Pro's and Con's of SFB
As I see it, the main strength of Star Fleet Battles is
the enormous diversity of ships and tactics. While complicated, the
rules are well thought out to produce a distinctive style and tactics
for each race. Some other features:
- A wide range of options like shuttles, tractors, and transporters
make for a lot more interesting than just shooting back and
forth.
- It allows for solo games (using fixed scenarios) and multi-player
fleet battles. There are several solo scenarios in the Basic
Game and in supplements, although your options are limited. Large
fleet battles can involve 10 or more players -- but these can
take a long time to finish.
- It is fairly easy to just record your status, and pack up the
game until another day.
- It offers a fairly good representation of the original Star Trek
universe. The flavor is more militaristic than the TV show, but
it represents all the observed races and features in the original
series. See the unofficial
FAQ on this point.
On the other hand, it's weaknesses would be:
- The sheer size of material available can be daunting. Let's face
it, how many games do you know that has 200+ pages of rulebook?
And that's just the Basic Set! When you've counted the rules for
the Advanced Missions, the C modules, the R modules, the PF and
Fighter modules, the complete rulebook gets awesomely hefty.
However, don't panic. Most of that size is in the diversity of possible ships and options. If you stick to the basic rules, it is not that bad.
- This is not a 30 minute game, no matter what people say. Most
games can take several hours, especially if you don't really know
the rules. Some game turns can take less then 5 minutes, while
others, you are lucky to make it under an hour (if that).
However, you can find optional rules
to help speed things up.
- The endless supplements can be a bit trying. With over 20 large
supplements available, it may often seems that there is little add
on that you want, but when you get it, you find that what that
published is not what you had hoped.
My advice is to stick to what you like most about the game, and don't go buying $20 supplements just to see what it's like (unless you're rich, that is).