"Star Trek: Fleet Captains" - " ̶F̶i̶v̶e̶ Four Year Mission" Solitaire Mode

There have been quite a few Star Trek board games produced over the years, but, IMHO, the one that's come closest to the spirit of the concept is Star Trek: Fleet Captains.

I've already expressed my love of this game three times in the past, first in a "gameplay"-style video that's racked up 45,000 views (!) and in two session reports, one featuring the Klingons and another showcasing the Romulan expansion.

Despite a vague rulebook that's generated a veritable WikiPedia of FAQ, both formal and informal, I still completely adore this game and it will never leave my library. Unfortunately, it's long since fallen off the "hotness" list, so it's a tough sell whenever I wanna get it to my gaming table.

Because of this, I'm trying to develop a solitaire mode where you control a single ship, discovering the board as you go, dealing with random threats, completing Missions and contending with ever-encroaching Klingon influence.  

So, if you have a copy of the game, give it a whirl and let me know what you think!

Live long and prosper, folks!

Star Trek Fleet Captains (Solitaire Mode)

“ F̶i̶v̶e̶ Four Year Mission”

Goal of the game: collect as many Victory Points as you can in five “years”, with 12 turns per “year” and a total of 60 turns. Game is lost with a score of "0" if  your ship gets destroyed! Henceforth, one Federation turn is referred to as a “Stardate.”

The Klingon sphere of influence starts adjacent to their Command Post and expands outward by one Location fer “year.” Whenever the Enterprise enters Klingon space (or moves out), they must roll % dice to see if they are interdicted by a random Klingon ship of the same era, I.E. either equal, one size lower or no more than +2 higher in ship size. Chance of a Klingon encounter depends on how deep the Federation ship is in Klingon “territory”: 20% one hex deep, 40% two hexes deep, 60% three deep, 80% four hexes deep.

After a random Klingon ship is drawn, draw four cards from the Klingon Command Deck and “crew” the ship from any available cards (I.E one Captain, one Officer...etc). If the ship has Cloaking technology it will attempt a surprise attack, nullified by the Federation vessel succeeding at a Level 15 Sensor check. Klingons attack on sight and pursue your ship until they either destroy you or you destroy them.

All other rules are identical to the original game.

Here's my take on this scenario. NOTE: for "brevity's" sake, I just did four years not all five. 

Year 1

Stardate 1 - The USS Enterprise leaves spacedock, using her one Action per Turn to Scan ahead and discover a “Protostar Nebula.” She proceeds into the system and completes a Level 12 Sensor check to complete the “Nebula Probe” Mission.

Stardate 2: The Enterprise Scans the “Empty Space” ahead and “Investigates an Anomaly”, discovering an Abandoned Outpost just one sector away from Earth. The Federation recovers it for themselves, transforming it into Starbase 1. This earns another Victory Point.

Stardate 3: The Enterprise Scans a sector close to Earth and discovers a “Black Hole.” They give this sector a wide berth, choosing instead to enter a “Dark Matter Nebula.”

Stardate 4: The Enterprise Scans a new region two sectors away from Earth and discovers a “Subspace Rift.” Like the the “Black Hole”, they decide to navigate around it and, in turn, they discover a "Class D Planet."

Stardate 5: The Enterprise discovers a "Class M Planet" two sectors away from Earth and they do an Influence Action to Control the region.

Stardate 6: The Enterprise presides over the construction of an Outpost on this new "Class M Planet", dubbed “Vanguard Station.”

Stardate 7: The Enterprise continues to monitor the development of Vanguard Station. With another Influence Action, the Outpost becomes a Colony, since this "Class M Planet" requires one less Control token to build it. This completes the “Colonization” Secret Mission for 1 more Victory Point.

Stardate 8: The Enterprise Scans ahead, ventures towards a newly-discovered "Class H Planet" and places their Scan Token on their “Exploration” Mission Card.   

Stardate 9: The Enterprise Scans ahead and then passes into "Empty Space." This scan token is placed on their “Exploration” Mission Card, completing it for a Victory Point! They discard the "Exploratory Advantage" Mission Card and draw another Influence Mission.

Stardate 10: The Enterprise moves into an “Emission Nebula” and rolls a "1" for an Encounter, namely the “Aldeans”. Since they have no Crew Cards onboard to Trash, the Enterprise is sent all the way back to Earth! As a consolation prize, they complete the “Localized Survey” Mission for a Victory Point!

Stardate 11: The Enterprise passes through the "Protostellar Nebula", scans ahead and discovers yet another "Class M Planet"! There is no Encounter as they enter orbit.

Stardate 12: The Enterprise Scans ahead and detects a "Class T Planet", but changes course to fly through a sector of previously-unexplored "Empty Space." On a roll of "1", an Encounter occurs. The “Rebellious Influences” Encounter is discarded and another is drawn: a “Supernova”! They need to perform a Level 10 Engines Test, and they’re already at 9, it’s an automatic success. That Location, and all adjacent locations, are replaced by new, face down Location Tiles! Yikes!

