Starblazers Almanac
Rereleased by Misterebony
In the Furside dimension a game has taken the city by storm. Mentioned in twoo of the works I have previously presented, this game, called Starblazers, has become a major phenomenon, raking on a whole culture of its own. In this almanac I will discuss the gammes rules, history, and effects.
THE RULES
The basic structure for the game focuses on capturing the opponents base and destroying it. That sounds easy, but when you have a fleet of ships to the opponents fleet, it's not so. So here is an overview.
Each player has a deck of 40 cards, no more and no less, made up of ships, crew, and actions. The ships are the mainstay of the game, and several beginner decks just have the ships. Crew and actions provide bonuses, allow for special effects, and are played at set times.
For a ship card, the top of the card has the name of the card and its cost. (Example: A Terran Miner has a cost of 2 minerals) Beneath that is a picture of the vessal or vessals, which is displayed in 3D once the card is placed on the game table. Under the picture are stats for attack, defense, and any special abilities. (In the case of the miner, he rolls a d4 for attack and defense against all ship types, and the player gains 1 extra resource while he rests on a planet or asteroid)
Hands have 5 cards at all times. Whenever a turn starts, you draw up to that many cards, no more or less. Next, you claim resources from any planets or asteroids you own, including your home planet (IN other words, you always have 1 resource every turn). These resources add up over time. Next, you may either create a ship at any planet including your home base, OR may discard a ship. (You may summon as many as you want, but if you discard a ship that ends your build phase). Th opponent then does the same.
Then comes the REAL meat of the game. Each ship has a move value (Smaller ships are usually faster), and the player moves them across the board. if he lands on a planet or asteroid, he claims it for his team. Planets are better since ships can be built at them.
When your ship is in range to attack opposing ships, you announce who is attacking who and open fire. Combat on the 3D map is very visual, but the result is setled with a die roll. if the attack die is higher than the defense die, the defender is destroyed. otherwise the ship survives and might counterattack.
One the first player moves his ships the opponent does the same, ending the turn afterward. He gets the start on the next turn, drawing up to his handsize of 5.
Play continues until one player attacks the opposing base and wins (d6 die on the base at all times).
That's it! Those are all the rules. It seems simple, but with cards having various effects, and fleets having different styles and bonuses, who knows?
FLEETS
In the first version there were only four fleet types, two in each starter set. Now there are eight. Here is a look at each one.
TERRAN: The Terran fleet is best for beginners as their ships are very well balanced. One ship stands out though: The Excelsior, a rare superdreadnought with high defense and attack. The fleet also features Fur and Hume pilots, many of whom major characters in the Starblazers animated series.
ZAKARAN: A fighter heavy force, Zakaran ships are lightly armored but have high offense and are very fast. Key is the Seraph, a powerful fghter able to deal massive damage. Zakaran fleets are netural in the series, the lizardmen working as mercs for all sides.
VOLTAN: Cruel and sadistic, Voltan are the only fleets with kamakazies, which deal igh damage to all ships in a set radius. They are also a slower fleet, focusing less on fighters and more on weapons and armor. Their superdreadnought Mephisto can fire at units from half the board away! The half machine Furs consider Terrans an abomination, and in the series are the first of the main villians.
THE TRIAD: A religious force, all of the Triad ships are actually zealot commanded. Command ships for this fleet give higher stats, the best being the Hope, which has the highest defense in the game. In the series, the crystal beings of the Triad worship the holy triangle, and see Terra as a planet that must be preserved.
XZ: The fifth fleet has no crew, because the ships themselves are part of a computer hive mind. This makes each one stronger as more enter the field, but if the strongest ship is destroyed all others are as well. The supreme ship is 2131, a large triangle ship. In the series, the fleet is neutral, wanting no part in combat on the side of any flesh being, though they find Hume and FUr emotion... intriging.
