The Game Marches On

March 3rd

General Wood, Peetza da Hutt, and Darth Horak joined in the never-ending struggle for galactic supremacy once again.  The Empire rather rapidly captured the Wild Space and, soon after, a the El'Rood Sector.  While the Rebel's were able to eventually neutralize the El'Rood Sector, the Wild Space reinforcements kept the Rebels on the defensive.  Ric's Gamorran mercenaries were never able to make serious inroads. As exhaustion overtook all forces on turn 7, the Death Star made a display of power by destroying the mostly harmless Coruscant.  An armistice was signed on Stardate 0.87.3.3.2016.  

March 10th

General LaBan, Empiror Wood, and Horak the Hutt continued the weekly battle for mastery of the known universe.  The Rebels and Stormtroopers both started cautiously, playing mainly for cards.  The Hutts began with 5 resource planets and eventually mustered 6 after taking Duro on the 3rd attempt.  (I blame that on too many beer-soaked brats consumed before the battle.)

Eventually, the Sith overran the El'Rood Sector and, combined with an early faction card straight, they went on to gain the Wild Space.  Starbases defended most egress to their territories except where the the Death Star protected Excarga.  The Rebels held on, developed their fleet, and amassed a considerable force.  Their garrison at Hoth held fast.  The Death Star stuck with swift finality and destroyed Kessel.  

The Stormtroopers, safe behind their Starbases, were surprised by the successful invasion of El'Rood when the Rebels took Dagobah and then Bffassh.  Then, to everyone's amazement, the Hutts struck out from Duro with a large force (read:  faction card straight) and two capital ships.  Faction card bonuses allowed them to overrun the Imperial garrison on Sullust (4 legions), but the attack stalled with heavy casualties taken on Sluis Van (1 defending legion).  The Hutts persevered and took Omwat, denying the Empire any sector bonuses.  

The Imperial forces responded by again using the Death Star, destroying Balmorra.  In the next turn they destroyed Bespin.  Despite these heavy losses, the Hutt High Command still provided "yuuuge" banana splits to power the conflict into its final stages.

The Hutt capital ships and their elite fighters were still intact on Omwat.  But before they could neutralize Elom and march into the Mid Rim, General LaBan assembled a strike force outside Bothawui.  Reinforced by a capital ship, a bomber, and two fighter squadrons, the battle group captured Gamorr and then pushed into Excarga.  When the system's Starbase fell and the Emperor was discovered in his cowardly lair, it was game ova.  Victory (and the trophy) to General Ric.  

Trifecta Averta (again)

After two crushing victories in a row, the Empire stood to win its first Trifecta, an Imperial win by each of Kent, Ric and Karl.  Alas, Kent the Rebel king-maker attacked Darth Horak's storm troopers to the benefit of the Peetza da Hutt.  Ric was able to easily take 10 resource planets, since the Rebels were intent on denying the Empire a clean victory. 

On Turn 2 the Rebels were able to use a fortuitous faction card to destroy the Death Star.  That led to a complete flip of the Wild Space, which the Rebels were able to use to good effect.  It took several turns for a new Death Star to be built and then it was able to convert Omwatt to a smattering of asteroids. 

With the Wild Space neutralized and the Force Meter well into the Dark Side, it was only a matter of time before the Rebels were crushed.  But the ever-resourceful Rebels threw in with the Hutts and refused to attack them.  (Perhaps a non-aggression treaty?  We'll never know.) 

In the end, Hutt cards won the day and Ric will be carrying the Funky Chicken Trophy to Utah to share with friends.  For my part, Kent now has a Death Mark upon his head. 

Boom-boom La Ban Rides Again

Two games to summarize today in order to bring the blog up to date.  Alas, both were La Ban victories, taking him two-thirds of the way to a Trifecta.  The next game will be a desperate one for all sides. 

Game the First

Rebel Leader Horak took on Darth Kent and Peetza da Hutt.  Bickering between the Storm Troopers and Rebels left an opening big enough to drive Jabba through, and that's just what Ric did. 

Victory:  Hutts.  

