Episode 8

Posted on July 4, 2016 by Man Battlestations

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In Episode 8, Greg and Andy tackle the subject of naval boardgames. These are games that either focus on naval combat exclusively, or have naval combat as one of their key components. Later, they take a look at space carriers, examining the origins of the idea and how the concept of carrier operations is integrated into some of our favorite space naval games!

Naval Boardgames: 47 Min

Landlubber’s Musings: 1 Hr 30 Min

Space Carriers: 1 Hr 39 Min

Ruckdog’s Report: 3 Hr 0 Min

==Links Discussed in Show==

Axis & Allies

Star Trek Fleet Captains

Chris Weuve Interview on Space Carriers
Checkout the Latest Episode of the MBS Podcast!

Posted in Podcast | 2 Comments

Custom BFG ModCubes

Posted on June 19, 2016 by Ruckdog

Hello once again! If you recall, a while back I did a review on a nifty little product called ModCube. Towards the end of that review, I described how I made a custom set for Dystopian Wars. However, while playing BFG at Adepticon, it occurred to me that a set of ModCubes for BFG would generally be a Good Thing, since the special order dice the game uses have been unavailable for years at this point. So, once I got back I started working on a custom set of BFG ModCubes using the tools provided on the ModCube website. Here is how they came out!

Special Order Dice

These are the heart of my BFG ModCube set. The original dice were designed for a different game, and adapted to BFG. As a result, the symbols on the old GW dice only loosely made sense to their in-game function. That is something I sought to correct with my ModCube set. Here is my take, with updated symbols that I felt made more sense:

Here are my revised Special Order dice compared to the original GW ones.

There are enough tokens in the set to make 8 of these dice. Even so, there was a lot of additional space left on the sheet, so I came up with some other token that I thought would be helpful:

Scatter Die

Here is a ModCube configured as a Scatter Die, with two hits and 4 arrows.

Status Tokens

Ships in BFG can be in one of three major states: Crippled, Burning Hulk, and Hulk. I made tokens in indicate each one:

I have also made a number of tokens to show Critical Hit results:

I found it was convienient to group these critical effects into a cube with the ship status tokens. There are enough of these tokens to make 3-4 “status cubes” if you like, or you can just use the tokens by themselves. Here is how it looks in a cube:

Overall, I’m very happy with how these came out, and I think they will be very handy on the gaming table. If you are interested, the folks over at ModCube will be happy to produce a set for you as well!

Posted in Review, Space Naval Gaming | Tagged BFG, ModCube | Leave a comment

MBS Newsletter 24

Posted on June 7, 2016 by Ruckdog

It’s that time once again, fellow naval gamers! Welcome to this month’s edition of the MBS Newsletter.

First off, make sure to check out Episode 7 of the MBS Podcast if you haven’t done so already! Greg and I are joined by Josh and Phil from the Firebase Delta podcast to discuss and review Firestorm Armada. There is also a couple of segments on the Battle Of Jutland for you historical types out there!

MBS Podcast Episode 7

Speaking of the podcast, we are trying out something new: A Monthly Community Poll. The idea is that each month we will post a different question in the forums, and allow members to vote and comment. Then, during the following episode of the podcast, Greg and I will discuss the results and read any comments from the community. Check out this month’s poll here:

http://www.manbattlestations.com/forum/index.php?topic=1340.0

Also on the blog, I made my first post on Star Trek Attack Wing! I took a look at the USS Montgolfier, a small Federation ship:

Star Trek Attack Wing: USS Montgolfier Unboxing

Other posts made last month include an essay on the function of Fold Space Drives in Firestorm Armada, a battle report from a re-enactment of the Battle of Jutland, and the start of a series of posts I am working on comparing Firestorm Armada to Battlefleet Gothic.