Year 2  

The Klingon sphere of influence moves forward one hex!

Stardate 13

Taking advantage of the forced return home, the Enterprise undergoes a minor refit, improving its Shields permanently by +1 via “Yellow Alert.” After performing a Scan to  discover an “Inversion Nebula,” they discard the “Nebula Exploration” Card and draw a new Influence Mission, which turns out to be a “Rescue Mission.” An Away Team marker is placed on an unexplored planet deep in Klingon territory!

Stardate 14

The Enterprise warps past a "Class Y Planet" and then enters "Empty Space." On a roll of 2, there’s an Encounter: “Shockwave.” The ship must perform a Level 10 Shield Test. They play an Interrupt Ops card, “Red Alert”, increasing their Shields by +2. Current Shields level is 5 base +1 for the "refit" and +2 for the "Red Alert." Roll is "3" so total is 11...success! RULES NOTE: Encounters end movement!

Stardate 15

They move on to a “Class L Planet.” With a roll of "1" there’s yet another Encounter, which is revealed as “The Nexus”! The resulting roll is “3”, so the Enterprise narrowly avoids destruction!

Stardate 16

The Nexus moves one Location Tile to the right. The Enterprise continues into deep space, encountering a "Class L Planet." They roll a "6", so there's no Encounter. Now at maximum warp (speed 9), she proceeds on to the next Location, which turns out to be "Empty Space." The resulting roll is "3"...also no Encounter. They assume a standard orbit around this "Class L Planet" where the Away Team is marooned. An Encounter roll of "6" means that they're in the clear! There's also a 20% chance that they might encounter a Klingon ship, but a roll of 77 means they're safe! This completes the “Rescue Mission”! (RULES NOTE:  Transporter actions end turns! Plus: the Klingon encounter roll should occur just as a Federation ship enters their space, possibly interrupting their intended action.)        

Stardate 17

The Nexus moves one tile off to the right and a roll of 82% means that there is no Klingon encounter to start the Federation turn. The Enterprise Scans a nearby Location, finding "Empty Space." She then enters a "Class 2 Nebula", but with a roll of "5" there's no Encounter. Now out of Movement, the Feds discard their “Morale Blow” Mission Card and draw a new one.

Stardate 18

The Nexus moves one tile off to the right. The Enterprise crosses through "Empty Space" and then observes a "Hyper-Giant Star." A roll of "3" means no Encounter, but the ship is now out of Movement.

Stardate 19

The Nexus moves off the board. The Enterprise backtracks to the "Class D Planet" and sends down an Away Team.

Stardate 20

The Enterprise beams up the Away Team, completing the “First Contact” Mission.

Stardate 21

The Enterprise warps off to Vanguard Station and does an Influence Action to place a Control Token.

Stardate 22

The Enterprise presides over the construction of a Starbase at Vanguard Station, completing the “Militarization” Mission.

Stardate 23

Staying in orbit, the Enterprise does a Power Adjustment to maximize Sensors and then plays “Emergency Power” to auto-succeed on a Level 12 Sensor Test. This completes the “Planetary Survey” Mission.

Stardate 24

The Enterprise warps off to the "Class D Planet" and does an Influence Action to place a Control Marker there.

Year 3 

The Klingon Border moves up 1 sector.       

Stardate 25

The Enterprise heads out to the nearby "Class H Planet" and does an Influence Action to place a Control Marker there.

Stardate 26

The Enterprise ventures off to an sector of "Empty Space" and does an Influence Action to place a Control Marker there. This completes the “Establish a Hold” Mission. They discard the "Eject Warp Core” Command Card and draw a new one.

Stardate 27

After scouts determine that an invasive, aggressive and militaristic alien race is encroaching on Federation territory, the Enterprise enters the "Class 2 Nebula" and performs an Influence Action to remove the Klingon Control token there, which completes the “Disrupt Influence” Mission. They are met with no resistance. They then discard the "Code 47" Command Card and draw a new one. Finally, they promote Owen Paris to the Captain role and draw a new card!

Stardate 28     

The Enterprise goes to maximum warp to try and reach a new sector of unexplored space. This requires three percentage die rolls for possible Klingon encounters and they get "57", "90" and "14." With this last roll they are interdicted by a Klingon ship in orbit around a "Class L Planet"! They get a free Scan attempt to notice the cloaked ship by succeeding in a Level 15 Sensor Test. Unfortunately, the Enterprise has nothing to modify its current base Sensor setting of 10, and with a roll of "3" they fail to detect the encroaching ship. The Klingons de-cloak and immediately fire on the Enterprise, playing a “Surprise Attack” Card. Their total is 10 Base + 1 for Captain Kang + 4 for "Surprise Attack" + a roll of "1" for a total of 16 versus “All Power To The Shields” base 5 + 1 for Refit +1 for Paris + roll of "5" = 11. With a difference of "5", the Enterprise is hit, but since the Shields weren't doubled, the Enterprise only takes one tier of "Yellow Alert" damage! Both factions then draw new Command Cards.

