10-22-2007, 11:18 PM
MagBlast: 2nd Edition
BEN WILLIAMS plays a cardgame set in space ...
GLITTERING pinholes in the cosmic curtain of space serve as the backdrop for Fantasy Flight Games' MagBlast: Second Edition, a card game of fast-paced, interstellar conflict. As many as eight players square off to spryly construct fleets of starships, intent on annihilating their enemies' flagships. With any amount of skill and luck, a brazen fleet commander might walk away victorious, even unscathed, to cavort triumphantly through the inhospitable plenum of nothingness.
Streamlined schematics
Designers of MagBlast show an obvious appreciation for the classic television space dramas of the previous three decades. They are indebted to nostalgic shows such as Buck Rogers, Babylon 5, Battlestar Galactica and Farscape, which featured tactical ship battles as a staple of interstellar storytelling. On the front of the box, a bewildered star-fighter encased in his metal sarcophagus is frozen in terror, his scream silenced both by the confines of his vessel and the vacuum of space. For all we know from the smoke arcing behind his ship, the pilot is just as likely spiralling uncontrollably to his doom as he is narrowly escaping the blasts in the background. Clearly, MagBlast espouses television assumptions that laser blasts do more to settle stellar disputes than the words of slick-talking diplomats. Besides, blasting enemies is much more fun.
Simple rules explained simply
Players soon begin eradicating any one of MagBlast's eight meddling species utilizing three types of cards and the rules pamphlet, which consists of three half-pages of black and white rules. The documentation benefits from simple rules explained simply, providing pictures of example cards and the layout of the playing area when needed. One of the more interesting, and admittedly peculiar, rules of the game is the requirement that players provide sound effects when playing a laser blast card against an opponent. Players can, of course, adhere strictly to this rule or not, but playing with the rule does add some youthful foolishness that enhances the game's enjoyment.
The only time the rules might be confusing is when it comes to simultaneous play of action cards; for instance, when a defender immediately counters a Squadron action card with a Time Distortion card. Nevertheless, the rules are conceptually ambiguous but mechanically clear, and they in no way hinder play. In fact, the minuscule amount of rules helps, not hinders, the game. Even where there is only a sense of possible confusion, the game designers provide italicized examples of game play to make sure there's clarity. My only complaint about the documentation is that there's no listing of the game's contents; the initial number of cards that are suppose to come with the game is unknown. For a .PDF copy of the MagBlast rules, visit Fantasy Flight Games' website at http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/magblast2.html
Pop iconography extends beyond the game's cover to grace the front and back of each card. The face of each card is rendered nicely in colour. On the flip side, three different soft-gray collages denote the card's particular type: flagship, ship or action card. Generic, sci-fi inspired names for starships enrich the stellar back-story and aid players in envisioning a plausible background for their cosmological demolition. With help from the amusing, true-to-genre weapons and accessories, the game does a fair job developing its quirky space milieu.
Engaging the enemy
The aim of MagBlast is to build a fleet that not only withstands the punishment of opponents but also brings any hostile throng of fortified ships to its knees. By discarding and drawing cards on each turn, players hunt for the necessary action cards usable with their starships, which are laid out in four, colour-coded sectors surrounding their flagship.
Players start by randomly drawing a single flagship and placing it in front of them. Each flagship represents a particular culture with a unique game advantage and has four colour-coded sectors corresponding to the card's top edge, two sides, and bottom edge. Within these sectors go the fleet's various other ships, drawn from a deck of ship cards. Four such cards are drawn initially, and each player studies the cards before placing them face down around the flagship, one ship card to a sector. When each player is done placing the ship cards, the cards are turned over and play begins with the player whose total ship hull value is the lowest.
Now might be a good time to explain hull values and other fun MagBlast mechanics. Each ship card comes with a picture of the ship, its given name, its particular ship type, a hull value, a designation of its capabilities, and its movement rate. Not including a ship's picture and name, all the information on a ship card has an importance in gameplay. A ship's type either gives a general idea of the ship's offensive powers (in the case of scouts, gunships, and dreadnoughts) or strictly delineates its capabilities (in the case of minesweepers and carriers); hull values represent the amount of damage a ship can suffer before being destroyed; text or symbols account for a ship's special ability, whether it involves firing a laser or clearing away the mines; and finally, if a ship can move from one sector to another, a movement rating is given in the in the upper right-hand corner.
Play proceeds clockwise, with players drawing up to five action cards by which they obliterate their opponents or acquire additional ships. To visit doom on their enemies, players unleash vicious attacks either against starships sitting in sectors around an enemy flagship or, if an enemy flagship's sector is devoid of a starship, against the flagship itself. But before they do, players have an option to move their ships, at least the ones that can move, from one sector to another. Astute players use this chance to coordinate attacks on particular sectors or redistribute the location of ships to cover vulnerable, or dare we say defenceless, sectors.
