Finally, we played something----- Galactic Knights

 Greg made it over, brought with him his rebellious Delta sector ships, which I countered with elements of the Trans Terran Navy.  We had discovered flaws in our initial games as to our cursory reading of the rules.  Since we'd discovered the errors of our ways, we came up with a scenario where two small flotillas met- with missiles but no fighter planes in tow. 

Space was silent and uncaring as the fleets approached. The dog was in the other room, my wife keeping her occupied. 

The squadrons were mirror image, a cruiser, destroyer leader, an armored patrol ship and two three ship squadrons...one of destroyers and one of Mars class star bombers. Coming in at a measured pace which kept drift under control there were minor deployment differences. 

 

 Here is the Terran Navy approach by 7th Task  Force.  Left to right is the Destroyer Squadron Sirius-  the destroyers Kiev,Lublin,Kaunus, as well as destroyer leader Denmark. The cruiser Luther and armored patrol ship Crackerjack are next, on the right flank is the star bombers squadron Final Stop including Ryan's Hope, Lindsay 's Goodbye and Annie 's Song.


Playing with naming conventions for imaginary fleets.


The rebel squadron from right to left 3 Star bombers, the Babs, Betty & Biddy (on right), then destroyer Daphne, destroyer leader Dolores , destroyer Debbi, cruiser Edith, armored patrol ship Anne, finally on left the destroyer Donna. These monikers are all code names given by Terran fleet intel due to not having access to enemy names until our new units arrive.

Greg had not named his ships yet, either.



The first and second turns resulted in the loss of two rebel ships, the star bomber Betty  and Destroyer Daphne.  The fleets also closed to medium range across their formations. 

This convinced the rebel admiral to come in hot with his star bombers.  He kept the DL Dolores and CA  Edith uncommitted and ready to do damage by firing medium beam weapons and missiles.


Showing in this photo turn 3 the beginning of the Terran Navy counter attack.. The rebel star bombers were all destroyed,  the Babs and Biddy from Terran Fleet star bombers plasma torpedoes,  
The rest of the two fleets traded missiles and medium range lasers, gutting the Terran cruiser Luther and rebel DL Dolores. The  rebel player had damages that were spread  throughout the remaining small ships, having been able to keep the Cruiser Edith almost untouched.  Rebel missiles broke through the firepower of both the Crackerjack and Luther, concentrated damage quickly brought the Luther to be ineffective as a  capital ship. 

As the 3rd turn ended, the star bomber Lindsay's Goodbye had succumbed to rebel fire but her squadron mates, each still carrying a load of plasma torpedoes,  were closing in on the isolated rebel destroyer leader Dolores.  

At the start of turn 4, the rebel admiral blinked.  All ships, Including the battered Dolores, were capable of FTL speed, executed the acceleration successfully.   The Terran admiral watched,  relieved that a reprieve for the cruiser Luther had been handed to him. A request for fleet tugs despatched the remaining ships set up a defensive patrol. 

Space still was silent. And uncaring of petty concerns. The dog was still quiet. 

Thus was the third Friday of Galactic Knights recorded.  Greg was in possession of his own copy of the rules, also butressed his fleet with some new ships,  including a strike carrier.  Seems an Terran arms race is likely.  Meanwhile the Carnivores are approaching,  as are the Entomolians, Avarians and Aquilonians. They are all coming.  

Fish or Fowl, Tooth and Claw or Bugs, thousands of em.  Lots of danger for all Terrans, rebel or loyal. 

Still space is a silent, uncaring witness.

We take a break as reinforcements flow towards our respective mailboxes,  the next event will be an AD 1666 adventure,  on St Patrick Day.  The winner will get some possible influence on the election of the next Emperor in our Imagination campaign. 


After that we will likely be back to spaceship games for a few more forays, at least in April.  We are looking at Space Station rules , transport and freighter configurations, scenario ideas. 

In between I may paint something. 

Comments

Mad Padre said…
I don’t know these rules at all but it all sounds like amazing good fun. I grew up reading SF like Triplanetary and played board games like GDW’s Imperium, so I have a soft spot for games with lots of names ships duking it out. Sounds like your feuding humans need to sort things out before the aliens arrive in the post!
Cheers, MP+
caveadsum1471 said…
Fun sounding game, I'm glad the dog didn't intervene, could have been nasty!
Best Iain
Tony Adams said…
Although not a gamer, I have to say that sounds like fun....TRegards.
Gonsalvo said…
The GK rules need some playing to get a feel for the thrust in particular. Star Bombers can be deadly - if they manage to survive long enough to get close, which they usually don't!
pancerni said…
Tony, MP,
The rules are detailed enough to be interesting, but not not convoluted. And the humans are in trouble. Fluff will be added to future reports.

Peter, yes, the drift rule has an effect on tactics, with a definite learning curve. The rule punishes impatience. Star Bombers are a study in trying to make a gimmick into a weapon.

Iain, yes, the dog was remarkably quiet compared to other game sessions. Probably the presence of my wife for the whole afternoon was a factor. Usually my wife does an errand while I play.

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