: Yep, Arcturus already has a planet choice...this is different though, even if you get shafted with your draw, you get the best pick of whats left, also other people can't take their expansion for granted, and creating a closed-off galaxy-part with z-axis may just be a bad idea)

Arcturus:
Home Guard
You may place any 1 unit you produce on this card. This unit participates in all defensive battles in any of your bases, not counting against unit limit. If it is destroyed, or you decide to disband the unit, you may produce another and place it on this card.
1 transport, 3 marines, 1 firebat, 1 medic 8 workers

(thoughts behind: really more less a human version of conclave fleet...but with a twist. It's only one unit, any one...but it takes part in all the defensive battles for bases, without having to move there. So that one BC here protects all 4 of your bases and doesn't count against local unit limit...not too shabby...)

Overmind:
Cosmic Mind
Every round, you get to choose between the following: a.: one player of your choice has to flip the order he just placed face-up instead of face-down. b.: After all orders have been placed, you get to look at any 2 of your choice.
1 transport, 3 zerglings, 1 hydralisk, 9 workers

(thoughts behind: really, sometimes you'd just NEED to know what other people are planning, or wether that final order on the bottom of the stack is a mobilize or a build...worry no more, the hive mind knows...)

Kerrigan:
Hidden Agendas
When choosing this card, place one lurker on it. Any lurkers you build may be placed on this card. Prior to executing one of your mobilize orders, you may place any number of lurkers from this card into a friendly territory(unit limits apply). If an opponent mobilizes into one of your bases, you may move lurkers from this card into the attacked base before the battle(up to the area unit limit).
1 transport, 2 zerglings, 1 hydralisk, 1 lurker(on card), 7 workers

(thoughts behind: again, a take on the covert ops of terrans, lurkers instead of ghosts...they are NOT considered to be locals, though...you have to place them in friendly areas prior to executing your mobilize(so area unit limits also apply), but as a pay-off, you may always reinforce bases with them when under attack. did i mention they pair up well with sunkens?)

thanks for any feedback, positive and negative(try to keep it constructive)...this is a work in progress, so yep, there may be some problems overlooked or loopholes undiscovered...help to get it working and we may just improve the game for everybody-

Reply: StarCraft: Brood War:: Reviews:: Re: "(monkeys screaming in background) Who set all these lab monkeys free!?" - A Brood War Review

MordredofFairy — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 09:33:31 +0000

by MordredofFairy
what cesar says, plus special care with archons...both of the high templars have to pre-exist-...ALSO, upgrading a unit takes one "build" spot. So as a protoss, to upgrade 2 templars into an archon, then rebuild the templar, you need a pylon or golden build order.

New Image for StarCraft: Brood War Promotional Leadership Cards

ahchong — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 06:55:00 +0000

by ahchong

BroodWar promotional leadership cards
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Reply: StarCraft: Brood War:: Reviews:: Re: "(monkeys screaming in background) Who set all these lab monkeys free!?" - A Brood War Review

CesarPim — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 01:24:20 +0000

by CesarPim

mwdalrymple wrote:
huh. that was something that we had done wrong :) I was wondering why people were always complaing about Tier 3 units not becoming available that early in the game! lol!

Also makes Tech-enabled units (such as Devourers, Guardians, Archons(both)) even more powerful. handy.

Attention that tech-enabled units can only originate from units that previously exist before executing the build order. You cannot, for example, build a mutalisk and transform it (that same one) into a Guardian, with a single build order.

Reply: StarCraft: Brood War:: Reviews:: Re: "(monkeys screaming in background) Who set all these lab monkeys free!?" - A Brood War Review

mwdalrymple — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 19:13:24 +0000

by mwdalrymple
huh. that was something that we had done wrong :) I was wondering why people were always complaing about Tier 3 units not becoming available that early in the game! lol!

Also makes Tech-enabled units (such as Devourers, Guardians, Archons(both)) even more powerful. handy.

Reply: StarCraft: Brood War:: Reviews:: Re: "(monkeys screaming in background) Who set all these lab monkeys free!?" - A Brood War Review

mumushanshi — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 18:17:08 +0000

by mumushanshi

mwdalrymple wrote:
You would only need 1 build. One to create the flyer building, and then build that flyer placing them into the strategic location, claiming it.

No... you MUST follow the sequence of builds.

1) Workers and transports
2) Units
3) Buildings/modules/base

Which means that after building the flyer building, you may not then use it to build the flyer in the same build order.

Reply: StarCraft: Brood War:: Reviews:: Re: "(monkeys screaming in background) Who set all these lab monkeys free!?" - A Brood War Review

mwdalrymple — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 14:16:00 +0000

by mwdalrymple

MordredofFairy wrote:

you'd need 2 normal builds...one for the requisite building, the second for the flyer. no difference from having one base.
Only exception to this being the ground-based gold area on the space base, which for this setting may actually be a very good draw-

You would only need 1 build. One to create the flyer building, and then build that flyer placing them into the strategic location, claiming it.

Reply: StarCraft: Brood War:: Reviews:: Re: "(monkeys screaming in background) Who set all these lab monkeys free!?" - A Brood War Review

MordredofFairy — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 14:03:26 +0000

by MordredofFairy
the problem with kerrigans resource card(aka second base) is that unless you are in a 2-player game, it really draws attention...and you will have neighbours, at least one, unless the setup really favors you.

so yeah, it's great...for 1v1 or team games(but in a team game only if you would feel dirty doing forward planning)...but if you are playing FFA then that card is most likely causing some early trouble, which you don't need with 6 zerglings split on 2 planets-...

"I can also see it as a nice touch when it comes to BW planets where you can automatically drop a base on a planet with a strategic location providing you with 2 special build orders (after the initial one to build that first flyer to claim that area) that would give you an additional bonus 2 resources! Unless you only gain control the area during the re-grouping phase? But I can't see that making much sense."

you'd need 2 normal builds...one for the requisite building, the second for the flyer. no difference from having one base.
Only exception to this being the ground-based gold area on the space base, which for this setting may actually be a very good draw-

Reply: StarCraft: Brood War:: Rules:: Re: Maelstrom usage

CesarPim — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 16:56:15 +0000

by CesarPim

Mark T wrote:
From what I gather from a question I have asked, the sequence would be that
1. Opponent reveals a mobilize order on a planet you have dark archons on.
2. Opponent declares if he will use the order as a mobilize or take an event card instead.
3. Dark Archon player declares whether he will use the Maelstrom or not.
4. Opponent will move units to allowable areas (if any remain).

This is how I was using maelstrom. But it seems really lame... It allows the enemy to "pretend" he's going to attack making us spend the maelstrom card. Then later the enemy attacks anyway and we don't have the card anymore...

What if we don't say soon enough that we want to use maelstrom? The enemy may start moving his troops to our area with the dark archon and then we can still say, WAIT I WANT TO USE! I JUST FORGOT!

Moreover the enemy moving his troops may be just bluffing to make us use the card and then he goes back to other areas (maybe with just one zerling).

I find this usage quite a trouble-maker...

Mark T wrote:
Q: For the Dark Archon's Maelstrom ability, when the opponent reveals a Mobilize order, but after this card is used, is the opponent then allowed to choose the event card option? Basically what we're trying to figure out is if this card is used before, or after, the option has passed for drawing an event card instead of executing the mobilize order.

A: Yes, he may first choose the event card option before you use Maelstrom.

I really don't see how this question and answer implies the sequence you said above. It is completely possible that this question and answer are consistent with Ger Lam's usage.

Reply: StarCraft: Brood War:: Reviews:: Re: "(monkeys screaming in background) Who set all these lab monkeys free!?" - A Brood War Review

mwdalrymple — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 16:53:04 +0000

by mwdalrymple
thanks for the correction :)

I missed the queen presence, and that makes sense. I just haven't found the motivation to really go after it.

Reply: StarCraft: Brood War:: Reviews:: Re: "(monkeys screaming in background) Who set all these lab monkeys free!?" - A Brood War Review

CesarPim — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 16:31:50 +0000

by CesarPim
First of all, congrats on the great review. I have just a few corrections.

mwdalrymple wrote:

3) Defensive - when attacked, you can swap a front line unit with a back line unit after skirmish assignment

This is not quite right. You can switch any two units between skirmishes, it can be one front-line and one non-front-line, but they can also be both front-line or both non-front-line. It just cannot involve any assist units.

mwdalrymple wrote:

4) Infested Command Center
If you destory a Terran Command center (as a zerg player) instead replace it with an infested terran command center installation. The zerg player can now create infested terrans. Not the most powerful thing in the world, but flavourful and fun :)

It's not when you destroy it. It's at the end of the battle IF you have a queen there and IF you have the tech.

Reply: StarCraft: Brood War:: Reviews:: Re: "(monkeys screaming in background) Who set all these lab monkeys free!?" - A Brood War Review

mwdalrymple — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 12:28:34 +0000

by mwdalrymple

Allos wrote:

It can end up screwing you over depending on the planets you receive, but Kerrigan's "2 Bases" card can give you a HUGE advantage over other players. Since most player's sacrifice two orders on the first turn to mobilize and construct a base, you're essentially half a turn ahead of everyone else. I've won two games because of the technological/unit building lead I acquired with resources that the card freed up.

That is true. I guess it would give you that early edge. The additional technology/build order saved from the 1 mobilize (+2 crystal) that would be required to expand to your second planet.

I can also see it as a nice touch when it comes to BW planets where you can automatically drop a base on a planet with a strategic location providing you with 2 special build orders (after the initial one to build that first flyer to claim that area) that would give you an additional bonus 2 resources! Unless you only gain control the area during the re-grouping phase? But I can't see that making much sense.

Not a bad idea, maybe next game I will give that a go :)

Reply: StarCraft: The Board Game:: Rules:: Re: Getting started...

nachof — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 11:41:25 +0000

by nachof

GiannisS wrote:
Windopaene wrote:
Note that you must have a base on a planet to gain the resource card. IF you have units in an area, but no base on the planet, then IF another player had the resource card for that area, they will lose it, but in that case, you will not gain it.

So you can't get a resource card by just moving a unit to an area, you need to build a base?

But what happens (if you had a base), when an enemy unit that had "taken" a resource card by moving in an area on your planet is destroyed or moved to another area? Do you take the resource card back, or you have to move a unit to that area?

In the regrouping phase, you'll get resource cards for empty areas as long as your base is the only one on the planet. So in turn one, an enemy comes to your planet, you lose the minerals (for example) card. In turn two, he leaves the planet, without building a base: you recover the minerals card.

Reply: StarCraft: Brood War:: Rules:: Re: Stage III - Overmind - TEEMING SPAWN

MordredofFairy — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 09:17:47 +0000

by MordredofFairy
nice one, emelt...but in our group, playing your SVC kind of paints a huge target mark right in the middle of your face :) and we know all of those cards meanwhile, so yep, it's great to sneak something in, but often, in a situation everything else being equal, the person targetted in our group are those with a SVC in play...to the point of "brink of annihilation"...

Reply: StarCraft: Brood War:: Rules:: Re: Stage III - Overmind - TEEMING SPAWN

Mark T — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 06:33:17 +0000

by Mark T
Obviously this card is great to sneak in a whole turn's worth of building units where you have a base already.

But where this card can really shine is when you have already chosen your stage 1 special victory condition leadership card: to have a base built on 3 different planets.

If you have your SVC card in play and need 1 more base on a planet you happen to have units on, you can use this to build a base, and now you qualify for SVC during the same regrouping phase that you played your stage 3 leadership card. It could give you what you need when others didn't think you would qualify in time for the SVC check.

