Armada 2K
| Armada 2K | ||
|---|---|---|
| Dan Isaac | ||
| In Armada 2K, fleets of warships do battle on the open seas. | ||
| Players: | ||
| Length: | unknown | |
| Complexity: | Medium | |
| Trios per color: | 5 | |
| Number of colors: | 1 per player (uniquely identifiable) | |
| - - - - - - Other equipment - - - - - - | ||
| Chits to act as damage markers | ||
| Setup time: | 2 minutes | |
| Strategy depth: | Medium | |
| Random chance: | None | |
| Theme: | Nautical | |
| Status: Not Specified (v1.0), Year released: 2987 | ||
Armada 2K is a turn-based, multi-player, stash-per-player, board-less, pure-strategy game using Icehouse Pieces.
Note:
Armada 2K is an expanded and more balanced variation of the original game Armada. The major differences being:
- the equipment - (stash-per-player rather then single-stash-per-game)
- the number of players - (multi-player rather then just 2-players)
- the setup - (various combinations of starting fleets)
Description
Fleets of warships do battle on the open seas. Which commander can navigate his armada to victory through the ensuing skirmish.
Equipment
- 1 stash of Icehouse pieces per player (uniquely identifiable by player)
- A few chits or markers of some sort to indicate damage on the ships
- A flat playing area of any shape that is at least 20 inches in diameter
Goal
Sink the entire enemy fleet. (See the Alternate Game Rules - Alternate Goals below for additional game ideas.)
Setup
Firstly players must decide how large of a battle they wish to wage, and whether they wish to have a constructed or a matched battle.
- For a large matched battle, the players could start with four ships of each size, for a total of 12 ships per player.
- Alternately, they could decide to play a smaller matched battle by deciding on a set number of each size ship that they would each start with.
For example: 2-smalls, 3-mediums, & 2-larges
- Or for a constructed battle, they could decide on a number of ships, and each decide what combination of sizes they wish to use
For example, if they decided to each use 5 ships: Player1 could use 4-smalls and 1-large, and Player2 could use 1-small, 3-mediums, & 1-large
- Note: No player can choose more then 4 pieces of any one size, as the 5th piece will be used for movement and firing.
(See the Alternate Game Rules - Alternate Setup section below for additional setup variations.)
Each player sets their pieces in a grouping near them on the table in any configuration they choose.
- Each piece should be lying flat, and should not overlap any other piece.
- Each piece should be no closer then about 10 to 12 inches away from any opponents piece
Play
Each players turn consists of that player performing up to three Actions. The choices of Actions are as follows:
- Move one of their ships (that has not yet moved this turn)
- Fire from a ship that has not fired its full battery yet this turn
Ship Movement
As one Action, a ship can move up to a maximum number of steps based on its size.
- Large ships can move a maximum distance of up to one (1) step as one Action.
- Medium ships can move a maximum distance of up to two (2) steps as one Action.
- Small ships can move a maximum distance of up to four (4) steps as one Action.
Each step is made as follows:
- Take one of the spare IceHouse pieces that is the same size as the ship that you plan to move.
- Place that piece such that the center of the new pieces Stern (base of the pyramid) touches the Bow (point) of the ship to be moved.
- Orient the new ship in the direction that you wish it to move and place it down.
- Then remove the original ship from the old position.
(Any damage counters should be moved to the new ship location as well.)
(See Illus. 1 below where the blue piece indicates the original ship, and the gray area shows the possible positions for the ship after one step.)
Continue this process until you have either gone as far as you wish, or until you have traveled the maximum distance allowed based on the size of the ship. (See Illus. 2)
(Blue pieces indicate the initial ship position. Gray area indicates the possible positions for the ship after one step.)
(Blue pieces indicate the initial ship position. Gray pieces indicate individual steps and possible stopping points. Yellow pieces indicate the furthest step that the ship can make.)
You must travel in steps as listed above. A ship must move in increments of its size. No partial-size moves are allowed, only moves that are a number of full steps less then or equal to the maximum. (e.g. A small can move the length of one, two, three, or four small sizes, but no portions of a small unit. — No two and a half size moves.)
If a ship would come into contact with another object or the edge of the playing surface during a move, then the move is not allowed.
- Note: It will be impossible to orient the new ship in some directions, such as at a 90 degree angle or even straight back, as the new ship position would overlap upon the previous one. Also, it is possible to have a ship in a position such that there are no possible valid directions that it may move. (Its path could be blocked by another ship, or an obstacle such as the edge of the playing field.) In these cases that ship is currently stuck and cannot be moved any further this turn.
Firing a cannon
During a turn a ship can only fire its cannons a number of times equal to its size, and each shot requires one turn action. So a Small ship may only fire once per turn, a Medium may fire up to twice, and a Large up to three times in a single turn.
All ships can fire cannons at objects up to a distance of one Large away, but only in specific directions.
To fire a cannon, Use a Large piece (regardless of ship size) such that the entire base side of the Large touches one of the two long sides of your ship. The Large piece indicates your possible target area. If the object you wish to shoot at lies in the area covered by the Large piece, and is not obstructed by anything, then you can hit that target.
When a ship is hit from a cannon fire, it takes one point of damage. A ship is destroyed (sunk/removed from the game) when it has taken damage equal to its size. So a Small ship is sunk the first time that it is hit. But a Medium ship will not sink until the second time that it is hit, and a Large can survive until the third hit. You can use some form of chits or other markers to indicate ships that have already taken some damage. The damage stays with the ship the remainder of the game until it is sunk.
- Note: Make sure to move the damage counters along with the ship whenever you move it.
Some (don't be so) Fiddly bits
If there is any question about whether something is possible from a given situation (e.g. if something is within cannon range, if you can move without running into something, etc) then the answer is "No, you can't do it." You should try to make certain that your moves put you into position such that it is clear if you can hit your target, etc. In general, ships should not be moved or jostled outside of actually moving them as part of your turn options. If something does get moved accidentally, you should attempt to put it back in its original position. There are no penalties for this happening, but try to avoid it.
Alternate Game Rules
Alternate Setup
Players can optionally decide to play on an obstructed playing surface:
Use various items such as stash tubes, CDs, books, coffee cups, etc. as reefs, islands or other impassible locations in the sea.
Players can choose to use a point-purchase method of selecting their fleet:
Players would need to decide upon a point-value per ship-size to use, and a total fleet-value to play with. For example, they may choose to use point-values of small=1, medium=2, large=3 and play with a fleet size of 12 points. The constructed setup listed above is equivalent to this method with point-values of sm=1, md=1, lg=1. You may also want to try sm=2, md=3, lg=4, or any other combination.
Players can choose to use more then one stash each for a larger war:
The rest of the setup would be the same as any of the other methods, but this could allow players to have more then four of any size piece. Multiple colors could be used so long as they are distinct from any of the other players pieces.
Alternate Goals
If desired, Armada could be played as a capture the flag(ship) competition:
Use a marker to indicate your sides flag. This could either be a stationary flag, or could be a specific ship in your fleet. The first player to sink or come into contact with the opponents flag wins the game.
Alternate Rules
Players can choose to add a rear cannon on large ships:
This would allow those ships to be able to fire shots directly off the Stern (back/base) of the ship. Use the same firing range method as the standard shots.