Talon: Fleet Combat in Defense of Earth

The final rules were just posted for Talon, and they are eeeeeeeasy easy easy easy easy. You can teach basic rules in tfifteen minutes. Advanced rules might go 20.

This is Star Fleet Battles 2.0 with a tremendous amount of streamlining, an improvement in appearance and usability, and enough of a retheme to not require an IP license. The game can host 12 players with ease and much of the action is simultaneous so it won't bog down. Ship status is maintained on the pieces -- situational awareness is fully displayed on the table.

GMT is indicating mounted boards (boo!) and big spiffy ship pieces (yay!). I stumbled across exactly one typo in the rules, the rest is clear, detailed, and covers special cases in trim sentences. Plenty of illustrations. Super-easy read.

This is as easy and as clear a fleet combat game you're ever going to get, full grog without the 20 pound rulebook generally attached to the genre. I believe it's still at P500 price but they're trying to deliver in 2015.

This is likely my only game Christmas present this year, but it's going to be a doozy.

S.

Damn, I've been eyeing this and you kind of killed my defenses with "Star Fleet Battles 2.0...basic rules in fifteen minutes"

ABC = Always Be Closing. $38 for the whole shebang, rule book is here -- www.gmtgames.com/talon/TALON%20RULES-FINAL.pdf

To some extent this is a wishes-were-fishes buy for me, because I don't have an opponent picked out for it. You generally want that before buying a wargame. But there's no hidden info so I can solo the heck out of it, and given how easy the rules are I may be able to get opponents from my gaming group or at the new game shop that opened just down the road from me. It's designed for team play and that lowers entry barriers. Oh, and I can force my sons to play on Father's Day.

It has the nostalgia aspect to it as well because honestly, this is Federation and Klingons, and the designer is now indicating they're looking at adding other factions as expansions.

S.

I got on the p500 for this, very excited for it. I never played SFB, but I did play Federation Commander. I liked the game fine, but I don't play it often enough to justify wading through that _monster_ of a rulebook when I do. I'll check the Talon rules out after work.

When it hits, we need to ensure there's a VASSAL module for it, so we can play, guys.

Yeah, I couldn't resist this one either. I really like the idea of the dry-erase-ink info on the counters and the easy to grasp rules and the two factions. Pre-ordered! Of course, I also had previously pre-ordered the Space Empires 4X Replicators expansion and I already own Space Empires 4X and its Close Encounters expansion. I'm a fan. Oh yeah, F#&CK plastic doll like miniatures and plastic spacecraft....

This looks great. About twice a year I go through this thing where I think about buying FedCom again. But then I remember how "simple" is a relative term and it's still a PITA to play. Maybe this will fill that hole in my heart.

Shit. GMT's update just arrived and says, "And we're ready to kick off 2016 with Liberty or Death and Talon, which should be an awesome way to start the gaming new year." So Talon isn't due to ship until January at the earliest.

Worth the wait, but this was supposed to be under the tree.

S.

Michael Barnes wrote: This looks great. About twice a year I go through this thing where I think about buying FedCom again. But then I remember how "simple" is a relative term and it's still a PITA to play. Maybe this will fill that hole in my heart.

Yeah, before reading the rules, I was leery of it being touted as a simplified SFB....because I'd heard that before with FedCom. FedCom is pretty easy to play once you get a few turns of it in, but it's still a motherfucker getting through that rulebook and Crom forbid you need to find something in it. Having read the rules now, I'm feeling way more confident in my preorder. The rules are 16 pages long, one of those pages is the cover and a bunch of it is examples.

Looks cool as heck. I'm looking forward to playing Josh Look's copy.

(Look , looking. . .Look!)

Well, I hope he is not Joshing you about picking it up...

I barely even read GMT news any more, I just wait for Sag to come in here and tell me what's going to be good. No misses yet, and I'm in for Talon too.

I added my name to the P500 list for this months ago, but had sort of forgotten about it. Thanks for the update on the rules being available. I'll have to take a look. I know it's a completely different scale, but this has me thinking about pulling out my old copy of Silent Death just to fly some spaceships around and blow shit up.

Billing, due to ship next week.

Sagrilarus wrote: Billing, due to ship next week.

Badass! This was my first P500. Thanks for keeping us in the loop about this game all this time, Sagrilarus.