Reply: StarCraft: Brood War:: Rules:: Re: Maelstrom usage

Mark T — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 06:01:47 +0000

by Mark T
From what I gather from a question I have asked, the sequence would be that
1. Opponent reveals a mobilize order on a planet you have dark archons on.
2. Opponent declares if he will use the order as a mobilize or take an event card instead.
3. Dark Archon player declares whether he will use the Maelstrom or not.
4. Opponent will move units to allowable areas (if any remain).

That would be my interpretation of how the Maelstrom card would be used. I know my question that follows doesn't specifically ask about the situation you are asking about, but my suspicion is that the opponent would perform the actual mobilize after you had decided whether to use the Maelstrom or not.

Here is the question I asked Corey a while back:

Q: For the Dark Archon's Maelstrom ability, when the opponent reveals a Mobilize order, but after this card is used, is the opponent then allowed to choose the event card option? Basically what we're trying to figure out is if this card is used before, or after, the option has passed for drawing an event card instead of executing the mobilize order.

A: Yes, he may first choose the event card option before you use Maelstrom.

Reply: StarCraft: Brood War:: Reviews:: Re: "(monkeys screaming in background) Who set all these lab monkeys free!?" - A Brood War Review

Allos — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 04:40:21 +0000

by Allos

mwdalrymple wrote:

I think that Kerrigan's resource one is slightly weaker (mainly b/c it doesn't help if you are resource screwed), but it still has some merit b/c its an extra base and provides additional options. I see the trade off and I am sort of ok with that.

It can end up screwing you over depending on the planets you receive, but Kerrigan's "2 Bases" card can give you a HUGE advantage over other players. Since most player's sacrifice two orders on the first turn to mobilize and construct a base, you're essentially half a turn ahead of everyone else. I've won two games because of the technological/unit building lead I acquired with resources that the card freed up.

Reply: StarCraft: Brood War:: Reviews:: Re: "(monkeys screaming in background) Who set all these lab monkeys free!?" - A Brood War Review

mwdalrymple — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 02:00:38 +0000

by mwdalrymple
Thanks for all the compliments :) this is probably the review I have put the most into (to give you an idea as to how much I think of the game).

I guess with Kerrigan, I was hoping for more. Her Leadership cards are thematic and really do 'suit' all the fluff, but I still feel a bit cheated with the Zerg in general (not just her) with the Stage I leadership cards. All 6 factions have an SVC and a Resource related card. Fine. I think that Kerrigan's resource one is slightly weaker (mainly b/c it doesn't help if you are resource screwed), but it still has some merit b/c its an extra base and provides additional options. I see the trade off and I am sort of ok with that. The Overminds +1 VP is good, but seriously, its the Overmind! Couldn't it do something else more fun? I guess I just have fun card envy. The Stage II cards make up for that though, and the Stage III ones are fine.

I just was hoping for something that was more 'play style' defining than an added benefit. The two Protoss factions and Jim have a cool card that really sets them apart. I just wish that the Zerg had been given the same thing.

I appreciate how powerful her Stage I forward planning card can be with the swapping of navigation routes.. maybe I just feel 'dirty' using it? I don't know.

I guess I am complaining for no reason. FFG did so much to help the Zerg (more than any other faction) with this expansion so I shouldn't be griping as much as this. The really did retool a few key things that balanced out the Zerg.. I still think that defilers should not require a second building, but I can live with that.

This is what I think that FFG did *right* by the Zerg in this expansion:
1) Assist Modules - defilers and queens now can cheer w/o having a negative affect. Combine this with Gamete Meiosis and you are golden! I would have to say that this is a must have combo!
2) Pneunumatized Caraparice (+1 to the # of units you can bring). Seriously, a MUST HAVE technology come turn 3 if you are counting on overwhelming your opponent with your weaker units. Having an extra unit is really that important. All tiers differentiate by 1 point of defense, the zerg are one point of defense less than all other factions (with the exclusion of the ultralisk). That extra cheer leader seriously matters!
3) Scourge. So happy with the result. Combine this with a Devourer cheering, all of a sudden you its kamakzie machine!
4) Guardians and Devourers are now the SAME research order. This is just the flexibility that the Zerg needed to deal with carriers or big ground pounders.
5) Lurkers. Splash + Cloaking. Love it. So worth getting first or second turn to turn any free hydralisks into them. Hydralisks are just too weak and too expensive to really stand up as an A.A. strategy and there are NOT ENOUGH CARDS for them. Now enter the lurker! Such a great 'safe' way to deal with low to mid tier infantry.

As a note, I was not able to EVAR make a ground pounder only strategy work properly in the base game. Defiler technologies (which this sort of strategy was dependent on) was difficult to get a hold of and keep a hold of. The new recharge technology combined with an Assist module just works so well for the Zerg. I am looking forward to trying this again during my next encounter. I really do like defilers and ultralisks and would love to see them 'work' properly together and deal with the other factions Tier 3 units.

Reply: StarCraft: Brood War:: Reviews:: Re: "(monkeys screaming in background) Who set all these lab monkeys free!?" - A Brood War Review

MordredofFairy — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 21:42:12 +0000

by MordredofFairy

kurtkatt wrote:
well yea i kinda agree. but to play a funnier game and not using some cards cuz they are awesome for winning the game doesnt make them useless, i guess we are just marking words eh. good review!!

exactly as said...it's not very FUN to use the card, but it's no doubt POWERFUL. so ya...a combination variant of conclave fleet and special ops that is restricted to, say, lurkers, would have been a fun thing...but i guess there's a reason things are as they are.
nice review, either way.

Reply: StarCraft: Brood War:: Rules:: Re: Stage III - Overmind - TEEMING SPAWN

MordredofFairy — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 21:38:31 +0000

by MordredofFairy
exactly as haslo says :) thanks for reinforcing my point-

Reply: StarCraft: Brood War:: Reviews:: Re: "(monkeys screaming in background) Who set all these lab monkeys free!?" - A Brood War Review

kurtkatt — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 21:19:35 +0000

by kurtkatt
well yea i kinda agree. but to play a funnier game and not using some cards cuz they are awesome for winning the game doesnt make them useless, i guess we are just marking words eh. good review!!

Reply: StarCraft: The Board Game:: General:: Re: Another idea for teaching new players

rokkko — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 20:27:10 +0000

by rokkko
Yeah, this way I could teach new players the game since I scared off 3 or 4 players with "normal" teaching of the game. There is never too much SC players, at least in my group.
Will give it a try. Thanks mate :)

Reply: StarCraft: Brood War:: Reviews:: Re: "(monkeys screaming in background) Who set all these lab monkeys free!?" - A Brood War Review

mwdalrymple — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 19:09:12 +0000

by mwdalrymple

of course its useless if u arent allowed to use it....

Its not so much about not allowing, its more about quality of game. In a small game with < 4 players, it would really screw with things and create a less than enjoyable experience.

I could see it being advantages in a 5-6 player game with many planets.

I still would prefer a card like special ops :D

Reply: StarCraft: Brood War:: Reviews:: Re: "(monkeys screaming in background) Who set all these lab monkeys free!?" - A Brood War Review

kurtkatt — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 17:36:19 +0000

by kurtkatt
of course its useless if u arent allowed to use it....

Reply: StarCraft: The Board Game:: Rules:: Re: Is the following statement correct?

keighleyrob — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 16:34:46 +0000

by keighleyrob
With the defense module it should be nearly impossible to pull off so I would not try it.

Reply: StarCraft: The Board Game:: Rules:: Re: Is the following statement correct?

sigmazero13 — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 16:31:00 +0000

by sigmazero13
Let us know how that works out :)

I CAN be "easy" sometimes, but I've found that it can be harder to pull off than it seems :) (Especially with Brood War and the defense module).

Reply: StarCraft: The Board Game:: Rules:: Re: Is the following statement correct?

keighleyrob — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 16:07:11 +0000

by keighleyrob
yes it does.

Reply: StarCraft: The Board Game:: Rules:: Re: Is the following statement correct?

mumushanshi — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 15:16:06 +0000

by mumushanshi
Yes. Does it sound too easy to you?

Reply: StarCraft: The Board Game:: General:: Re: Another idea for teaching new players

haslo — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 14:37:55 +0000

by haslo
Very awesome idea indeed. The trouble with many FFG games is that often, it's not possible to do what my players really want, jump right in and save explanations for later - this looks like exactly the way to do those rolling explanations! Great, thanks!

Reply: StarCraft: Brood War:: Rules:: Re: Stage III - Overmind - TEEMING SPAWN

haslo — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 14:27:06 +0000

by haslo

mwdalrymple wrote:
Or do all the requirements for executing a build order still exist? (i.e. you need a base or a unit on that planet to execute the build order).

Actually, you don't need a base or a unit on the planet you want to execute a build order on. You can place a build order on any planet that you either have units on or that is adjacent do a planet you have units on during the planning phase, like any other order - that is the only restriction there is to placing and later executing a build order.

While executing the order however, you have limitations on what you can build, depending on what you have on the active planet. The ones you know (from the rulebook page 21), that is - you can only build workers, transports and units if you have a base, you can only build buildings and modules if you have a base or unit, and you can only build a base if you have a unit and no base. So, a build order on a planet where you have neither unit nor base can be executed, but doesn't do anything when it is.

These restrictions are part of the execution of the build order. Since the Overmind's card merely changes when and how a build order can be placed and executed (it seems the restriction for it only being placeable on certain planets really does fall away), but doesn't change the build order itself in any way, there is no way that you can build anything on an empty planet with it.

At least this is the way I understand it.

Thread: StarCraft: The Board Game:: Rules:: Is the following statement correct?

keighleyrob — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 13:52:54 +0000

by keighleyrob
With the nuke card. All that I need to do to activate it is have a ghost who is a flu in a skirmish with the nuke combat card in play for the ghost and for the ghost to survive?

Reply: StarCraft: The Board Game:: General:: Re: Another idea for teaching new players

GaryP — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 13:41:25 +0000

by GaryP
That sounds like a great way to teach the game and simultaneously get the first game rolling! Thanks for the suggesiton.

Reply: StarCraft: Brood War:: Rules:: Re: Stage III - Overmind - TEEMING SPAWN

mwdalrymple — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 13:22:53 +0000

by mwdalrymple
I guess that is what I was getting at, being able to toss a build order onto an 'empty' space on a remote planet, where that territory was 'un-controlled'. Or do all the requirements for executing a build order still exist? (i.e. you need a base or a unit on that planet to execute the build order).

I understand the free -double time- nature/intention of the phaseIII card, but there is some tactical advantage late game being able to do this sort of thing.

Reply: StarCraft: Brood War:: Rules:: Re: Stage III - Overmind - TEEMING SPAWN

MordredofFairy — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 12:31:55 +0000

by MordredofFairy
i don't understand your question.

It'd one build order. Anywhere you want. You can do anything you want that you can do with a normal build order.

Wether you build units in a base you already have, or build a new base somewhere plus module/building upgrades, is up to you.

If you want to forgo the build-in-double-time-mass-production, i'd even allow you to place this build order on a planet with none of your units or bases and draw an event card instead since you have to discard it.

Anything you want that you can do with a regular build order, really, but maybe i misunderstood your question- feel free to clarify what you are asking-

PS: The main advantage of this is the build-in double-time effect and that you don't waste an order to build...NOT that you can build in remote places or enemy planets, if thats what you were considering-

Reply: StarCraft: Brood War:: Reviews:: Re: "(monkeys screaming in background) Who set all these lab monkeys free!?" - A Brood War Review

mwdalrymple — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 12:29:52 +0000

by mwdalrymple
In three player games that I have played I have found it pretty useless... that and when I play with my friends, we have an un-written rule about NOT creating 'bowling-alley' galaxies... so maybe that is where I am coming from. I still would have preferred something like conclave fleet, warp gate or special ops :)

Reply: StarCraft: Brood War:: Variants:: Re: UED Faction.

