New Game Ideas Needed

Star Trek games tend to get boring after you play enough of them. When you analyze it, the only strategy is when to attempt the missions. Then the dilemmas are turned over, and you are lucky if your people survive, and unlucky if they don't. Then you get points or not if they killed too many, and your opponent goes. There isn't much fun, or player-player interaction possible. There needs to be a feasible battle varient. Either one that is official, or one that is unofficial, but portible, that people can play with the SAME decks they have for the regular gameplay. No one wants to design a specific deck for a specific game, then the next day reasize they have to take it apart to play the REAL Star Trek. These are two obstacles that have to be overcome.

If decipher wanted to design official rules for other games, they would have to deal with an important fact. over 1/3of the cards are related to missions. There are Dilemmas, Missions, Q Flashes, and Espionages and other events. Decipher cannot simply ignore 33% of their cards and declare that "Now Missions and Dilemmas are USELESS" because many people who spent money to get good missions, or dilemmas to block an opponent would be totally wasted. Missions must remain a major part of the deck. Maneuver cards for variety, and Battle cards that give points to winners would be useful to encourage battle, but Federation cannot attack. Allowing them to attack would make the Future Enterprise too good, so they cannot allow that, so Decipher is in between a rock and a hard place.

They can make rule variations to have battles. The major obstacles are that missions must still play a small part, and battle needs to be more interesting. Right now, battle is 100% predictable. If the Fek'lhr fires at the Future Enterprise, it will get damaged each and every time. The Enterprise will walk away without a scratch. This is terrible. Even a shuttle craft could beat the Future Enterprise commanded by Scottish Setter Captain Picard and three Targs (with mask of Korangano). The Future Enterprise with these crew would WASTE the shuttlecraft! I am sure this shuttlecraft could just sit behind the Enterprise while the Targs and dogs would bang their paws and hooves around.

If you love Star Wars, or like to get others into Star Wars (or Star Trek), play the game with 2 Star Trek decks. Just see my ST vs SW rules to find out how to play.

If you want a game more resembling Star Trek, Try using skills as modifiers to the ships stats. Although this will take some time, a well crewed shuttlecraft would whoop the Future Enterprise composed of Animals. Then you could use the Maneuver Cards suggested in advanced rules on thei page, and make the battles totally unpredictable. The skills would do varying things:

Leadership = +1 Weapons

Leadership x2 = +2 Weapons

Diplomacy = may negotiate transferring points to the opponent to cancel a battle (both players must agree on the point exchange)

Diplomacy x2= Once per game may cancel a battle where present

Honor = At the end of Battle resolution, if this ship will be damaged, may add one to any stat (Range, Weapons, or Shields) which may affect the outcome of a battle and lasts until the end of the turn.

Honor x2 = If this starship will be destroyed after all changes calculated, double weapons until the end of the turn.

Navigation = Add 1 to Shields

Navigation x2 = Add 2 to Shields and 1 to Range

Astrophysics = Add 1 to Range

Astrophysics x2 = add 3 to range

Stellar Cartography = If at the outpost location, adds 2 to shields

Computer Skill = Add 1 to Weapons

Computer Skill x2 = Add 2 to Weapons and may look at one random person per ship per turn

Barbering = Adds 4 to each stat (remember to KEEP YOUR DECK THE SAME)

Physics = Add 1 to one stat (state when reporting)

Youth = If you wish, take a rist by adding 1 to weapons and subtracting 1 from shields.

Greed = Get 1extra point for destroying a ship

VIP = May unstop the crew after a battle to move to the outpost if it is in range.

Officer = Add 1 to Weapons

Science = Add 1 to Shields

Medical = if at a present outpost, ship, or planet, may heal 1 dead person who just died per turn.

Medical x2 = same as x2, except for 2 per turn

Engineer = Shields +1

Engineer x2 = Once per game may repair a damaged ship.

The goal of the game would be to destroy all opponents ships, and the win margin would be deturmined by the number of missions passed.

News: Decipher announced that there would be a new battle expansion, possibly utilizing the new maneuver cards presented in this homepage! When I suggested the use of maneuver cards about 2 weeks abo he responded with GREAT idea! The idea of using a doorway to store your maneuvers so you wouldn't need to clog your deck with them is an intreguing idea even if battle is not your great! Apparently, there would be a new point to the game and it would be totally optional! I think that the fans would really appreciate it if decipher worked on the rules first and posted them up ASAP! I think that Decipher is notorious for delaying expansions! They should compensate by making the rules post soon so players can gear up for the expansion and make proxies or computer made cards for the maneuvers or whatever! personally, I can WAIT until the battle expansion comes out!

