Dog Fight: Starship Edition Tactical Card Game

Rated 11 out of 10

2012-03-03T13:46:00.000-06:00

Some recent customers have provided public feedback on Dog Fight: Starship Edition. The print-on-demand publisher's website allows comments and ratings on the game. If you're interested in the game have a quick read of what others think.

read the comments here, under the downloads section

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Card 10154 Weapons Upgrade

2012-03-02T16:00:00.000-06:00

Weapons Upgrade
Gear EQUIP Card

card text:
[EQUIP]
While this card is active this vessel's Attack is increased by 1.

description:
Permanent +1 to Attack power.

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Choosing a ship part 2

2012-02-29T15:48:00.000-06:00

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Card 10153 Target Locked

2012-02-22T15:56:00.000-06:00

Target Locked
Normal ATTACK Card

card text:
Attack one target within Range. This vessel may pay 1 energy counter (when this card is flipped face up) to increase this attack by 2.

description:
If “Target Locked” is duplicated (i.e., by the effect of “Heavy Guns”, etc.) only the first attack can be modified by its own 2 point boost. The card is “flipped face up” only once.

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Card 10152 Long Range Guns

2012-02-21T16:53:00.000-06:00

Long Range Guns
Gear EQUIP Card

card text:
[EQUIP]
While this card is active this vessel's Range is increased by 1.

description:
A long term increase to this vessel's attack Range.

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Card 10151 System Crash

2012-02-15T16:30:00.000-06:00

System Crash
Normal INTERVENE Card

card text:
:: Discard one card from hand.

Select one player. That player must choose one of the following effects:

* discard the top 3 cards of his/her action deck
* destroy 1 [Gear] card equipped to his/her vessel

description:
This card's effect does not target a vessel; it targets a player. Thus it is not subject to the effect of "Jamming".

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Card 10150 Hit and Run

2012-02-13T16:30:00.000-06:00

Hit and Run
Normal ATTACK Card

card text:
:: Reduce this vessel's Attack by 1 for this card. Attack one target within Range then move this vessel 1 space. If this attack inflicts Hull damage also add 1 "over heated" counter to the target.

description:
If this card's effect is negated preemptively (such as via the effect of “Surgical Strike”) no attack and no movement occur as a result of this card. If this card's effect is negated after it is played (such as via the effect of “Jamming”) both the movement and attack aspects of this card's effect are negated.

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Post Battle Briefing

2012-02-07T16:23:00.000-06:00

"Thank you for your time Commander. Would you like anything before we begin?"

"No thank you, Lieutenant."

"Very well. For the record, please state your name, rank, and assignment."

"This is Ronald Shepherd. Commander in the United System ... Naval Forces. First Officer aboard the ... U.S.S. Spirit, a Brutus Magnus class cruiser."

"And would you please give us your account of the recent events on 29 August, 2095?"

"We were on combat patrol. The computers had located a vessel. It was ... all routine at this point. There were several ... freighters in the area.

We were able to identify it ... as an Achilles class ship. That's not unusual, of course, ... as many F.A. ships are commissioned in the Republic's naval fleet. The only reason ... for concern at the time was their lack of response to our communications."

"And, was that the only reason to suspect the approaching ship was hostile, Commander?"

"Yes. It was enough. The Captain initiated ... all the proper protocols."

"Captain David Priest, your C.O."

"Yes ma'am. People joke about us being the holy trinity: a Priest, ... and a Shepherd, aboard the Spirit. We've had our share of scrapes, and what seems ... a miraculous ability for survival. Though it seems our luck ran out this ... time."

"But the Spirit was the only ship to survive the battle."

"Yes ma'am. I hope this is ... brought to the commission's attention if it is decided to court martial ... the Captain. I won't sit by and do nothing if they treat the Captain the same way Captain Kirk was ... after his last engagement, in which he ..."

"Let us please continue with the briefing, Commander."

"A second ship appeared on scanners as well. It turned out ... to be a Thunder Storm. We realized that even before the computers identified it. The Itnoahn ... vessel began launching drones almost as soon as we noticed it."

"The data recorder suggests Captain Priest made the first attack."

"Well, not precisely Lieutenant. The Fission Bots were sent ... after the Achilles vessel first. By this time the identity of the drones was ... confirmed, thus their deployment indicated aggressive movement. There is only one reason to launch ... a Fission Bot. And the Itnoahns have never been known to make friends ... with anyone not of that faction. Since the Thunder Storm maneuvered ... closer to us than the Achilles, and there was sufficient probable cause the Captain took advantage of the opportunity. The Spirit ... moved in close to the Thunder Storm and we unleashed hell. The enemy had prepared formidable ... defenses. We managed to cause only mi ... minor damage with the first assault, but it was enough. The Thunder Storm's primary ... defenses had been disabled."

"Do you need anything, Commander?"

"I'd rather continue the briefing, Lieutenant. We were struck with a ... couple Bots, causing minor damage. It was after these first hits on the ship ... that we realized the Thunder Storm's EW was more effective than anticipated. Resources were not ... responding as quickly as the Captain liked. But the Captain managed to cause severe damage to ... the Thunder Storm in return.

We had continued our attempts to contact the Achilles vessel since the ... battle began. She finally responded with approaching by attack vector. We couldn't ... discern which faction she belonged t ... to. All the major factions, even the Trade Guild broadcast ... signature recognition, as is required by interplanetary law. But this Achilles did not. There ... are some rogue offshoots of the Guild that we ... know of. The Achilles could easily have been one of theirs."

So we don't know why the Achilles regarded us as an enemy. The Thunder Storm was almost completely ... disabled and we had taken no aggressive action toward the Achilles, but she ignored our communications ... and moved in for an attack. So the Captain ordered to open fire."

"And there is no way Captain Priest could have misinterpreted the actions of the Achilles, Commander?"

"As you should know, Lieutenant, combat tactics are what ... determine the winner and the loser, the survivors and the dead. The fact that you and I ... are having this conversation is proof of that. The Achilles made a classic offensive maneuver. Were the Captain t ... to hesitate he would have been derelict in his duty. The actions of the Achilles ... up to that point made it apparent she was not friendly.

After exchanging fire the Achilles sustained heavy damage. But we were ... nearly crippled. We at least still had weapons capability and mobility. The captain ordered us to pursue the Thunder Storm ... which put distance between us and the Achilles. We attacked the Thunder Storm again causing minor damage. She launched ... more Bots our way, with one blast hitting us. Hull integrity was barely ... existent. They could have spit on us and we would be finished.

That's when I was wounded. I was taken from the bridge but made sure the medical ... crew kept me informed of events as they occurred. The ... captain managed to keep us out of range of the enemy for a ... while. Their attacks missed us while we prepared our final assault. The Achilles still ... had a lot of armor to punch through.

By this time the Thunder Storm was doomed. Since we ... were no longer in range of the Achilles the Captain took the time to assess ... our remaining options. The Itnoah vessel was the only target ... available to the Achilles at that moment. She fired a single shot at the Thunder Storm. We were next. But Captain Priest ... had enough time to prepare the remaining missiles at his disposal."

"Commander, I understand your testimony of the final throws of the exchange is second hand information, since you were no longer at your post. But if you could ... Commander. Commander. Doctor, this patient requires attention."

"No, Lieutenant, he doesn't."

"Can you revive him?"

"We did all we could for the Commander before you arrived. Nurse, note the time of death."

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Restricted List and Card Rulings Update

2012-02-06T16:30:00.000-06:00

This weekend's test session of Dog Fight: Starship Edition proved most interesting. (see what this game is all about) It was 3 players, with a very close victory. We'll have details of the game posted soon.

We also had to make a couple decisions on some cards. The card Computer Virus needed a ruling on what happens if the target player's deck is depleted. Computer Virus causes the target player to discard the top card of his/her action deck each Discard Phase. If there are no cards remaining in the discard pile Computer Virus will simply expire.

We've also added a new item to the Restricted List. The card System Crash is now limited to no more than 3 copies in your deck. This card will be displayed soon in the online card list. This list still a work in progress.

Stay tuned here to see the story write up of Captain Dave's ridiculous victory, winning the game with 0 Hull.

download the free Card Rulings file

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Card 10149 Peak Efficiency

2012-02-02T16:00:00.000-06:00

Peak Efficiency
Gear EQUIP Card

card text:
[EQUIP]
While this vessel's original Hull is at 100% or higher the following effect applies:

[+] This vessel gains 1 energy counter each Discard Phase.

description:
The current text for this card states “original Hull”. A previous version did not clarify "original".

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Card Rulings file updated

2012-01-31T17:33:00.000-06:00

The Card Rulings PDF has been updated. This update includes several minor clarifications but one big change regarding the card "Fusillade".

There was a way to interpret Fusillade which allowed multiple attacks against the same target. There are already other cards allowing for this. Fusillade was meant to attack multiple targets. This clarification doesn't change much about how the card typically works.

download the PDF file here

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Captain Dave breaks the game

2012-01-30T16:25:00.000-06:00

Up to now we've found fairly easy resolutions for any questions regarding specific card situations. There were a few circumstances which seemed problematic but it was determined that a more comprehensive approach to deck design would resolve such issues. This weekend Captain Dave and the game creator found a situation that as yet has no satisfactory solution.

This problem involves two powerful cards: Close Quarters and Fusillade.

Close Quarters allows a +3 boost to EVERY attack the vessel declares as long as the target is within 3 spaces. This is fine with cards such as Double Shot or others which permit a limited number of attacks. Fusillade doubles your original Attack power and lets you attack any number of times, dividing that power among those individual shots as you choose.

Captain Dave uses the Brutus Magnus, with an original Attack power of 8. So here's the scenario we encountered:

The Brutus Magnus had Close Quarters equipped.
The target was within 3 spaces.
The Magnus played Fusillade, allowing 16+ damage to be divided as the captain chooses.

Do you see the problem? Even without any other Attack boosts, if the Magnus divides its 16 Attack power into 16 individual shots of 1, each of those 16 shots would inflict 4 damage. That makes a combined 64 points of combat damage. In our situation, Captain Dave had an added Attack boost of 2 points, which meant 18 shots at 1 point each; every one with a 3 point boost. That totaled 72 points of combat damage.

In this scenario, even with multiple armor cards and full Hull this combination could feasibly destroy an undamaged opponent in one tier. The both of us agreed this situation breaks the game. So a solution is needed, but in all the possibilities we discussed none proved entirely satisfactory. So we need the tribe's help.

The following is list of possible solutions we discussed. They are in no particular order. The main concerns in resolving the problem center on a desire to avoid two things:

changing card text on any currently released cards
not hindering other multi-shot ATTACK cards (such as Double Shot)

Option 1: place a cap on Close Quarters
This solution requires editing the card text of Close Quarters (>.<) so its +3 boost can occur only a certain number of times each turn/each card.

Option 2: instituting a new concept and term
This idea would require creating a new in-game term (perhaps something like "strike" or "impact") so that when Fusillade attacks with the benefit of Close Quarters, each "strike" counts as only one "attack" as long as the target remains unchanged. In this idea the attacker could attack multiple targets, but the +3 effect of Close Quarters would apply only once to each target regardless of how many "strikes" occurred. This idea would apply to Double Shot as well (>.<), which seems a legitimate use of the +3 boost. It would also probably require changing the card text of Fusillade. (>.<)

Option 3: executive orders
This idea involves an addition to the Card Rulings PDF file. The concept would be fairly simple but more stuff to remember. It would involve no change to general card rulings or game rules but there would be a "divine" card ruling for this one situation. For example, in the card clarifications for both Close Quarters and for Fusillade some statement such as this could be added:

When Fusillade is played with the +3 effect of Close Quarters the effect shall be resolved like this: (prescribed solution goes here).

This solution avoids having to change card text on either card. But if there are several awkward situations like this it could become problematic to keep up with numerous executive orders, which are by definition special situations. Plus, some players won't be aware of the Card Rulings file despite our efforts to keep players informed of it.

Option 4: use existing methods
This idea would include placing Fusillade and/or Close Quarters on the Restricted List (which is not a bad idea). It also includes the possibility of creating new cards to deal with this situation. But there is also the issue of what those new cards would be.

Are there other ideas on how to resolve this situation or a preference for one already mentioned?

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The Threat Is Spreading

2012-01-24T16:30:00.000-06:00

2095.08.15
-- Ceres Mining Colony Theta --

-- Communication to the Free Africa Trade Guild --

Captain Abdul-Haqq reporting.

For the record I would have it noted, on this date, that Captain Jelani Matata was wounded in the course of battle, offering his exemplary service in defense of Ceres Theta.

I've dreaded this day. I came out here to live in peace. The occasional skirmishes with raiders are not the problem. There is seldom any serious threat this far out. What happened today is precisely what I've been trying to avoid these recent years. They just won't leave it alone.