MordredofFairy — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 12:27:24 +0000

by MordredofFairy
i suppose they were meant to be different in that they have an extra way of creating CP's, much like aldaris also is "different" in his win condition as he needs time to run out.

The idea of controlling areas on different planets is nice, but would in the end play out too similar to tassadars control as many areas as possible. Stretching yourself too thin, without reinforcements, won't work. Having one area on 4 planets each is much less favorable than having 3 areas on one planet and 1 on another...

As the UED, you really want to go rampaging around running amok among people. screw homeplanet or defensive play, just go around and kill bases with collateral.
or sit back and play a relaxed game, then use the opportunity to get those extra VP's needed by killing bases after building up. I agree it's not AS strong as some others, but it also starts them with a tier 3 unit, which no other SVC does...so you'd have to change around a lot.
I believe they play quite fine...or did you run into problems with them? As a matter of fact, did you TRY them, or just read them and decide you want to try and mod the game?(just saw that many new topics got started recently by you-, something often happening after the game got unpacked and played a few times...) don't get me wrong, i also introduced some house rules quite early, it's just, many of the things are more balanced than they seem, and changing stuff around too much will open quite some hellholes you'd rather keep shut...

Reply: StarCraft: Brood War:: Reviews:: Re: "(monkeys screaming in background) Who set all these lab monkeys free!?" - A Brood War Review

MordredofFairy — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 12:19:07 +0000

by MordredofFairy

mwdalrymple wrote:
The z-axis re-arrange to me isn't that great and her 'resource' boost strategy card is the weakest out of everyones as you are not being provided a 'free/safe' resource to use like ALL other factions.

er...did you TRY this z-axis a couple times?

unless you play 1v1 it's nasty. in a 3 player, the two other players will certainly become neighbors, in a 4-player, she will sit safely while everybody else is next to each other, in a team game it's just pure nasty...

as a matter of fact, we even considered "banning" this card from our table as it seemed to throw off game balance too much(galaxy setup is so incredibly important in this game that giving too much power over it to one person can lead to very..."clear" results...

sure navigational error can help a little to remedy this, but careful placement will also prevent that from influencing things too much...

Reply: StarCraft: Brood War:: Variants:: Re: Mobilizing Infested Command Centers.

MordredofFairy — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 12:07:59 +0000

by MordredofFairy
and in the video game, it made sense not to have ONE building far away from your main base, in the middle of enemy territory.

The fact with no one "human" to operate and everything covered with creep, themewise, it makes more sense that it DOESN'T fly, especially not over long distances. What you can do, is just relocate your own base there, if you want it protected.
I have to say though, it never really came up much in our games, going for infesting command centers and building suicide infested terrans came up about as much in the board game as it did in the computer game... nice if things happen, but never something to plan for.

Reply: StarCraft: Brood War:: General:: Re: Building the Event deck

MordredofFairy — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 12:04:50 +0000

by MordredofFairy
first, it's not supposed to come earlier...if you go SVC, you try to advance "time" faster.

Also, you can't simply build it with a fixed number of cards per player...
The more players there are, the more likely people will be blocked, sometimes multiple people with the same effect. More overlaps occur.

Making this linear would lead to shorter games with more players, as more cards are being burned through.

As a matter of fact, if you try to accelerate event card burn, there is quite a few good strategies for that, golden build orders and blocking other players helps...forcing event cards plus normal research burn plus what other people block will eat through the deck quickly...

Reply: StarCraft: Brood War:: Rules:: Re: Stage III - Overmind - TEEMING SPAWN

mumushanshi — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 11:57:15 +0000

by mumushanshi
I suppose you could, if you wanted, execute it on a planet with no base but some of your units present to build any or all of
1) a building
2) a module
3) a base

Reply: StarCraft: The Board Game:: Rules:: Re: Getting started...

GiannisS — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 07:52:16 +0000

by GiannisS

Windopaene wrote:
Note that you must have a base on a planet to gain the resource card. IF you have units in an area, but no base on the planet, then IF another player had the resource card for that area, they will lose it, but in that case, you will not gain it.

So you can't get a resource card by just moving a unit to an area, you need to build a base?

But what happens (if you had a base), when an enemy unit that had "taken" a resource card by moving in an area on your planet is destroyed or moved to another area? Do you take the resource card back, or you have to move a unit to that area?

Reply: StarCraft: The Board Game:: General:: Re: . . . And then it just ENDED! Does this game end just as it begins to become involved?

MrSkeletor — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 06:00:46 +0000

by MrSkeletor

larienna wrote:
If you are able to successfully camp in starcraft then you are playing some pretty lousy players.

Does this mean that the game is extremely player dependent?

If a game isn't extremely player dependent, then wouldn't it just play itself?

Reply: StarCraft: Brood War:: Reviews:: Re: "(monkeys screaming in background) Who set all these lab monkeys free!?" - A Brood War Review

Allos — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 20:16:45 +0000

by Allos
Great review for an amazing expansion.

mwdalrymple wrote:

Tassadar

I love the warp gate. Another great stategic addition to the game. I love how you can hide units and have them 'pop out' to re-inforce areas that you took during the course of a turn.

Warp Gate is a good leadership card to choose for this reason, but I often find that it's too risky to choose in games with three or less players. Smaller galaxies give you less opportunities to surprise people. It's particularly notorious in larger games though. :devil:

Review: StarCraft: Brood War:: "(monkeys screaming in background) Who set all these lab monkeys free!?" - A Brood War Review

mwdalrymple — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 19:53:53 +0000

by mwdalrymple
]]>

After a few games of Starcraft:TBG with the Brood War expansion, I thought to do a review of this great expansion!

Components:
"You want another physical?"

]]>

So what do you get for your $$?

High quality linen finished tokens and planets:

Again FFG has provided outstanding artwork with a high quality finish. In the expansion several new planets were included, new buildings to retrofit the old, new and improved player mats (bonus on this one), and many new counters and tokens. All great production quality and I am quiet happy with the result.

I do have two gripes though that reduces the start rating by 1:
1)The colour do not match the base expansion. They are slightly off, and know that this is a problem with printing things in china, but seriously, its annoying.
2)The sheet that the planet selection tokens (which I think are a great idea) were punched from the wrong direction in the expansion, making it easy to pick them out from
the base game tokens. This is a good and bad thing as I find its better to have one base game + one expansion planet when in playing. Some of the expansion planets are really resource deprived which I have issue with.

A new slew of highly detailed plastic figs:

Again, FFG has out done themselves with the quality of the figures. Highly detailed and accurately represenative of what was found in the computer game. I wish that there were more in the box for its expense, but I am not too worried about that.

The new figures are:
Terran (2 sets of)
3 Medics
3 Valykeries
Protosss (2 sets of)
3 Dark Templars
3 Dark Archons
3 Corsairs
Zerg (2 sets of)
3 Lurkers
3 Devourers
3 Infested Terrans

I do have two gripes though:
1) The colour AGAIN is off. Especially for the overmind green and the kerrigan purple.
2) No hero figures. Counters + unit. I can see why they would do this to keep the unit balance, but seriously! I wanted to have my own 'hero' figures... I guess kerrigan is what I really wanted different. I can see why they didn't do this, to keep production costs down, but I still wanted it all the same.

A new set of cards (several hundred of them):

Again, same nice linen finish (and the colour matches this time!) as the base game. FFG was smart about numbering their cards as to make the swap out process relatively painless (to remove the obsolete combat and technology cards). The real addition to the deck was the leadership cards (but I will get to that later).

Components - Overall:

Might not seem like much for the cost as the expansion as its more expensive than most base games, but in my opinion well worth it. The amount of components and its quality are comparable as to what you would get in a complete base game, so I have no issues with this. Again, my only issue with some of the components is with the colour being slightly off from that of the base game.

Changes to Existing Rules:
"You have persecuted us for generations...and now you beg us to aid you?"

New combat cards to tweak existing units
Fire bats have been fixed to what they should have been in the first place. They are now the splash happy fiends that they were intended to be with the removal of the splash card for the marine.
As well as fire bats being fixed, so where the Archons. No more ridiculas strategies! ++ for FFG paying attention to the community at large
Also, the scourge/infested terran cards make more sense (see sacrifice below)

Change to special orders:
Special Order tokens can now be played w/o having the support module. If you build a support module in time before playing the special order, then you can execute it as a special oder, if not then you draw an even card. This is a great tweak to the rules. I found that I HAD to buy a special order module on the first turn to make them really worth it. With this tweak, I can put it off until the next turn if I need that extra resource. Also, having a gold build on the first turn offsets the research support modules cost. A really good change. I am quite happy with this!

Cloaking units that are perma cloaked:
Units that come with cloaking are permanently cloaked. A nice change, but really meant for the new units added to the expansion. I found that cloaking was unseable in the base game as paying for that technology was rarely worth it. Having units that come cloaked is a nice added touch.

Sacrifice:
Sacrifce has been simplified and imprvoed, now a unit with this ability is always destroyed if it was a front line (that was engaged in combat).
Also you don't 'blow up' the opposing front line unit. To compensate for this, the unit cards for sacrifice/suicide units stats are bumped drastically (in attack value). All in all, a good change.

New Rules:
"It's much more... sophisticated!"

This is the meat of the changes to the expansion. My gaming group will NEVER go back to the base game alone. I find that I might do this with a game like settlers or A Game Of Throns, but never with starcraft. This expansion tweaks the rules resolving many issues with the base game on top of adding great new features like the Leadership cards.

Defend Order:
A new order was added to the game, the defend order. Its nice to have a new option, to help those in a pinch to hold critical areas from an immenent attack. It provides two things:
1) the ability to rejig (draw back) your units to protect a crtical point (such as your base) immediately before any orders are executed
2) +2 health for a single skirmish.

The draw back is that you are performing an 'additivie' action (i.e. gain in troops, technology, or combat), which sometimes is ok. Its a bacon saver in my opinion. A nice strategic addition to the game.

Collateral damage:
I like this. It adds value to units like the Siege Tank, Reaver and Gaurdian. Killing workers and bases is a nice added touch to make these under-utilised units more effective.

Mind Control:
Implementation of the Dark Archon ability of mind crontrol to steal a unit. Its nice, but hard to pull off I find. Its only worth using against Siege Tanks or Battle Cruisers. The Dark Archons other abilities I find more useful.

Recharge:
A Great great great great great addition! I love this one! It provides the player with the ability to keep a single technology support card per turn after its use. Waiting to cycle through your deck for that key card to come back is a big issue. I am primarily a zerg player whom is dependent on specific technologies to deal with the tougher units from other factions via support units like the defiler and queen. This is a must have technology! Well worth it!

Leadership cards:
The single most important change found within this expansion. What was missing from the base game was the variation between the same race factions. Leadership cards deliver this in spades! What I like most are the options with the Phase I 'start' cards, especially the ones that provide a very unique option such as Jim Raynors special ops and Aldaris Conclave Fleet. Leadership cards should break the rules for each faction in some special way to provide flavor. I akin this to the factions in Dune (though in Dune, the factions had brilliant symbiotic relationships). This was the biggest gap in the rules from the base game in my opinion.

Heroes:
Deployed into the game via the Phase II leadership cards, they are a nice addition to the game. Some are better than others but all in all a nice option to add a bit of muscle mid game. In some factions, such as Jim Ryanor's, the other Stage II leadership card is simply much more powerful. My only gripe with the heros is that they don't have their own unique figure.

