Two vs Two, using Quick Start Rules

Apollo and Starbuck against an Ace and a Veteran Cylon two-ship.

The new player flying the Colonial Vipers, and me with the Cylons, trying to remember the rules. 

No FTL. Very limited Skills.  We had the cheat sheets out that I produced and put on BGG, and we tried out the Shoot Markers I produced (cause I get easily confused).

Who’s Cargo is it?

Today’s mission, the Colonials have just finished a mining expedition for some much needed mineral resources. As they just broke free of the planet’s gravity and plotted a course through the surrounding asteroid belt their worst fear materialized. The Cylons appear. They are not just there to destroy but also want to steal the mining ship and it’s valuable cargo.

The mining ship has a limited maneuver deck and cannot overboost. (yes I know it’s a Houndstooth and not from the BSG universe but I don’t care. Call me a heretic. It’s a neat ship and will happily fill the role on my table.)

I gave the mining ship 3 firing arcs but it can only fire one per turn. 

A heavy raider has been modified to be able to tow the mining ship once it has been immobilized. Two escorting raiders are there to protect it after the mining ships propulsion has been knocked out of service. (20 damage points)

The Colonial mining ship has two vipers for protection.

The incoming Cylons are detected and the vipers begin to maneuver to protective positions. As the heavy raider closes in with one raider one viper engages the two.

Deceptive maneuvering by the Cylons confuse the Colonials. The raider at the top center has slowed it’s approach baffling the viper pilot, who ends up turning in the opposite direction.

Strangely the heavy raider moved right in to the attack the mining ship without the close support of his little friend. A glitch in programming or a cunning plan?

The heavy raider takes a bit of damage but it is doing it’s job of immobilizing it’s target.

(the viper at the lower left is actually in a position of the marker beneath it.

The lower raider turns in too quickly and the viper blows it to bits. This might have been a Cylon ploy to protect the heavy raider.

Unfortunately for the Colonials the mining ship is taking a beating.

The heavy raider is now caught in a vise. The upper raider tries to help out and targets one of the vipers.

The mining ship desperately turns hoping to get out of the firing arc of the heavy raider with no success.

Another Cylon raider appears. Every ship gets to fire it’s weapons, all but one at close range.

The heavy raider can take no more and is turned into a cloud of debris.

The small fighters now jocky for position as the powerless mining ship slowly drifts aimlessly away from the asteroid belt. (one viper is under a raider while a raider is under the mining ship)

One Cylon takes the brunt of both vipers shots while the other can only watch. Somehow it survives!

Quickly the watching raider turns under a viper to get in a killing shot at the other Colonial.

A second heavy raider FTLs into a towing position and locks on to the mining ship. Once the lock is secure it begins to tow it’s prize into the asteroid belt.

One viper turns it’s attention towards the tow ship while a reinforcing viper comes on fast behind the escort raiders.

Inexplicably both raiders turn on the new viper. What Fracking good luck! The viper pilot heading after the tow ship thanks the Gods for this!

To aviod taking damage from the asteroids, the tow ship slows to a crawl allowing the viper to close. It pays a high price for it’s navigation choice as the viper blasts it.

The new viper knows the mining ship cannot be allowed to be taken by the Cylons, so he ignores the raider escorts and heads for the tow ship.

The viper cannot slow quick enough and overlaps the towing ship.

If Cylons have a sense of humor, this one would be laughing now.

(The viper had taken a critical hit lowering it’s acceleration to 2)

After getting out of overlapping it’s position the viper severely damages the towing ship. With the second viper quickly closing in the heavy raider releases the mining ship and readies to FTL to safety.

The raider escorts arrive too late to help secure the prize. All three raiders FTL away, leaving the Colonials to clean up the mess.

Colonials lost 1 viper, Cylons lost one heavy raider and one raider. The Cylons did not get to steal the mining ship and it’s cargo. A clear Colonial victory with the loss of a valuable viper and it’s pilot.

In this scenario I had a Colonial mining ship just leaving the planet it had mined. As usual, the Cylons appear and cause some trouble.

The mining ship must get around from the back side of the planet and to the other side of the asteroid belt so it can jump back to the fleet.

2 Cylon Raiders plus 1 Heavy Raider against the mining ship with a limited gun, 2 Vipers and a Raptor with ECM.

I flew the mining ship and Raptor, 5 others flew the Vipers and Raptors. Sadly as I had to push 2 ships I didn’t get to take many photos.

Pre-game setup. I was hopeful for more players and set up for 10. 5 appeared to play, removed the extra ships and on we went.

Here is a Cylon with my pimped up console.

The big bad heavy raider.

Starting positions for the Colonials.