Actually, I shouldn't be here. Jelani, the mighty troublemaker, is a friend of mine. Possibly the only one. He patrols this route to Ceres 1 ferrying ore and supplies. He's one of my best customers. The Trade Guild doesn't usually send only a single ship on this route but Jelani has military experience. His Brutus Magnus class cruiser may be a small ship, but those who underestimate it do so only once.

Now that I think of it, Jelani shouldn't be here either. He should be dead, and I his executioner.

He was the key to my escape from the Itnoah Dominion. Guild records will show his previous experience in dealing with Itnoahn forces. The trick was to make him believe my defection was real. My shuttle was exactly the sort of target the Guild or the Terran Republic or any other faction would destroy on sight, since it's not uncommon for Itnoah forces to send false distress messages. I'm lucky to still be alive. Only the telemetry readings I was transmitting regarding my old ship saved me. His ship was badly damaged from our battle and would not have survived another Fission Bot. Any other day Jelani would have been finished, but that was a fortunate day for the both of us. His new information helped him destroy the Thunder Storm I had just abandoned. Without me, he and his crew would have been destroyed that day. Instead, I sacrificed those I served with. Now I am an outcast among my own people, with a price on my head.

I am a traitor to my people, technically. There are actually millions of us who feel as I do, that the Itnoah Dominion has hijacked Islam. So many millions were slaughtered during the Great Cleansing the rest of us knew that if we were to survive we had to play the obedient follower. We still hide among our brothers waiting and searching for ways to take back the faith from the defilers. Some have successfully escaped to other factions, as I did. Few outside the Dominion know of us; the Itnoah narrative would have the entire solar system believe all Muslims are of one mind, unified in cause. We are not.

Today they found me, though I doubt they actually know I'm here. I've never seen or even heard of an Itnoah vessel this far from Earth. Their crusade back home usually keeps them too busy to bother venturing out this far. Someone may be hunting a bounty, or something may have changed back home. What ever the reason, Jelani proved his trust in me today, as well as his value to the Guild.

The Brutus Magnus had just finished loading her cargo and was underway. Then our scanners showed an Itnoah Thunder Storm suddenly appear in the distance. We have decent defenses but if a single Fission Bot got though it could devastate mining operations. Even before it reached attack range it began launching Bots. Some captains would have left the area for sake of their cargo. But Jelani, he understands the value of the colony. And he is my friend.

He doubled back to engage the Thunder Storm, even before I contacted him about the approaching enemy. We've spoken many times about our first encounter, and he's read the briefing reports from my testimony before the Guild. He was as prepared as any one can be for the Itnoahn tactics.

This time Jelani struck down several Fission Bots before they could impact his ship. But the Brutus Magnus didn't respond as quickly as I expected once the battle started. I assume the Thunder Storm must have utilized electronic warfare. It can be devastating if a captain is not prepared for it.

Several Bots managed to reach the Magnus and detonate. The ship quickly took heavy damage, but also served its own share. Salvos of Missiles are difficult to escape, and the Thunder Storm is not usually a speedy vessel. But still, the Thunder Storm had the advantage, with the Magnus nearly crippled as it was. I feared Jelani would not live past this day.

Despite the burden of the situation, Jelani is very resourceful. His techniques are fast and powerful. One Quick Attack after another was enough for Jelani to utilize his surmounting Combat Experience. With two mighty hits the Thunder Storm was finally finished.

It was a close call but Jelani did it. He was wounded during the battle and is recovering in the medical ward. His ship is undergoing repairs at this time as well. I request a shipment of supplies and parts be delivered to Ceres Theta as soon as possible. The Magnus must be towed back to F.A. shipyards and the crew require transport.

All technical details of this request and station logs related to the battle are attached. Captain Jelani shall have all his necessary materials prepared for debriefing when you arrive.

-- End communication --

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Card 10148 Computer Virus

2012-01-23T16:25:00.000-06:00

Computer Virus
Gear INTERVENE Card

card text:
[EQUIP]
Equip this card to a vessel within Range (you may choose another player's vessel).

(-) While this card is active its host player must discard 1 card from the top of the deck during each Discard Phase.

description:
This card can equip to another player’s vessel. If no valid target is in Range you must select a friendly vessel or your own vessel. If there are no more card remaining in the player's deck when this card's effect applies, this card simply expires; it is sent to its owner's Discard Pile.

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New video coming soon

2012-01-20T16:00:00.000-06:00

Sometime next week we plan on releasing the counterpart to a "choosing your ship" short series. The first video covered only ship details of each of the 6 capital ships. These six ships are divided into a Heavy Ships Core Set and a Light Ships Core Set (both of which are available now).

The next video will cover details of all 6 core decks showing the strengths of each ship build. You'll have to find any weaknesses yourself, which you can easily do with an opponent. For now, if you haven't seen it already, check out part 1 of Choosing a Ship.

watch the first video now

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Soundtrack Composer Chris Wier

2012-01-19T16:00:00.000-06:00

If you haven't seen our online videos you've been missing a treat. This Tribe Spotlight features the audio work of Chris Wier.

Chris provides us with his original music creations for the soundtracks to our videos. Chris' work is also featured on Soundcloud. You can experience his work by listening here.

visit Chris Wier's Soundcloud Profile

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Card 10147 Internal Damage

2012-01-18T16:30:00.000-06:00

Internal Damage
Star INTERVENE Card

card text:
[DISCARD]
If you inflict 10 or more Hull damage to a target in 1 attack you may also destroy 1 card equipped to that vessel.

description:

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Video: choosing a ship part 1

2012-01-16T16:30:00.000-06:00

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Card 10146 Chief Engineer

2012-01-13T16:30:00.000-06:00

Chief Engineer
Gear EQUIP Card

card text:
[EQUIP]
:: Only one (RANK: specialty engineering) card may be equipped to this vessel at a time. When this card is activated you may move 1 (RANK: engineering) card from your deck to your hand. While this card is active add the following ability to this vessel:

:: Pay 1 counter to repair this vessel's Hull by 1.

description:
The card text “:: Pay 1 counter to repair this vessel's Hull by 1” is a ship ability added to the host vessel. This ability can be executed only during Action Phase 1 and resolves during Action Phase 2 just like most other ship abilities.

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Card 10145 Extended Vision

2012-01-12T16:30:00.000-06:00

Extended Vision
Star INTERVENE Card

card text:
[DISCARD]
This vessel's Range is increased by 2 for the remainder of the turn.

description:
An immediate increase to your attack Range.

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Card 10144 Restore Shields

2012-01-11T16:30:00.000-06:00

Restore Shields
Normal INTERVENE Card

card text:
:: Select 10 cards in your discard pile and remove them from the game. Move 1 card with the word "Shield" or "Shields" in its title from your discard pile to your hand.

description:
Make sure the "shields" card you wish to reclaim is not one of those removed from the game.

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Card 10143 Nuclear Detonation

2012-01-10T16:30:00.000-06:00

Nuclear Detonation
Normal ATTACK Card

card text:
:: Pay X energy counters from this vessel. For this card only attack one object in Range and inflict 2X damage. If this attack is successful all other objects in that space suffer X damage.

description:
The primary effect of “Nuclear Detonation” is an attack, inflicting combat damage equal to twice the number of counters you pay. This card's secondary effect is not combat damage, but effect damage. Something that cannot be destroyed or damaged by combat damage can be destroyed or damaged by effect damage.

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Moving the game forward

2012-01-09T16:30:00.000-06:00

We had a great testing session last night. Captain Jim arrived asking "what are we doing tonight?" Plans were to do further testing on Glory Days, the second expansion set for Dog Fight: Starship Edition (details forthcoming). However, we would soon be joined by Captain Kirk and his brother the most honorable Captain Pete. Pete is recently returned from a tour in Iraq, for which we at Fox Games and I personally extend the deepest gratitude for his personal sacrifice and service to his countrymen.

Since it was four of us we decided to play a team game utilizing (almost) basic rules. As is often the case with the brothers joining the game conversation was quite interesting and sparked many new card ideas. One of our play testing groups already has ship-to-ship boarding cards where you can board an enemy ship with your own crew! Now there are even more ideas along these lines which will hopefully be included in the next prototype order. We also were able to fine tune some cards that have already been in testing for some time. We also encountered a need for updated card rulings.

One such card is "Active Defensive Armor". We discovered an issue relating to a limit of this card, where it states you can use the effect of "Active Defensive Armor" only once per ATTACK card targeting you. In this case "Double Shot" was used correctly in order to provide its two attacks. And, due to Captain Kirk's exemplary capability with the game, "Double Shot" was duplicated - thus allowing 4 attacks with this singular card. To make sure there is no confusion the card rulings file has been updated to reflect how the situation should be resolved. We've decided that since the ATTACK card was duplicated this means there were two separate instances of its effect. Therefore the Armor card's effect can be used twice, once for each instance the ATTACK card was played.

We were also play testing cards designed specifically to help players get around (or through) armor. Thanks to Pete's expertise we have several great card ideas to add to the game, not limited to anti-armor cards.

You can download the card rulings PDF file via the official website now.

"You can learn more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation." - Plato
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Card 10142 Overworked Engineer

2012-01-06T16:00:00.000-06:00

Overworked Engineer
Gear EQUIP Card

card text:
[EQUIP]
:: This card expires when this vessel possesses fewer than 4 energy counters.

[+] While this card is active repair this vessel's Hull by 2 during each Discard Phase.

description:
If the vessel's Hull is at 100% capacity with "Overworked Engineer" during the Discard Phase but the Priority player attacks that vessel with "Quick Attack", "Overworked Engineer" can still repair the Hull by 2 since it did not repair earlier during the Discard Phase. If "Overworked Engineer" did repair its host's Hull during the Discard Phase, and then the Priority player attacks that vessel with "Quick Attack", "Overworked Engineer" does not get to repair again during the same Discard Phase.

If you transfer energy counters from this vessel to another card equipped to this vessel, those energy counters are still considered aboard the vessel (for you, not for your opponents); so "Overworked Engineer" will not expire as long as 4 or more energy counters are "aboard" this vessel.

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Card 10141 Over Heated

2012-01-05T16:18:00.000-06:00

Over Heated
Star INTERVENE Card

card text:
[DISCARD]
Place one "over heated" counter on a vessel that suffered Hull damage this turn.

description:
If a vessel possesses 10 or more over heated counters at End of Round it is destroyed. Play this card at any time during the turn after a vessel has suffered Hull damage.

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Card 10140 Jamming

2012-01-04T16:00:00.000-06:00

Jamming
Gear INTERVENE Card

card text:
[EQUIP]
While this card is active roll one d6 when an opponent's card targets this vessel. If you roll a 5, the opponent's card effect is negated.

description:
Only effects which specifically target are affected bythis card (the controller chooses a target, asopposed to merely choosing when to play a card [i.e., “Direct Hit” does notspecify a target, the player merely chooses when to play it]). “Solar Flare” does not specify a target; it hits everything it can so“Jamming” cannot negate this effect. Attacks by Support Craft orTranscendentals, or NPCs are not affected by this card. If used in conjunction with“Interference” only one roll is required; this roll is subject to both cards.

If “Attack Position” was played and the following card was an ATTACK card,which is negated by the effect of “Jamming”, the extra space aspect of“Attack Position” is still satisfied. The effect of the ATTACK card was negatedbut the card was still played. Likewise for “Loose Cannon”, the ATTACK card'sactivation still occurs even if its effect is nullified by “Jamming” so the bonusto Attack strength still occurs.

If an ATTACK card's effect is duplicated by the effect of “Heavy Guns” but“Jamming” negates the first attack, the duplicated effect can still occurbecause “Heavy Guns” does not target the opponent, it targets yourself. Thesecond attack of “Double Shot” would be prevented if the first attack isnegated because it is part of the effect of the entire card.

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Updated cheat sheet

2012-01-03T16:16:00.000-06:00

We'd like to update the cheat sheet provided with the expansions. Today we altered the sheet a little, highlighting the NPC actions. The sequence of events is spelled out and organized in an outline form but now the NPC actions are designated in red to help them stand out more. That's a good start, but this document could benefit from a redesign.

If you can recall a one or two page rules sheet/cheat sheet design from a game you've seen, which was easy to read and appealing to the eye please let us know. Or if you'd like to offer your services in redesigning the document we'd like to speak with you.

The new PDF cheat sheet is a free download from the Expansion page on the publisher's website. It's page 2 of the contents list.

click here to see the full set

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New Captains for Elite List

2012-01-02T16:48:00.000-06:00

To welcome the new year we've added two new captain cards to the Elite List. Captains are Crew EQUIP cards. Captain cards typically provide 2 effects.

First is Respected Leader. This captain provides a permanent increase to the vessel's Attack power. But it also requires you to draw a card when you gain priority. Notice, this draw is not optional - as long as there are cards in your action deck you MUST draw 1 card when gaining priority.

This card makes it easier to keep cards in hand and adds a boost to your ship's Attack strength.

Next is Rookie Captain. This card increases your vessel's maximum Hull capacity (no repair included). Also, during the Discard Phase when you have priority you MUST add 1 energy counter to the vessel.