New Types of Areas:
With the new planets added to the game, came the addition of 3 new area types:
1) Ground Only - non flyers only are allowed in the area
2) Air Only - flyers only are allowed in the area
3) Strategic Locations - If you control the area, all orders executed on the planet count as special orders

All three of these are great additions to the game. The split between flyers and ground only unit areas force the need for ground units (more so than flyers). Why I say this that players tend to go straight toward the Air track, especially with Terran. This provides a balance to the new 'uber' A-A units that have been added to the game.

I really like the addition of the strategic locations. Speical orders are always a good thing. Its really only useful for research and builds, but that is fine with me. I love the resource discount, a bit of extra resources every turn is a good thing

Note that bases cannot not be built in the new 'Air only' areas. This balances the power of the Strategic locations since I believe that most (if not all) of them are located in Air only areas. You won't have anyone dropping a base during set up to control one of these areas. It will take some effort (at least 1 or 2 orders) to gain control of these areas.

New Modules:
3 new modules were added in the epxansion, all are useful to verying degrees depending on what faction you are. The modules are:
1) Assist - 1 assist unit doesn't count towards an areas unit limit
2) Offensive - sacrfice a transport to circumvent the Air Defense Module
3) Defensive - when attacked, you can swap a front line unit with a back line unit after skirmish assignment

All three of these modules are useful in different situations. The Support module in my opinion is the most useful, especially for zerg which depends on numbers and their support units greatly.

Installations:
Installations were added in the expansions, 3 of them in fact! They are treated in the same manner as bases, except they provide/represent an option for a faction, they are as follows:
1) Overmind - phase 1 leadership card
The actual incarnation of the Overmind that provides an additional VP every turn.
2) Cerabrate Daggoth - phase 2 leadership card
The cerabret is a nice touch. He provides an extra order to be executed a turn. Nice!
3) Warp gate - Phase 1 leadership card
On a mobolize order, any units on the planet with a warp gate can move to the active planet. Very poweful
4) Infested Command Center
If you destory a Terran Command center (as a zerg player) instead replace it with an infested terran command center installation. The zerg player can now create infested terrans. Not the most powerful thing in the world, but flavourful and fun

New Units and Technology:

Terran
Medic:
A new support unit. Much cheaper to get earlier in the game. Their support technology of Restoration is quiet nice as with the heal. Combine the with the bunker card, it would be hard to dislodge

Valykerie:
The new heavy A.A. flyer for Terran. Pretty much the same as the other two factions. Perfect for the new air only areas!

Improved Reactors:
Hand Limited + 1 and Recharge (Recharge 1 Reinforcement Technology). A must have for any faction that relies on support cards!

Protoss
Dark Templars:
High attack and defense. Tough and cloaked. What can you say? an AWESOME unit early game if you start with one.

Dark Archons:
New Tier 3 support unit. The Maelstorm technology is just insane! Combine it with recharge, a small force of protoss can stave off the tide! I love the new research that allows the creation of either Archons are Dark Archons. Its definately the most viable ground pounder strategy in the game!

Corsairs:
Similar to the valykerie, a must have for a heavy air strategy.

Khaydarin Core:
Same as Improved recactors.

Zerg
Lurkers:
Hydralisks are pretty weak, this provides a reason to make them (or convert the ones you start with). GS + cloaking? Sign me up!

Devourers:
As per the valykerie comment. What it does though for the zerg that it doesn't do for other factions is it allows them to compete/deal with Carriers and BattleCruisers. Zerg struggled with both, the Devourer and the Scourges combined provide a fantastic way to deal with this! I appreciate how both the devourer and gaurdian share the same technology card. It provides a certian amount of flexibility in deciding which heavy flyers to use. A nice added touch!

Infested Terrans:
A flavour unit only. I appreciate that they added it, but nothing to really write home about.

Gamete Meiosis:
Same as Improved recactors, but more so for Zerg. Its a must have technology with use with Queens or Defilers! Combine this with an Assist Module and you are off to the races!

Pneunumatized Caraparice:
A new technology for the zerg to mitigate issues with bringing their numbers to bare. This increases the number of units that you can bring during an attack by 1 (i.e. 3 + the unit limit for the area). Another must have in any swarm strategy! This technology was a nice solution to many of the problems the zerg face late game when they need those extra units to overcome other factions superior units.

Overall - Rules:

Can't deny this. Brood War Tweaks the game in all the right ways. New units, new senarios, new flavour all nice and tight! No complaints here!

Special Senarios:
"I'm about to drop the hammer...and dispense some indiscriminate justice!"

An excellent addition in the expansion. I wish that the base game had included this. All were well thought out with a senario for the various player number brackets. The 2 player senario is quite enjoyable, but I found the 3 players senario the most useful. Starcraft (even with brood war) is at its weakest with 3 players. Often two will scrap it out and the 3rd will sit around until the last turn before pouncing on someone with the weakest force. The game just doesn't work as well as it should. The 3 player senario addresses this some providing an alternative for those times. With each faction have a different competing victory condition, it really alleviates much of the issue that I found in regular 3 player games. Good job FFG!

My Thoughts on The Factions:
"You begin to annoy me, Cerebrate... but DON'T think I need you."

The learship cards really add to the flavour of the game. I can't imagine ever playing the game w/o them now. They were what I was looking for from the base game. Here are my thoughts on the various factions:

Jim Raynor

I like Jim, much more so than Arturas. The resrouce efficiencey leadership cards are a real boon when it comes to playing Terrans. With deep techonolgy trees, Jims leadership cards really help with diversificiation of your forces. I love the special ops leadership card. That is just fun! A real reason to justify playing with ghosts. You get 3 free ones on top of being able to deploy one deep behind enemy lines from a safe distance. Quite amusing

Arcturas Mengsk

Powerful meta game influence cards. Being able to select your planets is just dirty, though I find it rather boring. Starcraft is about having a different game every time. Pre-selecting the 'best' planets takes away from the challenge of the game. I really do like Mengsk's 'super special' order in that he can choose to execute as need be on the fly. It adds a level of flexibility to changing plans.

The Overmind

Starting with an Overmind installation is a fun idea, but I don't really care much for it. It would rather take the SVC than the extra VP a turn. The two strategy cards are not different enough in my opinion. I do like the Ultralisk hero though and the cerebrate Daggoth. Tough deicion there

Queen of Blades

I love Kerrigan, but to be honest, its the weakest of the two Zerg factions. The 'sudtle' nature of her leadership cards are ok, but not as powerful her overmind counterpart. The Kerrigan hero itself makes up for this slightly, but not enough. The z-axis re-arrange to me isn't that great and her 'resource' boost strategy card is the weakest out of everyones as you are not being provided a 'free/safe' resource to use like ALL other factions.

Aldaris

Conclave Fleet is fun. Such a cool idea that can really add some strategic influence to the game. Also, aldaris's SVC condition is supported well by a Stage III leadership, a nice touch. Also the option to take two different heros depependent on where the game is going.

Tassadar

I love the warp gate. Another great stategic addition to the game. I love how you can hide units and have them 'pop out' to re-inforce areas that you took during the course of a turn.

Greater Viable Division of Technoloy Trees:
"E=MC... d'oh, let me get my notepad..."

I think that FFG went through great lengths to re-balance the factions and provide VIABLE technlogy paths in the expansion. Air ruled all in the base game, in the expansion, there is more wiggle room. In starcraft, there is NEVER enough time to get everything. The game was designed with this in mind. This is just furthered in the expansion and creates greater replayability. By strengthening the various unity type counters for each technology branches, this adds more to the divirsity of the game.

Overall:

For Production but with colouring and card cut goofs
For fantastic new rules
For Faction diversification
For listening to fans, and giving them what they want
A Must buy for Starcraft Fans

I really do want to give this 5 stars, but the minor production issues want me to say no ( but in my heart its a ).
Simply put, the expansion that the base game needed.

[edit: minor corrections - additional information]

Thread: StarCraft: Brood War:: Rules:: Stage III - Overmind - TEEMING SPAWN

mwdalrymple — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 19:47:35 +0000

by mwdalrymple

TEEMING SPAWN

Immediately execute a Build order on any planet. Then, take all of your workers from resource cards and permanent resources and place them into your worker pool.

I would follow that the build order, on any planet, would still have to be a 'valid' target for this (i.e. you would have to have a base already built on the planet before you could execute this order).

Any thoughts?

Thanks,

Reply: StarCraft: Brood War:: Reviews:: Re: The best Strategy/War board game just got better

Taern — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 18:41:47 +0000

by Taern
Nice reply, but

Natus wrote:

somebody needs to play some more games!

somebody needs to understand opinions!

Reply: StarCraft: Brood War:: Reviews:: Re: The best Strategy/War board game just got better

Natus — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 15:39:14 +0000

by Natus
Nice article, but

The best Strategy/War board game

somebody needs to play some more games!

Reply: StarCraft: Brood War:: Reviews:: Re: The best Strategy/War board game just got better

Allos — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 15:27:35 +0000

by Allos

kalem wrote:

8) Mind Control tokens. Yes, the fearsome Dark Archons are present and yes, they can literally take over opponents’ units. So now as Protoss if you plan things correctly you could have a Battlecruiser and a Lurker amongst your troops.

Mind Control is one technology I never see being used though. It's rather expensive and if I remember correctly, there's only one copy of the card. In addition, if you're playing against an experienced player, the chances are that they'll plan out their turns to not have any worthwhile units coming close to your Dark Archon.

Thread: StarCraft: The Board Game:: General:: Another idea for teaching new players

kalem — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 15:16:50 +0000

by kalem
In my first game with 3 new players, I tried the following which I think worked well. The first round I controlled by executing each order before putting down the next one. To be specific, I showed the players the Build order and told them to put it on their initial planet. Then one by one they executed that order, thus getting to understand how to build a building, units and workers. I made sure they all kept at least 2 workers in their worker pool. Next, I showed them the Mobilize order and instructed them to put it on the planet that they’d connected with their transport. One by one that order was executed, moving a unit or two to the adjacent planet. The next step was to place the other Build order on the new planet. After they’d all done that, again it was executed in order, mainly building a second base, the reason I’d told them to save 2 workers each. Lastly I showed them the Research order and instructed them to place it on either planet which had one of their bases and then they all executed that order. Then we went through the Regrouping Phase.
After that first round everybody understood the 3 order types and I said that from then on we lay down 4 orders before executing any of them. There wasn’t much difficulty and we could just get on with the game. I think a good idea would be to not use modules and special victory conditions the first game and by the second game they should have a reasonable enough grasp of it to play with all the rules.

Thread: StarCraft: Brood War:: Variants:: Mobilizing Infested Command Centers.

kalem — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 15:07:44 +0000

by kalem
They’re hard enough to get. They’re the only way to build Infested Terrans. In the videogame they could fly. Surely Infested Command Centers should be allowed to move in exactly the same way as the Terrans’ CCs; as part of a Mobilize order.
Still, it’s not in the rule book, so it would be a house rule.

