A long time ago, back in the mists of time (perhaps when I was a teenager, having just discovered the Traveller RPG), I received a copy of Fifth Frontier War as a birthday gift. A friend and I attempted to play the game, alas unsuccessfully. We both agreed that we would give it another try someday.
Forty years later, that time finally arrived (...or at least it did over the last few months).
This is the story of that game, played over eight sessions of roughly six hours each, including breaks for lunch. The game was set up on a couple of card tables in my spare bedroom. We used an old glass benchtop to flatten the map, which worked quite well. Because of the thickness of the glass, it made the counters appear to float in space above the map, which was a nice touch.
I played the Zhodani, while my friend Craig played the Imperium.
Here is the table being prepared for the game:
We decided that players should not disband a fleet and recreate a substantially similar fleet on the same or subsequent turns to circumvent the plotting rules. Because a plot is created whenever a new fleet comes into being, this acts as a workaround to plotting limitations. This seemed to work well.
We did allow fleets to split off from existing fleets in a single turn during the fleet reorganisation phase, which occurred quite a few times during the game. It would also be consistent with the rules as written to make splitting a fleet a two-step process: detach squadrons on one turn, then create a new fleet for them on the next.
This made the game much more exciting, as you were never entirely sure whether the fleet you were about to engage would kick your behind or not.
We did slightly house-rule this insofar as the rules seem to indicate that admirals should remain on the main board with the fleet markers. Instead, we placed them with the squadrons if they were travelling with a fleet. Fleet compositions were revealed whenever combat took place.
This included systems with no defence battalions.
In practice, most space combat ended after a single exchange, with the weaker fleet jumping all squadrons out of the system.
This also made it much easier to visually track how far the invasion had progressed.
It was difficult enough preventing unwanted migrations between fleets, and this simply made life easier.
What the hell? Was this game even play-tested?
Anyway, we used the white 90% counters to indicate 100% losses and the black counters for everything else. It worked well, although we eventually had to use a single counter for both SDBs and Defence Battalions once we started running out of 90% counters.
We created stacks based upon transportability and drew a random counter from the appropriate stack whenever transport became available. For example, a counter would be drawn from the 1C and 5C stacks whenever an assault transport reinforcement or replacement appeared, while a counter would be drawn from the 20–10 strength stack whenever a battle squadron appeared.
We instead allowed this after a failed refuelling attempt even when the original refuelling would have taken zero time, meaning no such plot had initially been required.
This made the process less fiddly, easier to track, and ensured no combat was accidentally missed.
____________
None of the optional rules were used.
[to be continued]
Forty years later, that time finally arrived (...or at least it did over the last few months).
This is the story of that game, played over eight sessions of roughly six hours each, including breaks for lunch. The game was set up on a couple of card tables in my spare bedroom. We used an old glass benchtop to flatten the map, which worked quite well. Because of the thickness of the glass, it made the counters appear to float in space above the map, which was a nice touch.
I played the Zhodani, while my friend Craig played the Imperium.
Here is the table being prepared for the game:
Rules Clarifications and House Rules – May the Jank Be With You
Reading the rules, I had some concerns, particularly around the fleet plotting rules, and there is a thread on the Citizens of the Imperium forum about this. To say that the game is janky would be something of an understatement. Craig and I discussed how we should resolve some of the obvious issues and decided on interpretations that seemed reasonable. Some of these clarifications emerged as the game progressed, when situations arose that we had not previously considered. I present these rulings in no particular order.1. Plotting
We used the full plotting rules (most squadrons can only move in fleets and must plot from zero to five turns in advance), and they really did make the game fun and very different from any other wargame I have played. Unfortunately, these rules are also full of holes and easily gamed.We decided that players should not disband a fleet and recreate a substantially similar fleet on the same or subsequent turns to circumvent the plotting rules. Because a plot is created whenever a new fleet comes into being, this acts as a workaround to plotting limitations. This seemed to work well.
We did allow fleets to split off from existing fleets in a single turn during the fleet reorganisation phase, which occurred quite a few times during the game. It would also be consistent with the rules as written to make splitting a fleet a two-step process: detach squadrons on one turn, then create a new fleet for them on the next.