Blasters away!
Once an attack begins, it's rather straightforward. Only ships in corresponding, coloured sectors are capable of attacking each other, and in most cases, the attacks often succeed unless the defending player has a special action card to guard against the attack. Such defenses are not rare, but they are uncommon. It usually takes a few laser blasts from a scout ship (whose lowly blasts normally do 1 point of hull damage) to destroy any other type of ship except for another scout, which has 1 or 2 hull points of protection. Players that have dreadnoughts and gunships capable of magblasts can easily take out a sizable enemy ship - such as another gunship - with one or two shots.
Whether because an enemy boarding party commandeered a ship, or a hostile vessel simply blew a ship to smithereens, players can acquire more ships for their fleet by redeeming action cards that display resource symbols. The abstract resource symbols crudely represent the player's accumulation of wealth, granting the game a simple economic aspect. Most cards display one such resource symbol, but some cards have two. For each redeemed set that contains three identical resource symbols or three different resource symbols, players may draw a ship card to place in one of their flagship's four sectors. This is an uncomplicated but effective method for simulating investiture of assets into recruitment and construction.
Over the course of the game, players struggle to balance the use of action cards for blasting foes or building ships. Of course, having enough ship cards to occupy each sector is not only desirable, it's necessary for survival; however, playing it safe by building a sizable fleet might not protect against a ravaging host of particle beams and boarding parties.
Pleasant discoveries
MagBlast is a fun game. Surprisingly, my initial thoughts were not enthusiastic. Looking at the box for the first time did nothing to heighten my expectations, and honestly, I thought playing the game might be work. Even the first readings of the rules didn't do much to create excitement. Only in the middle of the fray, when I noticed that the game asked a little more of me than I expected it to, did I actually find myself looking forward to proceeding turns.
After many hours, and several hands of MagBlast, I put the game away and felt confident that any card game enthusiast would at least appreciate the game even if the game's design didn't challenge or redefine the genre. MagBlast doesn't offer anything overly original in terms of rules, mechanics, or art. Its form and function are reminiscent of other great card games past and present that did shake up the card industry during their time. However, just because MagBlast isn't on the cutting edge of the industry doesn't mean it isn't worth a try. In terms of its ability to engage, encourage and enrapture players during an afternoon or evening together, the game receives high marks.
MagBlast at a glance
Published by Fantasy Flight Games, the game costs $19.95 from Fantasy Flight's web page: http://www.fantasyflightgames.com
BEN WILLIAMS plays a cardgame set in space ...
GLITTERING pinholes in the cosmic curtain of space serve as the backdrop for Fantasy Flight Games' MagBlast: Second Edition, a card game of fast-paced, interstellar conflict. As many as eight players square off to spryly construct fleets of starships, intent on annihilating their enemies' flagships. With any amount of skill and luck, a brazen fleet commander might walk away victorious, even unscathed, to cavort triumphantly through the inhospitable plenum of nothingness.
Streamlined schematics
Designers of MagBlast show an obvious appreciation for the classic television space dramas of the previous three decades. They are indebted to nostalgic shows such as Buck Rogers, Babylon 5, Battlestar Galactica and Farscape, which featured tactical ship battles as a staple of interstellar storytelling. On the front of the box, a bewildered star-fighter encased in his metal sarcophagus is frozen in terror, his scream silenced both by the confines of his vessel and the vacuum of space. For all we know from the smoke arcing behind his ship, the pilot is just as likely spiralling uncontrollably to his doom as he is narrowly escaping the blasts in the background. Clearly, MagBlast espouses television assumptions that laser blasts do more to settle stellar disputes than the words of slick-talking diplomats. Besides, blasting enemies is much more fun.
Simple rules explained simply
Players soon begin eradicating any one of MagBlast's eight meddling species utilizing three types of cards and the rules pamphlet, which consists of three half-pages of black and white rules. The documentation benefits from simple rules explained simply, providing pictures of example cards and the layout of the playing area when needed. One of the more interesting, and admittedly peculiar, rules of the game is the requirement that players provide sound effects when playing a laser blast card against an opponent. Players can, of course, adhere strictly to this rule or not, but playing with the rule does add some youthful foolishness that enhances the game's enjoyment.
The only time the rules might be confusing is when it comes to simultaneous play of action cards; for instance, when a defender immediately counters a Squadron action card with a Time Distortion card. Nevertheless, the rules are conceptually ambiguous but mechanically clear, and they in no way hinder play. In fact, the minuscule amount of rules helps, not hinders, the game. Even where there is only a sense of possible confusion, the game designers provide italicized examples of game play to make sure there's clarity. My only complaint about the documentation is that there's no listing of the game's contents; the initial number of cards that are suppose to come with the game is unknown. For a .PDF copy of the MagBlast rules, visit Fantasy Flight Games' website at http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/magblast2.html
Pop iconography extends beyond the game's cover to grace the front and back of each card. The face of each card is rendered nicely in colour. On the flip side, three different soft-gray collages denote the card's particular type: flagship, ship or action card. Generic, sci-fi inspired names for starships enrich the stellar back-story and aid players in envisioning a plausible background for their cosmological demolition. With help from the amusing, true-to-genre weapons and accessories, the game does a fair job developing its quirky space milieu.