Game the Second

Horak the Hutt thought to have an easy time taking the Funky Chicken Trophy away from Sith Lord Ric.  Even with the tacit help of General Wood's Rebel forces, the Dark Side consistently held strong on defense and attacked even stronger on offense.  Hutt fleets were demolished after failed assaults (twice) on Ylesia.  The Wild Space was captured by the Empire and cordoned off by starbases and an asteroid field on Sullust.  Only a counter-balancing stream of reinforcements from the Ison Corridor kept the Hutts in the game at all. The Rebels kindly looked the other way rather than counter-attack into the Hutt sector. 

Despite General Wood's surprising attack through the asteroids, which successfully denied the Empire it's sector bonus, the dice and cards continued to fail Wood and Horak.  Eventually the Outer Rim fell to the Dark Side and then the Rebels were carved up for serving.  However, that was not before a desperate attack on a Mid Rim starbase, hoping to get lucky and snare the Emperor.  Of course, with the Force being so strong in Ric tonight, there was little danger of that.  The Emperor was safe and the Storm Troopers soon finished off the last of the Rebels.

Victory:  Empire. 

The Hutts Strike Back

As luck would have it, things fell out such that I was playing the Rebel faction, Kent took the Imperial pieces, and Ric held the reins of the Hutt hoard.  My efforts to secure a third straight Rebel victory failed.  Sith Lord Wood came down hard on the Rebels and denied them any headway. 

After several failed attempts to gain traction, the Rebels hunkered down for the long game... waiting for cards, looking for a chance to take out the Death Star, hoping for a faction card straight.  Even with the Empire on the rampage, they took one turn too many attacking the Rebels.  With lightning-like swiftness, Ric the Hutt snapped up 10 resource planets. 

Game ova!

March Madness

8-8-8-8-7-7

March 19:  We knew we were in trouble when the initial rolls to choose sides came up with 4 eights in a row followed by 2 sevens.  In the end, Ric was the Rebel Leader, Darth Horak led the Empire, and Kent the Hutt led the green team.

Mssr. La Ban broke up the string of Hutt victories by taking home the trophy.

More Hutt Victories

March 26:  In an effort to gain a coveted trifecta, Ric picked the Hutt faction, leaving me the Empire, and Kent the Rebels.  Kent's initial attacks claimed the Ison Corridor and grievously injured the Stormtroopers.  The Hutts made their usual slight gains for cards, but captured no further resource planets.  The Empire struck back with a full assault into the Wild Space, but stubborn Hutt defenses surprised everyone and denied the Empire control of a sector to balance the Rebel one.  Continued counter-attacks against the Rebels in the Mid and Outer Rim evened the score with them but left everyone bloodied.

The Rebels took their handful of reinforcements plus their sector bonus and began their next offensive.  By good luck they were able to take out the Death Star where it guarded egress into the Wild Space.  That was followed by a march on Elom and the neutralization of its starbase.  The Hutts quickly capitalized on the Rebel-Empire mutual weaknesses for a record-tying 2nd turn victory. 

Since game #1 finished so early, we immediately started #2.  Ric moved to head up the Imperial forces and a chance at a trifecta.  I switched to the Hutts and Kent remained Rebel leader.

Although the initial setup was very different, the result was yet another Hutt victory.  By turn 3 a faction card straight led to a 9-system lead.  More faction card bonuses and a capital ship/bomber fleet led to final victory the next turn.
\

Hutt Victories #2 & #3

March 5

Ric, aka Peetza da Hutt, takes home the coveted Funky Chicken Trophy. 

March 12

Kent the Hutt makes it a rare Hutt trifecta.  There was foul play on the part of the Empire, but that is to be expected of Sith Lord Karl.  With the Dark Side looking unstoppable, Rebel Leader Ric managed to destroy the Death Star, invade the Wild Space, and march up to the doorstep of the Emperor's starbase only to be twarted by those damn 8-sided dice.  Kent took advantage of the momentary weakness to swoop across the Mid Rim for a victory. 

