How to Play Kent Like a Violin

This week's game was a game of games, my chance at a trifecta.  Having won the previous two weeks as Rebels and Hutts, I was on for the e-vile Empire.  Peetza da Hutt had brought pepperoni za, so we were well set for an epic struggle.  It was indeed one for the record books.

The Empire was able to amass a huge force on Gamorr, protected by the Death Star and hence safe from early depredations.  After Rebel Leader Kent and Peetza had whacked away at each other and knocked off plenty of easy stormtroopers, it was time to unleash the dogs of intergalactic war. 

The force on Gamorr swept into the Wild Space.  Kent saved his troops on Excarga by using a faction card and retreated to Dagoba, where he was poised to counterattack via Sluis Van.  The Hutts stood firm but quickly fell, a serious loss of troops so early in the game.  The victors on Elom reinforced Gamorr, but the Death Star moved to Sluis Van, effectively blocking any Rebel effort to retake the Wild Space. 

As the game wore on, the Empire was able to take advantage of its secure sector to capture the El'Rood Sector and the Ison Corridor.  This forced the Rebels to make continuous attacks against those sectors and weakening the Mid and Outer Rims.  Those gradually allowed him to move the Force Meter to the Light Side, but that was little consolation as his power and that of the Hutts dwindled.

A turn 5 faction card straight gave the Emperor enough troops to destroy all but three Rebel systems.  Kent was beside himself with despair--his luck had deserted him.  God clearly was punishing him. 

But at the beginning of turn 6, the Rebels cashed in a faction card straight, took their meager reinforcements, a capital ship plus a bomber and made a final suicidal assault on the Wild Space, betting it all that the Emperor was in Elom.  Even the Death Star was not able to repel his advance (7-6-6 plus 3 from the Force Meter bonus).  A weak first roll against the now vulnerable stormtroopers resulted in massive casualties thanks to a "destroy two more" card.  But with their fleet and, finally some good luck, the Rebels were able to capture the elusive Emperor. 

Kent was giddy with joy--his luck had returned.  God clearly was rewarding him.  All Ric and I could do was laugh and laugh and laugh.

[Next week Ric will be in Utah, so no game until April 4.]

March Catch-up

Embark inside your time machine and I'll take you on a trip....

Somewhere in the mists of the deep past, Feb. 28th actually, three powerful entities fought for domination of the galaxy:  Emperor Wood, Rebel Leader Horak, and Ric the Hutt.  In a topsy-turvy game, first the Rebels, then the Hutts are on top.  Then the stormtroopers begin to gain in strength.  Finally, Wood uses his own Death Star to destroy his own starbase on Sluis Van.  He evades the Rebellion's victory conditions, thereby obtaining immortality.  Ric and I call it a draw. 

Step forward a week (March 7).  I draw the Rebel forces, Kent the Hutts, and Ric the Imperial troops.  With things turning toward the dark side, I gain the "Use the Force" faction card.  In desperation, I use it to inspect the starbase at Tatooine, the only system I could conceivably attack.  Lo!  The Emperor is discovered.  Cashing in a faction card straight, I'm able to battle through the storm troopers' defenses and close the game.

Finally, we land our time machine in a recent era (March 14).  Horak the Hutt takes on Sith Lord Kent and Rebel Leader LaBan.  The game is balanced from the get-go, with the Hutts getting smacked down whenever they get uppity.  But the wily Sith makes his move on the Rebels too early.  A faction card straight for the Hutts lets them sweep into Elom, move across Sluis Van to Sullust, eventually taking Duro.  Disappointed at only having 9 resource planets, the Hutts press on to capture Tattooine and the game.  It seems only fitting that the green hoard won on the week of St. Patrick's after a meal of corned beef and cabbage. 

Coming soon to a galaxy near you--the final game in what could be a trifecta. 

SWR Blog Catch-up

We closed out  January with a game of Primodial Soup, which Kent, being experienced, easily won.

The we tried Robo Rally and again, the experienced Wood cleaned our clocks. 

Then back on February 7, Ric as Peetza da Hutt easily cruised to victory while Kent and I beat our legions against one another.  Note to self:  never turn your back on a Hutt. 

Last week (Feb. 14) I was lucky enough to draw the Hutt faction.  Kent turned up as the Rebels and Darth Ric lead the Imperial side.  On my third turn (2-2/3 turns into the game), a faction card straight and a fleet of bomber + capitol ship led to a stunningly quick victory.  Luckily, we had plenty of good single malts to finish up the evening. 

Then this week (Feb. 21), Ric resumed his role as Peetza da Hutt.  Sure enough, Kent turned on the Rebel Leader Horak, ignored the swelling Hutt forces, and again in record-tying time the Hutts won. 

Even so, there were some hysterical moments:

• The destruction of Sluis Van with its garrison of seven Hutts, "Suddenly seven voices cried out and were suddenly silenced."
• The desperate defense dice roll that spun and spun and spun and spun and... "Hey, Ric, it's still spinning" and spun and came up... six.  
• And several other truly amazing things that kept us laughing all night long. 

Best of all, though, over these past few weeks have been the birthday goodies:  the framed photos of last year's fire extinguisher extravaganza and the diorama/display of Capt. Henry Horak's photo, dog tags, and 384th emblem along side a realistic Grafton-Underwood landscape and a miniture Henry figurine.