This card helps the player build up energy and improves the survivability of the ship (if you can keep it repaired to the higher maximum).

These captain cards each address two issues players frequently deal with. Either of these could prove very helpful in any format of Dog Fight: Starship Edition.

The Elite List is a collection of cards not available in any readily available set of the game. These cards can be acquired exclusively by mailing in 10 "Voucher" cards, collected via the game's currently published sets. The address to send to is printed on these cards. Be sure to include your return address and the ONE card selection (1 card for each 10 Vouchers) you wish to receive.

View the entire Elite List here.

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25% off sale at Lulu.com

2012-01-02T10:50:00.001-06:00

Lulu.com is offering a post-holiday sale of 25% off. That means the Dog Fight: Starship Edition Amplified Rulebook is also on sale.

And for those still considering whether to get into the game, the 2-player print and play set is on sale.

Sale lasts through January 6th. Use code ONEMORETHING.

get yours before the sale ends

visit the official website for Dog Fight: Starship Edition

Feedback on videos

2011-12-31T15:57:00.002-06:00

By now you've probably seen the several videos published lately at our new YouTube channel. (If not, head over there now. Each video is short, less than 10 minutes.) We'd like to know your thoughts on these videos: what you like, what needs to be changed (and how), suggestions for future videos, etc. We can't promise the current videos will be changed but your feedback will certainly be incorporated into future vids.

It is our intention to rely more heavily on the YouTube channel in the future. This channel will largely replace our previous plans for a printed strategy guide. We want to provide all possible tools to help gamers get the most out of Dog Fight: Starship Edition. Free videos seem the best way to do that.

At this point we have two videos in the works designed to familiarize players and potential players with the core sets and the decks in them, to help players choose their ships. These vids should be published sometime within the next month. We've already published videos on game basics, combat, ship abilities, and doubling up. You can see all of these in the recommended playlist we've created.

If you have any questions about game play, that is a great place to start thinking through what other videos we may need to make. Your help will make things a lot easier for future gamers, and current gamers who may be struggling. And the more players we get involved with Dog Fight the better for all of us. So send us your questions and tell us what you want to know.

see current videos here

visit the official website for Dog Fight: Starship Edition

Card 10139

2011-12-30T16:00:00.000-06:00

Redeployment
Star MOVE Card

card text:
[DISCARD]
:: This card can be played only during the Discard Phase.
:: Pay 1 counter from this vessel. Move this vessel up to its maximum distance.

description:
For strategic movement without using a tier action.

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Card 10138

2011-12-29T16:00:00.000-06:00

Resourcefulness
Star INTERVENE Card

card text:
[DISCARD]
:: Discard 1 card from hand (in addition to this card). Draw 2 cards from your action deck.

description:
Quick way to replace cards in hand.

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Doubling Up Demo

2011-12-28T16:00:00.001-06:00

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Lulu.com sale

2011-12-27T13:08:00.000-06:00

Lulu.com is offering 35% off any sale for two days, through December 28. The Amplified Rulebook is available only via the Fox Games Lulu.com store. The Amplified book details all things related to the game. It's 48 pages of descriptions, illustrations, and examples. Get yours today!

Use code BLIZZARDS

get the Amplified Rulebook now!

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Card 10137

2011-12-23T16:00:00.000-06:00

Repair and Retreat
Normal MOVE Card

card text:
Remove one "over heated" counter from this vessel. Move this vessel one space (you may pay one energy counter to move it another space). Repair 1 damage to this vessel.

description:
Three events in one card. Notice, the movement event is not optional, but extending it is optional.

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Card 10136

2011-12-22T16:00:00.000-06:00

Draw 3
Gear EQUIP Card

card text:
[EQUIP] | G4
:: When this vessel possesses fewer than 4 energy counters this card expires. While this card is active any damage inflicted to this vessel is reduced by 2.

description:
Only vessels of Grade 4 or higher can use this card. Any damage (effect damage and combat damage) inflicted to this vessel is reduced by 2. An attack of 2 damage is still successful against this card, it merely inflicts no Hull damage because the shield effect absorbs 2 damage.

This card expires immediately if there are fewer than 4 energy counters aboard this vessel. Energy counters "transferred" to another card equipped to this vessel (such as "Reactive Armor: Electromagnetic") count toward this card's minimum energy requirement. Opponents cannot use your energy counters possessed by other cards in this way; only the energy counters assigned to your ship are subject to opponent effects (such as the card "Power Overload"). Energy counters aboard a vessel can be used for any energy counter purpose that controlling player chooses.

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Card 10135

2011-12-21T16:00:00.000-06:00

Draw 3
Normal INTERVENE Card

card text:
Draw 3 cards from your action deck.

description:
You can bring your hand higher than the 10 card limit with this effect, as long as you reduce your hand back down to 10 cards before proceeding with the next game event by sending extra cards to the discard pile.

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Card Rulings File update

2011-12-20T16:00:00.000-06:00

The Card Rulings PDF has been updated. This update includes several minor clarifications but one big change regarding the card "Close Quarters".

It turns out we had a contradictory pair of rulings centered on the idea of duplicating a card's effect. The ruling on "Target Locked" states the attack boost (which you can pay for) can occur only when the card is flipped face up. When duplicating the card's effect it was "flipped face up" only once, thus the attack boost can occur only on the first attack. "Close Quarters" provides an attack when the card is "flipped face up" but the previous ruling here stated that the attack could occur a second time if the card's effect is duplicated. This has been changed to match the ruling on "Target Locked".

Now, if "Close Quarters" is duplicated, essentially nothing will happen for the second use of the card.

download the PDF file here

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Ship Abilities Demo

2011-12-19T11:25:00.000-06:00

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Card 10134

2011-12-16T16:00:00.000-06:00

Interference
Gear INTERVENE Card

card text:
[EQUIP]
While this card is active roll one d6 when an attack targets this vessel. If you roll a 6 the attack is negated.

description:
Basic electronic warfare card. If used with another card that requires the controller to roll a d6 for an attack upon this vessel, only one roll is required and is subject to all such effects.

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Card 10133

2011-12-15T16:00:00.000-06:00

Counter Measures
Star INTERVENE Card

card text:
[DISCARD]
:: Pay one counter from this vessel. When this vessel is attacked via a card with the word "Missile", "Missiles", "Torpedo" or "Torpedoes" in the title that attack misses this vessel but still detonates in the same space.

description:
A great defense against Missiles and Torpedoes. This card can be played at anytime a Missile or Torpedo strike would hit your vessel, including Support Craft (if they have energy counters to spend).

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Card 10132

2011-12-14T16:30:00.000-06:00

Bulk Plating
Gear EQUIP Card

card text:
[EQUIP]
While this card is active this vessel's maximum Hull is increased by 3. When this card is flipped face up repair this vessel's Hull by 2 (after increasing its maximum by 3 as a result of this card).

description:
The purpose of this card is to teach the difference between current and maximum Hull. First, this card increases a ship's maximum Hull capacity only. Increasing capacity is not the same as increasing the current Hull (which is the definition of "repairing"). If this card is equipped from the beginning of the game (meaning one of the complement rules) it is never "flipped face up". If for what ever reason the card is set from hand and then "activated" it will be flipped face up, which provides a small repair effect of 2 points.

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Damage Factoring

2011-12-14T16:00:00.001-06:00

One of the tribe made some great observations about the tactical thinking behind attacks. The idea is about the meta game aspect of damage factors, using different attacks for different purposes. The ATTACK cards themselves already have their own purposes, but the meta game idea is about putting these different attacks together to harmonize your ship build.

In this idea there are basically 3 different "factors" of attacks, if you will:

low grade
mid grade
high grade

The low grade attack is not statistically significant (possibly only enough to cause up to 3 or 4 Hull damage); it's purpose is not to inflict much damage but only to force a player to make a decision, to test the defenses of that opponent. Many players use one or more of the various Armor cards, which utilize armor counters. "Polarized Hull" is immune to this decision making process because it does not state the player "may" use an armor counter. With "Polarized Hull" the player has no choice in the matter, he/she must use an armor counter from this card for each attack. But the other Armor cards allow the controller to choose whether to use the effect. Using Armor counters for these attacks may help you assess how your opponent plays. On the other hand, your opponent may have numerous other defenses prepared, which reveals something else about that player's deck.

The mid grade attack is significant, inflicting approximately 5 and up to around 10 Hull damage. This type of attack is enough to almost guarantee the defender will use an Armor counter. You may or may not end up inflicting substantial damage. The purpose of the mid grade attack is to use up the opponent's armor counters and/or other defenses.

Low grade and mid grade attacks are mainly intended to make small progress toward eliminating an opponent. They are also both very useful for intelligence gathering on the enemy vessel.

High grade attacks are usually game changing hits. These attacks could be merely to force a player to use a lot of their defensive resources, making it very expensive for them to avoid massive damage. Or these attacks could alter the way an opponent plays the game. Many times in our test group we've seen aggression turn its tail and run, and we've seen defensive players let it all out and go for broke.

What constitutes a low, mid, or high grade attack can also change through out the game. Early in the game both low and mid grade attacks may serve as low grade, assessing hits. But near the end of the game, with low Hull, any attack may suffice for a high grade hit.

Any of you out there notice subtle issues that affect how the game is played or how a deck is built?

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Card 10131

2011-12-13T16:00:00.000-06:00

Torpedoes
Normal ATTACK Card

card text:
:: Reduce this vessel's Range by 4 for this card. For this card only double this vessel's original Attack and attack one target within Range.

description:
Short Range, high powered attack.

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Ship Details and Combat Demo

2011-12-12T09:50:00.000-06:00

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Card 10130

2011-12-10T16:13:00.001-06:00

Heavy Guns
Gear EQUIP Card

card text:
[EQUIP]
:: This vessel's original Hull must be 25 or higher. When this vessel activates an ATTACK card you may discard 1 card from hand to repeat the effect immediately (only once per card).

description:
Light ships (those with an original Hull less than 25) cannot use this card.

This ruling on “Heavy Guns” also applies to the duplication ability of the F.A.S. Achilles. The phrase “(only once per card)” refers to the ATTACK card that was activated, not to the cards discarded as a cost. The application of this effect (the decision to use it) must be announced when you activate the ATTACK card you wish to duplicate (before the ATTACK card's effect resolves and before anything else occurs). This effect applies only if your ATTACK card was flipped face up. If you do utilize the effect of “Heavy Guns”, the duplicated effect is played, not “activated” (because it is flipped face up only once) but you must still follow all card text (including activation costs) on the card. If the duplicated card effect states “for this card only” any modifiers it includes are cumulative. Example: “Missiles” states the Attack is reduced by 2 for this card only. Duplicating this effect via “Heavy Guns” allows you to attack a second time; so the first attack reduces damage by 2 but the second attack reduces damage by 4 and the Range is multiplied by 4.

The effect of “Double Shot” would double, meaning if “Double Shot” is played correctly to permit its second attack, the card would permit 4 attacks if duplicated by the effect of “Heavy Guns”.

If “Torpedoes” is duplicated by “Heavy Guns” it would double the original Attack again as well as reducing the vessel's Range by another 4 spaces. Example: if the vessel's original Attack is 5, the first attack gains +5 and then any other modifiers are applied. The second attack would inflict the that same amount of damage plus an extra 5, but the Range cannot be reduced below zero.

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New YouTube channel

2011-12-10T10:51:00.000-06:00

We've set up a Youtube channel using their new channel design. We'll be relying more heavily on videos in the future so be sure to subscribe!

visit our YouTube channel here

visit the official website for Dog Fight: Starship Edition

Card 10129

2011-12-09T10:27:00.001-06:00

Pursue
Normal ATTACK Card

card text:
Move this vessel one space. Then attack one target within Range.

description:
If this card's effect is negated preemptively (such as via the effect of “Surgical Strike”) no attack and no movement occur as a result of this card. If this card's effect is negated after it is played (such as via the effect of “Jamming”) the movement has already resolved and so is not undone even if the attack aspect of this effect is negated.

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Card 10128

2011-12-09T10:18:00.001-06:00

Power Transfer: Engines
Normal MOVE Card

card text:
:: This vessel may activate only MOVE cards this turn. Double this vessel's Movement for this card only and move it up to its maximum distance.

description:
You may still play Star cards that are not MOVE cards, but any other card type you flip face up ("activate") this turn is negated. If you activated a different card type already this turn, "Power Transfer: Engines" would be negated.

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Game Basics Demo

2011-12-06T13:17:00.001-06:00

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Cyber Monday sale at Lulu.com

2011-11-28T08:48:00.001-06:00

Lulu.com is holding a 30% off CyberMonday sale. Get the Amplified Rulebook at a great discount. Today only!