In the forums, There has been several posts regarding the centennial of Jutland, including a thread started by Yarkshire Gamer on the huge Jutland project he is working on:

http://www.manbattlestations.com/forum/index.php?topic=1256.0

The BFG camapaing slowed down a bit in May, but it is still running!

http://www.manbattlestations.com/forum/index.php?board=48.0

In The Shipyard, member Hypnotini has been working on a couple of Dystopian Wars projects!

http://www.manbattlestations.com/forum/index.php?topic=1342.0

http://www.manbattlestations.com/forum/index.php?topic=1246.0

And finally, in the Showcase, member Quickdraw is showing off some awesome looking Oroshan cruisers!

http://www.manbattlestations.com/forum/index.php?topic=1008.0

That’s it for this edition of the newsletter! Until next time…

Posted in Monthly Newsletter | Leave a comment

MBS Podcast Episode 7

Posted on June 1, 2016 by Man Battlestations

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In Episode 7, it’s MBS…IN SPAAACE! Greg and Andy are joined by Josh and Phil from the Firebase Delta podcast to discuss Firestorm Armada, the awesome space naval combat game by Spartan Games. The first segment is a roundtable discussion on all things Firestorm, while the second segment is a full review of the game. In Landlubber’s Musings, Greg discusses space combat as described in several sci-fi book series. For his segment, Andy discusses the Battle of Jutland. He then interviews Seth, who had the privilege to participate in a Jutland commemorative game at the US Naval War College.

Firestorm Armada Roundtable: 17 Min

Landlubber’s Musings: 1 Hr 24 Min

Firestorm Armada Review: 1 Hr 33 Min

Ruckdog’s Report: 2 Hr 27 Min

Jutland Interview with Seth:2 Hr 33 Min

==Links Discussed in Show==

Firebase Delta Podcast

The WayGate Blog

Firestorm Armada Official Website

Naval War College Jutland Game Report
Checkout the Latest Episode of the MBS Podcast!

Posted in Podcast | Tagged Firestorm Armada, WWI | 2 Comments

Star Trek Attack Wing: USS Montgolfier Unboxing

Posted on May 26, 2016 by Ruckdog

Greetings! This post is the first time I’ve done an article focused on Star Trek Attack Wing (STAW). Please let me know what you think! I am open to doing more like this one in the future, as STAW is definitely on the List of Things I Enjoy. So sit back, and prepare for an extra helping of Star Trek nerdery!

In this post, I take a detailed look at the USS Montgolfier expansion.

Continue reading →

Posted in Unboxing | Tagged Star Trek, STAW | Leave a comment

Firestorm Armada Vs. Battle Fleet Gothic

Posted on May 21, 2016 by Ruckdog

Introduction

I recently got the opportunity to play in both the Battlefleet Gothic (BFG) and Firestorm Armada (FSA) tournaments at Adepticon. Those experiences convinced me to tackle a subject I’ve been interested in writing about for some time; an in-depth look at the differences and similarities between these two space combat miniatures games. As you might expect, I plan on comparing and contrasting these two games across several gameplay specific areas, including movement, shooting, boarding, and carrier operations. However, I also plan to take a step back and look at broader topics such as turn structure, overall game feel, model quality, and so on.

Continue reading →

Posted in Space Naval Gaming | Tagged BFG, Firestorm Armada | 5 Comments

Re-fighting Jutland

Posted on May 14, 2016 by Ruckdog

The following essay was written by Mr. Seth Owen, a good friend and MBS forum member (user Wargamer55). He recently had the opportunity to play in a large wargame played at the Naval War College in Newport, RI that was a re-playing of the Battle of Jutland in 1916. He provides both an overview of the historical battle, and an excellent report on the game itself. Without further ado, lets turn it over to Seth!

Introduction

HMS_Warspite_and_HMS_Malaya_during_the_battle_of_Jutland

HMS Warspite and Malaya, seen from HMS Valiant at around 14:00 hrs during the battle.

On May 10th, 2016, I had the opportunity to take part in a re-enactment of the Battle of Jutland at the Naval War College in Newport, R.I., to commemorate the centenary of the famous engagement, fought on May 31st to June 1st, 1916. Continue reading →

Posted in Battle Report, Event Report, Naval History | Tagged Jutland, WWI | 18 Comments

Firestorm Armada Technology: The Principles of Fold Space Travel

Posted on May 13, 2016 by Ruckdog

This article strives to develop a coherent description of how Fold Space Drive functions in the Firestorm Armada universe. As such, it heavily relies on posts made by Spartan Alex in a thread on the Spartan Forums a few months back regarding the nature of Fold Space Drive mechanics. I have added additional details to what was provided, but I have striven to not directly contradict anything that was posted from the official source.