Stardate 29

Damaged and outmatched, the Enterprise attempt to warp away from the fight. The Feds  roll "3" + Ship Size 2 = 4 versus 4 + 4 = 8. The escape attempt fails, so they can either fight back or flee and suffer an attack of opportunity! They try to fire back, playing “All Power To The Weapons” but that only gets them to 5 (!). Roll is "1" for a total of 6, so the Klingon Shields easily hold! The Feds throw out “Reinforce” and draw a new Command Card.

The Klingons strike back, playing “Battle Rage”, giving their Weapons a permanent +1 and Shields a permanent -1. That’s 10 + 1 for Kang +1 for "Rage" + 1 for their roll = 12 versus 5 base +1 Paris +1 refit + 5 roll = 12...the Enterprise’s Shields barely hold up under this vicious battery!

Stardate 30

Another escape attempt...the Enterprise rolls 6 +2 = 8 versus 4 +1 = 5...this time they manage to break away! First they play “All Power To The Engines” to get up to 8 Movement on the dial + 1, then they play the “Geordi LaForge” card as an Interrupt. This lets the Engineering team add +2 to the Engines this turn, for a total of 8 + 1 +  2 = 11. They manage to get all the way to the "Class H Planet", destination: Vanguard Station!

The Klingons crank their engines up to 9 and fall into pursuit!

Stardate 31

After the Enterprise does a hasty Repair Action, she takes on a new Captain: one James Tiberius Kirk!

The Kronos One arrives at Vanguard Station and attempts to finish off the Enterprise. They fire a “Photon Torpedo” but the Feds play the “Orion Slave Girl” card for its Combat Ability by throwing out the “Command Support” Ops Card to pay for it. This cancels the Combat!   

Stardate 32

Now with Hikaru Sulu at the helm, the Enterprise fires back at their Klingon rivals! Base 5 then +2 for Kirk + 2 for Sulu (in the Officer role +2 Weapons) and they also play “Tasha Yar” as a Combat Card for another +4. Add in a roll of "3" and the total is 16!!! The Klingons are at Shields 10 but -1 due to “Battle Rage”. Roll is "5" for a total of 14. The Enterprise damages the Klingon ship, which immediately Cloaks by playing “Hit and Run” and discarding “Wariness.” The Feds throw out the “Admiral Hanson” card and draw a new one.       

The Klingons play their “General Chang” card as an Interrupt. This lets them Trash a card (namely “Opportunist”) to attack while still Cloaked! Their combat value is 4 base + 1 for Kang +1 "Battle Rage" +3 for “Heavy Armament” + 5 for the roll = 14! The Enterprise Shields are 5 Base + 1 for Refit then they play “System Bypass” to Disable their Engines (!) to add 1/2 value (9 / 2 = 4) + roll of "1" = 11. The Klingons still hit and the Enterprise is damaged again!

 Stardate 33

With the Klingon ship still Cloaked and reeling from the exchange, the Enterprise hastily affects repairs! They opt for the special Starbase rule that lets them sacrifice Movement to repair without using an Action! By doing so, Montgomery Scott distinguishes himself as Chief Engineer! They attempt to locate the Cloaked Klingon ship...but they need to succeed on a 15 difficulty level Sensor Check. They get 10 + roll of "3"...15. Nope! The Feds throw out “Dramatic Victory” to draw a new Command Card.

The Klingon ship de-cloaks, does a Power Adjustment to Deactivate their Sensors and then they divert all power to their Weapons and Shields. Then they fire: 9 Weapons + 1 Kang +1 "Battle Rage" + 4 "Surprise Attack + roll of "1" for a total of 16!!!  This is compared to 5 base + 1 refit + 6 roll = 12. The Enterprise is damaged once again!  They throw out “Cause Uncertainty” to draw a new Command Card.

Stardate 34   

The Enterprise discards “Diplomacy” for a new Command Card and then attacks! Base 5 +2 Kirk +2 Sulu +  a roll of "3" = 12 versus 8 - 1 for Battle Rage + roll of "3" = 10. Once again, they Klingons are bested and knocked down to the "Red Alert" damage level!

The Klingons discard “Battle Challenge” and Klag joins the bridge crew! They fire again, 8 base + 1 Kang +2 Klag +1 "Battle Rage" + roll of "1" = 13 versus the Enterprise's base 5 Shields +1 for the refit but then Kirk sacrifices himself for his Combat ability, adding +4 to Shields! Roll is "2"...total is 12. Unfortunately, the Enterprise is still damaged!