DEAMONA: The devilish looking Demona are actually the weakest fleet of all, but they get the most resources at planets and have high speed. Their suprme ship is a tradeship called the Baal, which has decent stats. Deamona in the tv series seek only profit, and sell to all sides. Oh, did I mention they steal ships if they get next to them and destory it?
PIRATES: The seventh fleet is actually not a fleet at all, but a wild card made up of modified ships from many of the other fleets. This means they have many of the abilities of their opponents, and, like the Deamona, can steal ships. They also have an Excelsior they renamed the Black Hole, equipping it with a asteroid cannon (Attack bonus if firing from an asteroid space). In the series they threaten all, led by a cruel Hume captain named Bloodbeard.
THE BROOD: The last fleet is the most evil. With high defense and the ability to draw destroyed ships back from the discard pile, the brood are a deadly fleet. They fight close range, and gain a resource for every ship they destroy. Their strongest ship is the Plague, a giant living cancer cell. In the Tv series the brood worship this cell and follow it blindly, consuming all in their path. Terra is their next course.
HISTORY
The game was irst constructed by Shiva Wildfur at the company called FunForAll, a dedicated video game retailer until this point. When the game came out, it wa sa sleeper at first, then word spread. Overtime it has turned into a massive cult phenomenon with everything from a tv show to clothes to imitators to even expansion games focused on ground warfare. Tournaments are common and occur all over Furside, and are usually televised.
Today, there are over 1000 cards for the game in the eight fleets, plus netural ships that work for all fleets. Expansion packs are everywhere and fairly cheap. Plus, since all ships are equally useful in their own way no one ship is useless. As for the TV series it is now in its fourth season, with a focus on the start of the Brood invasion of the galaxy and the last days of the Volkan. Perhaps I will write about the pilot episode, it was pretty good.
CLOSING NOTES
It is clear StarBlazers is quite good, but it may be just a fad like games and such are in other dimensions. Time will tell for sure.
Rereleased by Misterebony
In the Furside dimension a game has taken the city by storm. Mentioned in twoo of the works I have previously presented, this game, called Starblazers, has become a major phenomenon, raking on a whole culture of its own. In this almanac I will discuss the gammes rules, history, and effects.
THE RULES
The basic structure for the game focuses on capturing the opponents base and destroying it. That sounds easy, but when you have a fleet of ships to the opponents fleet, it's not so. So here is an overview.
Each player has a deck of 40 cards, no more and no less, made up of ships, crew, and actions. The ships are the mainstay of the game, and several beginner decks just have the ships. Crew and actions provide bonuses, allow for special effects, and are played at set times.
For a ship card, the top of the card has the name of the card and its cost. (Example: A Terran Miner has a cost of 2 minerals) Beneath that is a picture of the vessal or vessals, which is displayed in 3D once the card is placed on the game table. Under the picture are stats for attack, defense, and any special abilities. (In the case of the miner, he rolls a d4 for attack and defense against all ship types, and the player gains 1 extra resource while he rests on a planet or asteroid)
Hands have 5 cards at all times. Whenever a turn starts, you draw up to that many cards, no more or less. Next, you claim resources from any planets or asteroids you own, including your home planet (IN other words, you always have 1 resource every turn). These resources add up over time. Next, you may either create a ship at any planet including your home base, OR may discard a ship. (You may summon as many as you want, but if you discard a ship that ends your build phase). Th opponent then does the same.
Then comes the REAL meat of the game. Each ship has a move value (Smaller ships are usually faster), and the player moves them across the board. if he lands on a planet or asteroid, he claims it for his team. Planets are better since ships can be built at them.
When your ship is in range to attack opposing ships, you announce who is attacking who and open fire. Combat on the 3D map is very visual, but the result is setled with a die roll. if the attack die is higher than the defense die, the defender is destroyed. otherwise the ship survives and might counterattack.
One the first player moves his ships the opponent does the same, ending the turn afterward. He gets the start on the next turn, drawing up to his handsize of 5.
