Declawed in Talon (@gmtgames, 2016) #wargame #scifi

FOR THE MOST PART we are a historical wargaming family. The RockyMountainNavy Boys are also science-fiction fans. For myself, I have a long history of sci-fi wargaming going all the way back to the original pocket edition of Star Fleet Battles (Task Force Games, 1979).

Although derided by many gamers as “Accountancy in Space,” SFB at it’s core is a resource management game for spaceships. Energy management is the key to maneuvering your ship and powering weapons.Managing the balance between the two is the real key to victory and is what makes the game enjoyable. Talon (GMT Games, 2016) is a true successor to SFB that keeps the core energy management theme but implements it using a set of very playable game mechanics.

So this past Family Game Night found Talon on the table. With three players we made a scratch-built scenario with myself leading 2x Talon Battlecruisers (BC) against the two RMN Boys each controlling a Terran Light Cruiser (CL) and Destroyer (DD). With relatively balanced fleets we played a simple Meeting Engagement.

The RMN Boys quickly figured out that if they divided their forces and tried to take on one BC individually they could be overwhelmed. Instead they concentrated their forces against one BC at a time. After some initial “learning” about the difficulty of hitting at maximum range they quickly figured out how to use the Power Curve to their advantage (slowing down when needing to power weapons followed by slashing attacks when ready). They also paid real close attention to weapon arcs and were very successful in avoiding my most dangerous armaments. It seemed that whenever I was ready to use my Missiles (Speed 6, Range 4, 2 Damage) they were not in arc! Not that they avoided damage; by Round 6 when I lost my first BC (mostly because a Critical Hit prevented it from maneuvering and avoiding fire) the Terrans had lost a DD and all the other ships had at least one Critical Hit. But my BC was also hurting and in Round 7 my FTL was “spooled up” and if I could last to the end of the round I was going to jump away.

Not. So. Fast.

I was hurt and I knew it so I adjusted my Power Curve to get going as fast as I could. However, I had a fast Terran DD on my tail and it was not going to be denied. In literally the last Impulse of the turn the DD reached optimal weapons range for its Anti-Matter Torpedo (Hit on 2-6 at Range 2, 4 Damage) and blew past the lone shield reinforcement to destroy the last of the Hull boxes in my BC. GAME OVER…for now.

As I write this post, the RMN Boys are poring over the new ships in the expansion Talon 1000 (GMT Games, 2018). They want to play a larger fleet battle with fighters and bases. Both told me they really enjoy the meaningful decision challenge that comes from having to manage your energy and optimize your maneuver and firing actions. From a component perspective, they really are taken by the laminated counters and how easy it makes play.

Talon is probably going to get thrown into the gaming rotation in a fairly heavy way this summer. I’m certainly not complaining; Talon uses easy game mechanics to create agonizing, brain-burning decision points. And it’s fun!