Ringing out the Old

In what very likely will be the last game of 2013, Darth LaBan met General Wood and Karl the Hutt in a battle for galactic domination and a feast of tamales, chile, wine, beer, and whiskey.  Kent won the initial dice-off and Ric came in second, but surprisingly I was left with the Hutt faction.  And with a lucky dice-off for starting setup, I snagged five resource planets right out of the gate.  Even so, the Hutts were forced into the El'Rood Sector, the Wild Space, and the Mid Rim with a lonely outpost on Ord Mandel. 

The Rebels' initial onslaught was met with stout resistance, but they picked off the easy Hutt garrison.  After the Hutts picked up a sixth resource planet and two useful faction cards, the Empire had a major setback with the playing of "A Better Offer" card that successfully defended Omwat.  Despite that, they made good headway against the Rebel systems. 

In subsequent turns the Rebels continued to make good progress, capturing the Ison Corridor, but unable to raise their numbers above 15 systems overall.  The Rebels also used a faction card to remove two Imperial faction cards.  As luck would have it, they were both blowie-uppie cards.  The Hutts slowly accumulated a workable fleet, but had to leave many resource garrisons vulnerable with only a single garrison.  The storm troopers amassed upwards of 18 systems, but were matched by the Rebels' reinforcements aided by the Ison Corridor sector bonus.  The Empire suffered another serious setback when then attempted to take the single Hutt garrison at Duro.  Six legions were destroyed in that failed attack.

When a faction card straight let the Hutts deploy a huge force from Sluis Van, they were able to sweep the Rebels completely out of the Ison Corridor and they remained in control of that sector for the rest of the game.  The Empire continued to conquer systems despite occasional The Rebels began to feel the pressure now that their sector bonus was gone. 

The Hutts finally made a run at the Rodia but were forced back with only nine resource planets and six faction cards.  Those cards held off Rebel and Imperial attacks and still left a straight for the last battle.  Due to a miscalculation the starbase at Balmorra was forced off and it relocated to Nar Shaddar, the last resource planet needed.  But a last lucky roll took out the last defender.  Victory Hutts. 

Below is a poorly aimed timelapse of the game.  No tripod mount for an ASUS tablet.  :-/

A Rebellion Goes Awry

General Wood, esteemed leader of the Rebel Faction, was faced by Darth Horak with his legions of Imperial storm troopers and Peetza da Hutt, supreme drug lord and crime boss of the galaxy.  Having defeated Ric and I last week, Kent was after the second victory on his way to a trifecta. 

In an unusual start, the Rebels were gentle on their first assaults, not really inflicting huge damage.  The Hutts started slow but they always gather momentum with their excellent cards.  The Empire seemed to sputter and stall in their initial offense.  All in all, it was a pitiful start.

The despicable dark lord of the Sith attempted to gain traction, but the Hutts kept threatening.  Meanwhile, the Rebels gathered their forces.  In the end, the Emperor was unmasked within his starbase and galactic rule passed to the Rebellion.

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A one week intermission takes place while Ric goes on walkabout in Utah.

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As our combatants resume their weekly engagement, Ric and I generously agree to let Kent take up the mantle of the Empire.  With that, he has at least a tiny chance of gaining his coveted trifecta. Horak the Hutt and General LaBan took up their dice and bravely met their common foe. 

Despite starting with five resource planets, the Hutts were rebuffed at every other turn.  The El'Rood Sector continuously changed hands.  Tatooine was heavily fortified and Bespin was impenetrable.   Every gain was met with a matching defeat.  A fleet of capital ships didn't seem to help.  The Hutts only made it up to six resource planets, tops.  Spies cards kept the others from gaining straights and the seven troops that would come with that.  Surprisingly, when an opportunity to capture Nar Shaddar came up, it was discovered that the e-vile Emperor was hiding there.  He relocated to Kurt, but only garrisoned it with a single troop.

Meanwhile, the Rebels gathered their forces.  Despite some remarkable losses (why was it that all the battles were decided by a single pip?), they climbed steadily in control.  But by Turn 5 they had yet to destroy a single starbase. 

Finally, as we were dipping deeper into the Clynellish, the Rebels cashed in their straight and made a run at the storm troopers.  Along the way, they attacked Kurt, more to move the Force Meter than anything else.  When the single garrison capitulated, it was "game ova."  Victory Rebels and trifecta averted.

Hutts Again

This week's battle for galactic domination was held on Wednesday to allow for the combatants to spend Thanks-a-lot Day with their families.  Kent rolled high and took the Hutts.  Ric chose the Imperial faction, leaving your author to play the despicable Rebels. 

The Rebels made good headway on their opening round and barely claimed the easy Hutt garrisons.  With two faction cards snagged by the Rebels, the play continued with Kent the Hutt, who quickly scrambled up to six resource planets.  Interestingly, the first starbase played by Darth Ric went to Tattooine.  His counter-attacks were weak but effective, giving him three faction cards. 

Turn two began with the use of the "Look under any Imperial starbase" faction card.  And, lo!, there was the e-vile Emperor on Tattooine.  The Rebels attacked with everything they had but failed to make headway against two 8-sided die.  Darth Ric made the minimum attacks to get his faction cards and reinforced Tattooine.  He also pushed the force meter to the dark side. 

With Rebel reinforcements piling up on Wayland and the force meter swinging back and forth with every turn, the pressure on the Empire continued to build.  Fortunately, a "blowie-uppie" faction card turned up in time to allow the destruction of the entire planet of Wayland.  With that, the Rebels were effectively out of the game. 

The Hutts continued to gain in strength and without any effective Rebel resistance, they soon had... wait, wait, let me count again... eleven resource planets. 

Victory goes to the numerically challenged Hutts.