Play continues until one player attacks the opposing base and wins (d6 die on the base at all times).
That's it! Those are all the rules. It seems simple, but with cards having various effects, and fleets having different styles and bonuses, who knows?
FLEETS
In the first version there were only four fleet types, two in each starter set. Now there are eight. Here is a look at each one.
TERRAN: The Terran fleet is best for beginners as their ships are very well balanced. One ship stands out though: The Excelsior, a rare superdreadnought with high defense and attack. The fleet also features Fur and Hume pilots, many of whom major characters in the Starblazers animated series.
ZAKARAN: A fighter heavy force, Zakaran ships are lightly armored but have high offense and are very fast. Key is the Seraph, a powerful fghter able to deal massive damage. Zakaran fleets are netural in the series, the lizardmen working as mercs for all sides.
VOLTAN: Cruel and sadistic, Voltan are the only fleets with kamakazies, which deal igh damage to all ships in a set radius. They are also a slower fleet, focusing less on fighters and more on weapons and armor. Their superdreadnought Mephisto can fire at units from half the board away! The half machine Furs consider Terrans an abomination, and in the series are the first of the main villians.
THE TRIAD: A religious force, all of the Triad ships are actually zealot commanded. Command ships for this fleet give higher stats, the best being the Hope, which has the highest defense in the game. In the series, the crystal beings of the Triad worship the holy triangle, and see Terra as a planet that must be preserved.
XZ: The fifth fleet has no crew, because the ships themselves are part of a computer hive mind. This makes each one stronger as more enter the field, but if the strongest ship is destroyed all others are as well. The supreme ship is 2131, a large triangle ship. In the series, the fleet is neutral, wanting no part in combat on the side of any flesh being, though they find Hume and FUr emotion... intriging.
DEAMONA: The devilish looking Demona are actually the weakest fleet of all, but they get the most resources at planets and have high speed. Their suprme ship is a tradeship called the Baal, which has decent stats. Deamona in the tv series seek only profit, and sell to all sides. Oh, did I mention they steal ships if they get next to them and destory it?
PIRATES: The seventh fleet is actually not a fleet at all, but a wild card made up of modified ships from many of the other fleets. This means they have many of the abilities of their opponents, and, like the Deamona, can steal ships. They also have an Excelsior they renamed the Black Hole, equipping it with a asteroid cannon (Attack bonus if firing from an asteroid space). In the series they threaten all, led by a cruel Hume captain named Bloodbeard.
THE BROOD: The last fleet is the most evil. With high defense and the ability to draw destroyed ships back from the discard pile, the brood are a deadly fleet. They fight close range, and gain a resource for every ship they destroy. Their strongest ship is the Plague, a giant living cancer cell. In the Tv series the brood worship this cell and follow it blindly, consuming all in their path. Terra is their next course.
HISTORY
The game was irst constructed by Shiva Wildfur at the company called FunForAll, a dedicated video game retailer until this point. When the game came out, it wa sa sleeper at first, then word spread. Overtime it has turned into a massive cult phenomenon with everything from a tv show to clothes to imitators to even expansion games focused on ground warfare. Tournaments are common and occur all over Furside, and are usually televised.
Today, there are over 1000 cards for the game in the eight fleets, plus netural ships that work for all fleets. Expansion packs are everywhere and fairly cheap. Plus, since all ships are equally useful in their own way no one ship is useless. As for the TV series it is now in its fourth season, with a focus on the start of the Brood invasion of the galaxy and the last days of the Volkan. Perhaps I will write about the pilot episode, it was pretty good.
CLOSING NOTES
It is clear StarBlazers is quite good, but it may be just a fad like games and such are in other dimensions. Time will tell for sure.
Starblazers!
By MisterEbony -- Report
based on a part in Todd mainly and parts in other stories of mine, this tells of a popular game in the universe. Maybe WE should make it...
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