Filed in the Monday bin. Thanks.

By Terence Sean Terry O'Carroll (Terryoc) on Wednesday, January 20, 2010 - 09:41 pm: Edit

Before I forget...

Paul Franz uploaded a recording of the SFU & F&E Seminars from Origins last year. I personally found it fascinating. If someone took video of the seminars, and perhaps some footage of the booth, the games being played etc. that would be great for YouTube I think.

By Randy Blair (Randyblair) on Friday, March 26, 2010 - 01:53 am: Edit

Would it be violating ADB copyright to create a YouTube video of "how to" play SFB?

As a seller of information products online, I have found that people snap up "how to" stuff like it's going out of style.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Friday, March 26, 2010 - 11:03 am: Edit

Probably not, but if you did a bad job, it would do more harm than good. We really need to do one ourselves, but doing it right requires splicing in some detailed graphics and it's kind of a chore.

By Randy Blair (Randyblair) on Friday, March 26, 2010 - 03:48 pm: Edit

@SVC - Well, yeah, you're right. It goes without saying that it has to be a quality job, for sure.
What I've wondered is whether SFB sales are eclipsing FC sales (read: are people more apt to buy FC than SFB). I personally have never seen FC outside of some CLs, and prefer SFB. But I don't know if that's the trend now or not. Given the mouth-breathing, knuckle-dragging, instant-gratification youth of today, you would think that FC appeals more to them.

Sorry...off track.

By Mike Curtis (Nashvillen) on Friday, March 26, 2010 - 04:19 pm: Edit

Well, my nearly 10 year old son loves FC. I haven't introduced him to SFB yet as it so much more complicated. After he gets used to something other than close n hose and starts to develop real tactics I will introduce him to SFB.

As I am more of an F&E person, he will be playing F&E probably before he is playing SFB as he is interested in that also. He wonders why daddy sits for hours on end cutting counters, so he is not addicted, yet...

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Friday, March 26, 2010 - 06:27 pm: Edit

I was emotionally prepared to see SFB wither away in favor of FC, but instead, SFB has undergone a resurgence, and both sell very well and independently, often to the same groups and individuals.

By Randy Blair (Randyblair) on Friday, March 26, 2010 - 06:55 pm: Edit

@SVC - Aw, yer killin' me, man. SFB is the BEST tactical space combat boardgame EVER.

EVER!

Until the stars fall from the sky and the moon turns blood red, SFB will be there (provided that there are still intelligent people in the world...which may be doubtful).

By Richard B. Eitzen (Rbeitzen) on Saturday, March 27, 2010 - 01:08 am: Edit

Everything comes to an end.

But not yet, I say!

By John Erwin Hacker (Godzillaking) on Saturday, March 27, 2010 - 01:53 am: Edit

SFB COME TO AN END ??????????

NEVER NEVER NEVER

As long as this GORN can breathe SFB will always be here.

By Loren Knight (Loren) on Saturday, March 27, 2010 - 03:28 am: Edit

Well, eventually they sun will burn out, so then at least.

By Jean Sexton (Jsexton) on Saturday, March 27, 2010 - 08:08 am: Edit

Loren, and who says that we won't be traveling the stars with our virtual maps, counters, and SSDs in our holo-projectors?

By Terry "Full Stop" O'Carroll (Terryoc) on Saturday, March 27, 2010 - 08:47 am: Edit

And SFU apps loaded into our iPADDs!

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Saturday, March 27, 2010 - 11:38 am: Edit

Man fears time, but time fears SFB.

By Loren Knight (Loren) on Saturday, March 27, 2010 - 12:12 pm: Edit

"Like how old is that game anyway; 10,000 years at least?"

"Older than that. Heck, it's almost as old as chess."

"Well, I heard that the future is tells would be almost as old as the game. Why do you play it?"

"Have YOU ever played it?"

"No"

"Well, if you had, you'd know."