The Cylons bide their time waiting for the mining ship to commit.

The mining ship (its firing arcs are to the front and sides and it can only fire one per turn) turns to the right side of the planet.

Once the mining ship clears the planet all hell breaks loose. The Cylons hammer away at the mining ship while the escort desperately do what they can.

Two Cylons get on the rear of the mining ship and one Cylon comes on from directly ahead.

The Raptor intermittently frustrate a Cylon when it successfully uses its ECM to deny a shot.

The mining ship cannot defend itself from the rear so the Raptors success is key to its survival.

The mining ships sensors can see the end of the asteroid belt. So close.

The Raptors ECM fails to interrupt one of the shots and that’s all it takes. The mining ship is ripped apart!

As soon as the mining ship implodes the Vipers and Raptor scatter using the asteroids as cover…

This one came down to the wire. The mining ship was just at the edge of the asteroid belt. One more turn and the mining ship would have escaped the Cylon trap.

Two confident-looking Toasters!

One confident-looking Colonial (in more ways than one!!!)

The other ‘Colonial’ pilot.

Lots of big rocks to crash into (eh, Steve “Guntruck”?)

The Colonial Vipers approach cautiously.

Both Cylon Raiders use their FTL capability, but it doesn’t work out for either of them. First Raider ‘C’ (Malachi) tries it….I hit Raider ‘F’(Stumptonian).

Peter (Teaticket) narrowly misses Raider ‘C’.

Cylon ‘F’ FTL jumps to a position behind me, but too far distant to engage me.

Cylon ‘C’ gets caught between the two Vipers…

Kill to me!

I then rotate, and drift away backwards, pounding Cylon ‘F’ with a 6+ and a 5+!

Peter and I both menace the lone surviving Cylon Raider.

Next card, Peter gets his kill.

Human 2, Cylons 0

MY ORIGINS SCORECARD

Anyway, I threw a bunch of ships on the table and we had at it.

We rolled for sides, and my buddy ended up on the Colonial side. He had Starbuck and a nameless winger in Mk II vipers, and Racetrack in a Combat Raptor (guns only, as he didn't want the maneuvering loss). I had the Veteran Heavy Raider and two standard Raiders as escort. The scenario was an intercept of a transport (FTL inoperable) attempting to get across the map.

Using the points system, this was approximately 354-ish (Colonials) to 325-ish (Cylons). I calculated this after the fact, and it isn't exact, as not all the features and Talents were well used. My buddy was having difficulty remembering the acceleration rules, let alone keep track of all the different Talents Starbuck could use. I noticed as I totalled all the points that Starbuck's Quick Reaction Talent was never used.

Having six ships on the table, and a very robust Heavy Raider (24 Damage) ship, as well, we used the Damage Tracking Sheet system for this game. Every shot was drawn and resolved (doubles, Talents, etc...) and recorded, with the chits immediately returned to the chit bin. Then, the next shot was resolved. This way, all the chits and special damages remained in play on every shot. Damage taken in a single phase was not applied immediately, as all shots are assumed to occur simultaneously.

Link: BSG Damage Tracking Sheet - Version 2.0

First Turn:

The Colonials attempt a preemptive strike, and the Raptor FTLs behind the Cylon group. The Raptor ended up overlapped with one of the Raiders, so no shooting.

Second Turn:

A kinetic energy weapon sandwich. All the Cylons maneuver agressively, with the Heavy Raider maintaining 3 acceleration and rotating, and the winger Raider also rotating. The Raptor ended up in the firing arcs of all three ships, and not able to fire at any of the Cylons.

Racetrack survived this.

Third Turn:

Lots of shooting in this turn.

The Heavy Raider was seriously damaged by Starbuck and Racetrack, with the two Vipers hit by the Raiders. The Colonial winger did tag the lead Raider.

Fourth Turn:

Lots of rotating and close in shots in this turn. The overlaps and blocked lines of sight helped? Not really.

The two Vipers were under the lead Raider, but Starbuck had rotated and drifted into a awesome close-in shot on the Heavy Raider that had rotated forward to continue running. Too late. Starbuck was shooting with a 5+ (Pilot skill, close range, speed bonus) and then rolled doubles. One double was 10 points, the second was zero! By this time, the Heavy Raider was down to 6 damage remaining, and was destroyed. Mission accomplished for the Colonials. We kept flying and shooting...

Fifth Turn:

Most ships were stationary or moving at 1 acceleration, and I FTL'd to shoot at the Raptor with my lead Raider. This destroyed Racetrack.

Sixth Turn:

A few choice maneuvers and My injured lead Raider attempted to destroy Starbuck.