Engaging the enemy
The aim of MagBlast is to build a fleet that not only withstands the punishment of opponents but also brings any hostile throng of fortified ships to its knees. By discarding and drawing cards on each turn, players hunt for the necessary action cards usable with their starships, which are laid out in four, colour-coded sectors surrounding their flagship.
Players start by randomly drawing a single flagship and placing it in front of them. Each flagship represents a particular culture with a unique game advantage and has four colour-coded sectors corresponding to the card's top edge, two sides, and bottom edge. Within these sectors go the fleet's various other ships, drawn from a deck of ship cards. Four such cards are drawn initially, and each player studies the cards before placing them face down around the flagship, one ship card to a sector. When each player is done placing the ship cards, the cards are turned over and play begins with the player whose total ship hull value is the lowest.
Now might be a good time to explain hull values and other fun MagBlast mechanics. Each ship card comes with a picture of the ship, its given name, its particular ship type, a hull value, a designation of its capabilities, and its movement rate. Not including a ship's picture and name, all the information on a ship card has an importance in gameplay. A ship's type either gives a general idea of the ship's offensive powers (in the case of scouts, gunships, and dreadnoughts) or strictly delineates its capabilities (in the case of minesweepers and carriers); hull values represent the amount of damage a ship can suffer before being destroyed; text or symbols account for a ship's special ability, whether it involves firing a laser or clearing away the mines; and finally, if a ship can move from one sector to another, a movement rating is given in the in the upper right-hand corner.
Play proceeds clockwise, with players drawing up to five action cards by which they obliterate their opponents or acquire additional ships. To visit doom on their enemies, players unleash vicious attacks either against starships sitting in sectors around an enemy flagship or, if an enemy flagship's sector is devoid of a starship, against the flagship itself. But before they do, players have an option to move their ships, at least the ones that can move, from one sector to another. Astute players use this chance to coordinate attacks on particular sectors or redistribute the location of ships to cover vulnerable, or dare we say defenceless, sectors.
Blasters away!
Once an attack begins, it's rather straightforward. Only ships in corresponding, coloured sectors are capable of attacking each other, and in most cases, the attacks often succeed unless the defending player has a special action card to guard against the attack. Such defenses are not rare, but they are uncommon. It usually takes a few laser blasts from a scout ship (whose lowly blasts normally do 1 point of hull damage) to destroy any other type of ship except for another scout, which has 1 or 2 hull points of protection. Players that have dreadnoughts and gunships capable of magblasts can easily take out a sizable enemy ship - such as another gunship - with one or two shots.
Whether because an enemy boarding party commandeered a ship, or a hostile vessel simply blew a ship to smithereens, players can acquire more ships for their fleet by redeeming action cards that display resource symbols. The abstract resource symbols crudely represent the player's accumulation of wealth, granting the game a simple economic aspect. Most cards display one such resource symbol, but some cards have two. For each redeemed set that contains three identical resource symbols or three different resource symbols, players may draw a ship card to place in one of their flagship's four sectors. This is an uncomplicated but effective method for simulating investiture of assets into recruitment and construction.
Over the course of the game, players struggle to balance the use of action cards for blasting foes or building ships. Of course, having enough ship cards to occupy each sector is not only desirable, it's necessary for survival; however, playing it safe by building a sizable fleet might not protect against a ravaging host of particle beams and boarding parties.
Pleasant discoveries
MagBlast is a fun game. Surprisingly, my initial thoughts were not enthusiastic. Looking at the box for the first time did nothing to heighten my expectations, and honestly, I thought playing the game might be work. Even the first readings of the rules didn't do much to create excitement. Only in the middle of the fray, when I noticed that the game asked a little more of me than I expected it to, did I actually find myself looking forward to proceeding turns.
After many hours, and several hands of MagBlast, I put the game away and felt confident that any card game enthusiast would at least appreciate the game even if the game's design didn't challenge or redefine the genre. MagBlast doesn't offer anything overly original in terms of rules, mechanics, or art. Its form and function are reminiscent of other great card games past and present that did shake up the card industry during their time. However, just because MagBlast isn't on the cutting edge of the industry doesn't mean it isn't worth a try. In terms of its ability to engage, encourage and enrapture players during an afternoon or evening together, the game receives high marks.
MagBlast at a glance
Published by Fantasy Flight Games, the game costs $19.95 from Fantasy Flight's web page: http://www.fantasyflightgames.com