Q's Newsflash

Fajo collection is coming out relatively soon. This means that people will be given the opportunity to get 18 really cool cards including Locutus of Borg, Guinan, Qua'pla (most likely a personal favorite), A glow in the dark card, and a Roger Maris card. 2 Romulan ships ***and hopefully a Klingon*** will be included. This is all very good. Unfortunately in our society, a certain amount of good news usually comes with an equal or greater ammount of bad news.

This set of 18 cards will cost $80!! I can't believe it! True, I would buy Qua'pla and whatever other Klingon cards they have for $4.5, but I would NOT buy any others. Though there is a 100% chance I get all, there ARE only 18 cards, and most likely I would only add 1 or 2 to my deck. This would be an expensive addittion! I would be paying $40 for 2 cards.

I think this is a decipher ploy to make money, but enough complaing I think Fajo will be cool, especially if they lower the price about 20-30%.

Q's Tent:  A Powerful Tool, or a Self Destructive Weapon?

The Q's tent is one of the best cards that Q continuum brought with it. The actual Q flash was pretty weak. The "dilemmas" in the Q's tent were mostly distracting and not useful except a few. The Q's tent, however, could be one of the most powerful cards in Star Trek.

In Magic, the Denomic Tutor, which allowed one to take any card from their deck and put it into their hand, was restricted. This card can be no different, but it has an added function.

This incredible tool for getting one card out of a stash, entices people to put their best cards in there. The great downfall is that people do not draw a card at the end they use it. This could prove troublesome and could slow players down vastly. I have seen many players get stuck getting cards out of the Q's Tent, in which they had not that great cards, and they never got enough personnel to actually complete any missions.

The Q's tent is great for really important cards as well as extraneous cards. People should stock cards like Revolving Doors, Transwarp Conduits, Q2's, 1 starship (in case they are at the bottom of the deck), Temporal Rifts, and a few CRITICAL personnel that you MIGHT need in a crunch. An android for security precautions, a devidian door for a stranded crew, and a palor toff and red alert, of course. The first few doorways should be used to get a card of your choice. The last one should be the one you recycle when you get low on cards, or you need to get a massive number of personnel from your tent.

This is all great, but with all these options, every now and then, players will overuse the tent. Their crews will be small, they will be slow, and you will win. The trick to using the tent, is not to forget the lack of drawing a card. It is like getting a half a card for the price of one. Generally, put about 4-5 IMPORTANT cards where 2 are only necessary at a time. For instance, the Klingons would stock the following important cards in their tent:

Red Alert

T'Ong

Now, the first doorway you will use based on whether it is more efficient to move to your outpost and you have few personnel in your hand, or if you have a LOT of personnel in your hand and your outpost is in the center. So these cards are basically mutually exclusive, because one makes the other obsolete.

Then you should be sure to put an android in there if you are in a tight spot. The android works well if you need one OR if you happen to run across it. K'chiQ would be another prime choice for the Q's tent. She has a skill perfect for any time, and if your other K'chiQ died, she would be a great backup.

My Q's Tent is stocked heavily with personnel; Klingons are not known for passing dilemmas easily. Therefore you either need replacements, or need to overcome the dilemma in the first place.

The Q's tent is the perfect place for a phaser or disruptor. If you need to overcome an outpost raid, then you can use this. Also, a Full Planet Scan is necessary so that no one gets caught with a slaughter. It is great to check the planet for Outpost Raids.

If you always have AU trouble and can never man the Fek'lhr or FE, put 2-4 AU personnel there to make it easy to get! Don't forget to have at least the minimum in your deck.

In conclusion, the deck should be used for important personnel and few ships, the Q's tent should be for cards that could be lacking in emergencies. If you sometimes need a card, put it in. If you ALWAYS need a card, put it in. There is a fine line, and never put too many cards in that are in the "always need" catagory, because it takes precious time to actually get them. Try to put 2cards of vital importance and two cards that are helpful in emergencies that you run into all the time. The rest should be for those cards that you WISH you could put into your deck, but will not fit and are not vital to your strategy.

Never put cards that you would need EVERY game. What if the Q's Tent gets revolved? Then you will be left without a card that is vital and you will use.

The Q's Tent has a number of plusses and minuses. Don't forget either, because there is always a Revolving door hanging around!

Quote of the day

Player A: "My deck relies on my opponent having a slow deck. It works most of the time... That is why I won the game. Why did you lose this game to Player C?"

Player B: "Well...It wasn't fair, you see; my deck relies on my opponent playing no dilemmas!"

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