Even without Starbuck's Talents, I missed this shot.

Seventh Turn:

This was a close-in street brawl.

Starbuck was again in the pocket, and I was hitting. But, not doing massive damage.

Same turn, return fire by Starbuck.

My Raider winger gets damaged. This kills the winger.

Same turn, Raider winger fires on Starbuck.

Good thing there are no "Jam" rules in this game. Dying while returning fire threw off the Cylon's aim? Interesting to note: Starbuck would still have hit, and doubled, on this shot.

Eight Turn:

The lead Raider takes revenge!

This was my buddy digging around in the chit bin for all the big chits. This was the end of Starbuck, for this game.

Ninth Turn:

The clutch shot fails to hit.

Tenth Turn:

Maneuvering for a shot, but no shooting on this turn.

Eleventh and Final Turn:

I manage a final FTL blip to get out of the Colonial's arc, and fire. Mission was still lost, but none of the Colonials had ships left.

Butcher's Bill:

Colonials lost all their ships, two Vipers and a Combat Raptor. The Cylons lost the Heavy Raider and the VIP passenger, and one Raider. The remaining Raider was a sieve.

Good use of FTLs during the game, but perhaps the Colonials jumped a bit too early, leaving the Raptor over extended and allowing the Cylons to concentrate on it early. The "Roll Doubles" rule to inflict more damage did in the Heavy Raider, and the Raider Winger. I never got doubles for the Cylons, and missed a few shots.

Oh! And besides not taking advantage of all the Talents on the Colonial side (the Cylons only had one Ace), we forgot to use the Aim bonus rules (+2 if you shot and missed at a target the previous turn, +3 if you shot and hit the previous turn).

We need to get this game on the table more often. Lots of fun, and some serious twists and turns of fortune.

PS: The last photos I can find of a BSG game is of the Cylon AI Solo testing in February of 2020. Wow!

PPS: Having attempted to calculate points for this game, we need an App. The ships (two rules versions, different program versions {Mk VII}, different gear and weapons options, etc...) and the pilots (to hit bonuses & Talents/Flaws) makes tallying up points a real challenge. Note that some Gear and/or Talents are not applicable in some scenarios, so I don't think they should be counted as part of a specific scenario's points balance. Towing for instance.

See the previous game were the idea developed here: Pick-up BSG Game: First of the New Year 2022

Setup:

The Colonials are on a survey mission in hostile territory, with a Combat Raptor doing the surveying and escorted by two Vipers. Colonials are coming in from the top left. 356 Points of ships and pilots, using Racetrack for the Raptor pilot, and Starbuck for the lead Viper. The second Viper has an Average pilot with no To Hit bonus and no Talents. Oh! And the Raptor has a DRADIS Jammer (3 Pts), so the Total was 359.

The asteroids to be surveyed are across the center of the map, from top right to the bottom left. All asteroids are sparse. Colonials must scan at least three asteroid groups, but they can't be adjacent to each other.

The Cylons have four Raiders, but all are Average pilots, with no To Hit bonuses, nor Talents. 360 points for the ships.

Turn 1:

The Colonial Raptor FTLs on the first turn, but scatters straight into an asteroid group (using a planetoid marker) at speed 6! The damage is outrageous, and nearly game-ending...

Racetrack has the 'Lucky' Talent, and decides to use it to get a better result. This was allowed because my opponent hasn't played this game much (Like I have all the pilots and their Talents memorized...). Changing one of the original die rolls by two (Changing a "5" to a "7") puts the FTL scatter back on the path my opponent intended, and the game continued. Things like this would crop up throughout the game, as we tried to remember all the fiddly bits that Talents could effect. I had none of that with my ships, but Starbuck has a mitten-load of Talents.

With the FTL scatter redone, the Raptor had scanned one asteroid field, and was almost in range of the second, non-adjacent group. The Vipers were closing into escort/intercept positions, and the Raiders were fanning out to weave through the asteroid field.

Turn 2:

Maneuvering through Turn Two, and still no shooting. The Raptor is under the lead Viper, and has completed the scan of the second group. Not necessarily visible in this image is that Raider "A" does, in fact, trim the tip of the asteroid group as he attempts to maneuver around it at 5 KE (The range ruler indicates "A", as we were checking for any possible shots.). The damage was extensive, with no Talents to mitigate it.

Turn 3 -Step One:

Shooting starts. But not well.

All ships were travelling at high speeds to close the distance. This added to die rolls, and hits were hard to achieve.

Only the Viper winger had a shot at a Raider, shooting at "A". Firing while over 5 KE, at a ship at 6 KE, through an asteroid group, at long range... A 'Shot Taken' marker is placed with the +2 showing.