The Shortest, Longest Game

Harrumph!  On the 3rd we played to exhaustion, with the Hutts (me) being drubbed solidly by Darth Kent and Rebel Leader LaBan.  It was the top of the 7th turn, so we photo-documented the gameboard and resolved to resume this week. 

And indeed, after an orgy of sushi we painstakingly set up the board, the card decks, the fleets, the legions, and started up again.  Rebel Ric immediately reinforced his troops in the El'Rood Sector with both his normal tranche plus 7 more from a faction card straight. 

First, he assaulted Hoth, which fell after a brief battle.  Then he attacked the star base at Bespin, which quickly surrendered.  As it turned out, this was the Emperor's secret location.  Game ova!

We finished off the evening learning the rules to Primordial Soup, a potential alternative game. 

An Open Letter from Kent the Hutt

After nearly three weeks without a galactic deathmatch due to infections picked up in a Sarlacc pit, we are set to resume tomorrow.  Meanwhile, we are pleased to bring you this e-mail rant from Kent the Hutt.

To the mettlesome conspirators; The impudent Darth Trilby and traitorous Peetza the Hutt,

You fools!  You insufferable, treacherous wipers of Yak bottoms and shovelers of cockroach frass!

Has not the Six Sectors profited and stabilized under the Mighty and Powerful Tutt the Hutt's kind rule for these three millennium?  Has he not brought stability to galactic markets?  Peace and prosperity reigns!

King Tutt the Hutt smells a rebellion.  Ingrates!  How you will suffer!

Just for the hint of an uprising, King Tutt the Hutt, now decrees a 5% rebellion tax on Romulan Ale, all Scotch, chocolate and Za from Old Earth.  He suspends both your delegations from the Supreme Council.  Should you persist, your consulates will be smashed into rubble and rebuilt as casinos.

He shall crush your infantile rebellion with his cousins, the giant Sandworms of Tatooine, juggernauts from the mills of Bpfassh, spice Balrogs from the deep mines of Kessel and the four armed Yeti of Hoth.  Beware you measly insects, beware,  He will draw and quarter you with feral Tontons, grind you up and feed you to his octopods for amusement. 

So it is written, so it becomes Galactic Law, so shall it come to pass.

Hutthoowah!

Hoongwah the Hutt, Grand Vizier to the Munificent and Benevolent King Tutt the Hutt

Yet Another Hutt Defeat

Things have not gone well for the Hutts these last few weeks.  Tonight was no different, except for the Rudy's BBQ brisket. 

Things started with a spirited defense against Rebel (Kent) incursions, but an initial Hutt offensive with 12 legions against three Imperial defenders ended in disaster.  The Hutts were never again a credible threat. 

Rebels and Storm Troopers duked it out for a number of turns with some catastrophically good and bad dice rolls.  Rebels failed conspicuously against the Hutts at Byss and Duro.  The Storm Troopers failed the same against Hutss at Kessel.  But even with large numbers of reinforcements, the Empire couldn't significantly dent the Rebels.  By gradually pushing the Force Meter to the light side, the Rebels were able to use their faction card surplus to good effect, eventually capturing Starbase Barbarella, which led to still more faction cards.

In the end, Starbase Sith Lord Laban was cutoff from reinforcements.  A concerted attack by the Rebels captured the Emperor.  Game ova. 

I won; how come I feel like I lost?

Deputy Rebel Leader Karl got off to a strong start, knocking off a bunch of Imperial systems garrisoned by lone legions.  But there were no Hutts to be attacked.  Kent the Hutt responded by a dismal set of rolls, barely getting his faction cards.  Sith Lord Ric then proceeded to kick ass -- he could not roll anything less than a six.  Hutt resistance crumbled; Rebels fell like nine pins.

From that inauspicious start, things went slowly downhill for the Hutts.  The Rebels held their own, but only just.  Faction cards at least kept the Force Meter in the positive side.  The Empire's clones continued to gain ground.  The Sith Lord locked in the Wild Space early on, eventually conquered the El'Rood Sector, fully occupied the Ison Corridor, and nearly had the entire Mid Rim captured.  Things were looking grim, Kent was despondent, the Rebels were hiding under rocks.

When the Empire used the Death Star stationed at Omwat to destroy its own garrison at Excarga,it hinted strongly that the Emperor himself was within the heavily fortified Wild Space.  An enormously successful Imperial assault reduced the Rebels to a half-dozen systems and perhaps a dozen legions.  Fortunately, a faction card straight provided enough fire power to roll over Mon Calamari, make the long hyperspace jump to Bffassch, take Sluis Van from behind, and capture Omwat.  In a desperate forlorn hope attack, two legions threw themselves at the weakly held but still fortified Elom, their best guess as to the Emperor's location. 

With one lucky roll, the Rebels captured the Sith Lord.  Had they failed, the Hutts had some prodigious faction cards of their own to unleash, but it certainly looked like it was going to be the Empire's game. Ultimately, despite a Rebel victory, it was clear that all the dice rolls went in favor of the e-vile Empire.  At least by capturing the Emperor, we stopped the incessant sixes.