Stardate 35

The Enterprise discards “Pushing the Limits”, draws a new Command Card and then attacks. The ship must first do a Power Adjustment to activate their Sensors to play a "Modified Torpedo." Attack value is 4 +2 Sulu and + 4 "Torpedo" + roll of "4" = 14 versus Klingon Shields base 8 -1 "Battle Rage" + 2 Klag + roll of "2" = 11. They lose and the Kronos One is destroyed, earning a Federation a Victory Point for the “Death Blow” Mission!

Stardate 36

The Enterprise pulls into Spacedock for some badly-needed repairs! They discard the “Dramatic Defeat” Card and get a new Command Card.  They also jettison the “Dominant Power” Mission to draw a new one.  

Year 4

The Klingon line of influence expands to five sectors, eliminating the Federation Influence marker in "Empty Space" close to the "Class 11 Nebula."  

Stardate 37

The Enterprise jets out, with maximum Engines (9 + 2 for Scotty). They manage to get all the way over to a region of "Empty Space" between the "Class L" and "Class Y Planets" and then Scan an adjacent Location. They also throw out the "Nebula Research" Mission.   

Stardate 38

The Enterprise moves through unexplored Empty Space, but a "5" means no Encounter. They then move into a new location, discover a "Class J Planet" and then roll a "1" for an Encounter! It’s “Conditional Friendship” and the random Mission is “Colonization.” They then play “Command Authority" to place a Control Marker in that space (and every adjacent space) as their Action. Finally, they discard “Zero Losses” to get a new Mission.

Stardate 39

The Enterprise moves into a new quadrant, discovering a "Class T Planet", but there is no Encounter. They then travel towards a previously un-examined "Class 1 Nebula." They Encounter "Ferengi 'Traders'” and, on a roll of "1", get a permanent +2 Weapons Token! They then play “Command Authority" do an Influence Action in this Habitable system and build an Outpost!  

Stardate 40

The Enterprise takes advantage of the Nebula’s ability to build a Facility with 1 less required Control Token, so they construct a Colony! They throw out “Resource Extraction” for a new mission and “Battle Challenge” is discarded for a new Command Card.

Stardate 41

The Enterprise returns to the "Class J Planet" and they complete “Conditional Friendship” by finishing the “Colonization” Mission! Mr. Spock is then promoted to the bridge crew! They immediately head back out into "Empty Space."

Stardate 42

The Enterprise reaches the "Hyper-Giant Star." 20% for a Klingon encounter, but they roll "40." Thanks to Spock at the science station (and a Power Adjustment to get a base 10 value on their Sensors), they easily complete the “Stellar Survey” Mission.

Stardate 43

Klingon encounter? 86...no! The Feds do an Influence Action to remove the Klingon Control Marker, letting them complete the “Disrupt Influence” Mission.

Stardate 44

The Enterprise does a Power Adjustment to ramp up its Engines and then enters the Klingon-controlled "Class 2 Nebula." Encounter? Roll 17...yes!

The Gr’oth, captained by Koloth, enters the region and fires on the Enterprise. Base 7 +1 Koloth + 3 for "Heavy Armament" + roll of "3" = 14 versus Enterprise Shields 5 base plus roll of "2" = 7.  Normally the ship would take two damage, but they discard the "Leonard McCoy" card to prevent one damage!

Stardate 45

The Enterprise attempts a break-away! 2 + a roll of "3" = 5 versus 3 + a roll of "1"...success! The ship does a Power Adjustment for maximum Engines and then warps off to Vanguard Station.

The Gr’oth falls into pursuit. Under the pretense of proposing peace talks, the two factions meet at Vanguard Station. During the negotiations, the Klingons sell some innocuous furballs to some undiscriminating members of the Enterprise crew...furballs who turn out to Tribbles! Pretty soon, the pests are breeding at warp speed and two of the ship's systems have been Disabled...namely Weapons and Engines!

Stardate 46

With the Tribbles quickly swarming the ship, the Enterprise attempts to beam them back to the Klingons, using Sensors base 8 + 3 Spock + roll of "3" = 14 versus Shields 7 + Koloth's +3 then + 3 for the roll for a total of 13. The Klingons fail to block the mass beaming, forcing them to Deactivate Sensors and Engines! The Enterprise then warps away with 10 movement, off to "Empty Space"! They also turf “Masterful Bluff” for a new Command Card and complete the “Sector Survey” Mission since they’ve explored 9 adjacent Locations!  

The Gr’oth Disables Sensors and Weapons and limps after the Enterprise with 8 movement. They also discard “Wariness” for a new Command Card.   

Stardate 47

In a sneaky little diversion, the Enterprise doubles back back to Vanguard Station and does a Repair Action! They also complete the “Stake a Claim” Mission. The Feds discard “All Power To The Shields” and draw a new Command Card.

The Klingons doggedly pursue. Since they need Engines to move and Weapons to fire, they are forced to de-activate their Sensors and Shields! After catching up to their foes, they fire with 7 base + 3 "Honorable Warrior" +1 for Koloth + 2 for the roll = 13 versus Enterprise Shields base 5 +2 "Yellow Alert" card + roll of "5" = 12. One level of damage!