Use the code CYBERMONDAY

click here to get yours

visit the official website for Dog Fight: Starship Edition

When means when, and I mean it

2011-11-15T14:58:00.001-06:00

Over the weekend session we encountered a situation of timing. I expected this issue to arise eventually. Thankfully it's more of a need to avoid cheese rather than an urgent need to fix something that is totally broken. But because what some may (rightly) consider a cheesy move the issue needs to be addressed. So we bring this before the tribe for discussion.

The situation involved playing multiple "Counter Strike" ATTACK cards against an opponent's single attack (which allows you to shoot the player shooting you right then and there). The initial attack was declared, followed by a "Counter Strike". Then another, and another, and another. The issue is not whether four "Counter Strike" cards could be played, but the manner in which they are played. As we discussed it, the notion of playing all four "Counter Strike" cards at once would be alright, even if brutal. But playing them one at a time to 'see what happens' after each one seemed most cheesy. The last thing any of us want is for someone to stop playing the game because they feel ripped off by the rules or that the game is broken.

The solution our group suggested was a clarification of the word "when". So, in this case "when" the initial attack occurred the defender could play four copies of "Counter Strike" because that is what he/she is responding to. All seems to be played in a more believable fashion.

In a very similar situation, if an attack occurs and the defender plays only one "Counter Strike" it is being played in response to the initial attack. But if a second "Counter Strike" is played after the first one resolves, it is no longer being played "when" that defender was attacked. Now, with the second "Counter Strike" the defender is playing an ATTACK card in response to his/her own attack. The same goes for the third and fourth copies of the same card.

The same applies to "Direct Hit", which increases any attack by 2 "when" it occurs. With the ruling our group proposes, there would be none of this namby pamby risk aversion. Since this is a combat game, if you want to do something we believe you have to commit to the action. So, sure, you could play 7 copies of "Direct Hit" if you have them, but they must all be played at once. If another player wants to contribute with their own "Direct Hit" cards, they would need to play them before the attack resolves completely in order to be counted in that singular attack.

The idea could be focused only on the definition of the term "when" or perhaps in general regarding how "damage calculation" occurs. Perhaps the damage calculation would need to be dealt with more formally, and maybe a new rule preventing any cards from being played during "damage calculation" would be necessary.

What's your opinion?

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Another question about sci-fi games

2011-11-08T14:21:00.000-06:00

Here is another question about sci-fi games on Board Game Geek. Would you recommend Dog Fight: Starship Edition?

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Dog Fight: Starship Edition Video Promo

2011-10-25T11:25:00.000-05:00

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Card Rulings Update

2011-10-24T16:06:00.000-05:00

Several card rulings have been updated to reflect a clarification in the rule book. A question of what it means for an attack to "miss" required some clarification. The issue centered on whether some cards (such as "Return Fire" or "Counter Strike") could be played. These cards state they can be played when your vessel is attacked. However, if the attacker could never target your vessel in the first place (such as being limited by Line of Sight issues) can you still play "Return Fire" or "Counter Strike" or other similar cards?

The short answer to this is no. The idea is that an attack must first legitimately target you and then miss by an effect or ability played at that time. Attacks that could never target you in the first place do not permit the use of "Return Fire" or "Counter Strike", etc.

A couple other minor issues are also addressed in this update. The altered cards are:

Counter Strike
Return Fire
Pursue
Rapid Fire
Surgical Strike

download the complete PDF file here

visit the official website for Dog Fight: Starship Edition

Help us reach the next level

2011-10-19T15:58:00.000-05:00

For those of you who would like to have more players interested in Dog Fight: Starship Edition we've created a Cafepress.com store featuring game swag. Until a traditional publisher is found we're offering the swag in place of asking for donations. So while we are asking you buy the game releases and the swag you'll at least get something tangible in return. Plus, the swag also serves as advertising to help get more players involved - which is good for all of us. Proceeds help us buy more art. That's about the only thing we need to raise money for at this point. New cards require new art.

At the store you'll see four sections. Two sections (one for clothing and one for drinkware) feature the game logo along with the cool ship on our website. The other two sections (also for clothing and drinkware) feature the same ship and a simple statement beneath it in the custom Dog Fight: Starship Edition font (font not available at this time). Can you guess what the glyphs say?

click here to visit the store

visit the official website for Dog Fight: Starship Edition

Card Rulings update

2011-10-12T11:50:00.000-05:00

The Card Rulings file has a couple changes. The cards "Fuel Cell Drain" and "Polarized Hull" have some clarifications.

Fuel Cell Drain has some specific details that make it work. You'll have to discard cards from hand (legally) to gain fuel cell counters. When you have 5 or more of these counters you can transfer only 5 of them to your ship as energy counters. When you do this the card expires.

Polarized Hull requires you to pay an armor counter whenever your vessel is attacked. Although an attack that misses is still an attack (just not a successful one) no attack was inflicted upon the target if the attack misses. The attacker still gets credit for the attack (and any modifiers that may apply) but Polarized Hull does not have to spend one of its armor counters in this case.

download the complete document here

visit the official website for Dog Fight: Starship Edition

Announcing the Bright Edge Expansion Set

2011-10-07T20:57:00.000-05:00

The long awaited Bright Edge Expansion Pack is now available! This pack includes 108 cards and two campaigns.

Bright Edge is not a stand alone game. You will first need your own ship. Two Core Sets each provide 3 capital ships (total of 6 ships available).

Campaigns add a totally new dynamic to the normal fast-paced combat game. With campaigns players have the option of adding a new win/lose condition to the normal game, or of playing the campaigns by themselves. Most campaigns will also feature a solitaire variant to help test your ship build. These campaign missions are intended to test your deck against various situations for its over all playability. Your deck will work best if it can thrive in numerous situations.

Campaign 001, "Titan Evacuation" requires a player/team to orbit the Saturn moon of Titan a little while and destroy some non-friendly NPC vessels. This campaign features a time limit. Reach Titan, remain in orbit for a certain number of turns, and exit via the extraction point.

Campaign 002, "Cargo Escort" requires a player/team to bring a vessel from one end of the map to the other. Enemy NPC drones spawn every turn and they will target the freighter first. Can you protect the transport?

Bright Edge is available now at an introductory price of $24.99 USD. Card previews and the complete contents list are available for download along with the Campaign Rulebook and a campaign cheat sheet to help keep track of all events in the campaign.

check it out now and get yours today

visit the official website for Dog Fight: Starship Edition

Amplified Rulebook update

2011-10-06T11:42:00.003-05:00

The Amplified Rulebook has been updated to version 1.02. A few corrections, a few additions, and some reorganization makes this rulebook the most comprehensive and easy to follow manual for Dog Fight: Starship Edition. In these 48 pages you'll find plenty of examples, illustrations, and situational samples to help you get the most out of the game. This book retails at $25.00 USD.

The Amplified Rulebook is available only via our online Lulu.com store. Lulu.com is currently offering a 15% discount on all orders, through Oct.7. Be sure to use coupon code TANGO before check out.

Get your copy with discount today!

visit the official website for Dog Fight: Starship Edition

Epic cards and Gimmick Decks

2011-10-05T17:02:00.000-05:00

One of our play testers started an interesting conversation over at BGG about the use of epic cards. The conversation focuses on the economics of using the very powerful yet difficult to play cards vs. the easier use of common cards. The issues probably apply to all customizable card games. Any of you who have experience with other card games of this nature are welcome to chime in. One of the intents of creating Dog Fight: Starship Edition was to deal with troublesome issues often found in other games, and the economics of playing powerful cards may well qualify as one of those.

join the discussion here

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Card Rulings Update

2011-10-04T13:53:00.000-05:00

The Card Rulings PDF file has been updated. The latest cards addressed are:

Partial Charge
Peak Efficiency
Reactive Armor: Electromagnetic

The main issue addressed here is the use of energy counters. There is now a distinction between energy counters being "possessed" by a vessel and merely being "aboard" a vessel. These rulings are designed to give the controlling player the advantage over his/her own ship.

As an example, if the card "Power Overload" is used, only the energy counters "possessed" by the ship itself can be counted. Energy counters "possessed" by another card equipped to that ship are not counted (such as energy counters possessed by "Partial Charge"). However, the player controlling "Partial Charge" or "Reactive Armor: Electromagnetic" can use the energy counters "possessed" by these Gear cards for costs because they are aboard the vessel.

This distinction was never considered in the original design of the game but one of the founding premises in Dog Fight: Starship Edition is that each player should have as much control as possible over his/her own ship.

Another change is in the card text of "Peak Efficiency". For this card the term "original Hull" is now the standard text. As long as the vessel's original Hull is at 100% or higher the vessel gains an energy counter during each discard phase. All copies of "Peak Efficiency" in the core sets contain the word "original".

Be sure to check back here regularly for further document updates.

download the Card Rulings file free

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Expansion pack testing is underway

2011-10-01T16:37:00.000-05:00

The Bright Edge Expansion pack finally arrived today. The past three weeks of waiting necessitates a quicker testing schedule for this pack. Bright Edge has already been through months of testing so this next week will primarily be devoted to the physical make up of the set since the cards and campaigns are very solid.

Many moons ago Dog Fight had some play testing done at our FLGS The Crimson Castle. We recently resumed play testing there since the game creator was pleased with the newly released Core Sets. This Friday is the last scheduled testing day and it will be at the Castle. After that, if there are no surprises, you can expect to see the Bright Edge Expansion published Friday evening at The Game Crafter website. We'll post a link to it here as soon as it's up.

visit the official website for Dog Fight: Starship Edition

Does Dog Fight deserve 5 stars?

2011-09-29T11:23:00.000-05:00

Since we have to start over with some of our marketing efforts we'd like the tribe to spread some love. Over on The Game Crafter's website you can see the 2 newly released Core Sets. And they look lonely.

Just click on one of these sets to open that game's page. From there you can "like" us on Facebook, +1 us for Google, and others.

Or give the game a star rating and even leave comments. At the bottom of the game's page is the rating interface. There are several areas you can check to show you like the game such as "high replay value", "nice artwork", it's "fun" and more.

Core Set 2 is featured on TGC's website for a little while. Check it out and click on something.

click here to visit Core Set 2: Light Ships

visit the official website for Dog Fight: Starship Edition

Spread the world

2011-09-28T08:47:00.000-05:00

The newly released Core Sets are replacements for the old starter sets deluxe sets. The older sets have been taken down, which includes any ratings and comments made for them over at The Game Crafter. What this amounts to is the fact that we have to redo a lot of our previous marketing efforts. If you're a fan of the game, here's how you can help.

If you have a minute or two please visit our TGC storefront and click on one or both of the Core Sets. You can rate the game and leave a comment there.

Another thing that would be very helpful is to help newer players/prospective players understand the new releases. Funbun started a great thread over at BGG about the difference between the two Core Sets. The game creator is also available to answer any questions about the game. Input from the tribe would be greatly appreciated, so get on over there!

Lastly, if you find an opportunity to mention Dog Fight: Starship Edition on other websites, blogs, at your friendly local game store, or other venue, go for it.

visit the official website for Dog Fight: Starship Edition

Pre-release Core Sets are now here!

2011-09-26T09:44:00.000-05:00

Finally. The two Core Sets are here! After months of play testing and fine tuning we're finally pleased with the balance of the Core Sets.

Both Core Sets feature 3 capital ships. There are 3 complete decks in each set, including enough 10-sided dice for each ship, and rocket ship minis to keep track of positioning on the board. Each set includes the 24 page Official Rulebook (downloadable for free as well), player mats, and a game map.

Core Set 1 features the Heavy Ships U.S.P.V. Inferno, F.A.S. Intrepid, and U.S.S. Relentless. Each deck contains a well balanced ship build suited to the ship abilities as well as a Voucher card and a map starting space (the blank map on the back has no obstructions so you can design your own board with map cards to be released soon).

Core Set 2 features the Light Ships F.A.S. Achilles, F.A.S. Brutus Magnus, and U.S.S. Tavor. Each deck contains a well balanced ship build suited to the ship abilities as well as a Voucher card and a map starting space (the blank map on the back has no obstructions so you can design your own board with map cards to be released soon).

Both of these pre-releases have some future changes planned, such as full color boxes and such. But for now the basic game is playable and available to all. These sets are available only at The Game Crafter, and you'll need a free TGC account to make a purchase.

The first Expansion Set, "Bright Edge", is expected to arrive soon. After a bit of final play testing it will be published for all. If there are no surprises this could happen as soon as 2 weeks from now.

visit the official website for Dog Fight: Starship Edition, the Tactical Card Game. See a demo of the fast paced space ship combat game.

Almost ready

2011-09-23T21:44:00.000-05:00

As far as I can tell the play testing for this weekend will finalize the "pre-release" of the new Dog Fight: Starship Edition Core Sets. If there are no surprises you can expect to see both core sets made available next week.

