Cadets save the Dakota

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JC and I played Cadet Scenario #4 which introduces the Energy Allocation Form, albeit in a reduced capacity. I took the Klingons, JC the Federation to protect the stranded Freighter Dakota. The game went 3 turns, with the Federation making a successful rescue and escape.

The escape hinged on initially looping away from the escape zone (right map edge) in an attempt to keep the Klingon off the tail. As the Klingon was perfectly positioned for exploiting a direct turn for the escape edge, looping away required the Klingon to take extra time to make the appropriate turns. Good move by the Federation!

Klingons did manage to destroy the rear shields, but did not do any internal damage. Given the top speed of the Federation was the same as the speed of the drones (16), there was no way to catch them.

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What to play next?

Deciding what to play next is always a tough call when faced with a closet full of games, all of which were purchased with intent to play. Here's one I'm dealing with the decision.

  • Something New: this means both something new to me and a game which has been published recently, within the last two or three years.
  • Something Classic: I've acquired a number of games properly considered "classic" which haven't yet been played. The current example would be PanzerGruppe Guderian.
  • Something Again: mastery requires constant practice, which means playing games many, many times to allow nuance to appear.
  • Something Vietnam: as I'm on a Vietnam binge. I don't have all the Vietnam games ever published, but I can say that I have a lot of them, and probably more than most people.
  • Something Obscure: as it's fun to poke around in the dustier corners of game design.
  • Something Different: break away from the same old publishers and try a game from one of the new kids on the block. Or, conversely, dip into legacy with a classic tried and true.
  • Something Light: once in a while it's nice to actually finish a game all the way through in one sitting, in an hour or two.
  • Something Heavy: if possible, it's nice to set up something big and complicated which can be left out for days or weeks or even months, for a leisurely stroll through a very large or long game.

There are surely many more ways to choose, but the above method keeps me busy enough, helps me get both breadth and depth into my play, and provides me with a sense of progress.

The odd man out

When there is an odd man out:

  • Have a solo game ready to play.
  • Keep score or advise on a game in progress.
  • Referee a game in progress.