A New Hutt Year

Memorable things from last night's game:

• Catastrophic failure of defense of Bffasch on turn 1.  (Rebel Leader Wood attacked a mass of Sith Lord Horak's troops with a slightly more massive force.  Wood blew the defense away with hardly a loss.) 
• Counterattack through the Core Worlds.  (The Empire struck back and nearly conquered the Core Worlds.  Eventually they did capture the El'Rood Sector for 2 turns.) 
• 5 7s in a row by Kent.  (Unspeakably good luck was bad luck for his opponents.)
• Numerous lost opportunities (4-2-2 wins out over 3-1, etc.  Disgustingly poor dice rolls at many key junctures in the game.)
• Numerous thin defenses stopped overwhelming forces.  (Time and again, important offenses were stymied by the casualties caused by one or a very few defenders.) 
• El'Rood Sector and Wild Space.  (Both were captured.  Both were sooner (Rebel control of Wild Space) or later (Empire in El'Rood) invaded, thus revoking the sector bonuses.) 
• Fall of the Mid Rim to the Hutts.  (The Green Hoard was able to sweep away resistance in the Mid Rim, giving Peetza da Hutt 5 easy resource planets from which to launch his eventual victory.) 
• Failure of the Rebels to attack the Hutts.  (The Rebel leader preferred to give the victory to the Hutts rather than let the Empire win.) 
• Hutt victory when the Rebels were one turn away from victory.  (Had the Hutts not prevailed, the Rebels surely would've captured the Emperor's starbase.)

Victory -- Hutts... again. 

A Missing December Post

Although pizza arrived 30 minutes late, the game commenced more or less on schedule Dec. 18th.  Much wine and whiskey was consumed.  Dice were rolled.  Legions fought and were victorious or vanquished.  Somewhere along the way, Ric bested Kent and I.  Delirious with joy, he took the coveted Funky Chicken Trophy home. 

Hutts, Hutts, and more Hutts

After Horak the Hutt gained the coveted mirror ball trophy, it was up to Kent and Ric to win it back.  And that they did, or rather, Kent did (Oct. 30).  As the wily Hutt leader, he was able to sweep to victory.  Unfortunately, I've slept since then, so I don't remember how exactly he managed to pull it off.  I suspect he got Rebel Ric and Sith Lord Karl to go after one another, while he quietly gained strength and cards.

The week following (Nov. 5), Ric as Peetza da Hutt made an excellent run at gaining the trophy and a trifecta for the Hutt faction.  Initially, it looked like a sure thing for General Horak as his Rebels overran much of the galaxy.  But two well-placed attacks by the Death Star decimated his forces and destroyed the Rebel fleet.  That said, the Empire was not able to take out the Hutts nor finish off the Rebels.  After many, many dice rolls, a draw was declared and the Hutt trifecta averted.

Now (Nov. 13) we've had two more battles for galactic domination.  In Game #1, Sith Lord Ric was able to overcome the Rebellion in just 3 turns.  Horrendously bad dice rolls in the initial turn and poor faction cards left the Rebels vulnerable.  The Hutts never got traction and were never much of a threat.  Game Empire.

In Game #2, the same arrangement of forces led to a different outcome.  The Rebels held the advantage for most of the game, even taking out 3 starbases.  But as luck would have it, the Emperor's starbase was the last one to come out.

Meanwhile, the crafty Hutts built up a fleet and made good on mopping up the Stormtroopers in the Mid Rim before succeeding in a flanking attack against Sullust and then a breakthrough to Tattooine.  Game Hutts.

Postscript:  We've completed 242 games.  Watch this space for the big 250th Galactic Battle Celebration.

Trifecta Averted... Yet Again

Despite awesomely good sloppy joes washed down with IPA and Ric's amazing chocolate chip cookies, Sith Lord Kent couldn't put down the Rebellion tonight.  The Rebels under General Ric came out swinging on Turn 1, taking out 6 systems with single garrisons.  The Hutts were able to capitalize on the situation and move from 5 to 6 resource planets while the Storm Troopers fought hard to maintain the status quo. 

Hutt, Hutt... Hutt... Hutt!

In a rare double-header, the Hutts swept both games tonight. That make this three Hutt victories in a row.