Stardate 48

The Enterprise battles back. Base 5 +2 Sulu + 5 "Command Scrutiny" + 2 Ferengi Weapons upgrade + roll "1" = 15 versus 6 +3 Koloth (lone ship advantage) + roll "5" = 14. The Klingon ship takes a hit!

The Klingons fire back. They have a base of 7 +1 Koloth +1 "Battle Rage" + roll of "3" = 12 versus base 5 +2 Sulu’s Interrupt / Discard Ability +1 refit + roll of "6" = 14. Their Shields repel the attack!

The game is called! 

Victory Point Tally

+1 for constructing a Starbase 

+1 for Destroying an Enemy Ship

Missions Completed: 

Death Blow - 1 VP, Colonization (Secret Mission) - 1 VP, Colonization - 2 VP’s, Militarization - 1 VP, Localized Survey - 1 VP, Disrupt Influence x 2 = 1 VP each, Sector Survey - 2 VP’s, Stake a Claim - 1 VP, Establish a Hold - 1 VP, Stellar Survey - 1 VP, Nebula Probe - 1 VP, Planetary Survey, Investigate Anomaly - 1 VP, Exploration - 1 VP, First Contact - 1 VP and Rescue Mission - 3 VP.     

22 Total Victory Points on four turns!

***

As you can see by this session report, Fleet Captains is pure Star Trek. You explore strange new worlds, seek out new life and new civilizations and boldly go where no one has flipped a Location Tile before! There's exploration, adventure, missions, random complications, planetary settlement and conflict with hostile alien races. To me, it easily eclipses games like Star Trek Ascendancy, which felt more like Romulan ale-flavored Twilight Imperium to me.

In fact, the only other game that genuinely feels like Star Trek is The Adventure Game.

But that's a story for another time!

P.S. what follows is a handy summary to clarify and underscore the most important and frequently overlooked rules in the game. I hope it helps you navigate through that big, wide, wonderful galaxy! 

***

IMPORTANT RULES REMINDERS FOR STAR TREK: FLEET CAPTAINS

NON-ACTION ACTIVITIES 

During your turn, you get to do all of the following in any order you choose:

• Move each ship in your fleet.

• Make one Power Adjustment with each ship in your fleet.

• Take 3 Actions. (1 per ship)

• Play Command Cards.

• Cycle a Mission Card (discard an uncompleted mission card for a new one).

• Discard 1 Command Card.

ACTIONS

Each turn you can take up to three Actions with your ships. Actions are your main way of interacting with the game. Normally, each ship can only take one action per turn (some Command Cards may allow a ship to take an extra action). There are seven types of Actions you can choose from:

• Cloaking Actions—engaging Cloaking Devices to make your ships undetectable.

• Combat Actions—attacking opposing starships.

• Influence Actions—taking control of locations and building installations.

• Reinforcement Actions—replacing lost ships in your fleet.

• Repair Actions—removing damage from a ship at an installation.

• Scan Actions—examining unexplored Location Tiles.

• Transporter Actions—moving crew or cargo between ships and planets.

• System Tests — when voluntary, such as when completing a mission (see ”Missions”).

MOVEMENT STOPPAGE

You must stop moving your ship if any of the following occur:

• You draw an Encounter Card when exploring a new location.  

• You try to Evade an enemy ship and fail.

• The ship (or any other ship) takes an Action.  

• You run out of movement points.

• You make a Power Adjustment on any ship.

• You begin moving any other ship.

OPPOSED TESTS / COMBAT FLOW

1. Declare the action. If it is a combat declare your attacker(s) and your target.

2. Active player may make a Power Adjustment to his ship(s) as long as the ship(s) have not had a Power Adjustment this turn.

3. The active player may play a single command card.

Note: Combat cards may only be played during Combat or Weapons or Shields tests. If the test is not one of those, only Ops cards are allowed. Ops cards may also be played during a

Weapons or Shields test that does not involve attacking another ship. Crew cards cannot be assigned to ships once the test has begun.

4. If this is an opposed test, the Target player may play a single command card. If it is not opposed, each other player, starting with the player to the active player’s left, may play an Interrupt card. As soon as one opponent does so - no other cards may be played (this will make more sense with 3-player rules as teams can work together to decide which card to play).

5. In an opposed test, if the active player did not play a Command card and the Target player does, the Active player may play a Command Card now.

6. Add up all assigned crew on the ship(s) that apply to the test.

7. Roll your die and add it to the total for the test

8. For the active player;

a. For System tests, the total must be greater than or equal to the number.

b. For Opposed System tests the final total must be greater than the opposed system.

