Chewsday Challenge - North Albert Boston Pizza - December 16, 2014 (18:00)

[Colin Dearborn]

I will get in on Sons as well.

[NeikeDjour]

I'd like to jump in SOA. >.>

[omegadirective]

If you run a second game of Sons of Anarchy, I would like to play.

[thomsoda]

Matt Robertson, are you interested in trying out Impulse this week?

[Bix Conners]

Matt Robertson, are you interested in trying out Impulse this week?

Sure.

[thomsoda]

Ok, I will teach a game of Impulse at 6:30. I Think I will restrict it to 4 players (it plays up to 6, but downtime is terrible). It should take around an hour and a half. This is the third big game from Carl Chudyk, following Glory to Rome and innovation, both excellent games. This game has some similarities, but in a mini 4X style.





Impulse is a quick-playing 4X (explore, expand, exploit, and exterminate) game set in space with the game board being composed of cards that have actions on them. Players also have cards in hand, and in addition to featuring one of ten possible actions, these cards have a color (red, yellow, blue or green) and a size (1, 2 or 3, as indicated by the number of icons on the card). Each card also has six edges, and these edges connect adjacent cards in the hex-shaped playing area.

The cards in the playing area start face down, with each player controlling a card(their Home) on a corner of this area. Each player has two transport ships in the center of his Home card and a cruiser on an edge. Cruisers are used to patrol sectors of space and destroy opposing transports, while transports let you activate sectors that you enter.

On a turn, a player adds a card to the Impulse from his hand, then (optionally) performs an action for a tech in his playing area, then (optionally) performs all the actions in the Impulse, then draws two cards and adds them to his hand. The Impulse is a line of cards shared by all players that changes turn by turn as players add cards to it and as cards fall off once it reaches maximum size. Thus, players need to feed the Impulse with actions that benefit them more than opponents, but that's easier said than done.

When you perform actions – whether from moving transports to them or using the Impulse – you can boost them by having minerals of the same color or lots of transports. Each action has a single numeral on it, e.g., "Command [1] ship for one jump" or "Build [1] cruiser at home"; when you boost an action, you increase that numeral.

Players score points by destroying enemy ships (one point per ship), by controlling edge spaces on the central card (one point per edge), and by taking other actions via cards. The first player to score 20 points wins!

[R Newell]

thomsoda, Matt's already signed up for a game of Sons of Anarchy scheduled from 7:00 until 8:30.  Do you still want to schedule Impulse for 6:30?

[Bix Conners]

Oops. I should have clarified.
Sorry for the confusion. I assumed it would be an 8:30 start for impulse. Is that okay thomsoda? 

[thomsoda]

Yea we can make that work!

[silent_rob]

Dana asked if I could bring out Among The Stars so I'll host a game of it at 8:30. For those who are unfamiliar with it, it's a sci-fi game that features card-drafting (like 7 Wonders) combined with a spacial/tile-laying element. Each card is a room/area you're building as part of a space station on the table in front of you (players make their own, separate space station to be worth the most victory points). I've also got The Ambassadors expansion that adds in...well...ambassadors along with more cards and the Expanding The Alliance expansion which adds in various promos.

Please reserve a spot for Dana. Everyone is welcome to play - I'll be teaching the rules to start. While technically it can play up to 6, I'm limiting it to 4 because even 4 takes up a sizable table space (also while I'm scheduling it for later).

(4 players, 90 minutes at 8:30)

Among the Stars takes place in a war-ravaged galaxy where the warring alien races have declared peace in the wake of a threat with the potential to destroy them all. An Alliance is established to build space stations throughout the galaxy in order to promote trade among the races, strengthen diplomatic relations, and defend against this impending threat. Each player takes the role of one of those races trying to build the greatest space station. Through card drafting, the players select locations, and use these to build their station, scoring victory points based on the placement. The construction lasts four years, and alien race with the most points at the end wins.