August 5th Update

I have just updated the SFB at Council web page. We have 12 Committed players, including three Council first-timers!

Please also check out the new Top-4 finals tree and approved ship changes for this tournament.

http://www.swa-gaming.org/Star-Trek-Star-Fleet-Games-at-Council

Please post here or contact me directly with your Committed/Probable/Maybe status.

Hope to see many of you for September 20-22. If we've got two guys coming all the way from California for their first Council, then you can be there too!

By David Cheng (Davec) on Wednesday, August 21, 2019 - 11:11 pm: Edit

In this Council SFB Update:
* Calendar
* Beer
* Banquet
* Classy Room Upgrade
* Canada Invades the USA


CALENDAR
This bulletin is going out on August 21st. That means we are exactly one month away from Council of Five Nations 42 (September 20-22, 2019).


BEER
Brewmaster Tos Crawford will once again be sharing his home brews with us at Council. We are happy that he is able to continue with this generous, many-year tradition.


BANQUET
Time to start collecting a tally of those of you who will be arriving on Thursday evening in time for our annual SFB banquet. Please reply to this message if you would like to join us.


CLASSY ROOM UPGRADE
We will be doing a little room shuffle at Proctors this year, but most of us will not be significantly affected. Proctors has booked another event for Sunday, September 22nd in the area that is normally the Star Fleet Battles room. To make it up to us, SFB and Battleground: Fantasy Warfare action will move to the Guild Room on Sunday. The Guild Room is the fancy room across the arcade, up on the 2nd floor, where the (wealthy) Proctors patrons get to congregate and mingle. So, this is an upgrade. Please keep in mind, with the new 4-player finals tree, only the Finals match for the Council Cup, scheduled for 9am on Sunday, will be affected.


CANADIAN INVASION
Not only are a bunch of Battlegroup Toronto guys coming, but now Brandon Lally, from Alberta, is probably going to make it. This means we are being invaded by both East coast AND West coast Canadians - a classic pincer strategy! We 'Muricans need to rally to resist this military aggression! A call to arms!

We've got 13 Committed, at least 11 Probables, and a few Maybes. Please reply and let me know if we can add you to one of these lists, or promote you up from the list you're currently on.

Lots of Star Fleet Battles at Council info here:
http://swa-gaming.org/Star-Trek-Star-Fleet-Games-at-Council


Hope to see many of you in exactly a month!

By David Cheng (Davec) on Friday, September 13, 2019 - 12:53 am: Edit

In this Council SFB Update:
* Calendar
* Committed
* Banquet
* Schedule


CALENDAR
This bulletin is going out on September 13th. That means we are exactly one week away from Council of Five Nations 42 (September 20-22, 2019).


COMMITTED
We have seventeen players Committed to attending. Well, actually we have fifteen, plus two guys who are not-quite-Committed-but-more-than-Probable. So we'll count them as Committed.
We are very happy to have three Council First-Timers! Two Ikeda brothers, coming all the way from California. And Brendon Lally, all the way from Alberta.
We look forward to showing you newcomers some wonderful Council hospitality! (That's secret code for "All our overloaded Disruptors will be hitting every time..." ;-)


BANQUET
Looks like we will have at least seven, maybe more, for the SFB Banquet on Thursday night at 8pm. I will start coordinating details on that this weekend. It's not too late to join us - please reply to this message if you'd like to do so.


SCHEDULE
Even though the tabletop.events schedule says SFB starts at 2pm, it really starts for the early-birds at 10am on Friday. We've got a bunch of folks coming to town on Thursday night, so there will be plenty of SFB action on Friday morning.


Lots of Star Fleet Battles at Council info here:
http://swa-gaming.org/Star-Trek-Star-Fleet-Games-at-Council

Hope to see many of you in exactly a week!
It's not too late to join us!

By David Cheng (Davec) on Monday, September 16, 2019 - 11:17 pm: Edit

In today's Council SFB update (probably the last before Council):
* Calendar
* SFB Banquet
* Another Room Change
* Saturday Lunch Discussion - The future of SFB at Council
* Reminder - Finals is Top 4


CALENDAR
Council of Five Nations 42 is this coming weekend, September 20-22, 2019.


