Squadron Strike:Traveller

[The Oz]

Has anyone (else) played "Squadron Strike:Traveller" from Ad Astra Games?

[G K Zhukov]

I have never found the time to learn and play this very involved, hardcore game.


There is a video of actual play (2,5 hrs+) by Ken Burnside himself up in youtube:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kwg8osPEPDI

[mike wightman]

Yes, I have played it a few times. Still learning it really.

[jec10]

Yes, a couple of times. I prefer to stick to 2D engagements rather than the 3D madness ;-)

[The Oz]

I have played it in 3D and spinal mounts become a lot harder to use; not impossible, you have to predict where the enemy will go and point the gun there instead of where he is at the moment. But I suspect that's an aspect of it being a board game. If you could tell a computer to keep the spinal pointed at a particular target your spinal could remain on target until the target's angular crossing rate exceeded your ship's pivot rate. And even then you could try a "snapshot"; produce a meson burst that is in the flight path of the hostile and let him fly through it.

[mike wightman]

Yup, I only play it 3d too and I agree with the difficulty in lining up a spinal shot.

You end up flying your capitals at each other in pretty straight lines, taking pot shots at anything stupid enough to pop into your line of fire, or alternatively pivoting your ship at the last moment to bring the spinal to bear on the target, which is something I've noticed is pretty easy to spot an enemy doing.

[Maksim-Smelchak]

Originally Posted by The Oz

Has anyone (else) played "Squadron Strike:Traveller" from Ad Astra Games?

It's complex with a steep learning curve, but it can also be very rewarding after it's mastered.

It probably can't be learned in a single session, especially by uninterested players. It takes a dedicated gaming group to make it work.

Shabbat Shalom,
M.

[The Oz]

Originally Posted by mike wightman

Yup, I only play it 3d too and I agree with the difficulty in lining up a spinal shot.

You end up flying your capitals at each other in pretty straight lines, taking pot shots at anything stupid enough to pop into your line of fire, or alternatively pivoting your ship at the last moment to bring the spinal to bear on the target, which is something I've noticed is pretty easy to spot an enemy doing.

Of course, while you're flying your capital ship in that straight line to set up your meson shot, your enemy is arranging for several boatloads of missiles to meet your capital ship one turn =before= you get your meson shot off.

That's what makes it fun (for some definitions of "fun", anyway).

[mike wightman]

Which is why you need escorts to take out the missiles...

[elbmc1969]

Originally Posted by G K Zhukov

I have never found the time to learn and play this very involved, hardcore game.

There's a good reason that the tutorial walks you through in baby steps!

The #1 way that people try to ruin this game is by reading the whole tutorial and then trying to play a moderately-sized scenario while teaching several friends. Take the time to sit down with the playing pieces, control cards, and map, and actually play along with each tutorial. The "muscle memory" makes a huge difference. The first three tutorials are especially short and solitaire, so it's not as though you're using up a full day.