Reply: StarCraft: Brood War:: General:: Building the Event deck

kalem — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 14:58:16 +0000

by kalem
I think that it’s more balanced now. A 2 player game often only lasted into the 4th round, sometimes even a 3 player game. CP would be less important because the game would probably finish with a special victory (of course CP could be the tiebreaker). Now only 1 of the 3 Stage I Leadership cards has the SVC, so in a 2 or 3 player game it would be a huge advantage to choose the SVC card thinking about getting into Stage III long before anyone is close to 15 CP.
Now however there is an average of 8 or 9 Stage I and Stage II cards to get through per player no matter how many players there are. I think that evens it out so that Normal Victories or SVCs are coming at about the same time.
Nevertheless I do believe the Event card deck could have been made more elegant and easier to remember by building it with 4 cards per number of players from both Stage I and Stage II decks, i.e.:
2 players: 8 cards from Stage I and Stage II
3 players: 12 cards from Stage I and Stage II
4 players: 16 cards from Stage I and Stage II
5 players: 20 cards from Stage I and Stage II
6 players: 24 cards from Stage I and Stage II
That would also make the SVC card slightly more attractive because Stage III would come just a little sooner.

Thread: StarCraft: Brood War:: General:: Building the Event deck

kalem — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 14:50:33 +0000

by kalem
Why do you think a difference has been made in how to build the Event deck? It’s been mentioned that 1 v.1 is now really long, there being 18 Stage I and Stage II cards to get through, whereas in the core game there were only 10. I’ll enter my own thoughts in a different thread.

Review: StarCraft: Brood War:: The best Strategy/War board game just got better

kalem — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 14:48:43 +0000

by kalem
If you liked Starcraft: the Board Game, you’re going to like the Brood War expansion pack even more. I’ve played the original game about 30 times and always had fun. Every game has been different, but now the variation possibilities just increased enormously. With the exception of navigation routes, virtually every component of the original game has been updated.

1) 6 more planets. You would expect them to be about the same as others; after all, in the 12 original planets, Chau Sara and Halcyon were more or less identical. But no, every one of the 6 new ones is different to all the others. There are another 7 CP to be had amongst them, and one planet with a 2 CP area actually has no minerals or gas. Somebody on the BGG suggested it would be interesting to have a planet with 8 territories for larger battles. That would probably be too out of balance but FFG seem to have listened and put in a planet with 5 areas. Another very interesting suggestion on the BGG was the house rule to take 3 planet tokens at the beginning of the game and choose any 2 for planetary setup, an idea that would only work for up to 4 players. That has actually gone into the manual as an optional rule; hence the reason for 6 extra planets – 6 players can each have 3 initial planet tokens.

2) Strategic Areas. 3 planets have one of these territories which basically allow the person who controls that area to count every order executed on that planet as a special order. Another factor to consider in your strategy. The possibility of executing 3 special Build orders in the same round is exciting.

3) A new order type – the Defend order. This order is special, being executed in the Planning Phase, and allowing a Mobilize order with the specific purpose of defending a territory before the Execution Phase begins. Related to this is the next item:

4) Guard tokens. These are placed after a Defend order is used and basically add +2 health to each skirmish. So do you sacrifice a Build order or a Mobilize order for an attack to use a Defend order? That’s another strategical decision, but it’s great to have the possibility if you’re close to winning but desperately need to keep hold of a particular area.

5) New Event cards.

6) Of course the one item everyone was looking forward to in the expansion pack was the new units. 48 new plastic figures and they’re all as good as the original figures. In fact they’re packed better, because the flying units have the stands packed separately to avoid the common breakage problem of the core game. Starcraft is a tremendous strategy game and therefore better suited to more advanced age groups, but whatever age you are, you can’t help having fun playing with the plastic figures and smashing up a bunch of Marines with an Ultralisk, or setting several Zerglings onto a Siege Tank. There are some great ideas related to the new figures. For example, Lurkers and Dark Templars have permanent cloaking. So Detector abilities just became more important. Good to see Infested Terrans, and these share a special Sacrifice rule with Scourges which definitely makes more sense than in the original game. There are Infested Command Centre tokens in order to build Infested Terrans. A whole new batch of Technology too, as you would imagine if you know the video game – Disruption Web, Optical Flare, Feedback and so on. In the core game every unit that had an attack ability could always attack ground. Now each race, faithful to the video game, has a unit that attacks air but not ground units. Would you use these units? It’s another strategical decision based on the galaxy layout and which units the opponents are building. Zerg now has high powered flying attack units to attack Cruisers and Battlecruisers. Several territories in the new planets are air only and some of those territories are worth catching, so units with flying attack would be very helpful. Other territories are ground based, like in space stations, where flying units can’t go, so again you would plan to build different units. I like that idea a lot, because I’ve seen a Terran player always go down the Starport route to build Wraiths and Battlecruisers, but now that might not automatically be the best strategy anymore.

7) New Technology cards. Many of these are for the Brood War units but a few even improve the original units. Leg Enhancements just made Zealots much more powerful, and Charon Boosters has done the same for Goliaths. Each race has a Recharge card, the equivalent in the videogame of increasing energy for assist units, which allows you to reuse certain Technology cards as opposed to discarding them.

8) Mind Control tokens. Yes, the fearsome Dark Archons are present and yes, they can literally take over opponents’ units. So now as Protoss if you plan things correctly you could have a Battlecruiser and a Lurker amongst your troops.

9) New Combat cards. These have addressed some of the complaints I’ve read on the BGG, such as Firebats and Siege Tanks being too weak. Every race now has a unit with a new ability called Collateral Damage which can immediately destroy a base or a bunch of workers. The basic Combat card deck now has 20 cards instead of 18. That doesn’t sound too different but it adds a bit more risk to battles because it will be slightly more common not to have the right cards at the right time, but then your opponent doesn’t know that either.

10) Completely new Faction Sheets and building tokens. That was obvious because of the need to add new units and their costs. Additionally there’s a Special Order Pool, a more elegant way of keeping track of whether you’ve used 1 or 2 special orders in one particular round.

11) New modules. 3 new types of modules which again address complaints made by players. Now you can switch your units in a battle after the skirmishes have been set up, or attack a base from another planet even if that base has an Anti Air Module. These new modules have their cost in gas but not minerals, which is good. How often have we had 1 or 2 workers left over from our last Build order but no minerals to use them on?

12) Leadership cards. Possibly the best addition to the expansion pack, and from what I’ve read on the BGG, something completely unexpected. Each faction has a set of unique Leadership cards which just blow the door wide open for further strategy. One thing that had been mentioned a lot is the dislike of certain Special Victory Conditions, in particular that of Aldaris. Personally I always liked them and thought that they were all pretty balanced. But now they’re optional. At the beginning of each Stage (according to the progress of the Event deck), each faction secretly chooses a Leadership card and then plays it before continuing with the game. Each faction can choose the card which enables them to win a Special Victory, or choose a card which gives them extra resources throughout the game or perhaps one which permits greater control of galaxy setup, and they all have different initial units that each player begins with. If the SVC card isn’t chosen then the player has to win with a normal victory, by reaching 15 CP (or an end game victory). There are Leadership cards for heroes and special tokens in order to use them. So you could play with Torrasque who reincarnates if killed, or Zeratul who can immediately destroy a ground unit before the battle even begins. Associated with Leadership cards are resource tokens which allow you to get discounts when building or researching, and Installation tokens, such as the Overmind or Warp Gate.

13) Optional rules. The manual contains other possibilities for playing, such as having a larger galaxy (3 planets per player and a normal victory of 25 CP), an improved way of playing the elimination game, and rules for playing scenarios, the latter taking up a quarter of the rule book! The scenarios are another clever idea in which the map is already organized as are the teams and the winning conditions, and feels even closer to the Starcraft theme, for example, as you work together to retrieve the Uraj and Khalis crystals (for which further tokens have been included).

Final thoughts.
There’s a really cool elegance to the whole game now, each race having 11 different types of units and 17 separate technologies that can be researched. Again, if you like the original game you’ve got to really enjoy this expansion. It adds such a lot of further depth to plan strategies and work at them. You need a bit more table space, mainly because the Faction Sheets got bigger, but another beauty of this game is that the board has spaces everywhere between planets, so nothing stops you from putting your counters in little areas of unused space close to you. The duration of a game may be slightly longer as Leadership cards are chosen and extra rules are taken into consideration but it really is not that big a difference. Also the fact that Starcraft is just as great a game for 2 players as it is for 6 players (although most players have more fun with 4 or 5 playing) makes it very versatile as to how long you want to play in a particular session. If you don’t like remembering lots of details, then also you might not like Brood War. Each player has to remember what his chosen Leadership card does for example (The Jim Raynor player might forget he could have built a worker for free and now his turn is over which is frustrating for him). Even then the use of Leadership cards can be ignored according to an optional rule and you’d still like the other additions of the game.
All in all I think that Starcraft:tBG already had a great replayability factor and the Brood War expansion adds a ~~truck~~- Battlecruiser-load more strategy and fun.

Thread: StarCraft: Brood War:: Variants:: UED Faction.

kalem — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 14:45:32 +0000

by kalem
So we have on the Fantasy Flight website a whole set of Leadership cards in order to play the UED faction. I think that’s an interesting idea although I would have liked to see it in the manual as part of the official game, almost as a different scenario.
I didn’t like the Special Victory Condition though because it’s not really a winning condition at all. (It states that every time you destroy an enemy base you gain 1 CP.) And I wondered if there was a better way of making a SVC for a seventh faction. Of course, you could just repeat one which is already being used, like share the same SVC with one of the other Terran factions, but that doesn’t feel quite so neat.
So how about the following SVC for the UED?
You immediately win the game if you control at least 1 area on more planets than every other individual player in the Regrouping Phase by Stage 3 of the game.I would even rename the card “RECLAIM THE KOPRULU SECTOR”
Often other players will control at least 1 area on 3 planets and in that case the UED faction would have to have a base or a unit on at least 4 different planets. I thought it sounded a bit easy, but then most of the SVCs sound easy, and all the other players should be working just as hard to prevent anyone from achieving their SVC as they are in trying to achieve their own (if they chose the relevant Leadership card at the beginning naturally).

Reply: StarCraft: The Board Game:: Rules:: Re: Getting started...

Windopaene — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 14:36:54 +0000

by Windopaene
Note that you must have a base on a planet to gain the resource card. IF you have units in an area, but no base on the planet, then IF another player had the resource card for that area, they will lose it, but in that case, you will not gain it.

Reply: StarCraft: Brood War:: Rules:: Re: Maelstrom usage

MordredofFairy — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 14:25:22 +0000

by MordredofFairy
naturally he can't...as said, it's binding...you don't want to waste it against a single zergling...so he can't go back on it either if you don't want to drop the card.

Reply: StarCraft: Brood War:: Rules:: Re: Return to Aiur Leadership Card

MordredofFairy — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 14:24:06 +0000

by MordredofFairy
ah, yes, they can't be destroyed one turn. but after that? especially in phase 3 it's quite likely it will be over before, but well...my basic "problem" with this leadership-card, is that often you will have 3 or 4 transports deployed when Stage 3 comes around. So, you can EITHER (if i remember correctly) sacrifice one unit to blow up anything on a planet, OR get 3 free transports, that DON'T allow you to bend the rules in a significant way(if it added that you can place orders ANYWHERE in this turn, not just on neighboring places, then sure, it would be fine).

So it's not really the comparison of different races stage III cards, but within the race...Blow up a planet, get 8 orders in a turn, skip victory check phases(situational, but good if needed) or 3-4 transports. It just doesn't seem to scale, really.

The thematic section would be same as in the core game...Tassadar took Raynor with him, to defeat the Overmind manifesting on Aiur.
I see where you are coming from, and i really believe that it IS as weak as it reads, but we WERE wondering about those "8" transports, and wether there was something else intended with this card. Heck, i would have preferred ONE galaxy-wide mobilize-order instead(as in, anything you have can move anywhere it legally could with ONE mobilize, allowing you to prepare perfectly for the next round to make it count.))