The Raiders didn't do any better, with the speeds and distance not helping. "B" shot at Starbuck and missed, and "D" could just squeak a shot past the end of the asteroid group, but speed denied a hit. Raider "A" was out of arc. "C" was under "B" and out of range/arc.

Turn 3 -Step Two:

The Raptor was racing past the asteroid field, trying to get to the next scan, Starbuck was attempting to shield it. The winger misjudged the turns, and pulled out of arc.

Raider "A" turned into a good firing position, and was able to see a sliver of the Raptor's stand past Starbuck (This image shows the pre-roll markers, but A hit the Raptor in this turn. The Shot Taken marker was turned over to the +3 side for the next turn). Raptor "C" was now in range and arc, however speed and distance saved the Raptor from damage. Raiders "B" and "D" had fired in Step One, so were not able to fire in this step. Markers were all in place for the next turn.

Turn 4 -Step One - First Image:

Shot Taken markers are placed to indicate what ships would be fired upon by whom. Raider "C" on the top left could get a part of the Raptor past Starbuck. Raider "B" couldn't get a clear shot at the Raptor, so shot at Starbuck. Raider "A" near the center was able to shoot past Starbuck at the Raptor. The Raptor was rotated and moving at 6 KE. Raider "D" was maneuvering aggressively around an asteroid group, not wanting to suffer like the leader had. Viper Two didn't change targets, so that marker stayed where it was. Starbuck and Racetrack fired on Raider "C", resolved in the next image...

Turn 4 -Step One - Second Image:

Starbuck unloads on Raider "C". At this point, Starbuck needed two to hit, with the Raider target at 3 KE, and close range. Starbuck was at 6 KE, drifting sideways, but with her +3 To Hit bonus, it was still nearly a guaranteed hit. Then the double "sixes" happened. Somehow, this didn't destroy the Raider, but it was very seriously colanderized. Racetrack didn't manage to hit the Raider. The other Viper shot at Raider "A", and brutalized it. With the previous asteroid damage, Raider "A" was destroyed. Thanks to simultaneous shooting, he did get to contribute to the mayhem before being removed.

Turn 4 -Step One - Last Image:

Shots by the Cylons were then resolved. Raider "C" couldn't hit with the speed penalty, even at close range. Raider "B" shot at Starbuck, and missed. Raider "A" hit the Raptor again, and this was bad. My Opponent wasn't able to use two Talents to avoid all the shooting at the same time, and I think he used Evasive to dodge the "C" hit. This allowed the "A" hit to go through, and Special Damage was done. He lost G rating and Acceleration. With the Heavy Wing Guns already lowering the Raptor's Acceleration to "2", this was crippling. The Raptor was rotated and moving at 6 KE. Using a Change Direction card was not an available option to maneuver away from the gathering vultures... Raider "D" was maneuvering aggressively around an asteroid group, not wanting to suffer like the leader had.

Turn 4 -Step Two:

No image of this step, as all the shooting was done in Step One. The ships on overboost were moved, and wreckage removed.

Turn 5 -Step One:

Lots of rotated, drifting ships...

Raider "A" was removed, and Raider's "B" and "C" decided to rotate. Raider "B" messed up, and took himself out of arc. Raider "C" managed to get into perfect shooting arc for the Raptor, but the Viper winger was also in a perfect position and range. Raider "D" had managed to skirt around the asteroids and was also in a great position. I don't recall and there aren't any images, but it was possible Raider "D" didn't fire upon Viper Two at the end of the previous turn. If so, the Shot Taken marker for Raider "D" should have been removed from Viper Two at the end of the last turn, as Raider "D" hadn't managed to fire upon Viper Two for the entire turn. However, I may have squeaked a sharp turn and hit him. I just don't recall. In any event, Raider "D" did hit Viper Two in this turn, so the +3 marker would be placed on by the Viper for the next turn.

Viper Two destroys Raider "C" with the shot in the rear. With the damage done by Starbuck in the previous turn, the two would have been enough.

We called the game here, but I think I only had Raider "D" remaining on the table at the end of the shooting. The Raptor had drifted by the last of the asteroid groups it needed to scan, and could have FTL'd away at the start of the next turn. If Raider "C" could have shot at the Raptor, and I think it did, Racetrack 'Evaded' the shot to survive the round.

Summary

The Colonials got their scans, and got away with their ships. They didn't get away unscathed. The Cylons got their butts handed to them. I think one ship was undamaged, and one ship was mauled. Two Toasters are expanding clouds of busted spare parts...

The "Shot Taken" markers helped a lot in this mess. It isn't foolproof, as you have to remember when they change, and whether you've actually shot at the ship that turn, or not. We may have messed that up at least once, in all the shooting. It was definitely better with them in this game, than without.

