The Inside Scoop on Gaming

Noble Armada is the latest game by Holistic Design, know for their excellent Fading Suns RPG. Noble Armada is the game of broadsides and boarding actions set in the Fading Suns universe. The review actually only covers the rules for the game only - I have not seen the full boxed set yet; just the rules.

This game has both good points and bad points. Let's check out the good first.

---Fast gameplay. Unlike a certain venerable starship combat game based a on popular TV show, Noble Armada plays quickly and easily. Actions are completed with a D20, just like the Fading Suns RPG.

---Simple systems. Although I personally dread the mention of "space physics" and "movement" in a game, this game takes a relatively simple approach. By using a D20 to mark both travel direction and speed, and the miniature itself to mark facing, I quickly was able to master moving without bogging down gameplay. A big plus there; something that is often a problem for simarlar games - sacrificing simplicity of gameplay for realism. Noble Armada does not fall into this trap.

----Boarding actions. Just like "wet" naval battles, prepare your troops to repel boarders. This is a good system - with marauders and Brothers Battle rampaging around your Galliot, you will quickly be yelling all of those great quotes from old pirate movies. "Avast ye scury dogs! Prepare to put your sword-arms into 'em!" Cyber-parrot and cheap black eyepatch not included. (At least, not in my reviewer's kit)

Sadly, the game has a few rough edges, too.

---The rules are not well written. It took me several read-throughs and even a solo playtest to figure out a few things. It seems that the writers tried to cram a lot of rules into the smallish (less than 50 pages) book; but at the cost of easy understanding. I myself would have liked more explanations and examples. Some of the rules whizzed by me so quickly I didn't realize they were even there. I know that sometimes OVER-explaining things is a pain. But I think I would rather have rules nailed in my skull rather than glossed over.

---Symbols. The game loves sybols. Each different gun is identified on the ship display with a different symbol. One for Launcher, one for Heat Blaster, one for Slug Gun...and the crew men? Different symbols for Marines, Marauders, Jet Jocks...ugh. In the heat of a game, I like to READ my ship chart, not have to decode the heiroglyphics with my magic decoder ring. In fairness, the symbol chart is on every ship chart...but I personally like to have everything written English and not hunt to figure out what that particular symbol means.

Verdict? I like this game. Don't get me wrong - the gameplay is fun. I just didn't enjoy figuring out how to play. A little more work in the rulebook would have improved my opinion tenfold. It is a shame that figuring out how to play a good game like this can be frustrating.

Now, I need to get some starship miniatures and stop using toothpicks to play...

Style: 4 (Classy and well done)
Substance: 3 (Average)

Noble Armada
Author: Chris Weise and Ken Lightner Category: miniature Company/Publisher: Holistic Design Capsule Review by Robert E. Allen III on 07/26/98. Genre tags: none	Noble Armada is the latest game by Holistic Design, know for their excellent Fading Suns RPG. Noble Armada is the game of broadsides and boarding actions set in the Fading Suns universe. The review actually only covers the rules for the game only - I have not seen the full boxed set yet; just the rules. This game has both good points and bad points. Let's check out the good first. ---Fast gameplay. Unlike a certain venerable starship combat game based a on popular TV show, Noble Armada plays quickly and easily. Actions are completed with a D20, just like the Fading Suns RPG. ---Simple systems. Although I personally dread the mention of "space physics" and "movement" in a game, this game takes a relatively simple approach. By using a D20 to mark both travel direction and speed, and the miniature itself to mark facing, I quickly was able to master moving without bogging down gameplay. A big plus there; something that is often a problem for simarlar games - sacrificing simplicity of gameplay for realism. Noble Armada does not fall into this trap. ----Boarding actions. Just like "wet" naval battles, prepare your troops to repel boarders. This is a good system - with marauders and Brothers Battle rampaging around your Galliot, you will quickly be yelling all of those great quotes from old pirate movies. "Avast ye scury dogs! Prepare to put your sword-arms into 'em!" Cyber-parrot and cheap black eyepatch not included. (At least, not in my reviewer's kit) Sadly, the game has a few rough edges, too. ---The rules are not well written. It took me several read-throughs and even a solo playtest to figure out a few things. It seems that the writers tried to cram a lot of rules into the smallish (less than 50 pages) book; but at the cost of easy understanding. I myself would have liked more explanations and examples. Some of the rules whizzed by me so quickly I didn't realize they were even there. I know that sometimes OVER-explaining things is a pain. But I think I would rather have rules nailed in my skull rather than glossed over. ---Symbols. The game loves sybols. Each different gun is identified on the ship display with a different symbol. One for Launcher, one for Heat Blaster, one for Slug Gun...and the crew men? Different symbols for Marines, Marauders, Jet Jocks...ugh. In the heat of a game, I like to READ my ship chart, not have to decode the heiroglyphics with my magic decoder ring. In fairness, the symbol chart is on every ship chart...but I personally like to have everything written English and not hunt to figure out what that particular symbol means. Verdict? I like this game. Don't get me wrong - the gameplay is fun. I just didn't enjoy figuring out how to play. A little more work in the rulebook would have improved my opinion tenfold. It is a shame that figuring out how to play a good game like this can be frustrating. Now, I need to get some starship miniatures and stop using toothpicks to play... Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 3 (Average)