Reply: StarCraft: Brood War:: Rules:: Re: Maelstrom usage

CesarPim — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 12:58:31 +0000

by CesarPim
That sounds about right. But in order to avoid bluffing, once my opponent makes his "declaration of intent", he cannot go back with it, even if I decide NOT to use my maelstrom. Otherwise he could trick me into spending the card when he didn't really want to move into that area.

Reply: StarCraft: The Board Game:: Rules:: Re: Getting started...

GiannisS — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 12:58:05 +0000

by GiannisS
Thanks a lot, you 've been very helpful.

Yeah, the problem is that while reading the manual I think I get it, but whenever I lay out the board I just stay there trying to figure out what to do, although I think when I finally find someone to play with (or persuade my wife just for 2-player test) the game will roll smoother.

I'm quite sure though that more questions will come up afterwards!!

Thanks again!!!

Reply: StarCraft: The Board Game:: General:: Re: . . . And then it just ENDED! Does this game end just as it begins to become involved?

mads b. — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 12:56:36 +0000

by mads b.
By lousy players I think mr. Skeletor means just that: lousy players who aren't able to read the game and understand the rules. It's not a matter of playing style, but about playing the game with the best tactics available to you.

In Starcraft it's really all about attacking. The attacker will always have the advantage, and if you do not use that advantage to your ... ehm ... advantage, then you are a lousy player.

And the stuff about FFG expansions is just BS. If an expansion does not make the game better, why would you make it? Yes, the expansions for A Game of Thrones and Twilight Imperium (especially) fixed some issues a lot of players had with said games (including me). But I still played the hell out of both games before the expansions came out because they're just plain good.

Reply: StarCraft: The Board Game:: Rules:: Re: Getting started...

Aarontu — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 12:51:19 +0000

by Aarontu

GiannisS wrote:
1. How exactly do the battles work, I must play a card with each skirmish, or can I just leave the unit's strength as it appears on the reference sheet?
You must play a card for each skirmish. The reference sheet just shows the average values of the cards. If you do not want to play a card from your hand, you can choose to play the top card of your combat deck to a skirmish, instead.

2. When moving to battle I can move any unit from just one adjacent area, planet or multiple areas, planets?
You can move any units from any number of areas on any adjacent planets to a planet you just "mobilized" to.

3. When a second player "comes" into a planet owned by another, how can he take the the resource card? Just by moving in that area?
Resource card ownership is checked at the end of the turn; that's when you check to see who owns what area and you take any resource cards you took during the turn.

I hope that helps a bit. :) The rules may seem a bit overwhelming, but the basic flow of the game goes like this:
-players place their order markers on planets.
-players peform their orders/actions (mobilize/combat, building, and/or research orders)
-"clean up" phase at the end of the turn.

You may already understand how the orders all work and stuff, but that seems to be the hardest part of the game to 'get' for new players.

I hope you can get some people together to try it out!

Reply: StarCraft: The Board Game:: Rules:: Re: Getting started...

kurtkatt — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 12:48:59 +0000

by kurtkatt
1. units doesnt have any inherent strength. combat card values are what gives them strength and toughness. so atleast one card for each skirmish is needed and then u have an option to add One reinforcementcard to each skirmish. another option is also to use the topcard of your deck as a combat card for skirmishes, but then u have to use that card.

2. Battles occur when u execute a mobilize order and moves into an area with enemy units. notice that u can only move into one enemy area for each mobilize. when u mobilize on a planet u can move as u like to (provided u have transports obv) and within that planet following unitlimits and only entering one enemy area

3. If u have a base on a planet u may get that planets resource cards. in regrouping phase u gain the cards of areas u control, areas that are empty (if two ppl have a base on the planet, neither of u get them but if one players already has the cards for an empty area they keep it). so if an opp controls an gas/mineral area in regrouping phase u lose the card but he doesnt gain any until he has a base on the planet.

there is an old thread about common mistakes in the beginning. i dont remember the name tho but the title was obvious

Reply: StarCraft: The Board Game:: General:: Re: . . . And then it just ENDED! Does this game end just as it begins to become involved?

larienna — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 12:16:40 +0000

by larienna

If you are able to successfully camp in starcraft then you are playing some pretty lousy players.

Does this mean that the game is extremely player dependent? As for me, I am the type of players that play defensively most of the time so most of the time, it ends up camping and teching up.

I only played with protoss so far and I know that most protoss players simply camp. Maybe I should try zerg which seems way more offensive.

Thread: StarCraft: The Board Game:: Rules:: Getting started...

GiannisS — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 11:59:51 +0000

by GiannisS
First of all sorry for my English!

I now I might seem a little dumb, but reading the manual and trying to put it to play has gotten me at a loss. I've also tried to find some answers in posts but my questions are so many, and the posts even more, so I lost all hope!

So if anyone could help me, I would like a brief help on rules explanations. So to the point, I've had Starcraft as present since January, I've read the manual 2,5 times but never gathered the players needed to play it. So I just go back and forth trying to freshen it up.

Yesterday I laid the board once again, for a 3-players set, just to see the way it works. And just stayed there looking at it. So to the basic questions:

1. How exactly do the battles work, I must play a card with each skirmish, or can I just leave the unit's strength as it appears on the reference sheet?

2. When moving to battle I can move any unit from just one adjacent area, planet or multiple areas, planets?

3. When a second player "comes" into a planet owned by another, how can he take the the resource card? Just by moving in that area?

If anyone can help me with these questions, or maybe think of something that a new player might not notice he would be most welcome!

Thanks a lot!

Reply: StarCraft: The Board Game:: General:: Re: . . . And then it just ENDED! Does this game end just as it begins to become involved?

MrSkeletor — Sun, 31 May 2009 23:18:26 +0000

by MrSkeletor

larienna wrote:
Starcraft promote what I call the "Sit and wait and win" syndrome. Take 2 planets with more VP that your opponent's and wait for the game to end.

If you are able to successfully camp in starcraft then you are playing some pretty lousy players.
Heck, there are options in brood war to HELP you camp since it's so hard to hold stuff in the base game.

New Image for StarCraft: Brood War

Padachan — Sun, 31 May 2009 22:30:35 +0000

by Padachan

A quick insight into or latest game
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Reply: StarCraft: The Board Game:: General:: Re: . . . And then it just ENDED! Does this game end just as it begins to become involved?

Octavian — Sun, 31 May 2009 18:19:07 +0000

by Octavian

Natus wrote:
Windopaene wrote:
Or you can buy Brood War, which makes the SVCs an optional choice by each player at the start of the game, (and giving them less starting dudes than if they chose a different starting card).

Ah, yes, the old, irrefutable "buy the FFG expansion to add game balance and fun" approach.

What is this? 2004? FFG games haven't needed expansion "patches" in years, and StarCraft is no exception. Skeletor already mentioned a variant in the base game for playing a longer game without SVC. The expansion adds more options towards that end, but the game is fun and balanced just fine without it.

-MMM

Reply: StarCraft: The Board Game:: General:: Re: . . . And then it just ENDED! Does this game end just as it begins to become involved?

Natus — Sun, 31 May 2009 17:00:34 +0000

by Natus

Windopaene wrote:
Or you can buy Brood War, which makes the SVCs an optional choice by each player at the start of the game, (and giving them less starting dudes than if they chose a different starting card).

Ah, yes, the old, irrefutable "buy the FFG expansion to add game balance and fun" approach.

New Image for StarCraft: The Board Game

larienna — Sun, 31 May 2009 16:28:05 +0000

by larienna

Starcraft Hex Map variant Demonstration
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Reply: StarCraft: The Board Game:: General:: Re: . . . And then it just ENDED! Does this game end just as it begins to become involved?

drunkenKOALA — Sun, 31 May 2009 16:26:44 +0000

by drunkenKOALA
To a large extent I agree with the OP. The game feels too much like a single push euro for Starcraft.

Reply: StarCraft: The Board Game:: General:: Re: . . . And then it just ENDED! Does this game end just as it begins to become involved?

larienna — Sun, 31 May 2009 16:19:01 +0000

by larienna
Starcraft promote what I call the "Sit and wait and win" syndrome. Take 2 planets with more VP that your opponent's and wait for the game to end.

You need to be attacking each other more

That is the problem, players need to prevent you from doing this. The problem is that planning a simple attack takes so much planning and effort (planning resources, planning orders, planning combat cards, planning unit deployments, etc) that people are rather camping and powering up to wait for the right moment to strike which never shows up because the game ends before that moment arrives.

Reply: StarCraft: Brood War:: Rules:: Re: Return to Aiur Leadership Card

haslo — Sun, 31 May 2009 09:30:29 +0000

by haslo
Well, there is the added tidbit that your transports can't be destroyed. "A lot more sense" - maybe from a gameplay perspective (although I disagree), but then the thematic tie-in of the card (other races "returning to Aiur" as well?) becomes very questionable.

Sure, allowing a more literal reading can make sense as a house rule, to make a weak-ish card stronger. But I really don't believe that was the way the card was intended.

Overall though, I believe that the factions aren't meant to be balanced in every individual stage's leadership cards. Protoss have a strong late game anyway, when they can truly shine with their few strong units (making unit limits benefit Protoss). So having slightly weaker stage III cards than others is not such a huge drawback for them. And Tassadar's stage I and II cards are pretty nice :)

Reply: StarCraft: The Board Game:: Variants:: Re: SC:BG + BWe scenario "Return to Char"

Nugen — Fri, 29 May 2009 03:31:00 +0000

by Nugen

unknown005 wrote:
Looks good, I want to try it! I'm a little worried about balance, though.

I'm worried about balance too, but... i think it is need to be tested to know that :D

Reply: StarCraft: The Board Game:: Variants:: Re: SC:BG + BWe scenario "Return to Char"

unknown005 — Fri, 29 May 2009 00:25:24 +0000

by unknown005
Looks good, I want to try it! I'm a little worried about balance, though.

Reply: StarCraft: Brood War:: Rules:: Re: Return to Aiur Leadership Card

MordredofFairy — Thu, 28 May 2009 12:05:50 +0000

by MordredofFairy
well, that question came up for us as well, an interesting idea would be to read it as a contrary to the "destroy one transport per nav route"...as in, place "ANY" 8 transports, not necessarily your own...especially in FFA games, that can get quite nasty if you create avenues for players for attacks on other players before believed to be "save" from them.

It would also make a lot more sense to allow it more literally...the point being that you may not place orders unless you have units on planet or on a planet next to where you place orders. So yep, in the best case you save yourself 3 build orders(units on one planet, transport to neighbour, build a base there, save both the transport that led there and the one going somewhere else, as opposed to build a base, build a transport, mobilize, build a base, build another transport.)
The thing is, once Stage 3 comes, you will seldom have need for such fancy manevours, especially if i remember correctly the other available Stage 3 card...

In the end, i think it would be too situational, as most transports you need will already be in place, and wasting a Stage 3 card for, say, 4 transports, is nowhere near as fine as others(e.g. a full free build for Overmind), thus i always was inclined to allow a more literal reading on this card, not that it ever got choosen...
But i'd allow placing ANY transports, not only their own...or at least make them transports PERMANENT(not dependent on a base)...just seems too weak otherwise.(not that balance of leadership cards is always so grand, sometimes it's situational, but some cards in my decks see a lot more action than others...)

Reply: StarCraft: The Board Game:: General:: Re: . . . And then it just ENDED! Does this game end just as it begins to become involved?

NtNScissors — Thu, 28 May 2009 05:40:59 +0000

by NtNScissors
Note that ending at 20CP doesn't help because here the game ended by SVC, not CPs.

Use more stage I & II event cards than what the game recommends, if you want a longer game.