2. To Hide or Not to Hide (Fleet Composition Charts)
It is not clear in the rules whether the opposing player should have visibility of your fleet compositions. We chose to conceal the fleet composition charts using some rather dodgy screens I had created for the purpose.This made the game much more exciting, as you were never entirely sure whether the fleet you were about to engage would kick your behind or not.
We did slightly house-rule this insofar as the rules seem to indicate that admirals should remain on the main board with the fleet markers. Instead, we placed them with the squadrons if they were travelling with a fleet. Fleet compositions were revealed whenever combat took place.
3. Admirals and X-Boats
An admiral commanding a fleet could be whisked away via a friendly X-boat network (presumably to attend a very important conference) in order to allow lower-ranking admirals to take command of the fleet.4. Passive SDBs and Refuelling
The existence of passive enemy SDBs in a system prevents refueling from oceans and starports, as the systems is not in control of the invading fleet. Although this is not directly stated in the rules, this is consistent with them as written. This turned systems like Efate and Villis, containing large numbers of SDBs and no gas giant to refuel from, into quagmires for Zhodani fleets, potentially trapping them for multiple turns.5. Taking Control and Refuelling
The rules on this are very unclear. We assumed that a fleet needed to have troops available in order to refuel from oceans and starports in hostile systems (and starports in neutral systems), because they needed to temporarily take control, even if no troops remained in the system afterwards.This included systems with no defence battalions.
6. Bravely Running Away
Although this did not actually come into play, we assumed squadrons could only jump out of space combat once during that combat, and that all of them needed to jump to the same system.In practice, most space combat ended after a single exchange, with the weaker fleet jumping all squadrons out of the system.
7. Killing Admirals in Space Combat
Again, this did not actually happen, mainly because I did not think of it until close to the end of the game, but we assumed that if the squadron an admiral was assigned to was destroyed, the admiral would also be killed, allowing a more talented junior admiral to take command for the rest of the battle.8. Keeping Troop Counters on the Stellar Display Instead of in World Boxes
We initially persisted with the rules as written, keeping all ground forces in the world boxes rather than the system hexes. However, it quickly proved easier simply to place them in the system hexes, because constantly searching for the correct world box became a complete pain in the alimentary canal.This also made it much easier to visually track how far the invasion had progressed.
9. Transporting Troops in Squadrons
Transported troops were assigned to transporting squadrons only at the start of a combat phase. This assignment did not need to be maintained on the fleet composition chart, although the fleet obviously still needed sufficient transport capacity.It was difficult enough preventing unwanted migrations between fleets, and this simply made life easier.
10. Using White 90% Loss Counters to Indicate 100% Losses of Intrinsic World Defences
While troop counters were removed if they suffered 100% losses, counters were still needed for SDBs and Defence Battalions, and none were provided with the game (as far as we could tell; we had two old copies and neither included any).What the hell? Was this game even play-tested?
Anyway, we used the white 90% counters to indicate 100% losses and the black counters for everything else. It worked well, although we eventually had to use a single counter for both SDBs and Defence Battalions once we started running out of 90% counters.
11. Imperial Troop Reinforcements
There is no method given for introducing Imperial troop reinforcements into the game (see previous comment).We created stacks based upon transportability and drew a random counter from the appropriate stack whenever transport became available. For example, a counter would be drawn from the 1C and 5C stacks whenever an assault transport reinforcement or replacement appeared, while a counter would be drawn from the 20–10 strength stack whenever a battle squadron appeared.
12. Failure to Refuel
Although not explicit, the rules seemed to suggest that a “refuel/hold” plot could only be inserted after a failed refuelling attempt if such a plot already existed.We instead allowed this after a failed refuelling attempt even when the original refuelling would have taken zero time, meaning no such plot had initially been required.
13. Admiral Rank in Reinforcement Boxes
We enforced the admiral rank rules in the reinforcement boxes, but in hindsight I think it would be better not to. It simply made things more fiddly without adding anything meaningful to the game.14. Combat Sub-Phases
We completed all combat in a system before moving on to the next system (space combat, SDB combat, and troop combat), proceeding systematically from left to right and bottom to top across the stellar map.This made the process less fiddly, easier to track, and ensured no combat was accidentally missed.
____________
None of the optional rules were used.
[to be continued]
Last edited:
