Star Wars: Armada
“What of the reports of the Rebel fleet massing near Sullust?” –Darth Vader
Rebel and Imperial fleets fight for the fate of the galaxy in Star Wars™: Armada, the two-player miniatures game of epic Star Wars space battles!
Massive Star Destroyers fly to battle against Rebel corvettes and frigates. Banks of turbolasers unleash torrential volleys of fire against squadrons of X-wings and TIEs. Engineering teams race to route additional power to failing shields. Laser blasts and explosions flare across the battlefield. Even a single ship can change the tide of battle.
In Star Wars: Armada, you assume the role of fleet admiral, serving with either the Imperial Navy or Rebel Alliance. It’s your job to issue the tactical commands that will decide the course of battle and, perhaps, the fate of the galaxy.
User Reviews (2)
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I must admit, I am not a miniatures/war gaming kind of guy. While many in my group play games like Warhammer, Lord of the Rings, Flames of War and Infinity, I could never get into it myself.
I don’t want to: keep pulling out a tape measure for moves and firing, spend weeks painting and assembling minis, and spend a few paychecks on a faction that I will eventually be frustrated with and need to upgrade and change everything while looking for other people who also have spent everything they had on a single faction just to play.
So when Armada was brought over for a game, I had my reservations.
We opened the box and had everything assembled in 20 min, and were ready to play. Using the starter rules at a 5 minute read, we did the opening game play set up.
Actions are simple, and clear. The mechanic of momentum for the big ships, using the Maneuver Tool (which eliminates tape measures), gives the game quite a bit of weight – playing more like chess as you have to really consider moves a few turns in advance in order to truly execute a plan of attack.
At times game play felt like a sea battle, with capital ships lurching forward each trying to maneuver themselves for the best gun placement – while the squadrons felt like old WWII dogfights, as though you were escorting bombers over enemy lines.
The first game gives you an opportunity to work on the basics:
1) Command Phase – each player secretly programming their ships with the following: Navigate, Squadron, Repair and Concentrate Fire.
2) Ship Phase – players taking turns activating ships, either executing a command or taking a token for the command revealed and proceeding with movement using the Maneuver Tool.
3) Squadron Phase – players taking turns activating their available squadrons.
4) Status Phase – both players refreshing cards/tokens, switching initiative, and advancing the round marker.
Games are generally won by the number of points scored within 6 rounds, but scenarios can set specific goals to be met in order to win the game early or provide bonuses for objectives.
Rounds continue in a steady pace, neither plodding too slowly, nor advancing chaotically. While dice add a random element to combat, strategy in both maneuvers and combat formation really tip the scales.
Star Wars : Armada is self contained and easy to play right out of the box. The tools are simple to use, with clear instructions and tutorials. And the prepainted ships look awesome and ready for your shelf.
Cons? – Its still a little pricey for a boardgame (though $100 is cheap for a miniatures hobby), especially if you really like it, you’ll want to run out and get a second set, and of course all the expansions.Also the squadrons while different colors, are not painted/detailed like the capital ships.
Overall I really enjoyed the experience.
I love this game! It is so well made and the game is so easy to play. You just set everything up and get busy taking turns moving and fighting as applicable. HOWEVER, the sheer volume of stuff that in the game, from all the plastic bits to all the counters to all the cards of all the different sizes…. it looks formidable.
I had a good friend who spent a lot of time watching youtube vids to get the rules right and he showed me how to play in NO time flat. We just found a website that picks our sides based on what vehicles we have available and it showed us exactly what cards to use.
As for the rules, they are straight-forward and lend themselves to fun gameplay even for amateurs. The randomness of letting a website bot decide our teams kept the more-experienced player from stacking the ships to take advantage of a ploy only he knows!!
So, jump in but try to get a little help so the learning can all be hands on – it rocks!!