Reply: StarCraft: The Board Game:: General:: Re: . . . And then it just ENDED! Does this game end just as it begins to become involved?

MrSkeletor — Thu, 28 May 2009 01:49:25 +0000

by MrSkeletor

Rompcat wrote:
I see what many of you are saying. You're perfectly right.

I just want this game to be something it isn't: longer.

Use the optional rule at the back of the rulebook where the game becomes a slug fest.
Don't complain that the game is too long there tho!

I will play it again, but I'm not so blind as to see that sixteen orders--even divided between only building and moving--would not come anything close to what I want out of Starcraft. Nor am I persuaded that research should be ignored to avoid the early death of the game indicates a good, nourishing mechanic.

Most people, including me, thought this after the first game.
After a few games though minds change. You can do a HELL OF A LOT in 16 turns. After my first game I thought "man, no enough time for high level units!" Now it's hard to stop my opponent from getting them by turn 2! But that comes with experience, when you first play you end up justr pottering around with different units like it was nexus ops. An experienced player approches with a strategy and knowledge on how to get that stuff he wants (like say space ships) as quickly as possible.

You know what? The players of this game were really interested in messing with people's orders . . . we used order stacking to "freeze" each other, forcing them to take events rather than play. It seemed shrewd gaming to render an opponent helpless to react as our plans unfolded. This sped up our game tremendously, I'm sure. I'm not sure how I like that; should I have tried NOT to stymie my opponent just so that we all can play a game that feels like it matures? Something seems off.

No, that is legitimate play! And ESSENTIAL for a rushing zerg player!
What you are experiencing is 'epic game blues' - you were expecting this to be a 10 hour fest like TI3. But what Starcraft does is take out all of the 'end game' slop that games like Risk has, where the game ends long after the winner is apparent.
A lot of your feelings will change as you play the game more.

Reply: StarCraft: The Board Game:: General:: Re: . . . And then it just ENDED! Does this game end just as it begins to become involved?

nachof — Wed, 27 May 2009 21:36:59 +0000

by nachof

Rompcat wrote:
I see what many of you are saying. You're perfectly right.

I just want this game to be something it isn't: longer.

I will play it again, but I'm not so blind as to see that sixteen orders--even divided between only building and moving--would not come anything close to what I want out of Starcraft. Nor am I persuaded that research should be ignored to avoid the early death of the game indicates a good, nourishing mechanic.

I just need to adjust my expectations.

And, I guess, buy another Starcraft expansion.

You know what? The players of this game were really interested in messing with people's orders . . . we used order stacking to "freeze" each other, forcing them to take events rather than play. It seemed shrewd gaming to render an opponent helpless to react as our plans unfolded. This sped up our game tremendously, I'm sure. I'm not sure how I like that; should I have tried NOT to stymie my opponent just so that we all can play a game that feels like it matures? Something seems off.

If you just want the game to be longer, don't use SVCs, and (maybe) increase the CP requirements (20 should be enough).

Regarding the blocking, although blocking your opponents is a good idea, blocking them just because you can isn't. You need to get something out of it -- something that is at least as good as getting an event card. Event cards are powerful, and even though you can play just one, having many to choose from is never bad.

Reply: StarCraft: The Board Game:: General:: Re: . . . And then it just ENDED! Does this game end just as it begins to become involved?

paulclarke339 — Wed, 27 May 2009 11:52:20 +0000

by paulclarke339
I find my games usually last 5 turns, sometimes 4 sometimes 6 (one or two games lasted 7 turns, out of about 30 games played).

To get the big units in play you have to focus on doing just that. For me, turn 3 is the deadline for Battlecruisers, Archons etc. They are build and in the field that turn. The player who gets there first will usually have an advantage as they are robust units. Also you can't have both Battlecruisers and Siege Tanks - you have to pick one and concentrate on one building tree if you want to deploy that top tier unit.

I find fighting causes more event cards to be drawn as some people get blocked and draw 3 or 4 cards, as opposed to usually 1. So if everyone is sitting around turtling then the game should be longer. (But turtling makes you lose - don't do it - unless you're already going to win.)

Some games I have played have had very little fighting. I think I won one game whilst only participating in one battle, but those games are the exception rather than the rule. In most games each player will be involved in 2-3 battles per turn, except the first turn or two.

Reply: StarCraft: Brood War:: Rules:: Re: Crazy situation or wrong play?

MordredofFairy — Wed, 27 May 2009 07:26:18 +0000

by MordredofFairy
aside from that: if you locked her into ONE planet in a 4-planet galaxy, and had the time and resources to place 3 dark archons in the neighboring planet with maelstrom active...(which is a defensive stance) than i believe it would have been quite within your abilitys and possibilities to wipe her out on that planet if you had choosen an offensive stance, within a short time span...so yep, it's a crazy situation, but not technically wrong play, and still overcomeable(having the first-placed order in one round means you have the last-placed order the next round, thus 2 consecutive attacks...and if you research instead of attacking back, that planet will fall- so build up in one turn, attack on last (first-placed) order, then on next turn, attack on first( last placed) order...and overrun the planet if possible).

Reply: StarCraft: Brood War:: Rules:: Re: Maelstrom usage

MordredofFairy — Wed, 27 May 2009 07:15:37 +0000

by MordredofFairy
not at the "start of battle" per se, but when he declares his intent to move a defined group of units(wouldn't want to waste maelstrom against a single zergling coming for the whole purpose of making you drop the card) into an area containing a dark archon of yours.

think of it as an "undo" variant of the "retreat" event card...only it's not a withdrawal per se, but a showstopper right after "declaration of intent".

so no retreating on that planet, act as if right after that attack was declared you figured out he didn't have a transport-...everything goes back where it started. BUT: other units he moved into OTHER territories without starting a battle(as per the normal rules) should be allowed to move there. So if you only protect your base with a dark archon and left the other 3 areas blank, yes, you can stop my 7-unit zerg swarm(with tech) from attacking in that base, but not the other 3 zerglings occupying the rest of the planet.

Technically, since the attack is cancelled before being carried out, it shouldn't even cost a transport to try and attack into a base with air support module-

Reply: StarCraft: The Board Game:: General:: Re: . . . And then it just ENDED! Does this game end just as it begins to become involved?

mads b. — Wed, 27 May 2009 05:42:07 +0000

by mads b.
Another solution could be to postpone Stage 3. Personally I like the SVC, so you could consider waiting until the first stage 3 card has been drawn, not just until the back of the stage 3 cards are visible. This might seem a small thing, but it can actually give you an extra turn. If, that is, you don't have a player who's interested in ending the game by drawing lots of event cards.

You could also - as suggested somewhere on these boards - reward players who, in Stage 3, fulfill their SVC with Conquest Points and then play to the bitter end. Two or three maybe.

My point is I don't think you need to buy Brood War yet. Oh, it looks great and the small part of it I've gotten to play with surely is, but I suggest you give the base game a bit more time to make sure you actually like it before investing more money in it.

Reply: StarCraft: The Board Game:: General:: Re: . . . And then it just ENDED! Does this game end just as it begins to become involved?

Rompcat — Wed, 27 May 2009 01:09:17 +0000

by Rompcat
I see what many of you are saying. You're perfectly right.

I just want this game to be something it isn't: longer.

I will play it again, but I'm not so blind as to see that sixteen orders--even divided between only building and moving--would not come anything close to what I want out of Starcraft. Nor am I persuaded that research should be ignored to avoid the early death of the game indicates a good, nourishing mechanic.

I just need to adjust my expectations.

And, I guess, buy another Starcraft expansion.

You know what? The players of this game were really interested in messing with people's orders . . . we used order stacking to "freeze" each other, forcing them to take events rather than play. It seemed shrewd gaming to render an opponent helpless to react as our plans unfolded. This sped up our game tremendously, I'm sure. I'm not sure how I like that; should I have tried NOT to stymie my opponent just so that we all can play a game that feels like it matures? Something seems off.

Reply: StarCraft: The Board Game:: General:: Re: . . . And then it just ENDED! Does this game end just as it begins to become involved?

mwdalrymple — Wed, 27 May 2009 00:45:21 +0000

by mwdalrymple
our first game was like this. people were very 'tentative' and did much researching burning through the game clock fast. More research or wasted orders = shorter game.

As said, Brood War helps to mitigate the SVC. I love the leadership cards!

Reply: StarCraft: Brood War:: Rules:: Re: Gaining Heroes

mumushanshi — Wed, 27 May 2009 00:35:10 +0000

by mumushanshi
It's his turn to play leadership cards and resolve their effects, so I guess it IS "his turn".

Reply: StarCraft: The Board Game:: General:: Re: . . . And then it just ENDED! Does this game end just as it begins to become involved?

mumushanshi — Wed, 27 May 2009 00:33:19 +0000

by mumushanshi
I agree with nachof's comment.

Rompcat wrote:
FOUR TURNS. THE GAME WAS FOUR TURNS.

Four turns is 16 orders per player. You can do a LOT with 16 orders. You did mention this was the first game for all concerned, so it's not surprising that you have probably not plumbed the depths of this game. I would guess you need to learn to make more efficient use of your orders. (Orders are the "hidden" resource in this game, besides minerals and gas.)

Rompcat wrote:
...my expectation would be fifteen or sixteen before the game ends.
...might have put in over half my cards in my combat deck before the game ends.
...all players should have two or three of the suckers (read: end-line units) running around by games end.

Okay, firstly, you're never going to be able to research that much because each research action advances the Event Deck game clock. Not to mention researching takes up one of the 16 valuable orders. This means you need to make a strategic decision on which technologies you feel you absolutely need and which you can do without.

Apart from that, it is perfectly possible for many battles to happen and/or high-level units to be built. It depends on the play-style of all concerned.

In summary. This game does have a fairly steep learning curve, and you are not going to have the complete experience until after the first few games. All players have to learn to watch out for each other's SVCs and take active steps to prevent that from happening. This usually involves aggressive play, since if eg. Mengsk is allowed to get battlecruisers and AA modules unmolested he can very easily set up a fortress on 2 planets. Aggressive play involves lots of builds and mobilises, which means the event deck game clock advances more slowly due to lack of research.

So now games don't suddenly end with SVCs; then you find that Conquest Points are important, so now you also have to attack the player with CP lead or gain control of the CP spot. Or the player who is quietly building up, you have to attack them before they get too powerful. That's a lot of battles right there.

One caveat. In a 3-player game, the beginning may be a bit cagey as any battle benefits the third player not participating in the battle. So the start will be a race to build up many/strong units. Sooner or later, though, it will be apparent that someone is in the lead and needs to be taken down a notch. So the other two form an alliance to take him down; and having achieved this, one of them suddenly backstabs the other...

The joys of Starcraft!

Reply: StarCraft: The Board Game:: General:: Re: . . . And then it just ENDED! Does this game end just as it begins to become involved?

Rompcat — Tue, 26 May 2009 23:14:15 +0000

by Rompcat

nachof wrote:
If you were not attacking, you were not building advanced units, and you were not doing research (all this from what you said), what were you doing?

What a constructive comment! I like it!

FOUR TURNS. THE GAME WAS FOUR TURNS. Your expectations, Nacho, are different than mine. When I say there were not enough battles, my expectation would be fifteen or sixteen before the game ends. When I say "research," I mean I might have put in over half my cards in my combat deck before the game ends. When I say "building advanced units" I mean that all players should have two or three of the suckers (read: end-line units) running around by games end.

In four turns, the resources alone severely limit the scope and breadth of your actions so that it plays like a single-push euro that I wasn't looking for in Starcraft. While any single possible element of Starcraft would have been attainable by the end of such an interrupted end, there really wasn't time to react, consider, or re-strategize to a player who is playing well nor actually develop a rich, nuanced strategy.