By Stacy Brian Bartley (Bartley) on Saturday, March 27, 2010 - 01:05 pm: Edit

If/When we're finally able to play the game on our iPads I predict the game will suddenly have an amazing further growth in popularity.
regards
Stacy

By David Schultz (Ikvavenger) on Saturday, March 27, 2010 - 02:31 pm: Edit

Well here's the deal with SFB, it is a thinking mans game like chess. And chess has been around a LONG time. It requires thought, tactics, strategy and a little luck. Whereas anyone can pick up a 'computer' game and blast away with a quick thumb, SFB has stood the test of time because of what has went into it. And it needs to be touted as such i.e. it is 'the' strategy starship game out there. It is the Rolls Royce.

By Loren Knight (Loren) on Saturday, March 27, 2010 - 03:10 pm: Edit

It helps that it is an expanding universe too.


And it doesn't hurt that its creator is gracious about welcoming player participation in defining its expansion.

By Randy Blair (Randyblair) on Saturday, March 27, 2010 - 05:22 pm: Edit

@Loren - Yes! That is another awesome part about SFB. My first time seeing the game, I was in open mouthed, slackjawed AWE. One of the players handed me the rulebook thinking to intimidate me, and I was, like, MORE!
David is right when he says it's a thinking man's game. Emphasis. Thinking. Man.

There's nothing like imagining the lurch of the ship beneath your feet when you've locked the tractor beam on the opponent's ship and the "THOOM!" of a HUNDRED POINTS OF PLASSSMA roaring out of the launch tubes to teach that tractored ship a lesson in pain.

There's nothing like seeing your squadron of Hydran Stinger-2's light up the target like the surface of the sun.

Man, I need a cigarette, and I don't even smoke...

By Mark Steven Hoyle (Bolo_Mk_Xl) on Saturday, March 27, 2010 - 06:51 pm: Edit

I played AD&D (with most of the accompanying trash that comes with it) before ever hearing about SFB -- never once thought about the SFB rulebook being overly large ---

Still don't understand that attitude, just seeing Manuals for cell phones with that small unreadable print makes you want to run -- but not SFB

By Xander Fulton (Dderidex) on Saturday, March 27, 2010 - 07:50 pm: Edit

And I think once you point out ONE TIME that the bulk of the SFB manual is cross-interactions, and cross-cross-interactions, such that every rule is spelled out in an easily understandable, quick-to-read fashion, and then EXHAUSTIVELY explained how it could interact with a number of other rules...most players catch on that the rulebook is not bad at all.

That is - you can get a high-level understanding of how to play the game very fast, indeed. And if any strange rules interactions come up, you can rest assured that it's probably already covered in some of the detail sections.

By Daniel Riegler (Futonrevolution) on Sunday, March 28, 2010 - 01:58 pm: Edit

I just watched the videos on http://www.youtube.com/user/starfleetgames and it's a great sales pitch, especially when compared to the high-pressure condescending pitches I've seen from... well... companies that shall not be named.

If a series of "sales pitch / how to / background fluff / Let's Play" videos for customers focused on how it compares to the "Starfleet Command" PC game and expands upon the gaming experience that they're used to, I think it would be very effective. Those who love "Starfleet Command" *really* love it and talk it up at every opportunity.

"Let's Play" videos are very popular, at the moment. Even just a webcam trained on a game with miniatures and 3d terrain would garner lots of hits. If there's thousands of hits for playlists with 100+ horribly filmed videos of infamously bad console games...

...then a 10+ video playlist of a simple and a 100+ video playlist of a as-complex-as-possible play-through of a famously *good* board game would get a few hundred hits or more. With Dailymotion allowing 20-minute videos, clips posted there can be more complex - you just need much more carefully worded tags on there to make up for the inferior search engine (as compared to YouTube). Flashy graphics-filled whooooosh videos can always be made in your non-existent free-time later on.

By Joel Alexander Shutts (Joelshutts) on Wednesday, April 21, 2010 - 11:55 am: Edit

Hey guys, we are planning on making two new movies for our youtube section and we were wondering if any of you would have a suggestion for a third movie.

By Patrick H. Dillman (Patrick) on Wednesday, April 21, 2010 - 12:20 pm: Edit

LARP for Prime Directive.

By Terry "Full Stop" O'Carroll (Terryoc) on Wednesday, April 21, 2010 - 01:08 pm: Edit

LARP for Prime Directive

"Dude, that's an awesome Hydran costume!"
"What Hydran? I'm playing R2-D2 in the Star Wars/Call of Cthulhu crossover game!"