SFB BANQUET
As is our tradition, early arrivers will dine together on Thursday night. We will be meeting at 8:00 PM at Johnny's, the nice Italian place literally right across the street from Proctors.
433 State Street, Schenectady NY 12305
https://www.johnnysdowntown.com/Home
It's not too late to join us - please reply to this message if you'd like to do so.


ANOTHER ROOM CHANGE
We previously announced that SFB action on Friday & Saturday would be in the normal room, but would move on Sunday.
There is another change, this time for the better.
We will be in the Guild Room, on the 2nd floor, across the arcade, all weekend. No moving. This goes for the Battleground players too.
We're a little more segregated from the rest of the convention, but it's a much shorter walk to the nearest restrooms.
And we get a very nice room to ourselves all weekend.


SATURDAY LUNCH DISCUSSION
We have some ideas about the future of the SFB tournament at Council that we'd like to discuss. We will do this during the lunch slot on Saturday, starting at 1:15 PM. Get your lunch and bring it to the SFB room to participate.


FINALS - TOP 4
Reminder - the format is changing this year. The top FOUR best Win-Loss records at 6:00 PM on Saturday will advance to the finals.
Semi-finals is 7pm on Saturday.
Finals is 9am on Sunday.
You must be present to participate - playing the finals on SFBOL is no longer an option.


Lots of Star Fleet Battles at Council info here:
http://swa-gaming.org/Star-Trek-Star-Fleet-Games-at-Council

Hope to see many of you this coming weekend!
It's not too late to join us!

By David Cheng (Davec) on Wednesday, September 18, 2019 - 11:56 pm: Edit

In what is really the last Council Update:
* SFB Banquet - 7:45 PM Thursday
* Weather
* Take One Leave One
* Star Trek: Ascendancy
* Kingzilla!


SFB BANQUET
When I made the reservation, they asked if we could start at 7:45 PM. So, that's the new target start time.
We hope the Ikeda brothers will get there in time for dessert - we're holding seats for you!
Location: Johnny's, the nice Italian place literally right across the street from Proctors
433 State Street, Schenectady NY 12305
https://www.johnnysdowntown.com/Home


COUNCIL WEATHER
The forecast is clear and warm
Friday: Partly Cloudy, High 80, Low 55
Saturday: Sunny, High 85, Low 58
Sunday: Mostly Sunny, High 86, Low 64


TAKE ONE LEAVE ONE
The library will be making its annual appearance.
Please click here to see an updated inventory list: http://sfb.swa-gaming.org/node/840#comment-12962
Please also consider bringing some stuff to trade.


STAR TREK: ASCENDANCY
I will bring my copy of Star Trek: Ascendancy.
This is definitely my favorite "4X" game, in the family of Twilight Imperium, Eclipse, and several others.
We will probably set up to play Saturday at 7pm, during the tournament semi-finals.
Let me know if you'd like to claim a spot, assuming you're not one of the four players in the finals.


KINGZILLA
We are happy to report that Seth "Kingzilla" Shimansky will be making it after all.


Lots of Star Fleet Battles at Council info here:
http://swa-gaming.org/Star-Trek-Star-Fleet-Games-at-Council


Looking forward to seeing you this weekend!

By Kosta Michalopoulos (Kosmic) on Thursday, September 19, 2019 - 04:59 pm: Edit

Good luck to everyone at this year's tournament! I'm sorry I could not join you this time. Hopefully next year.

By Peter Bakija (Bakija) on Friday, September 20, 2019 - 08:31 am: Edit

I'm sad I'm not going to be there! Have fun and blow things up!

By David Cheng (Davec) on Friday, September 20, 2019 - 10:54 am: Edit

Matches have started.
Ten players already!

Fred W vs Tyson I
Tim Linden vs Big Ed S
Brendan L vs Seth S
Bill S vs Dr Dave Z
Jarod I vs John R

By Peter Bakija (Bakija) on Saturday, September 21, 2019 - 08:13 am: Edit

Send in reports! Play by play! Or whatever!

I'm sad that I'm not flying.

By Kosta Michalopoulos (Kosmic) on Saturday, September 21, 2019 - 10:19 am: Edit

Ditto! Inquiring minds want to know!

By David Cheng (Davec) on Saturday, September 21, 2019 - 05:05 pm: Edit

The finals free is set.