9. You can discard/trash crew members that were previously assigned to ships at this time if they have a red Combat or a special blue discard or trash ability (like Data). If you discard or trash a crew, remember to ignore their bonus that you applied earlier (top of page 27 in the rules). Your opponent may also play on their own initiative or in response and discard or trash crew of their own. As this is rare we do not recommend a specific phase as there would be a majority of “Pass/Pass” results but if you wish for clarity - then use the same timing for playing command cards (steps 3 and 4 above) except that you can play more than 1 crew affect (and must play all crew you wish to use) during the time you are allowed to.

    

Everything Went to Baktag: "Star Trek Fleet Captains"

I always wanted to play a space exploration game in which you start out with a small handful of ships and send them across the uncharted reaches of galaxy to settle planets, build bases, complete missions and eventually get scrap with your opponent.  Along the way, you could improve your ship's capabilities and staff every vessel with a unique mix of captains, officers, and specialists.  The game would end up being part Civilization, part Traveller and part, well...Star Trek.    

So keen was I to play a game like this that I bought a Chessex Reversible Megamat a few years ago in the hopes of designing my own game.  But before I could get into it, Wizkids and designers Mike Elliott, Bryan Kinsella, and Ethan Pasternack came along and did all the heavy lifting for me.  Even better, they added the glorious thematic overlay of Star Trek, which I've been a fan of ever since a re-run of "The Corbomite Maneuver" in the late Seventies scared the fertilizer out of me as a child.

As soon as Star Trek Fleet Captains was released back in September 2011, I began to troll Board Game Geek for some early feedback.  Reading a small handful of positive reviews was all the incentive I needed to pick up a copy and start exploring the Final Frontier.  So impressed was I by the game that it inspired me shoot the pilot episode for a board game video series which I hope to continue one of these days.

Last Wednesday night, while Dean and Andrew played out their next game in our Blood Bowl league, Mike and I had a chance to throw down.  

Choosing Sides

Mike opted to play the Federation, which was fine by me since I really wanted to see what it was like to roll with the considerably more aggressive Klingons.  

Initial Set-Up

We decided to play to ten Victory Points and randomly assembled the standard five-hex-by-five-hex game board.      

Fleet Mustering

Mike went first, drawing the Enterprise-E (six points) and the U.S.S. Reliant (two points).  After exceeding the ten-point Fleet Limit on several draws he finally came across the Equinox and the Yosemite for one point apiece.  

My first three draws (the Bortas, Somraw and Kronos One) worked out perfectly.  Curiously enough, it would be one of the last things to work out well for me during the entire game.

Command Deck Assembly 

Mike chose the "Flagship Fleet Deck", the "Main Engineering Deck", the "Captain Picard Deck" and the "Heavy Security Deck".

Being a sucker for thematic shit, I made my selections based entirely on the characters contained therein.  As such, I ended up with the "House of Mogh", "Code of Honor", "Klingon High Council", and "Battleship" decks.  

Opening Moves

After boldly charting a Class T Nebula (purely for navigational purposes, of course), the Raptor-class scout ship I.K.S. Somraw fell afoul of a perilous Black Hole (which the Federation had somehow managed to seed just two sectors away from Qo'noS).  The brave little vessel suffered moderate damage and was forced to send out a distress call.  Please note that this plea for help was very honorably accomplished and in no way resembled the pathetic bleating of a bunch of shortbus-riding dipshit losers like the Pakled.

Officer Klag made his presence felt aboard the K't'inga-class battle cruiser I.K.S. Kronos One emerging from relative obscurity after his superior officer mysteriously turned up dead from thirty-seven distinct d'k tahg stab wounds.  After beaming back from an uninhabitable Class T planet (which would really benefit from inclusion in the Klingon Empire, BTW) an odd "Transporter Malfunction" delivered two notorious Federation war-criminals to us: Admiral Cartwright and Lieutenant Commander Geordi LaForge.

In addition to sporting rakishly handsome goatees, all three "guests" seemed oddly at home aboard the Kronos.  LaForge even went so far as to kill a mess hall worker with a metal lunch tray after he'd been given too much ice in his blood wine.  Within twelve hours of the "malfunction", Cartwright somehow managed to assume command of the entire ship.  Given the former Federation Admiral's propensity to fly into a rage and beat ass even during the slightest provocation, everyone else in the crew just kinda went with the unconventional self-appointment.      

   Three Klingon War Heroes

As a counter-measure to the aggressive actions of the Starfleet Slime-Devils™, the Vor'cha-class attack cruiser I.K.S. Bortas began to strike deep into enemy territory.  After charting a habitable Class M planet (which would make for a lovely summer home, BTW), she passed through an Inversion Nebula and eventually charted a Hypergiant Star at close range.  Purely for scientific reasons, natch.