We still have yet to receive the latest prototype for the first expansion "Bright Edge". This expansion has been play tested thoroughly so I don't expect any more than a week to compare and test the set for final approval. But we have to get it from the printer first. It may be a week before we get it, then final testing, then it will be ready.

visit the official website for Dog Fight: Starship Edition

Why Indie Games Are Worth The Risk

2011-09-19T07:27:00.000-05:00

The Game Crafter posted an article on their blog about indie games. It's a good, short read. Here it is in its entirety:

Many shoppers are hesitant to buy independent games. They feel there is a bigger risk of buying crappy games if you buy indie games. To some extent that’s true, because indie games don’t necessarily go through the same vetting process as games made by the big publishers. However, there are lots of reasons why indie games are worth the risk.

The Game Crafter provides you with a number of tools to know what you’re getting before you buy a game. For example, you can see action shots of what the game looks like, you can download the rules for the game, see the parts list, read any comments and ratings left behind by other users, and see the quality of the artwork and writing skills of the designer right on the page. And if it’s published to the shop, you know that the designer cared enough at least to jump through all the hoops we make them go through to make it public.

However, there are a number of other non-TGC related reasons why indie games are worth the risk.
They can focus on niche genres that a traditional publisher wouldn’t see as worth their time.
They are great conversation starters at parties and family gatherings because they are likely unique amongst your friends and family.
They are often more creative, because they take risks on mechanics that a traditional publisher might not.
They might be the future best sellers that your friends will find out about 2 years from now, and you can be the cool one that introduced it to them early.
Besides, how many crappy games have you purchased from traditional publishers that just sit on your shelves after one trial play? You have just as much risk there as you do with an indie game. Take the risk, it’s worth it.

original article

visit the official website for Dog Fight: Starship Edition

Updated rulebook

2011-09-15T16:24:00.000-05:00

A few more changes to the Official Rulebook have been made. Some terms which may become more relevant with future cards were added. For example, when a card is equipped to a vessel it is "aboard" that vessel. A few things have been rearranged to flow better for reading.

Several changes over the last few versions of the Official Rulebook will be implemented in the Amplified Rulebook as well. Version 1.02 of the Amplified Rulebook should be available within the month.

Check out the official game website for download.

visit the official website for Dog Fight: Starship Edition

Last stages of Core Set testing

2011-09-12T15:59:00.000-05:00

We've play tested the Core Sets enough to be quite pleased with the new deck configurations. Both sets include 3 decks, and each deck will be reduced from 60 to 54 cards.

There will be no bits for energy counters or other types of counters as players can easily furnish this on their own. But the sets will include the plastic rocket ship minis and d10s.

A full card list will be included with the set contents sheet, and this will be a free PDF download with each Core Set (and these lists will be printed with the sets as well).

For other documentation, the 24 page (12 sheet) Official Rulebook is included with the set as well as 3 player mats (2 sheets each). These will also be available for free download. The 6 page (3 sheet) tutorial document will be available only via download. Presently all documents will be loose sheets until we find a better way of handling that.

visit the official website for Dog Fight: Starship Edition

Delayed prototype finally arrived

2011-08-29T16:25:00.000-05:00

The prototype order mentioned earlier finally arrived on Saturday. There are still some bugs in TGC's system to resolve. In the mean time we have begun testing the core set decks for balance.

It has been decided that the pre-release Core Sets will not include some bits. They will include 3 mini rockets for use on the map and dice for hull count. You'll have to provide the bits for energy counters and such (coins, rocks, or anything of this nature should work fine for this purpose). I'd like to include all game bits in the set but I'm just not satisfied with the bits that would have to be included in order to keep the final price down. With this solution the price will be reduced a bit further for only a slight inconvenience to the players.

At this point the sets will include a card list. The reason for this in unfortunate, but players who get the core sets will receive two bags of cards assorted randomly. The contents list will include a deck list for each of the three ships.

So far each deck will still include 60 cards in this format:

* 57 action cards
* 1 capital ship card
* 1 map card
* 1 voucher card (click here to find out more)

The 24 page rulebook is printed on 12 loose sheets (a solution for this issue is in the works), but the pages are numbered. The 6-page tutorial doc is still available via free download from the core sets but will not be printed with it. A comprehensive and more user friendly 48-page Amplified Rulebook is available via our Lulu.com online store, replete with illustrations, samples, and situational examples.

More updates later as we fine tune the core decks further.

visit the official website for Dog Fight: Starship Edition

New option for Advanced Maps

2011-08-23T14:59:00.000-05:00

Recently a new option has come up for the advanced maps. Previously, the best method of creating the advanced maps as well as the campaign maps was to put a smaller hex grid onto the star field area. This effectively created a larger play area on the same physical map space.

Now we have the option of basically enlarging the physical map itself. In this new option the hex grid will remain the same size but it would take 4 card stock sheets instead of 2 to reproduce the map. But because the hex size of the grid remains unchanged, the game relation between real distances and proportions of obstructions have a different feel.

This option has some advantages and disadvantages. First, the smaller version of the advanced maps seems rather cramped. The size of the hexes in the normal maps has a comfortable feel so this cramped feeling can be mitigated. But because the double sized advanced maps would would require 4 sheets of card stock it adds to the price of the set. Plus, if you were struggling to play with one normal sized map you'll really struggle with one that is double sized.

The maps for the expansions thus far have been a one-sheet advanced hex grid. With the new option they would only be two sheets (not that much of a cost increase). With TGC these maps could still be double sided, so one campaign on one side of the sheets and the other campaign on the other side.

Future plans of the game may end up being the deciding factor. Eventually, if all goes according to plan, ship miniatures will be available. With the micro hex grid a game using minis may prove very impractical. Keeping the current hex size placed on a larger surface would correct such an issue before it ever became a problem.

Any opinions out there on this new advanced map option?

visit the official website for Dog Fight: Starship Edition

Coming Soon: Bright Edge Expansion

2011-08-17T15:51:00.000-05:00

As mentioned before the Bright Edge expansion is ready and will be released at the same time as the two Core Sets (3-ship sets). Bright Edge and the Core Sets will first be published as pre-releases. This due to the fact that The Game Crafter still has some cool features down the road. Some of these features will be incorporated into the Dog Fight: Starship Edition sets, such as full color boxes and real game boards. These pre-releases, in their current configurations, will be first published at an introductory price of $39.99 USD for each Core Set, and $24.99 USD for the Bright Edge Expansion set. This could change, but the only changes on the drawing board at this time are a reduction of components, meaning these prices would be reduced before being released. We'll notify you as soon as the configurations are finalized (at least for the pre-releases) along with their retail prices. (Due to new policies at The Game Crafter, DF:SE retail prices will now end in .99.)

Bright Edge currently includes 108 cards. The map is currently a 10x16 card stock mat with Campaign 001 printed on one side and Campaign 002 printed on the other (details on the first two campaigns can be found here, here, here, here, and here). Using both sides of one mat in this way helps reduce costs. These campaigns include several action cards and Support Craft vessels.

But there will also be a lot of other cards designed to flesh out a player's deck. Bright Edge includes numerous copies of "Clear Shot", "Accelerate", "Deflected Attack" and many others. There are fewer copies of more rare cards such as "Close Quarters" and "Combat Experience: Weapons". There is also one copy of "Enhanced Technology" and some new cards never before released to the public.

Due to feedback regarding Support Craft, there are also 10 copies of "Deploy Drone" in Bright Edge. The "Drone: Vampire Bat" vessels can be used as NPCs for a campaign or as regular Support Craft, in which case they are part of your deck. These "Delpoy" cards are necessary to bring the Support Craft into play. With this aspect of the expansion some players should be able to incorporate Support Craft into their deck builds.

The Core Sets and the expansion will include contents lists and a list of cards. You can download the Bright Edge contents list below. On page 2 of the Bright Edge contents list is a cheat sheet, to aid in playing Campaign games. The rule book for campaign games is a concise 6 pages, plus another page for each of the two campaigns featured in the expansion. You'll need to be familiar with the Official Rules to play campaigns.

We'll will gladly answer any questions about the Bright Edge Expansion or the Core Sets.

download the Bright Edge Expansion list here

visit the official website for Dog Fight: Starship Edition

Back into the swing of things

2011-08-16T12:14:00.000-05:00

We've been out of pocket for the past few weeks but we should be getting back to our regularly scheduled program soon enough. In that time we've been fine tuning the two soon to be released Core Sets as well as the first two expansions.

The first expansion (code named Bright Edge) is still planned to include two campaigns. It will also include a bunch of other cards, totaling 108 cards. This set will include some very rare cards such as "Enhanced Technology" and others. Expansion 2 is still under construction.

But the Core Sets present a bit of a conundrum. What made this retooling of the game such a great idea was not only the consolidation of releases into fewer sets. It was also the fact that true game boards and full color boxes were to be made available. At this time the Core Sets are designed and the order for the prototypes has been placed. There was a delay at TGC but the order should be put in the mail any day now. Unfortunately, the boards and boxes are not available yet. So, we need some input from the tribe.

One option is to wait until the boxes and fold-able boards are available and then publish the Core Sets for all to see. Alternatively we could release the Core Sets as they are now at an introductory price, and change the price accordingly when the boxes and boards become available. In this option the "mats" as they are now called (currently provided in the Deluxe Sets and in the old Map Set) are provided as the game maps. These mats are expected to be folded now (ewe) due to the new methods of TGC 2.0.

There is also the question of bits. The current Core Set configuration includes 30 plastic chips for energy counters and 10 red chips for other types of counters. Obviously this increases the cost of the set. What is your opinion on leaving out these chips, in which case players would need to supply their own (such as with coins, rocks, or what ever)? The general assumption at this point is that all components should be included in the game.

Your feedback on these questions would be much appreciated.

visit the official website for Dog Fight: Starship Edition

Core Set prototypes ordered

2011-08-06T07:38:00.001-05:00

It's been two weeks in the making but the core set designs are finally prototyped! The order has been placed with TGC, so we expect to have it in hand within their 10 time frame.

These two core sets are divided by ship class. Core Set 1 is heavy ships (Hull of 25 or higher). Core Set 2 is light ships (Hull of less than 25). Each deck is an entirely new design, based according to its ship. The decks each have a particular theme, whether it be speed, range, or other card combination.

At this point the Core Sets each include 3 ships, a 2-piece board, and all the bits necessary for 3 players. The boards are double sided, meaning one side is the normal map and the back side is a blank hex grid star field. Each set includes 3 start-space map cards (A, B, and C) to place on the blank map. There are plenty of plastic tokens to act as energy counters and other counters, six d10s for Hull strength (2 for each of the three ships) and a small plastic rocket for each player. Each Core Set will also include a copy of the official rulebook (24 pages), the tutorial document (6 pages), and 3 player mats.

Future expansions will include lots of cards, some of which will be more map cards for altering the board. Most expansions will also include a new map and campaign mission.

If time can be managed well enough there may also be a couple expansions released right off the bat when we finally publish the two Core Sets.

Stay tuned for more developments.

visit the official website for Dog Fight: Starship Edition

Document Update: Official Rulebook

2011-08-05T16:39:00.000-05:00

The official rulebook is now updated to version 1.14. There are only minor clarifications and other alterations to the book. These changes make the learning curve a bit easier for new players to the game.

download the free PDF

visit the official website for Dog Fight: Starship Edition

Tales from Play-on-Con 2011

2011-08-01T17:15:00.001-05:00

This year's Play-on-Con was even better than last year's. The venue was excellent and the activities were fantastic. For those who do the con circuit annually you won't want to miss POC next year. For those with little time for such ventures and may attend only one gaming/sci-fi convention a year, Play On Con is the list for the Alabama area.

POC featured an astounding number of events and activities for sci-fi and gaming fans. Everything from a dozen anime events to costume design workshops, game design/business workshops to game shows, podcasting how tos, Japanese events, writing workshops, movie making, music, dance, Star Trek and Star Wars events, several activities for Joss Whedon fans, Dr. Who events, and of course the gaming.

It was an amazing weekend at POC. Most of the DF:SE crew hung out in the gaming area demonstrating the game. In that area there were miniatures workshops, RPG sessions, tournaments for numerous big name games (not only hard core games, but awesome casual games like Apples to Apples and The Great Dalmuti) and much more. It was truly an impressive sight. Kudos go to Andrew Greenberg (of Holistic Design) and Kelvin Parham (of the Crimson Castle) who did all the heavy lifting to set all the gaming spaces and events.

Be sure to keep an eye out for Play On Con next year. The place was packed with people this year and is sure to be again next year. There will certainly be even more awesome stuff for the whole family (it is a family-friendly convention). You can see the full details on the 2011 convention on their website.

POC website

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Deluxe Sets published again, limited time only

2011-07-30T22:03:00.001-05:00

We had a blast at Play On Con this weekend. There will be a more in depth post about it later. For now, due to the interest we saw at the convention we are making the three Deluxe Sets available again, for a limited time. The Core Sets are likely 3 or 4 weeks off (hopefully sooner rather than later). In the mean time, these one person Deluxe Sets include all the bits you'll need to supply yourself a ship. Your opponents will need their own. These sets were formerly $29.00, now reduced to $24.99.