Introduction

The current political order of the galaxy owes it’s existence to faster than light (FTL) travel. While some races, most notably the Aquans, were able to make significant inroads into colonizing distant stars using generational sub-light vessels, it wasn’t until the arrival of safe and effective FTL drive technology that colonization, let alone trade, became a truly viable enterprise. While there have been attempts to conduct FTL travel using artificial wormholes, the difficulties inherent in such an approach meant that it was rapidly abandoned once the principles of the Fold Space Drive (FSD) came to be understood. Continue reading →

Posted in Space Naval Gaming | Tagged Firestorm Armada; Background; | Leave a comment

BFG Campaign: Encounter At Vestibius

Posted on May 6, 2016 by Ruckdog

Greetings! The following is a narrative battle report for a game I played recently with MBS forum member Ulric the Grey. Enjoy!

The planets of the Vestibius system hung in their orbits around their star. Dozens of large transports clustered around the orbital facilities that wreathed its primary planet, which glowed like a blue-green jewel below them. Hundreds of light craft fretted to and fro, carrying cargo, supplies, people, and even mail to and from the transports. Vestibus was a busy port of call, the midway point between Loak’s Hub and Forge World Armus. Commander Wil Goodenough took in the vast industry from the green-tinged augor displays that surrounded his command throne on the bridge of His Divine Majesty’s light cruiser Ranger, before taking a moment to observe the disciplined work going on around him. As he did so, he did his best to stifle a satisfied smile. He had taken command of Ranger only months before, after her previous captain met a messy and untimely end at the muzzle of a commissar’s bolt pistol. As a result, morale and efficiency of the ship was something of a mess. Since then, though, Goodenough had pushed his crew to their limit, with constant drills, exercises, and devotions. His tactics had produced the desired results; not only was Ranger far more efficient than she had been, but her crew was coming together as a real team. Which was good, because if Admiral Gunthrop, the officer in charge of Imperial Navy forces in the area, was correct, war was coming to the Armus Sub-sector.

“Captain,” the communications watch said,”Vestibus orbital command has cleared us for transit in-system.” “Very well,” Goodenough replied. “Helm, coordinate with Vigourous and match their course to the Flare Region.” The Vigorous, a Dauntless-class light cruiser like Ranger, was the other component of the two-ship Imperial patrol. Goodenough suppressed a grimace as he observed the Vigorous’s clumsily maneuvers on his augor. The captain of the Vigorous was one Commander Nathanius Martin, a old rival of Goodenough’s from their time together at the Fortis Naval Academy, nearly twenty years before. Goodenough found the fact that Martin had achieved command to be distasteful; in Goodenough’s estimation, he was barely competent to lead a platoon of armsmen in a boarding action, let alone one of the Emperor’s warships. The fact that he managed to get as far as he had was no doubt due to his family’s political connections, which probably also explained why the Vigorous had been selected as the lead ship of the patrol. This had the unpleasant side-effect of placing Goodenough and Ranger nominally under Martin’s operational control. To add insult to injury, the sloppy way in which the Vigorous was moving spoke volumes on how poorly Martin had been drilling his crew. Continue reading →

Posted in Space Naval Gaming | Tagged BFG, Campaign | 1 Comment

Man Battlestations Blog

Episode 8

Custom BFG ModCubes

Special Order Dice

Scatter Die

Status Tokens

MBS Podcast Episode 7

Star Trek Attack Wing: USS Montgolfier Unboxing

Firestorm Armada Vs. Battle Fleet Gothic

Introduction

Re-fighting Jutland

Introduction

Firestorm Armada Technology: The Principles of Fold Space Travel

Introduction

BFG Campaign: Encounter At Vestibius

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