The SVCs and the END IS NEAR cards assled their fat way into the game and sat on the damn thing just as it was getting good.

KJ

Reply: StarCraft: Brood War:: Rules:: Re: Maelstrom usage

CesarPim — Tue, 26 May 2009 23:07:27 +0000

by CesarPim
So I announce it at the start of the battle? and then he has to retreat his units within the planet? and his retreating units can then create an alternative battle in another area of the planet?

This sounds strange... It doesn't seem to be what the maelstrom card has written in it...

Reply: StarCraft: The Board Game:: General:: Re: . . . And then it just ENDED! Does this game end just as it begins to become involved?

nachof — Tue, 26 May 2009 20:09:18 +0000

by nachof

Rompcat wrote:
Windopaene wrote:
You need to be attacking each other more [ . . . ]

Two of the players attacked each other sort of often, I guess. (The entire game was four turns . . . ? Maybe five? Only three or four battles at most.)

The other stayed out completely, except getting attacked once by protoss in the end so that that player's SVC wasn't achieved.

I'll have to consider Brood War and/or house ruling the SVCs away.

If you were not attacking, you were not building advanced units, and you were not doing research (all this from what you said), what were you doing?

Reply: StarCraft: The Board Game:: Variants:: Re: Starcraft Hex Map variant: Need Playtesters

larienna — Tue, 26 May 2009 19:27:31 +0000

by larienna

In additon we think that transport must not be allowed to transpoting any number of troops. Such as PC game, troops may be divided to several "size" groups. And transport may move fixed amount of elemental size "pieces".

There is already unit size limit for the destination hex, so I don't want to have another limit. If there would be not limit on the hex, I would have placed a limit on the transport.

Else the only thing I could do to weaken transports attacks is that transports count as 1 unit in the target unit limit. Which reduce the maximum nb of units you can attack with by 1 making you a bit weaker.

As for the Anti-Air, It should be something like: can't move air units on base but If got assault module, can move but loose transports.

Thanks for your comments. I'll have to revise the rules.

Reply: StarCraft: Brood War:: Rules:: Re: Gaining Heroes

MrWeasely — Tue, 26 May 2009 15:26:51 +0000

by MrWeasely
How is that "during your turn"?

However, I think there is something else buried somewhere that says you can destroy units then too. Check the FAQ maybe.

Reply: StarCraft: The Board Game:: General:: Re: . . . And then it just ENDED! Does this game end just as it begins to become involved?

Rompcat — Tue, 26 May 2009 13:44:34 +0000

by Rompcat

Windopaene wrote:
You need to be attacking each other more [ . . . ]

Two of the players attacked each other sort of often, I guess. (The entire game was four turns . . . ? Maybe five? Only three or four battles at most.)

The other stayed out completely, except getting attacked once by protoss in the end so that that player's SVC wasn't achieved.

I'll have to consider Brood War and/or house ruling the SVCs away.

Reply: StarCraft: The Board Game:: General:: Re: . . . And then it just ENDED! Does this game end just as it begins to become involved?

Capoeirista — Tue, 26 May 2009 11:42:14 +0000

by Capoeirista
Personally, I felt exactly the same, the end of the game is way too abrupt. I also felt that the timing of the SVCs placed excessive emphasis on the actions of those last couple of turns almost to the point of rendering earlier play moot. Toss in the fact that the SVCs don't feel entirely balanced and I was really struggling to get people to play this game again (and my own enthusiasm was fading fast too).

As soon as Brood War was out I grabbed a copy, played it and have never looked back since. The game became a far more strategic, tense and rewarding experience. I can't imagine playing with SVCs again.

I understand that many people are very happy with the rules as they are written. I can also appreciate that the SVCs do provide some way of keeping all players in it until the end (no matter how beaten down you've been, one good turn of striking out may achieve your SVC). For me, however, they have always detracted from rather than contributed to the game and my advice would be to either grab Brood War or just try playing without any SVCs and see how it feels.

Reply: StarCraft: The Board Game:: General:: Re: . . . And then it just ENDED! Does this game end just as it begins to become involved?

mads b. — Tue, 26 May 2009 11:28:02 +0000

by mads b.
What I really like about SC is that the endgame is very tense - most of the players can be on the brink of winning when Stage III approaches. That is why Conquest Points are extremely important - because they serve as tie breakers if two or more players fulfill their special victory condition. So making an all out attack to gain a conquest area even though you can only hold it for one or maybe two turns can be a very valid strategy.

And remember, the attacker has the advantage. Even against Protoss though their racial ability makes it seem otherwise.

Reply: StarCraft: Brood War:: Rules:: Re: Maelstrom usage

MordredofFairy — Tue, 26 May 2009 07:35:54 +0000

by MordredofFairy
i would handle it much similar to a event card to discard before combat...or a defense token for that matter- as in, after he chooses.

at least thats how we played it, if you DO allow to choose another area for attack, than maelstrom gets very "meh" as it will get dropped every time someone mobilizes, then just goes somewhere else...too situational- besides, who are those archons going to maelstrom if nobody's coming?

he does NOT lose the mobilize order though, only the combat sequence, so he could announce an attack on your base with a dark archon, which you prevent, but still place a zergling in each empty area on that planet-

File: StarCraft: The Board Game:: Starcraft Hex Map Variant - Rules 1.1.0

larienna — Tue, 26 May 2009 05:29:38 +0000

by larienna
Starcraft Hex Map Variant - Rules 1.1.0 for Board Game: StarCraft: The Board Game ]]>

Reply: StarCraft: The Board Game:: General:: Re: . . . And then it just ENDED! Does this game end just as it begins to become involved?

Windopaene — Tue, 26 May 2009 05:26:46 +0000

by Windopaene
You need to be attacking each other more, and paying very, very, close attention to the SVCs throughout the game...

Or you can buy Brood War, which makes the SVCs an optional choice by each player at the start of the game, (and giving them less starting dudes than if they chose a different starting card).

Thread: StarCraft: The Board Game:: General:: . . . And then it just ENDED! Does this game end just as it begins to become involved?

Rompcat — Tue, 26 May 2009 05:07:13 +0000

by Rompcat
So, there we all were playing this game for the first time. The Stage I and II cards have JUST been depleted, and we realize that TWO of the players are basically about to win from special victory conditions.

The Terran has basically filled his own starting planet and the one right next to him, and as Jim Raynor that's all he needs to win in Stage III.

The Protoss player has one more area under control, which is basically his own starting planet . . . AND THE NEIGHBORING GODDAMN PLANET.

The Zerg Player's got to have three conquest zones, which means he has to go to three areas, but not quite control two full planets.

Add to that fact that the the Protoss player JUST got an Archon, the Zerg player hasn't built anything but Hydralisks and Zerglings, and the terran has a tank here and a wraith from an event card. . . but the advanced crap is still pretty much untouched.

The tech deck is pretty much untouched on all player's decks. Between three players maybe four things purchased (mostly the Protoss player).

NOBODY's done much but move to a single planet beyond the first.

AND THEN IN THE EVENT CARD DECK TWO "The End is Near!" cards are drawn! It is our fifth turn. (fourth? Do any of the other players who are no doubt soon to read this remember -- it may bee fourth)

What is wrong with this game? It feels barely touched and it ends so abruptly--with ALL players pretty much controlling two planets and the end seeming terribly arbitrary.

What's wrong with US?

Reply: StarCraft: The Board Game:: Sessions:: Re: VP lead to unsatisfying victory

carnifex — Mon, 25 May 2009 16:40:45 +0000

by carnifex
Well, it was a logical sequence of events - if the first thing that comes to Zerg's mind is to hole up, Terran is going to have an easy time. You should have been too badly beaten to even consider building Battlecruisers for the most of the game, if Zergs did the right thing and rushed, like they are supposed to do thematically anyway :what:

Reply: StarCraft: The Board Game:: Variants:: Re: New map: Space Debris (up to 4 players)

Nugen — Mon, 25 May 2009 12:37:01 +0000

by Nugen

Personally, I think these maps are great. One thing I notice is that in the center, you give players 1 and 3 significant edge over players 2 and 4. I mean, they get the mineral spots closest to them and easiest access to the two-point 'planets'. Maybe it would balance out in practice, I'd have to try to find out....

Thank you for your idea with the map balance. But i think that "easiest access" don't so easy/ :) All players must issue 2 mobilizations to reach 2 CP areas from expansion areas. 1 and 3 players take some advance if they blocks gas regions in the center and have units in mineral areas. After that players 2 and 4 must issue at least 3 mobilization to take the 2 CP areas by GROUND units. It is actual in only in begin of the game.

Its a shame the board game can't replicate the positioning tactics of the RTS... I miss siege tank setups. :gulp:

But hex tiles layouts replicate many tactics :) :cool:

Reply: StarCraft: The Board Game:: Variants:: Re: Starcraft Hex Map variant: Need Playtesters

Nugen — Mon, 25 May 2009 11:39:03 +0000

by Nugen

larienna wrote:
Damn!, I should have taken a look back at the brood war rules. Sorry, I don't have the expansion

But for the broodwar expansion, if other player have assault module, what happens?

If I remember right, the assault module negate the anti-air? If it's the case, then you ignore the effect of the anti-air.

Assault module allows to ignore anti-landing defence by cost of all used transports.

I think that for your hex map and printed maps from PC game may be used next rule (because in this maps air units don't need a tranport to move between "planets" (tiles)):

Player A have anti-air module, player B have assault (offensive) module.
Player B attacks player's A base from other tiles. If he use transports, he must destroy them all. If not - he must destroy 1 used for attack air unit before battle.

In additon we think that transport must not be allowed to transpoting any number of troops. Such as PC game, troops may be divided to several "size" groups. And transport may move fixed amount of elemental size "pieces".

What do you think?

I release this rule, when have a nice 2-players game using your hex tiles. I've played by Jim Raynor, my friend - Samir Duran (additional fraction for zergs). He locked me by 2 mutalisks in my base filled by my troops :) and win, because of having 3 CPs vs my 1 CP per turn. :)
My friend wins in 6th turn when i took from event deck three "end draws near" cards successively. :)))

Reply: StarCraft: Brood War:: Rules:: Re: Return to Aiur Leadership Card

haslo — Mon, 25 May 2009 05:52:51 +0000

by haslo
Good question :) But I don't think that you can place your ally's transports instead, that'd have to be more explicit IMHO. I just read it as "place all your transports wherever you want" - after all, "of your own units" is implied but never explicit in all other "place XYZ" leadership cards, too.

If you could place transports of your allies with Return to Aiur, you could also give your ally your Zeratul, there's nothing different in the formulation of the two cards. And that's where things stop making sense :D

But of course, it's odd that FFG didn't talk about 7 transports but 8 when there aren't 8 to begin with. Maybe they wanted the card to be ready for the next expansion with more transports? :P

(A comment on my blog asked the same question, was that you as well? I gave the same answer there.)

Reply: StarCraft: The Board Game:: Sessions:: Re: VP lead to unsatisfying victory

Mabool — Mon, 25 May 2009 04:27:01 +0000

by Mabool
Let me explain how Jim can build two battlecruisers per turn. Each battlecruiser is 3 minerals and 2 vespene. 2*(3m+2v) = 6m + 4v. The base provides 4m and 2v. Jim's economic ability provides with 3 anything, and the special build order makes one of the battlecruisers to cost 1 less.

Base: 4m + 2v
Leftover SCV: 2m + 1v
Special order rebate: 1v

Sum: 6m + 4v = 2* (3m + 2v)