They may have slowed the game down a bit. With players familiar with the game, and not trying to keep track of three-four ships at a time, and all the Talents of the pilots, it shouldn't mess up the flow of the game. I'm gonna keep using them in the future.

"Galactica" sends a pair of Vipers to investigate, and prepares a Raptor with a boarding party of engineers to try to repair her.

Shortly after the Vipers arrive, three Cylon Raiders jump into the system in an effort to destroy the 'Lame Duck'.

Complete rules in use, except no Talents, Flaws or Pilot Cards are used.

Participation game, with most of the players being first-time punters.

The two Vipers respond to the approach of the three Cylon Raiders.

Raider 'C' (yours truly) tries to flank the defenders to the right, while two punters attack head-on.

Moving at KE6, I rotate to face the punter Viper attempting to intercept me, while Neil (Skafloc) in the other Viper attempts to intercept an asteroid!

Neil's Viper engages a Raider

Having somehow squeaked past the asteroid (!) Neil and his opponent pass each other, while I drift to the Right @ KE6, while my antagonist drifts in the opposite direction.............

Neil is caught square (and heavily damaged) by his Raider, but then manages to avoid further hits by jinking his Viper to the maximum!

While Neil is dogfighting with his second Raider, the first breaks through and streaks towards the mining ship.

To the right, I have outmanoeuvred my opposing Viper and have a clear run to the Lame Duck, but I decide to turn back and engage the punter in his Viper, to give him a better game experience (BAD MISTAKE!!!!!!).

When my opponent struggles to turn to face my attack, he overcompensates and hits an asteroid!

........but neither entity takes any damage!

I fire on him, to add to his woes........

....but he draws another '0' !

Next card, he fires on me, and I draw a '6+' engine hit, followed by ANOTHER '6+' engine hit!

My opponent draws yet another '0'

In my final exchange, I take a '5' while my opponent takes a '1' - his first damage!!!!

.....and this Toaster is 'toast'!

When one of the Cylon players has to leave, I take over his Raider and join a young chap against his father and Neil.

The two Raiders form up to attack the mining ship, to admiring comments about "Cylon efficiency"..........

.......proven to be nonsense, as I vector in on the mining ship, while my wingman turns about to engage the onrushing Vipers.

I fire upon, and hit, the Lame Duck.

Neil's crippled Viper fires at me, but misses.

My Raider pounds the mining ship mercilessly.

Now stationary, I rotate 180 degrees and blast Neil's Viper at point blank range....and he explodes!....the other Viper is forced to turn away to avoid colliding with the Tylium moon.

Having moved forward to engage the last Viper, I now pass him by, and rotate around to engage from behind.

He fires on his son's Raider, which clips the stationary mining ship, delivering a '12' damage point collision chit!

Finally. the two Riders catch the damaged Viper in a murderous crossfire!

With both Vipers destroyed, and the Raptor nowhere to be seen, the fate of the mining vessel is sealed.

Cylon Victory!

Well it's 0730, where are the lads? Am I at the right place (Wrong time)?

New banner, not bad for 5 days notice. From my FLCS.

A bit dark but the complete set up.

The new WINGCO trying to spot the punters........sadly missing at this point.

Battlestar Galactica setup, Raiders on the left, civilian transport (FTL down) hides behind the large moon defended by 2 Vipers.

Raiders jump in and move through the small asteroid field, both Vipers split (not the original plan) and head off in different directions.

(I am piloting the Viper at the bottom, Kinetic Energy = 6, overboost card played and heading straight at the small asteroid!)

(Back to my Viper and that asteroid........forget wings.....it's card to card for the 2nd card.....yahoo.....turn track 90 left does not impact with asteroid, neither does base....dakka, dakka, dakka take that toaster, or not because I missed! Raider and myself at K6, medium range 8+ to hit nahnah.

Tim takes a hit, ouch 6+ followed by another 6. (Laser pen adding to the battle)

Meanwhile my wingman was taking on that deadly Cylon Raider Tincan-Tim, dakka, dakka.....boom! (Tim took with his previous first hit a 6+ and drew a second 6, the kill shot was a 5 exit Tim)

After carefully skirting another 3 asteroids, at K6 I might add....with 13 damage and no possibility of flipping round for that I'm going this way but firing that way move, I closed in on the 2 remaining Raiders.

(Tim has now taken control of the lower raider as the player had to leave) My wingman closes in, can we save the transport?

(One for Steve,,,Guntruck)

Now that's how you fly close to an asteroid.....

Back to the action.