Intrepid Set
Inferno Set
Achilles Set

visit the official website for Dog Fight: Starship Edition

Document Update: Card Rulings

2011-07-27T16:40:00.000-05:00

We have recently encountered a few minor clarification some cards. The updated cards are "Double Shot", "Heavy Guns", and "Return Fire". Hopefully the clarifications won't alter the way anyone plays.

click here to download the PDF file

visit the official website for Dog Fight: Starship Edition

PlayonCon this weekend: free game!

2011-07-26T12:41:00.001-05:00

This weekend Dog Fight: Starship Edition will be demoed at Play On Con. POC is a four day fantasy and science fiction fandom convention held each year in Birmingham, Alabama--the Magic City! The event will be from this Friday through Monday, hosted at the Birmingham Mariott. (address and other info can be found on the POC website)

We also have a hand full (that means very few) FREE starter sets to hand out to participants who play DF:SE. We'll be in the open gaming area Friday and Saturday only. If there is enough interest in the game there might also be a quasi-tournament-esk type event Saturday. We have some booster packs for victory prizes.

Oh, and there will be a lot of other stuff going on at the convention. Check out the POC website for details.

click here to visit the Play on Con website

visit the official website for Dog Fight: Starship Edition

Brutus Magnus earns her stripes

2011-07-23T18:19:00.059-05:00

2095.07.09
Lunar Naval Headquarters, United Socialist Provinces
- Unitas Salaam Colony, Maenon

"As ordered, Commodore, here it is."

"Begin, Lieutenant."

"Aye, sir."

..... ... ....... .... .. ... b... .... the enem.... ... damage.... ... ....

"Get..... .... armaments ..... defenses of that ship. She may be a light class ...... but she's got a serious bite."

"Readings show the Magnus has standard weapons supplemented by a heavy payload of Missiles. Defenses are ... Shields but nothing else registers at this time, sir."

"It's Captain James. No doubt about it. Helm, intercept course, full speed."

"Aye, ...tain, full speed."

"Distance to optimal range of target?"

"One million kilometers, sir."

..... .... ........ ...

"Incoming missiles, captain!"

"Launch counter measures."

"Missile detonation confirmed. No damage, sir."

"Return fire."

"Another volley of missiles, sir."

"Evasive"

"Missile impact, minimal damage, captain."

"Bring the Shine Spark online."

"Shine Spark powering up, ...."

............ . .......... .. ....

"There is some unrecoverable data from the middle of the battle, commodore. What we've gathered so far is that, with the Shine Spark engaged, the Brutus Magnus took heavy damage and Captain Mirziyoyev was able to evade some of the attacks directed toward the Inferno, sustaining some damage.

The remainder of the recording continues from this point."

"The ...... ship is heavily damaged, sir, and fleeing to the other side of the sun."

"Pursue."

"Engines are at 30% captain, they'll be back at full capacity in two minutes."

"Tactical, fire whenever the opportunity arises. Helm, best speed on present course."

"Aye, sir."

.. ..... ........ .. ...... ....

"Weapons cannot lock on to target, captain. The enemy is utilizing electronic countermeasures."

"He saved his jammers for later. Good move James. Let's see how you handle the fully powered Shine Spark blast."

"All weapons fully charged for concurring blast, captain."

"Engage ... weapons!"

(main guns roar numerous times)

"Sir, some damage to the target, but the enemy's jammers ... disrupted the guns."

"Incoming missile, Captain."

"Counter measures."

"No damage, sir."

Sir, another missile."

(sound of missile impact)

"Hull stat..?"

"Minimal damage, captain. Forward sections at 40% integrity, sir. All ...tems still functioning."

"Thermal read...s?"

"... within limits, Captain. Wait, sir, ...l readings ... .... ... spike... ... .."

"What happened, Lieutenant? I thought your team recovered all the pertinent sections of the recording?"

"We did, Commodore."

"Well where's the rest of the bloody battle?"

"That's the end of it, sir. The Inferno was destroyed at the moment the recording stopped."

"What the hell happened?!"

"We don't know yet, sir. Forensic analysis of the debris and data from the recorder both suggest an odd build up of heat after the last missile impact."

"Lieutenant, you and your team have an admirable reputation with this sort of thing. We've lost ships before, while engaged with multiple enemies. But the Inferno has also proven victorious in such circumstances, as has Alexander. Now you're telling me one of our finest battle ships, under the command of one of our best captains and my friend, was beaten by a singular inferior foe and the only thing you can tell me for certain is unexplained thermal readings?"

"Well, sir, Captain Mirziyoyev was correct about his initial assessment. The Brutus Magnus was commanded by Captain Charleston James of the..."

"Lieutenant, I've got a briefing with the Admiral tomorrow. He must report to the Supreme Court by the end of the week. If you don't get something useful for the Admiral you and your team will be assigned to refuse duty for the next six months. Dismissed!"

visit the official website for Dog Fight: Starship Edition

Retooling has commenced

2011-07-22T09:15:00.000-05:00

As mentioned before on their website, The Game Crafter has been working on some major updates to their website. As of this morning the first phase is completed!

What this means for Dog Fight: Starship Edition is that all current releases are offline. They will soon be replaced with the new retooled game, featuring Core Sets (3 ships each) which include expanded and redesigned decks. Later expansions will include bigger card sets and possibly map/campaign expansions.

visit the official website for Dog Fight: Starship Edition

Troika - A victory for the Tavor

2011-07-19T11:31:00.003-05:00

2095.07.01 Personal Log:

The night was young and cold, as it always is. Budget constraints limited darkening glass only to the command deck. Everywhere else on the ship either faced the blackness of space or a sterile titanium panel. It was always night while on tour, unless you were lucky enough to be assigned to the bridge.

Quarters are cramped on smaller, light battle ships, enough to make even a normal crewman claustrophobic. I had just ended a double shift. I opened the solar screen to see the marvel of the night. The sun's light barely glistened to the far right of the tiny window. The trawlers and mining bots were almost out of visual range. It wasn't a sexy assignment, guarding a mining operation. But it did have action. Iridium was far easier to find in the asteroid belt than it was on Earth. If we were going to survive this war our fleet needed iridium. And the mining operation needed protection.

I was finally trying get some shut eye when the engines fired up, making the whole ship almost convulse. Then the warning siren. "Battle stations. Battle stations. This is not a drill." I really wish the XO would find something else to say to get our attention. "All hands to battle stations. This is not a drill."

I'm glad I was mostly still in my uniform. I was finishing with my shoes when I caught one last glance at the window. The ship had maneuvered so that, for only a moment, my broad side window revealed the enemy. It was a Brutus Magnus class. A gleam of light could be seen in the distance. It was approaching fast. It turned out to be a second missile already on its way. I only knew that because the first missile screamed past my tiny window only a few meters away. It was a much more effective way of waking me up than the XO's scratchy voice. Some new recruits stumbled on their way to their stations when the second missile impacted on the hull.

They wanted the iridium. We could hold our own against a Brutus Magnus. The Tavor class is also a light ship but formidable. And Kirk is our Captain. He and many others recently transferred from an embattled (and victorious) Relentless class to flesh out the capabilities of the newly launched ship. It was his first mission commanding the Tavor but he had earned our respect. I knew him, I didn't know the ship. At least we weren't facing an Intrepid.

At my station there was the usual organized chaos. Commands being thrown all about. Coordinates, firing solutions, mobility calculations, targeting all happening simultaneously. A voice broke through the noise.

"Captain, another ship is approaching!"

"Identify."

"It's an Intrepid class, sir!"

Oh crap! Two ships vying for our resources. The Magnus and the Intrepid are both F.A. ships but that didn't necessarily mean they were coordinating. It's a good thing there aren't any ceiling fans on the command deck. Undoubtedly I would be assigned clean up duty.

Combat chatter resumed, but with a noticeable apprehension. Then the name was heard. The Intrepid was captained by Sebastian. Rumor was he retired, or he was dead. It was a miracle any solar system captain could live long enough to retire. But it was common for captains to be killed in combat. Obviously neither were true for him. Now the three ships would engage for control of the iridium.

The captain of the Magnus knew what we were up against, too, and evidently the two Free Africa ships were not allied this day. The Magnus went straight for the Intrepid. A flurry of missiles bombarded the massive carrier, but Sebastian knows how to survive. Active Defensive Armor is extremely effective. And with the ability to deflect attacks he would not so easily be deterred. After all that, sensors registered a lot of thermal stress on the Intrepid, but minimal damage.

Captain Kirk was able to launch an assault at the Magnus, which was now caught in the crossfire between its two opponents. The Tavor and Intrepid closed in on the third, putting us all into closer proximity of each other. The Magnus continued to take fire while it tried to limp away. But Sebastian is a hunter, and he would not let his prey escape.

I had never been on the bridge in previous skirmishes. Because of my low rank I had never before witnessed the awesome destructive power of the Intrepid's infamous cannon. This time I could see it for myself. I don't know if it was mere luck or if the captain is really that good, but Kirk managed to move us out of range for the Colossus blast. This put us in a perfect position to avoid certain destruction and then move in for the kill. The Brutus Magnus, however, didn't have a chance. Even the notorious delay wasn't enough time to escape. It was almost like witnessing the birth of a small sun when the blast finally annihilated its target. The combination of tragedy and beauty can be a humbling sight.

But the Intrepid drained her power in the massive strike. It was the opportunity we needed. We maneuvered closer to our remaining foe.

Captain Kirk gave the order. "Ready the nukes".

It was unbelievable. Even after the damage it dealt and suffered, the Intrepid was still able survive a nuclear strike! We knew the captain could bring us through the fight, at least with our previous ship. The Tavor may be a smaller version of the Intrepid but she could not have survived what just failed to destroy the enemy. The Intrepid simply refused to be destroyed. It is times like these where officers earn their reputations or die.

One might think pulling away and firing from a more manageable position would be the most sound decision. But Captain Kirk did precisely the opposite. We maneuvered to within spitting distance. The Intrepid continued to evade our attacks but the captain was ready for whatever Sebastian threw our way.

Intrepid attacked. The Tavor also has impressive armor, which Captain Kirk used to its full potential. The Reactive Armor absorbed most of the damage and returned the blast back to its origin. Finally, the Intrepid fell. Her last assault was her own undoing.

Some of the new crew roared in cheers. Captain Kirk put a quick end to it. The rest of us knew better. He immediately ordered us to gather any survivors. We typically send them to prisoner processing. The Terran Republic doesn't bother with "re-education" as the other factions typically do. Instead we have to deal with the problem of boarding and housing for a growing POW population. Occasionally, however, we discover a few defectors from new prisoners, and more from those who've been held for several months.

This time there are escape pods unaccounted for. Bodies being vaporized from the shear heat of destroyed ships is not uncommon, but escape vehicles are a different matter. It's been 12 hours since the battle and we have yet to find evidence of Captain Sebastian's remains. Perhaps we will meet him again. If there is a next time the captain's name will instill a moment of frightful silence on the enemy crew, not ours. For now, I need some sleep.

visit the official website for Dog Fight: Starship Edition

Player Review: Space Combat - fast, thematic, with great art

2011-07-15T15:33:00.000-05:00

A game review by Andrew Tullsen. This player review includes lots of images and great detail. Plenty of info for anyone considering playing the game.

:: read the full review here >>

visit the official website for Dog Fight: Starship Edition

Card 10129

2011-07-12T16:34:00.000-05:00

Pursue
Normal ATTACK Card

card text:
Move this vessel one space. Then attack one target within Range.

description:
A combination of movement and attacking in one card.

return to card list

visit the official website for Dog Fight: Starship Edition

Troubles with the Brutus Magnus

2011-07-11T15:07:00.001-05:00

The Brutus Magnus has been said to be too powerful. Some observers of the game mention this upon comparing the game's six ships. Players of the game, at least in this player's group, have a different opinion.

The game creator continued testing his new Brutus Magnus Over Heated Counters deck over the weekend. Several games against various players yielded little for this deck. Some of these featured a normal combat game, others included a Campaign objective. All the other players reveled in their very satisfying victories. I got really close to winning each time, but as they say, close only counts in horse shoes, hand grenades, and thermonuclear weapons.

At first glance the Magnus does indeed seem over powered. It has the highest original Attack strength of any ship so far, registered at 8 ^!*&@*%(@ units (haven't made up a term for this yet). But game play has shown otherwise. The low Hull of the Magnus seems an adequate balance after all, especially when compared to the heavy ships of 25 or higher Hull strength.

In our test group the Magnus Missiles deck was very effective at first. It may be time to return to that, since all other ship builds have evolved over time and may once again be vulnerable to that type of deck. That's one of the most enticing aspects of a customizable game, the meta game.

Any of you other players have experiences of good deck designs for the lesser ships (original Hull of less than 25)?

visit the official website for Dog Fight: Starship Edition

Review: Is This A "Wow" Kind Of Game??