Meanwhile, the Federation was up to its usual underhanded tricks.  The Miranda-class "survey" ship U.S.S. Reliant (under the clearly-fraudulent guise of an "exploration mission") coldly annexed two once-autonomous sectors of Empty Space.  Long-range Klingon spy...er, monitoring teams clearly  overheard the Reliant make reference to some sort of "Curious Lifeform".  The Klingon High Command has since interpreted this as a code word for a secret Federation super-weapon, which they immediately used it to destroy a perfectly benign ancient defense satellite that had supposedly trapped one of their cargo ships.  And if you believe that, I have great deal on twenty bars of gold pressed latinum for you!

In a further example of Federation imperialism, the Oberth-class "science" vessel U.S.S. Yosemite supposedly discovered a conveniently "abandoned" Colony base just floating around in a Class 11 Nebula.  After discovering that all of the colony's escape pods had been recently jettisoned, Klingon High Command came to the logical conclusion that the Yosemite somehow managed to irradiate the peaceful settlement and drive off its original inhabitants.  Another piece of evidence came in the form of a half-garbled transmission we intercepted in which the Captain of the Yosemite was clearly heard to proclaim "ALL YOUR BASE ARE BELONG TO US"!

The notorious Nova-class science vessel U.S.S. Equinox subjugated a Class D planet for its own nefarious purposes, thus clearing the way for the Sovereign-class starship USS Enterprise-E (the "E", by the way, stands for "EVIL").  This deceitful garbage scow of legendary proportions blew past her fleet-sister and began to drop her own brand of hippy-dippy, Liberal Socialist clap-trap on a poor, defenseless Class J Planet.  It didn't even seem to matter to them that the place was completely uninhabited.

Back in civilized space, the Kronos One was about to intervene in a Class J Nebula's "Civil War" when she received the distress call from the Somraw.  Thanks to the Federation's treachery, Admiral Cartwright (?) was forced to abandon this humanitarian mission and rush in to rescue his fleet mate (??).  In venturing so close to the Black Hole, the Kronos One suffered moderate damage but still managed to tow the Somraw back away from the brink.

Meanwhile, the illustrious flagship Bortas traversed a void of Empty Space and scanned the path ahead, keeping a close eye on those treacherous Federation Ha'DIbaH's.

Mid-Game

Starfleet continued to exhibit the luck of the Fek'lhr.  While poking it's saucer section into a place where it didn't belong, the Reliant was hit by a "Displacement Wave".  They still managed to make a successful Level 12 Engines check to break through the wave and escape the sector.  On the Honor scale of one to ten, this would certainly rate no higher then a "2".   Now, if they'd managed to escape from the crushing grip of a Black fucking Hole, I might have been impressed...

Similarly, the Equinox stumbled upon a "Particle Fountain", which was flooding that region of space with dangerous subatomic particles.  Just in time, the crew managed to pass its Level 12 Sensors Test to maintain a minimum safe distance and study the unique phenomenon.  

So, just by sheer luck, the treacherous Federation had already managed to weasel four Victory Points!

After breaking away from the deadly grip of the collapsed star, the plucky Somraw continued to sift through the immediate area, looking for additional Starfleet-brand booby-traps.  Eventually she followed his sister ship back back to Qo'noS to affect repairs.           

Incensed by the Socialist drivel leaking out of the Enterprise-E's com channel, a small band of working-class, blue-collar inhabitants of a Class J planetary system contacted the Klingon Empire for assistance.  The Bortas was quick to respond, dropping off copies of Araxa Shrugged by the celebrated Klingon objectivist philosopher Eyn Rannic as well as full-length episodes of the O'Revulac Factor with Boral O'Revulac.  This allowed the glorious Empire to complete the "Disrupt Influence" mission!

In response, the Federation callously attacked the Bortas with no less then three ships!  Grossly outnumbered, the Bortas was heavily damaged but managed to activate her cloaking device and make a strategic fighting withdrawal.  Qa’pla!!!

After this cowardly assault, the Federation armada broke up.  The Yosemite barged into a Class 1 Nebula and immediately began constructing secret research facilities, which they attempted to pass of as an "Outpost".  This eventually allowed them to falsely claim the "Foothold" mission.

The Equinox scanned a Class J Planet and likely made off with a small fortune of precious stones and minerals.  Clearly oblivious to the events depicted in The Wrath of Khan, the Reliant decided to recklessly poke around in the Mutara Nebula.  Meanwhile the Enterprise-E just did doughnuts in a Class K Nebula, generally acting like a bunch of dicks.

 

End Game

After pondering revenge against the unsuspecting Reliant, cooler heads prevailed and the captain of the damaged Bortas set course for Qo'noS.  Still cloaked, the battered ship managed to maneuver through a veritable gauntlet of hostile Federation vessels and eventually managed to reach friendly territory.

The re-constituted Somrow returned to the nearby Class J Nebula in an attempt to quell the Civil War that was still raging there.  C'mon, someone's gotta have a conscience in this cruel and violent galaxy!  