Both raiders narrowly miss colliding as I close in at K6.

Take that TinCan2 Tim. The transport takes damage. "Where is my wingman?"

I close, my wingman arrives, TinCan2 Tim flips round and......boom. I'm toast.

My wingman closes in but it's 2:1 odds surely he can't?

Damage mounts up on the transport, it's big and can soak up more damage than the Vipers but how much more?

My wingman hit TinCan2 Tim twice before he got sandwiched (Do Cylons eat sandwiches.....mine for lunch were especially good but I digress)

I guess Adama won't be sending a rescue Raptor for us?

“Looking for Water” Scenario available for download

Nikolas had arrived halfway through the warm-up, so the scenario having five ships would be perfect. Unfortunately, I, again, didn't take pictures of this match-up, as I was busy hosting and flying. Shane and Nikolas flew the Vipers, Mike flew the Raptor, while Matt and I stayed with the Raiders. We didn't use any pilot tokens or talents, keeping everything basic.

We faked the Orbiting Planetoid, using a small asteroid field for one of the stationary planetoids, and Mike quickly sketched out a copy of the movement template for the Orbiting Planetoid. It worked well enough. The Orbiting Planetoid ended up playing a bigger part in the scenario than everyone expected.

Without FTL options, this scenario required flying skill on all sides. Throughout this scenario, as in the warm-up, I was abysmal with my shooting rolls. It became a joke that whenever anybody rolled a three (yes, on two dice!), the guys started calling it a 'Mikey'. I was the first player to become an expanding field of spare parts, as I closed in on Mike's Raptor. Mike rotated to shoot me, and both Shane and Nikolas added their fire power into the mix.

I actually did hit the Raptor as I died, but didn't stop Mike from getting his second scan of the Orbiting Planetoid. There was a discussion about this, but there was nothing in the scenario, nor with my playtest Raptor gear, that said the Raptor couldn't shoot and scan in the same turn. Being that Mike was firing with the pilot, that left the second crewman to do the scan. Or so we all agreed.

This left Matt to face three ships on his own. He chased down the Raptor as it tried to make it to the exit zone, being shot at by two Vipers. We didn't have rules for the tailgunner in the Raptor, so that might have made a difference in the outcome, if available. Matt eventually took out the Raptor, but the Victory Conditions still gave a win to the Colonials if he didn't take out the Vipers, too.

Matt turned around and charged back toward the pursuing Vipers, firing as he went. Matt was hit several times, but unlike me, he didn't dig around in the chit bin for all the big, plus chits. He actually drew a disproportionate number of '0's.

I had been reduced to ensuring that the Orbiting Planetoid was kept moving as the game went on. Now, many turns later, that planetoid had made its way from the far side of the play mat to the Colonial entry/exit zone. And as Matt and Shane closed on each other, blazing away with their kinetic energy weapons, the Orbiting Planetoid smashed into them, crushing the heavily damaged fighters. Both Shane and Matt became tinfoil wrappers on the planetoid. This left Nikolas on the board, with an untouched Viper.

Re-reading the Victory Conditions, this gave us a 'Draw'! And the Orbiting Planetoid took top Ace of the game with the most kills.

Note: We used my damage record sheets, and everyone agreed to drawing damage individually, returning the chits after recording damage on the sheet. This meant that everyone had the full range of damage possibilities each and every time. So, my drawing big chits, without getting zeros, and Matt drawing lots of zeros, was just skewed luck.

Damage Record Example: Warm-up for PhenomaCon 2019

Way too much fun, and some excellent flying by all participants, if not the best shooting by some of us.

We also decided to try out some of the special abilities. I took the extra gun and the ability to avoid the + sign. He took... well, one that really did me in, the speed change ability.

We're still learning the rules, so we still haven't gotten to the change orientation section. If so, this game may have gone in my favor. As it was, those times when I thought I was outguessing him, he used his change speed ability to thwart my plans.

And my Mk VII, ever so pretty, was totally hosed by the Raider.

In this scenario we have 3 Vipers and 2 Raptors vs 4 Cylon Raiders. The Raptors have to find 5 mineral deposits scattered about the board. One of the Colonials is a Cylon but none of the Colonials know who it is. Their 2nd objective is to find out who the Cylon is. The Cylons do know who it is. The Cylon goal is to stop the Colonials from achieving their 2 objectives.

I didn't get to take many photos of this game as most players were new and I am not yet totally comfortable running BSG. Hopefully I will get better and there will be more photos in future games.

The first plotting phase.

A Viper and Raider face off. The valuable minerals are seen as green cubes. The Raptors must get to close range and be at speed 2 or less, then roll 2d6 at 6+ to find it. If you miss twice there is nothing there.