2011-07-08T15:55:00.000-05:00

Another player review posted on Board Game Geek. More reviews like this would be welcome!

read the full review here

visit the official website for Dog Fight: Starship Edition

Liking vs loving a game

2011-07-07T16:42:00.000-05:00

In music, "perfect pitch" and "relative pitch" are not the same thing, not even close. Each relates to how one listens to music, and what one is able to discern, but they are the difference between individual notes and the type of chord being played. Those who have not studied music formally tend to think of perfect and relative pitch as different levels of the same skill. At least with this question there are definitive answers with academic support and fancy jargon. They are different skills entirely, each of which require time and training.

So I started wondering if "liking" a game is actually different from "loving" a game. For years I thought a game I "loved" was simply one I liked a lot. Now I'm not so sure that's true. There are varying levels of liking a game, certainly, such as the difference between liking a game and merely thinking it "cute" or something of this nature. I might actually say it's the difference between being only willing to play vs wanting to own it. It's the difference between being sociable and being willing to spend your money on a game. For some folks, that's all the difference in the world. It's how they make a living. But what people like can be as varied as it is fickle: people change their minds and fads get replaced. What was in is now out, because new stuff is created every day. It's very difficult for your friendly local game store to keep up with what people want.

Games I like are games I want to own. I want to be able to play them whenever the opportunity arises. I don't want to take the chance that a game won't be available. If I have my own copy, I know it's available. But there is a difference between being willing and prepared to play a game, and being eager to play it.

It's another thing to make plans in advance to play a game I like. Having a plan is enough to make me think about the game up to the time the group finally meets and we start to play. But when a game distracts me from most other aspects of life, that is a totally different dynamic. I have never experienced anything like withdrawal symptoms from not playing a game I love, even if I do joke about it, but when I'm willing to play a game at almost any time of the day, any day, and even wish someone else would want to play that particular game too, that's when I know I really love a game.

Of course, with most people, to appreciate a game to this degree is usually a short lived thing. It might last a few months at most. It could be the excitement wears out over numerous plays. Or, tragically, perhaps not enough people are as eager to play the game, so the desire to play it withers away. The dying kind of withering away. That's so sad.

But customizable games seem to be different. People who play RPGs, miniatures games or CCGs, tend to find a few (or less than a few) and loyally stick with them over a number of years. Addiction might be a fair description, though I don't know anyone (at least I'm not aware of anyone) who would spend the week's food budget on the next expansion, or model, or booster box. Yet, with these games, players can easily zone out in any normal life situation and start contemplating how they might change their approach in the next game, which couldn't happen too soon. When the game group meets, it's not a "so what are we going to play this time" type of situation. Everyone already knows which game, even without having to plan it in advance. And this might go on week after week, or month after month, for years. A game which is that fun reaches a totally different level than just "liking" it.

But a very high level of "liking" a game isn't the same as "loving" it, which is truly something different. In most cases I wouldn't be all that interested in the difference. Taking such an academic approach is usually a bit pedantic for me. But because I've designed a game I love to play, and I want to make a living off of it, the fun factor is very relevant to me. After 7 years of thinking, planning, designing, changing, spending, play testing, waiting, etc., I still love to play Dog Fight: Starship Edition.

One of the reasons I didn't make a career out of music was the concern that the love of the craft would die once it became my primary means of supporting a family. For some inexplicable reason, I don't have that concern with the game. I am confident there are plenty of players out there who will love it, too. Getting the word out is the hard part, and that takes up a lot of time and energy (an understatement, believe me). However, that doesn't mean development of the game has ceased. I love the game enough to keep creating new cards, new expanded play ideas, and even fun-factor research.

In fact, only about half the time I zone out is devoted to playing the game in my head, planning how I can improve my own play. The other half seems to drift toward analyzing the fun-factor. How can I make the game more fun? Or how could it appeal to a wider range of gamers? The conscious analysis occurs in my more productive hours. Imagining ways of improving the game tends to be in those moments of ......

Any way, all that is just some meandering manner of getting to a question for you. What is it that makes a game really stand out to you? Or, to put it another way, why do you want to play this or that particular game more than all the others? No, really. I need your comments. Please respond here.

visit the official website for Dog Fight: Starship Edition

Card 10128

2011-07-06T15:44:00.002-05:00

Power Transfer: Engines
Normal MOVE Card

card text:
:: This vessel may activate only MOVE cards this turn.

Double this vessel's Movement for this card only and move it up to its maximum distance.

description:
Easy way to get away or catch up to another vessel. The catch is you can set only MOVE cards for the turn. But this doesn't stop you from playing Star cards of other card types.

return to card list

visit the official website for Dog Fight: Starship Edition

A Retooling of the Game

2011-07-05T16:22:00.000-05:00

Given the soon to be updated TGC website (as mentioned on their blog), with the many excellent features they will offer, we announce a retooling of Dog Fight: Starship Edition will commence. The retooled release will offer the game as a board game with CCG mechanics, rather than a CCG with tactical board game mechanics.

The starter decks will be combined into Core Sets, each of either 3 or 4 ships. These Core Sets will include more than just the 32 card decks so as to provide a more complete gaming experience. They will also include counters, dice, and the maps. All this will be packaged in a more traditional game box, with full color art, as any respectable game should be.

The 10x16 map sheets might be replaced with traditional chipboard backed foldable boards. Eventually, this option will be provided by TGC but it may have a significant affect on the use of Map Cards, already available for Dog Fight. This map card feature of the game makes for customizable maps every game, and it is worth keeping. We'll be able to make a definite decision on this after TGC makes its final news release on the details, such as board dimensions and such.

Booster packs will be replaced with larger expansions. Each of these expansions will include lots of cards and most likely a new map as well (such as the aforementioned Campaign maps).

The game cards will also undergo a face lift. The Action Icon in the upper right corner of the stats area indicates what form of card it is (Gear card, Star card, etc.). In the current card design these icons are labeled as simply "action" icons. In the updated template design these icons will be labeled with the form name.

Also, the card type indicated below the card art will stand out a bit more. The background bar is a little darker here and the white text is a bit larger, making it easier to read. Any other ideas for making the cards more play-friendly are welcomed (see the included graphic for a closer look).

Once these changes are finalized and implemented all the currently released sets will be removed from The Game Crafter's website.

Suggestions for Core Set contents are needed. The current starter decks do not have to be simply recreated for the Core Sets. Ideas from the active players of the tribe would be most helpful in making for a better game. Please comment here.

visit the official website for Dog Fight: Starship Edition

Player's Review

2011-07-01T14:37:00.000-05:00

One loyal player posted his own review of Dog Fight: Starship Edition at Board Game Geek. In that post, Rob Koch takes a thorough look at the game with an overview, the components, and game play. It's a quick read but a good analysis.

read the full review here

You can also read/watch other reviews on the blog: review posts.

visit the official website for Dog Fight: Starship Edition

Card 10127

2011-06-30T15:17:00.000-05:00

Power Reserves
Normal INTERVENE Card

card text:
:: Discard one card from hand. Add energy counters to this vessel equal to the number of cards equipped to it.

description:
A quick way to amass energy counters, depending on the number of cards equipped to the vessel. This includes EQUIP cards, INTERVENE cards, even enemy cards - all Gear cards aboard.

return to card list

visit the official website for Dog Fight: Starship Edition

TOY SOLDIERS AND DINING ROOM BATTLES

2011-06-29T16:00:00.000-05:00

The first in what will become a list of websites and blogs of tribe members. Connect with other gamers who share an interest in Dog Fight: Starship Edition, and see what else they are up to.

This first entry is TOY SOLDIERS AND DINING ROOM BATTLES:

MOST YOUNG BOYS PLAY WITH TOY SOLDIERS; SOME NEVER STOP! I'M PROUD TO SAY THAT I AM ONE THAT NEVER HAS STOPPED. TOY SOLDIERS, PAINTING THE FIGURES, HISTORY AND MINIATURE WARGAMING IS WHAT THIS SITE IS ALL ABOUT.

visit the tribe member's blog here

visit the official website for Dog Fight: Starship Edition

Poll: time for a redesign?

2011-06-27T18:00:00.000-05:00

An idea has come up about marketing Dog Fight: Starship Edition as a board game with card driven mechanics, rather than primarily a customizable card game. This idea includes redesigning all current product releases. The general concept is a consolidation of current releases, so there are fewer "starter" sets and fewer booster packs. But each release would have more product.

One idea involves changing the current starter sets to "core" sets. A core set would basically be 4 ships in a single release. This would require creating 2 more capital ships, so as to have 2 core sets, each with 4 ships. These core sets would include more than just the 4 basic starters already released. They would have enough cards to truly provide a "complete" game experience. These would include a game board and other bits to make the game complete.

Expansions would be fewer but larger. These would provide lots of cards, not just the 16 or 32 in current booster packs. These expansions could also include map expansions, such as the campaigns already mentioned here.

There is also the idea of a Deluxe "complete series" set. This seems to be a popular idea but there are some issues with it relating to this particular game. In most customizable card games players are typically limited to no more than 3 or 4 copies of any card title. But in Dog Fight: Starship Edition, there is no such limit. You could include 50 or more copies of any card title (with some exceptions) so providing 1 or a few copies of cards in a "complete series" set is not practical for game play.

If you think Dog Fight: Starship Edition should be repackaged, how should it be done?

visit the official website for Dog Fight: Starship Edition

Card 10126

2011-06-23T16:38:00.000-05:00

Withdraw
Normal MOVE Card

card text:
:: You may play only MOVE cards this turn. You gain Priority immediately. Increase this vessel's Movement by 1 for this turn and move it up to its maximum distance.

description:
One of very few ways to steal Priority from another player but limits you to playing only MOVE cards for that turn. To "play" other cards includes Star cards, not just flipping cards face up.

return to card list

visit the official website for Dog Fight: Starship Edition

Theory Behind the Game Part 6

2011-06-22T15:56:00.000-05:00

In the previous posts (part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, and part 5) we addressed the technical and philosophical concepts behind Dog Fight: Starship Edition. Ideas are still being developed. The game itself continues to expand while we also search for a publisher. There are also plans for the distant future of the game and for the near future of the business model.

I have been amazed to see how many people in so many different places who would actually debate each other in something that is total speculation: who would win. Among sci-fi fans, this "who would win" question is about franchises. You know the big name science fiction universes. Before development of Dog Fight: Starship Edition even began this question was debated. The stories told to us on screen or in book form are captivating. It is truly astonishing to see the loyalty fans have for their sci-fi.

The birth of the DF:SE idea was simply as a fan of the customization and combat aspects of the collectible card game. But the intent was to design a game that utilized common components in uncommon ways. Thus, the idea of changing the expected play sequence (no automatic draw, attempting simultaneous play), changing how cards were played (normal play is to set a card face down and reveal later), and changing the approach of the combat game. So instead of commanding a horde of monsters or fleet of ships, in Dog Fight: Starship Edition you captain a single space ship. If you want to add in fighters and other support craft, Commander's rules were created for this added dynamic. Captain's rules include space stations.

But the purpose of this construct was to develop a mechanics system that could accommodate the multi-verse idea, pitting the big franchises against each other. The basic DF:SE universe is the base game. The multi-verse idea will require getting licenses from their owners, which is an ambitious goal, to say the least. Those famous franchises are cool enough, and the fan base is big enough that I think the effort to achieve this goal for the Dog Fight game is justified.

That leads me to a question about the business approach. So far, DF:SE has been released via a print on demand publisher. This way, funds can be raised to continue development by offering real product in return. An alternative could be something like the Kick Starter method, which seems to be successful for other indie game projects like this one. We have mixed feelings with this approach. Some sort of change is necessary, this has become clear. Best case scenario would be finding a traditional game publisher.

So it's time to ask the tribe about the future of Dog Fight: Starship Edition. Any thoughts on Kick Starter or something similar?

visit the official website for Dog Fight: Starship Edition

Theory Behind the Game Part 5

2011-06-21T16:10:00.000-05:00

What part of a strategy game consumes the most play time (as opposed to preparation time)? After component prep (perhaps painting miniatures or building your deck) and game set up, what takes up the most amount of time during a game is probably either chatting or action planning. You'll have to deal with the dialogue issue. But the issue of taking a turn is addressed with the game construct of Dog Fight: Starship Edition. Let's take a look.

Sequence of Play
The Tier Sequence is designed to be executed very quickly. The Resolution Phase (Action Phase 2) occurs in rapid succession so the action of the game keeps a fast pace. The Preparation Phase (Action Phase 1) is where most of the thinking occurs during game play. In my test groups this is where most of the talking occurs as well, which makes it easy to get lost as to what is going on in the game (reminder tokens have proven very useful). A tutorial video has been created to show how the Tier Sequence works:

In many games the "downtime" that occurs while you wait on another player can become frustrating. Even if the game is fun, this downtime can seriously detract from the fun factor. Oddly enough, in many strategy games this downtime is not really downtime at all. As with some miniatures games and some other CCGs, Dog Fight makes good use of it.

