TO BOLDLY GO.....

• The IOGre is blessed with many friends who share his passion for games, some will even indulge him in 2 player games... One of those stalwarts is Pete Barton, who provides us with his views on another of the IOGre's favorites:

   

  Star Trek Fleet Captains

   

  

  There are a lot of licensed games out there.  Many of them slap the title on top and call it a day, but in other games, you're playing a game set in star trek.. in this game....It IS StarTrek 

  
  Even though combat is part of the game (Note the red cards in the bottom right hand corner of the photo....not to mention the Bortas and an assistant picking on the poor Reliant in the center) it's not the main focus of the game unless you tailor it to be that way.
  
  During this particular game, I went for a Science heavy mission list where my opponent went with a combat heavy mission list. This was our attempt to play the game around the 'fluff' of both the Federation and the Klingons, and it culminated into one of the greatest games based around a show like Star Trek.
  
  Like to be a more 'Diplomatic' Klingon commander? You can make your fleet and Mission Deck resemble that...though there will be more than enough diplomacy being dealt at the business end of Heavy Disruptor fire.
  
  Want to go out and stop the Klingons from pushing too far into the Neutral Zone as the Federation? Sure thing! Bring your Galaxy-class, and NCC-1701-E to the fight with the 'Defiant' flying support! Just remember you have all those labs on board your vessels so you may be redirected for some science mission and some negotiations with the hopefully friendly residents of this part of space.
  
  And with crazy encounters, like watching the Nexus tear a path through the sector, some curious life forms who can be helpful, and the ever expansive problems of Tribbles rendering a ship possibly dead in the water, you'll discover that every game is in its own right like watching a new episode/movie from Star Trek.
  
  The only derision I have heard from people watching us play is, "I wish the minis came painted/to proper scale/from the same era." My opinions are as follow: 'They are already pre-painted! Federation grey and Klingon green!' 'If they were proper scale you may rip the darn thing off its stand on accident breaking in the clix. (they can be a bit stiff right out of the box I admit)' and finally, 'I like having the Reliant able to fly along with the Venture (the Galaxy class they have in the box)." These are all trivial arguments that can and HAVE been levied against it. If that's the best you can do then you're just being nit-picky and you know who you are <glares through the computer at them>
  
  Personally I give this game a 9.5/10. The only thing I've seen that is kind of annoying is not being really clear on at least one of the mission cards, but that's a negligible complaint. The stiffness of the clix mechanism had me giving a few ships to the IOGre (since it was his copy we were playing with) so that if he broke a ship off its stand, I could be absolved of it.
  
  With high hopes I'm awaiting expansions for this game! Romulans, Kardassians...more ships for Klingons and the Federation...Even adding something that throws in some cooperative missions, like both players have to deal with the Borg! That would make the game complete!
  
  So like I said, as a game, I give it a 9.5/10. As an experience though this feels like it came right out of the 23rd century to give us a taste of what Gene Roddenberry had really created! 10/10 for all the fun that can be had and its wonderful experience!
  

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  Thanks Pete for that guest review!  

   

  Since this was written, an expansion for the game HAS been released, adding the threat of the Romulan Empire.  Now 3 player games are the preferred choice around here.  The Romulans add a new mechanic to the game, and boy is it ever flavorful... they can place infiltrators on opponents ships, giving those ships some nice advantages... until the Romulan player activates them causing various bits of mayhem.

  
  

  One thing Pete forgot to mention was the variety this game affords you.  Each faction comes with 10 strategy decks, of which you choose 4.  These decks may focus on combat bonuses, or adding skilled crew to your ships, or other advantages.  So even with the same ships, my fleet will play very differently than someone else's based on the decks I choose.

  
  

  I will close with these words of advice:  When playing the IOGre, be careful what crew you play onto your ships... Because if he manages to kill Wesley Crusher or Kathryn Janeway, he will consider it a victory no matter how the rest of the game goes.

  
  

  Star Trek Fleet Captains is from Wizkids games... http://wizkidsgames.com/startrek/star-trek-fleet-captains/