Game #1

After a surprisingly unaggressive initial Rebel move by General Wood, the Hutts under Gamorran Leader LaBan moved up to six resource planets.  The Empire was in a strong position, but extraordinarily poor rolls caused massive casualties and limited their faction card gain.  Sith Horak was already in dire straits. 

By turn two the Rebels controlled the Wild Space and the Hutts crept up to seven resource planets.  Once again the Storm Troopers had catastrophic dice rolls and huge numbers of casualties.  They failed to make any headway against the Wild Space.  The Rebels soon controlled the Ison Corridor as well. 

With swelling numbers of reinforcements, it looked to be the Rebel's game, but on turn four the Hutts broke out and swept up the remaining three resource planets they needed.

Game Hutts.

Game #2

In contrast to the quick first game, after Ric and Kent switched sides, the game degenerated into a long slog.  No sectors were controlled, faction card straights were rare or ineffectual.  Rebels and Storm Troopers fought to a stalemate with about 14 systems each, plus or minus. 

The Hutts repeatedly reached 8 or 9 systems only to be beaten back to 5 or 6.  The heavily fortified resource planets weren't accessible.  Even after the first Death Star was taken out, the Imperial starbases repelled all attacks.  The Rebels pushed the Force Meter far to the Light side, but were unable to put together an effective assault on the well hidden base of the Emperor. 

Two minor mistakes led to the downfall of the major factions.  First, with a new Death Star, the Emperor elected to destroy a Rebel outpost instead of a resource planet.  Then the Rebels reinforced to Aldebaran, to prepare for an attack on Tattooine.  That left Duro vulnerable and the Hutts came pouring out of the El'Rood Sector and swept away Sluis Van, Sullust, and Duro for the victory. 

Hutt victory.

The League of Crafty Ass Bastards

The Despoiler of the Galaxy Gets Despoiled

In keeping with our tradition of allowing the birthday boy to choose his faction, Kent went with the Hutts.  General LaBan picked up the yellow hoard and I was left with the e-vile Empire. Setup was typical, leaving the Hutts with 4 resource planets. 

A Rare Two-Fer

Game #1

While the World Cup garners most of the attention, a galactic struggle goes on with few the wiser.  General Horak took on Darth Ric and Kent the Hutt with an uncharacteristic setup that left the green hoard with 7 initial resource planets.  An epic battle for Kessel weakened the Hutts at the start, but Imperial attacks on the Rebels rapidly took their toll on both sides.  Within 4 turns, the Hutts had swept to power throughout the galaxy. 

Game #2

In a fit of optimism, Ric suggested a second game, perhaps to regain lost honor from our quick failure in the previous one.  Using the same forces, we launched into another battle royale.  Again, the Rebels came out with good results from the initial attacks, but combined Hutt and Storm Trooper assaults undid the early gains. 

Fairly quickly the Empire took control of the Wild Space with the Death Star on Sullust to guard that entrance to the sector.  Subsequent battles in El'Rood led to a collapse of that sector.  With two sectors in Imperial hands, it was only a matter of time before things went badly for the Rebels despite the Force Meter being firmly in the light side.

However, the Rebels had a large concentration backed up with two squadrons of bombers.  In an effort to neutralize the expanding influence of the Empire in the Mid Rim, they attacked out of Rodia through Hutt territory towards the starbase on Kessel.  En route, the Hutts played their "Money is Power" faction card and the orders never came for the assault on Da Soocha V.  With that attack blocked, the starbase was spared an overwhelming attack.  As I suspected, the Hutts were being king-makers. 

The Storm Troopers ultimately took the Ison Corridor and with overpowering reinforcements, they were able to mop up the remaining Rebels before the Hutts could muster any sort of a response.  Victory Empire. 

Belated May 29th Post

Darth Horak and General Wood took up their dice and faced Peetza da Hutt.  In a frenzy of recriminations, the Rebels and Stormtroopers battled each other to exhaustion.  The Hutts led by the wily Ric took advantage of their on-going feud to run the board for a fairly quick and easy victory.

With 2/3 of a trifecta under his belt, next week looks to be a key battle.  Stay tuna'ed.