With the loathsome Enterprise-E now brazenly intruding on Klingon territory, the Kronos One was dispatched to confront her.  Thanks in part to his "insider knowledge", Admiral Cartwright and company proved victorious, inflicting a point of damage on Starfleet's Golden Child.  Despite the glorious triumph, Cartwright decided to spare the Enterprise-E and seek out a worthier foe.  Please note that this decision had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that the Kronos One was still completely and totally outgunned and her crew was collectively baktagging themselves during the fight.

After this humbling defeat, the Enterprise-E fled the scene, looking for easier pickings.  She tried to intervene against the Somraw in the Class J Nebula "Civil War" but decided against it after the wayward Bortas suddenly de-cloaked in the same system!  Once again the little sissy Enterprise had to slink away with her tail firmly tucked between her nacelles.  After driving off Starfleet's paper champion, the Bortas and the Somraw joined forces to finally bring peace and prosperity to this humble little corner of the galaxy, earning a hard-fought Victory Point!   

Meanwhile, the Yosemite and the Equinox combined forces to spread their filthy Starfleet propaganda leaflets over no less then four unsuspecting star systems (a Class H Planet, a Class Y Planet, a Class One Nebula and a region of Empty Space), instantly transforming their inhabitants into a bunch of shoeless, drum-beating, patchouli-scented, space hippies.

BEFORE

AFTER

(NOTE: photos may not be accurate)

This allowed the Starfleet menace to complete its "Establish A Hold" Influence Mission for yet another Victory Point!  

But this would be the last beautifully-regimented mind that the Equinox(ious) would ever warp with its pall of independent thought.  The Class Four Kronos One bravely attacked the Class One science vessel, inflicting a point of damage.  The Kronos One would then go on to bravely attack the Equinox two more times, eventually destroying the vitriol-spewing, hate machine just one sector shy of Earth.  This would earn our glorious Empire the colorfully-named mission "Death Blow", giving us a much-needed Victory Point!  

Unfortunately those Federation dogs would have the last laugh.  The Reliant and the Yosemite paired up to explore an O-Type Star and complete some kind of "Stellar Research" bullshit.  It's much more likely that they were trying to collapse the star and beam it right next to Qo'noS for yet another one of their patently hilarious "Black Hole Death Traps".  

To make matters worse, the duplicitous Enterprise-E snuck by our defenses and infiltrated a Class M Planet adjacent to our Command Post.  Junior Communications expert Lieutenant Rachel Maddow helped spread Starfleet's noxious influence there, allowing them to complete the presumptive mission "Morale Blow" for two more Victory Points and walk away with a tainted win!          

***

So, as it turned out, I made for a pretty piss-poor Klingon.  Having both he Somrow and the Kronos One immediately damaged by the Black Hole was something that I never quite recovered from.  To make sure I was on equal footing with Mike, I really felt compelled to send both ships back to my Command Post for repairs.  During those pivotal early turns, Mike did an excellent job getting Victory Points from Encounters and setting himself up with some fairly straightforward Missions.

Next time I'll exploit my ability Cloak to get into position, score some Combat Mission Victory Points and then press the advantage if the odds are in my favor.  I'll also cycle through my Missions a lot better, dumping more complicated fare like "Valiant Pursuit".  Since I was convinced that Mike was going to crush the Bortas during the gang-up I held onto conditional Missions like "Vengeance" ("Destroy in battle an enemy ship that destroyed one of your ships") for waaaaay too long.  I was also pretty pissed to draw "Battle Scar" ("Take at least one damage from an enemy ship in combat without being destroyed") after my little run-in with Mike's triumvirate of terror.  

Regardless of my crap luck and lackluster gameplay, I still loved playing Star Trek Fleet Captains.  The game is so fun and thematic that I can have a blast even whilst being shit-hammered by my opponent.  I love the Heroclix ships, the variable Locations, the familiar crew cards, the evocative Encounters and all of those fun and flavorful Missions.  Above all, I love the System Tests and Opposed Combats, both of which really simulate the spirit of Star Trek.  It's pretty awesome when your opponent attacks you with a Command Deck crisis but between the efforts of your stalwart crew and a well-played Interrupt, your ship narrowly avoids certain disaster!  

The game isn't quite perfect.  Some of the components (like the Location "tiles") are frustratingly chintzy.  Some of the ships are a tad fragile.  The rule book, although well-illustrated and loaded with examples, can inspire "chicken or the egg" debates about certain mechanics.  In the past I've been tripped up by Command Deck timing issues and when exactly you get to refresh your hand.

All told, however, this is one of the most thematically rich titles that I've ever played.  Given my RPG background I positively lurve board games that end up telling a cool narrative.  Star Trek Fleet Captains plays out like a classic episode of the T.V. show(s) or like one of the good, even-numbered movies.  It's an absolute classic that will hopefully be augmented soon by a very-welcome Romulan expansion!

Star Trek Fleet Captains easily nets five pips outta six!      

  
  
*** 

Click below to order via Amazon.com and help support the blog!