The Colonials have a small head start on the Cylons. 2 Vipers turn to engage Raiders.

The Vipers are having trouble keeping between the Raptors and the Cylons.

A Cylon successfully jumped and confronted a Raptor as it approached it’s prize. (Cylons can jump twice in a game. I restricted Raptors to only once. Vipers cannot jump.)

The 2nd Raptor is hunted down as it nears a possible mineral site.

This Raptor found some valuable minerals at the cost of a Cylon attack.

A pair of Vipers gang up on a Raider.

A Raptor gets some relief as a Viper gains the attention of a pair of Raiders.

A Heavy Raider jumps into the battle. Lucky for the Colonials a Viper has it in it’s sights.

The Colonials found enough minerals to reach that part of their victory condition but they weren’t all clear on who was the Cylon so I call it a draw.

It was a fun battle with some good flying for mostly new BSG pilots.

Mission goal for the Colonials to blow up an Cylon outpost on a planetoid.

Dave spiced up the game with one heavy raider model.

I started the Colonial force separated from the Cylons by an asteroid band that crossed the board. The radiation it emitted interfered with communications and prevented the Cylons from using FTL to cross it.

The Colonial mission was to search for water (across the board at the two star systems)and then when found re-cross the asteroid band to message the Galactica. The Cylons were hot on their heels but didn’t know what their mission was.

The Colonials had to get the Raptors to close range from the star system to scan for water. A d6 roll of 1-4 was needed for success. One try per star system.

Mark and Ann joined in my pm game (after he ran an afternoon game) and brought along his GenCon acquired Raptors and Cylon heavy raiders. I did my best not to drool on them.

I replaced the lead Viper with his Raptor and this made the scenario a much better game.

( I was unaware the the Raprot could FTL. That would break my scenario so I just had it’s FTL damaged by the radiation when crossing the asteroid band).

The Cylons gingerly cross the asteroid band as the Colonials race towards the hopefully water abundant systems.

The Colonials sailing hassle free towards their objective.

One Cylon quickly FTL jumped into the Colonials but the other two took their time coming up. After a cry for help a second Raider FTL’d into the Colonials and the fight was on.

The Raptor’s jamming was essential for the Colonial’s chances for a mission success. Many Cylon shots were jammed, causing circuits to overload with frustration. Water was found at the first system and the Raptor, having acceleration damage slowly increased its kinetic energy to full and bolted for the asteroid band. Two Raiders temporarily got between the Vipers and the Raptor before the Vipers could intervene.

Once the Raptor got under way the Vipers also headed towards the asteroid band and rotated to fire back at the chasing Cylons.

One Raider had used both of it’s FTL jumps, one had both still available. The 3rd Raider used it’s last jump to get in ahead of the fleeing Colonials. This jump was accurate and put it right behind one of the the Vipers. (mine! Ouch!!!))

As the Raptor and it’s escorting Viper got close to the asteroid band the third Raider jumped in. Luckily for the Raptor it locked on to a Viper. (mine again!)

Ann’s Viper slowed down the chase but paid the ultimate price.

Mark piloted the Raptor into the asteroid band, passing through and sending the all important information including the coordinates to the system with the desperately needed water. The crew of the Galactica were jubilant to hear the news. of the discovery. The Colonials would survive but minus a Viper or two.

It was great to meet Mark and Ann. Future BSG games in the future with them are much anticipated by me!

Cylon Victory - 8 kills to the Colonial's 5

One of the Raptor scouts has reported the presence of a Cylon Base ship hiding behind an asteroid belt in our sector. The plan is to penetrate the asteroid belt with 3 Vipers and spring an attack on them from a direction they would least expect. The very best pilots will attempt this mission as avoiding collisions will be very difficult. This is a chance to strike back at the Cylon menace, so it is deemed to be worth the risk. Good luck.

Cylon Plan

We have allowed the Colonial fleet to find one of our base stars. We have set up obvious heavy defences on 3 exposed sides so we expect them to try to attack us from within a nearby asteroid belt. We have hidden some mines on the outskirts of the belt and our best pilot, Scar, is hiding behind a planetoid and waiting for any Colonial survivors to emerge. Victory will be ours and we will eliminate the humans. The Cylon Base ship has a health of 30 damage points and two cannons on gun decks with 180 degree arcs of fire. The guns are all on one side though, so Scar must defend the other side.

Game Requirements

3 Vipers. 1 Scar Raider. All the Asteroids and 4 planetoid templates.

Victory will be achieved when all Vipers are down or when Scar is eliminated.

More to follow ........