With this game construct, you will see your opponents prepare their actions for the turn. Though you don't know what cards are being placed on the table, this brief pause in the game action can provide invaluable insight into that player's plans for the turn. The priority player actually has a slight disadvantage in this instance. He/she must perform the Prep Phase before any other player. This means all other players can use this information somewhat like intelligence gathering, and plan their own actions for the turn accordingly (as best as they can guess what the priority player planned to do).

If you mentally check out during this time (or use conversation to your advantage, letting other players distract themselves) players can easily lose track of any tactics they might have wished to play for the turn. You'll find some ideas work best when you have priority, and some work best when you don't. Keeping an eye on the plans of other players can prove very significant during the Resolution Phase.

Dog Fight: Starship Edition was designed to mitigate analysis paralysis. The game cards are mostly straight forward and rather simple. Because you can use several cards in a turn, and there may be costs associated with those effects, keeping track of everything may burn a few synapses while preparing your actions for the turn. (I wonder if "warning: this game may cause brain damage!" would work as a marketing ploy.) You'll often have to guess as to any opponent actions while preparing your own moves. And if you have Support Craft in the game, that's another dynamic added into the mix. It can be a lot to keep in mind.

The game cards are written so that no interpretation should be required. If you read the cards (yes, I have to actually mention that), and if you read them literally, figuring out what to do should be simple enough. Keeping track of it all may not be so easy at first but experience with the game should help a great deal in this regard.

Given the (mostly) simple card effects (there are a few complex card effects as well) and the fact that your maximum hand limit is 10 cards, if your deck is designed well you shouldn't have much trouble in deciding what to do for your actions on any given turn. In fact, in my group's testing sessions, the longest games we played included a lot of chit chat as well. The game play itself moves quickly.

In the next post will be some final thoughts about the theory behind the game and why it was created in the first place.

watch tutorial video 3 here

visit the official website for Dog Fight: Starship Edition

Team Strategies

2011-06-20T16:12:00.000-05:00

During the weekend we play tested with Captain Jim (who might be referred to here in the future as Captain Confusion) and we had the rare honor of including his son. Captain Kirk joined us for the evening as well, which made four players. We decided to play a team game, two against two.

The game creator was still testing the new Brutus Magnus deck, while his finely tuned Tavor deck was captained by our visiting player. Cap'n Jim teamed up with his son, so Cap'n Kirk and the game creator had to go against the creator's Tavor deck, and what ever ship Jim uses (that's not really important, is it?)

Team games have a little different approach from free for all games. In team games, all mobile vessels increase their original Movement by 1 (which means you can do one extra Harrison Maneuver each turn). This helps traverse the area much quicker, since each team is required to provide its own map. One of the reasons for this requirement is the option to win by domination. Destroying all opponents is an option, but capturing all the start spaces on an opponent's map is also a viable method of winning the game. (see the official rulebook or the Amplified Rulebook for details on team play).

Neither team seemed particularly well coordinated but the Cap'n Jim team won hands down. It should be no surprise that one's chances of survival significantly drop once you lose a team member. This makes the coordination between team members a very important aspect of play.

In the past, the Brutus Magnus has had difficulty doing well in a team game. It was no different this time. The strategies for team play could certainly benefit from input from the tribe. Here are some obvious suggested tactics for team play:
* don't get caught in a crossfire between two or more opponent vessels
* try to create a situation so an opponent must move into the crossfire between your team members
* play for the long game, not the quick victory
* if you lose a team mate, keep your distance from the enemy

There are some ideas which need to be developed, such as which tactics would work well if team members remained in close proximity vs. if they spread apart. Or, how should attacks and movement be coordinated in team play?

Any of you players out there learned any tricks for team play? We'd love to hear your advice.

see the Amplified Rulebook

visit the official website for Dog Fight: Starship Edition

Old Review

2011-06-18T17:24:00.000-05:00

There is so much posted on the BGG forum it can be difficult to find what you're looking for. If you want to read any reviews of Dog Fight: Starship Edition you can find several at Board Game Geek or on the official DF:SE website.

If this game interests you here is a link to an old review for your reading pleasure, and our shameless promotion: read the review by Endymian.

You can also read/watch other reviews on the blog: review posts.

visit the official website for Dog Fight: Starship Edition

Theory Behind the Game Part 4

2011-06-17T15:53:00.000-05:00

Part 2 and Part 3 of this series addressed some limitations and mechanics problems with other customizable card games in the market, and how Dog Fight: Starship Edition addresses those issues. In this installment we will look at realism and some of its implications.

You're probably familiar with the phrase "jump the shark". The official meaning of this phrase tends to be something like a climax of a TV show, where the quality/popularity/profitability of the show begins an unrecoverable decline. There is another, less academic meaning of this phrase which I've also heard people use. This second meaning is something more like an unfortunate instance in a show which is just too ridiculous to accept. The ability to suspend one's disbelief has reached its limit, and it becomes almost impossible to "get into" the story any longer.

There is a similar situation with customizable card games. In this game type, new cards are released periodically. As expected, to keep interest in the game the newer cards tend to raise the bar. Effects and abilities offered by new cards often surpass those provided by previous cards. At the early stages of CCGs this is actually a good idea. The more simple cards should be released early so players can acclimate to the game. Those who enjoy playing it will naturally learn the more powerful cards as they are released. But if a game is not designed with definitive limits on the uber-powerful cards the game can get out of control. With cards that are too powerful it becomes very easy to leave players feeling ripped off, or feeling that the game has been broken by poor planning on the part of the publisher. Ever wonder why so many cards end up getting banned from tournament play?

There are other implications from this phenomenon. Some call this "planned obsolescence", where later cards essentially make earlier cards obsolete. It ends up being quite lucrative for the publisher, but a money pit for the players. In this situation, to stay competitive the newer cards become a necessity. It makes sense for a CCG to provide players with a basic deck as an introduction to the game, and they can later supplement their deck with more powerful cards - but only up to a point. Once that point is reached the quality of the game begins to suffer as more ridiculously powerful cards are created and released. However, if the ridiculously powerful cards were among the earlier releases, the upper limit of the game's capability can be established in a way that makes other powerful cards more palatable. The fun factor benefits far more from a player's mental investment, instead of the publisher's bottom line benefiting more from the player's financial sacrifice to replace obsolete cards. (Investments earn money over time, and unless you plan on locking away your games or toys without ever playing with them, there's little point in thinking of them as an "investment").

"Nuclear Detonation" is a prime example of how Dog Fight: Starship Edition was designed to include the upper limit to game capability from its early stages. This is the only ATTACK card in the basic DF:SE game which permits an attack regardless of your ship's Attack strength. The damage inflicted by this card depends entirely on the number of energy counters spent by the attacker. It also has a built in secondary effect which inflicts damage to other objects. This is a very powerful card, and is available only in Booster Pack 01: Aggressive Assault. And it establishes the upper limit of what ATTACK cards can do in Dog Fight. Theoretically, this card has limitless potential as there is no pre-established limit as to how much damage you can inflict with it. And it does all this by itself: no other card is required for this powerful effect to work. Yet this card has a built in cost proportional to is effect. And in this basic universe there will be no other cards more powerful (maybe later we can address the multi-verse idea currently in the works).

To avoid planned obsolescence, any ATTACK card created for DF:SE will be compared to the effect of "Nuclear Detonation". If there are any cards which reach anywhere near the destructive potential of this card it will have to first satisfy the prime rule of card creation for this game: realism.

I admit, it's pretty cool to be able to retrieve a character card after it was destroyed. Or how about increasing a character's Attack power based on a factor of how many cards have been equipped to it (regardless of what those equipped cards actually do)? Yeah, it can be exciting (for a little while) to bestow a magical power on a character even if it makes no sense for that to happen. One problem I have with this mechanics-based approach to card design is that some totally outrageous ideas are produced which turn out to be utterly unrealistic. Even in a fantastic fictional setting, these uber cards or effects which manufacture an amazingly powerful situation all tend to lead to problems. As mentioned before, there is the feeling of being ripped off. There is also the issue of an increasingly complex list of extra rules. There is typically a "card rulings" list for most CCGs where certain cards present problems in certain specific situations. That is inevitable. With realistic effects this type of situation can be mitigated to a large extent. Outlandish cards tend to create more such unnecessary complexities. And if the publisher keeps changing their mind about how such situations are to be resolved, well you can see how that might damage the enjoyment of the game.

In DF:SE there is no special card combination that lets you win the game simply because you have those cards in hand. More powerful cards do not automatically make your deck better unless you know how to use them. What makes "Nuclear Detonation" a viable card for Dog Fight: Starship Edition is that it is perfectly realistic. Nuclear weapons exist in the real world, and they have been highly developed and are very sophisticated today. There is no reason to believe a future of combat in space would exclude nuclear weapons unless they could be replaced with something more powerful (which leads back to the multi-verse idea). But it also has built in balance; if you don't plan well, "Nuclear Detonation" won't be much use to you.

One of the many goals of this combat game is to focus on the realistic possibilities of the theme while staying within its own established parameters. Without definitive limits new card ideas tend to be devoted toward increasingly absurd cards. Being limited to these self-imposed confines early on forces the muse behind the game to be more creative with card ideas. Playing around with mechanics is sometimes utilized (such as the card "Draw 3", which has no direct impact on the player's ship or to anything on the board). But these card ideas are kept to a minimum. In Dog Fight, card ideas are focused on what could actually happen in a (theoretically) real situation, rather than just game component manipulation.

When a game endeavors for a more elegant design it also tends to require more sophisticated thinking from the players. Rather than relying mainly on component manipulation, DF:SE also requires a more knowledgeable approach to game play. The game tactics of maneuvering and fourth dimensional thinking tend to be a bit difficult for most young children. To make the game more accessible to that younger audience would likely require a dilution of the entire construct. I have met a few younger kids, perhaps pre-teens, who could handle the game and played it intelligently. But they were the exceptions. Dog Fight: Starship Edition is organized logically enough that simplifying it further would likely ruin the experience for older players. For this reason Dog Fight is not billed as a kids' game.

To improve your deck beyond the basic starter set you'll have to add in extra cards. But your deck will eventually reach the point where the more powerful cards available simply won't help much. This is another aspect of the game which seems to require a bit more maturity from the player than some other CCGs. As with other games of this type, changing your deck build and being able to play those changes well is what makes for an interesting game, not (necessarily) getting all the latest cards. The emphasis in Dog Fight: Starship Edition is on the meta game, where imagination and experience are what make the difference, not your budget.

Keeping the game fresh is necessary if it is to retain your interest. Development continues. And we all have to make a living somehow, so please tell others about Dog Fight: Starship Edition. And please share our blog.

In part 5 we'll address analysis paralysis and downtime in CCGs and how Dog Fight attempts to avoid these problems.

visit the official website for Dog Fight: Starship Edition

Dog Fight: Starship Edition Tactical Card Game

Rated 11 out of 10

Card 10154 Weapons Upgrade

Choosing a ship part 2

Card 10153 Target Locked

Card 10152 Long Range Guns

Card 10151 System Crash

Card 10150 Hit and Run

Post Battle Briefing

Restricted List and Card Rulings Update

Card 10149 Peak Efficiency

Card Rulings file updated

Captain Dave breaks the game

The Threat Is Spreading

Card 10148 Computer Virus

New video coming soon

Soundtrack Composer Chris Wier

Card 10147 Internal Damage

Video: choosing a ship part 1

Card 10146 Chief Engineer

Card 10145 Extended Vision

Card 10144 Restore Shields

Card 10143 Nuclear Detonation

Moving the game forward

Card 10142 Overworked Engineer

Card 10141 Over Heated

Card 10140 Jamming

Updated cheat sheet

New Captains for Elite List

25% off sale at Lulu.com

Feedback on videos

Card 10139

Card 10138

Doubling Up Demo

Lulu.com sale

Card 10137

Card 10136

Card 10135

Card Rulings File update

Ship Abilities Demo

Card 10134

Card 10133

Card 10132

Damage Factoring

Card 10131

Ship Details and Combat Demo

Card 10130

New YouTube channel

Card 10129

Card 10128

Game Basics Demo

Cyber Monday sale at Lulu.com

When means when, and I mean it

Another question about sci-fi games

Dog Fight: Starship Edition Video Promo

Card Rulings Update

Help us reach the next level

Card Rulings update

Announcing the Bright Edge Expansion Set

Amplified Rulebook update

Epic cards and Gimmick Decks

Card Rulings Update

Expansion pack testing is underway

Does Dog Fight deserve 5 stars?

Spread the world

Pre-release Core Sets are now here!

Almost ready

Why Indie Games Are Worth The Risk

Updated rulebook

Last stages of Core Set testing

Suggested contents change

Delayed prototype finally arrived

New option for Advanced Maps

Coming Soon: Bright Edge Expansion

Back into the swing of things

Core Set prototypes ordered

Document Update: Official Rulebook

Tales from Play-on-Con 2011

Deluxe Sets published again, limited time only

Document Update: Card Rulings