Whats your favorite spaceship combat game (and why)?

[aktr]

Hi,

I have a load of Sapceship miniatures and I'm wondering what to do with them. most are UCM ones from Dropfleet Commander but I do also have the Halo fleet battles boxset sat on my shelf

I have previously played full thrust which I have fond memories off but haven't touched in over 5 years, BFG, DFC and the halo game

so what do you like?

bonus points if it has some sort of solo scenario seen as it looks like I wont be meeting up to play games any time soon

Cheers

[YPU]

I've only played a couple of playtests, and it isn't released yet but the upcoming "a billion suns" was definetly the most interesting spaceship game I've played, however it heavily relies on its specific setting.
Each player controls some star spanning mega corporation. At the start of the game you draw cards to generate multiple objectives, each objective is scored in different ways from evacuating bases to hunting space kraken, mining asteroids, escorting other ships etc. Many objectives also introduce a extra table to play on, which ships can jump between.
The clever bit is that you can jump in as many ships as you want. they all just cost credits. You know how much the objectives are worth in credits, so at the end of the game the player with the most cash on hand wins. Ships are very simple in their stats but all distinct and allow for some very cut throat tactics. I remember jumping in a brace of monitors equipped with spinal fixed railguns, to try and blow up the infected space station my opponent was trying to evacuate. Stories like that just don't really come up in other games for me.

[OSHIROmodels]

A vote here for Wiley Games 'Starfighters'.

It's very cinematic, has a fleet rules expansion and I believe can be played solo 

Available here in the UK and Europe.
https://oshiromodels.wixsite.com/oshiromodelswebshop/rules

[BZ]

I've only played a couple of playtests, and it isn't released yet but the upcoming "a billion suns" was definetly the most interesting spaceship game I've played, however it heavily relies on its specific setting.

I dont know any space-battle rules, but "A billion suns sounds" great!

[Dr. Zombie]

I have not tried a whole lot of spaceship games. But I really do have a soft spot for Battlefleet Gothic. It really is one of GW better games.

[Daeothar]

When I saw the question, my first thought was; 'easy; that's X-Wing'.

And even though I still find it an excellent game (I gave up on it when 2nd ed was forced upon us), but I have actually played several other space combat games since then, which have all been great. X-Wing is the only starfighter game though.

First off is Dropfleet Commander. It's a great game, obviously with its limitations (like every other game), but also the novel concept of fighting in low orbit.

The goal is to land your troops on the surface (the 'Dropship' in the title gives that away), and battles rage between 3 orbit levels, adding (literally) extra depth to the game.

I enjoy it a lot, and it's the only space combat game we play locally at the moment.

And I was lucky enough to have played one of the Billion Stars test games with YPU he mentioned.

I really liked the game and I would really like to play it again, as it has great promise!

And the list would not be complete without GW's classic Battlefleet Gothic. It shows it age, but what it lacks in innovation (it's basically Travalgar in space), it certainly makes up in atmosphere and lore (I still love the 40K setting). Miniatures are pretty dear these days though...

[YPU]

I have had my morning coffee and have some more thoughts.

Dropfleet seems very solid rules wise, and those models are marvelous. Its also one of the few ship games out there currently that actually gets support? Others are old and forgotten by their makers, but with good fan support which can be a bit dense to get trough, or have fallen into obscurity entirely.

On the last note, I do personally quite enjoy Colonial Battlefleet. It does use hexes for movement but it has just the right level of crunch for me if I want to fiddle with designing my own ship stats etc. It could definetly do with a second edition to iron out some of its inconsistencies though.

To add to Daeothar's point. BFG is also still very cool, if you enjoy the universe its a great game in that setting IMHO. Models are harder to get indeed, but the past year has seen an explosion of printable files for them online for free.

[Commander Carnage]

Full Thrust 2nd Ed is still my favorite after many years. I've tried many other games to scratch that itch but always come back to the classic.

[AdmiralAndy]

I liked BFG, so hope that'll get rolled out again as Blood Bowl and Necromunda from the old Specialist games have could well tempt me back.

There are some setting specific rules of Interest I've noted but not tried such as Colonial Battles, ACTA Star Trek, and Dropship. Billion Suns does look good but bit locked into its background setting.

Wiley Games Starfighters and Stars and Lasers on WargameVault have also caught my eye...

Full Thrust did look very good and tried it once or twice, just not such a fan of the pre plotting so rule sets avoiding that tend to be of more interest.

[YPU]

There are some setting specific rules of Interest I've noted but not tried such as Colonial Battles, ACTA Star Trek, and Dropship. Billion Suns does look good but bit locked into its background setting.

Colonial battlefleet is actually setting neutral with pretty cool faction building system, but there is a expansion that turns it into a battlestar galactica game (unofficially) which is very popular. Billion suns without its bleak applied capitalism would fall flat indeed.

EDIT:
I keep coming back to this topic, but Mike Hutchinson uploaded Solo rules for A billion suns less than 30 minutes ago on the page, as a pre release freeby.

http://abillionsuns.space/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/A_Billion_Suns_Solo_Rules.pdf

[n815e]

Played on a hex mat, Red Alert is a Commands and Colors game.
If you like that system, it’s worth checking out.

[Daeothar]

Played on a hex mat, Red Alert is a Commands and Colors game.
If you like that system, it’s worth checking out.

Hrh. I actually bought a kitted out kickstarter off a local auction site for the ships. And they were to be used in Billion Suns!    But I never got  to play it.

 I enjoyed Memoir '44 though; is Red Alert any good?

[sundayhero]

I've only played a couple of playtests, and it isn't released yet but the upcoming "a billion suns" was definetly the most interesting spaceship game I've played, however it heavily relies on its specific setting.

Is there some kind of "inertia" mechanics for the starships movement ? thanks

[Maj Guiscard]

I second Red Alert

Main Points (Pro or Con depending on your point of view)
-It's Fleet Level, so it doesn't deal with physics or "pilot level" mechanics.. There are somewhere around 24-30ish ships per side on the table for a game.
-It's Card Driven and more Narrative than say BFG or FT (The Cards can cause some significantly random stuff occasionally)
-Also, because it's Card Driven, there is a Fan Made (but well respected) Solo Bot

A relevant point from the ask of the original poster, is that you were looking for rules to employ your existing collection, Red Alert comes with a truck ton of starships.
As in 70+ starships...  ...in the core game

[YPU]

Is there some kind of "inertia" mechanics for the starships movement ? thanks

I havn't been up to date on the playtest, so I can only speak to what I know which might be outdated.
But no, movement is simplified to 1. turn on the spot, if you turn more than 90 degrees your forward fixed weapon can fire. 2. move up to trust value. Do this twice if given the Vector command.


I havn't played red alert yet, but if its nearly as good as memoir but with ships that is really promising.

Hrh. I actually bought a kitted out kickstarter off a local auction site for the ships. And they were to be used in Billion Suns!    But I never got  to play it.

Maybe we should play a game, once the plague has passed?