Hoping to inflict some crippling damage before I arrived to add my fire power Windy opened fire at on normal ruler length and was blasted out of the sky on his first shot! Marc had rolled doubles and hit Windy twice. Each of Windy's damage chits had a plus on them and that meant 4 damage counters. Bad luck to Windy.

Wheeling past a Planetoid I managed to get a shot at Marc with no return fire!

As we twirled and desperately tried to gain advantage, he hit me too when he was out of my arc.

Fortunately the damage was light though.

We then began a mutual battering session, and I was thinking that with his low hit roll of 4,

Scar was going to carry the day.

Unfortunately for him my hits proved to be more effective and with that plus sign on his damage chit .......

He accumulated a total of damage of 21 to well and truly go down.

My damage amounted to one zero chit and one three chit. Was this a victory? I am not sure

The Colonial fleet lost Windy Jack and although Scar was shot down that Resurrection ship not far away I am sure we will meet Scar again

Apologies for the photos, they are not upside down on my computer but arrived in the forum that way.

Taking advantage of a $15 rebate offer I bought some goodies for both T&T and BSG. I got some nice freebies from Zoe as well.

I was also very impressed with the ARES space mats. I know this was a demonstration set but I do hope they become available to the great unwashed.

Those pre-release Raptors and Heavy raiders look really nice too. Beautifully detailed models!

The 33 scenario is where a Raptor comes on the scene to rescue Viper Pilots after they have ejected. I played a Cylon as did Andrew (Zoe's son), and Zoe flew the Colonial birds.

Struggling with the rules, I was shot down twice in quick succession!

In my third incarnation I managed to shoot down my first Viper. I was lucky because the Viper on my left actually missed me. Andrew shot down 2 so there were 3 ejected pilots awaiting rescue.

The rest of the game Zoe was trying to reel in those ejected pilots and we were trying to close and kill Zoe's Raptor. It ended when Zoe inadvertently flew off the edge of the mat.

All in all a good game was had by all. End result - 2 Cylons down (mine) along with 3 clapped out Vipers and a Raptor flying off the edge.

Mike needed a near complete refresher, so we didn't use aces or talents. Just maneuvering and shooting.

Two Raiders on one side, and two Vipers on the other side, with a sprinkling of asteriods to maneuver around. We also tried out the Damage Recording sheets, as that was what I would be using on Saturday at PhenomaCon.

Con Link: PhenomaCon 2019 - 6 July - Victoria

Damage Record Link: BSG Minions - Post #23

First shots, and it all goes very badly for the Cylons:

Mike rolled double sixes on both shots. No, we didn't set this up. This is the way the dice rolled. I had maneuvered around to get the asteroid field between us, and then snuggled into it, with the thought I'd get some shielding from the rocks. Moving at 0 or 1 KE would not damage me, and Mike would have to roll at -2 to hit. Well, I maneuvered my B ship until it poked its nose out, and that eliminated the rock shield advantage. At normal range, without the shielding, the double sixes were double hits. And, of course, I dug around for the big chits. Ship B evaporates under a lethal barrage of shots. 4+ and 4, then a 6 on the first shots. The second set were two 3s. B ship gone.

My return fire wasn't so good:

At least I hit, but not anywhere near the damage Mike gave to me. Mike's B ship takes a total of 3! I did have to fire through rocks with my A ship, as he was just into the asteriods, but I still got hits on the ship. The doubles I rolled weren't high enough to allow splitting the shots, despite the luck of rolling doubles on both my rolls.

Two turns later, after an FTL blip was a bit skewed off course:

I got another shot at Mike's B ship, but his A ship got me. Control System damage...

And another FTL blip goes wrong:

Now, I'm out of the position I wanted to be in, and about to get hammered again. I tried to turn away from the fight, to get into a postion that would keep me out of range of at least one ship.

And I couldn't move fast enough to get out of arc. My last move was a Difficult, so couldn't turn tight enough:

Mike's A ship misses, but not his B ship.

And I crank my nose around to get guns on target, and Mike blocks his B ship from firing. I might survive? What! More doubles.

Mike rolled double 4's, and with a +1 for range, and +2 for a missed shot on the last turn, the double fours are both hits.

I drew a 4+ with Hull/Wing Special Damage and a 2. The zero was the only reason I survived.

With the damage to my ship, I used an FTL to retreat from the battle, badly mauled.

Mike was back to the Galactica for brews and brags, with one ship untouched, and this on the second:

The Damage recording worked really well, although Mike didn't draw any of the chits I did. But in a big game, all the chits are in play for all the players. Once the damage on one ship was recorded, all the chits were back in the bin for the next shot. And having the special damage right on the recording sheet will be helpful for new players, I'm sure.