1. Tim Linden (4-1) Orion (probably HHgbb)
Vs
4. Big Ed Slusarek (2-1) Federation with G-rack

Note. Tim’s one loss in the patrol round was to Big Ed.

2. Seth Shimansky (2-0). Tholian ATC
Vs
3. Bill Schoeller (2-0). Federation with G-rack

16 distinct players. 4 re-entries.

The 12 that did not advance.
Fred Werenich. Hydran
Brendan Lally. Wyn Aux, Lyran
Dr Dave Zimdars. Kzinti
Jarod Ikeda. Kzinti
Tyson Ikeda. Kzinti
Dave Cheng. LDR
John Rigley. Wyn Aux
Marcus Giegerich. Klingon
Brook Villa. Fed g-rack
Tos Crawford. Klingon
Ken Burnside. Wyn Aux
Andrew Sackett. Seltorian, Tholian ATC

By David Cheng (Davec) on Sunday, September 22, 2019 - 09:31 am: Edit

Finals are in progress.

Tim Linden’s Orion HHgbb
Vs
Bill Schoeller’s Fed with G-rack

By Gregory S Flusche (Vandor) on Sunday, September 22, 2019 - 09:46 am: Edit

The Fed with G-Rack. Is it helping the Fed out at all. Are is it making it a bit much? what load out are you allowing for the G-rack?

By Peter Bakija (Bakija) on Sunday, September 22, 2019 - 05:56 pm: Edit

IIRC, the G-Rack Fed gets a single g-rack with 2xIM and 4xADD, no reloads, no ability to use a scatter pack.

I've only ever played against it in a plasma ship, where the drone rack made me use a P3 to shoot down a drone, and then protected a phaser hit. I don't know how much it helps the Fed in general. It looks like it got some solid play time this tournament, so perhaps we'll get some data.

By David Cheng (Davec) on Sunday, September 22, 2019 - 10:24 pm: Edit

Bill Schoeller wins the Council Cup for 2020!

I didn't see much of the game, so hopefully he and/or Tim Linden will post a game report.

I heard that after three turns of maneuver, the initial volley came down to a range 1 battle pass.

By Peter Bakija (Bakija) on Monday, September 23, 2019 - 08:17 am: Edit

Congrats Bill! And Tim! And Dave for having a solid tournament!

Hopefully next year, Council and Porchfest don't end up on the same weekend again :-/

(I missed Council this year as I have a band that plays one event every year, on my porch, at my house, and Council and Porchfest ended up at the same time for the first time in history of ever).

By Bill Schoeller (Bigbadbill) on Monday, September 23, 2019 - 10:07 am: Edit

Turn 1 I corner dodge when he doubled 3 engines.
Turn 2 I parked. He doubled 3. He fired an alpha at range 8 and ran doing 10 to each rear shield. I accelerated to 6 off batts on imp 10.
Turn 3 I did a 10-16 split. He doubled 1 warp. We recharged and each launched drones on 32.
Turn 4 I did 16 all turn he turned in to range 2 on the hex spine off our 2 shields. I ADD 1 drone. He launches both heavy drones and a sui as I must move str. I launch a sui to hit one of his drones. We alpha. I hit with all 4 and do 50 internals. He does 9 and then 25 with the hellbores. I het away, shoot his other heavy drone with off side phasers. I tractor him in an attempt to avoid him getting his rear phasers on my down shield. He lands his t3 drone and then fires 3 phasers thought that shield. He had 2 power left At eot while I had 20.

By Bill Schoeller (Bigbadbill) on Monday, September 23, 2019 - 10:11 am: Edit

OverAll I would say the g rack is a minor upgrade to the fed. It does not make the ship over powered, but does take a bit of the edge off some heavy drone users.

By Peter Bakija (Bakija) on Monday, September 23, 2019 - 02:28 pm: Edit

Bill!

Thanks for the notes!

What did he have doubled on T4, and how much reinforcement did you see? (Well, you did 64+ 6P1s, so about another 30; seems like he had about 15 reinforcement?)

By Bill Schoeller (Bigbadbill) on Tuesday, September 24, 2019 - 09:18 am: Edit

He doubled both warp on turn 4 and had 14 reinforcement. On turn 1 he would have had 22.

By Peter Bakija (Bakija) on Tuesday, September 24, 2019 - 11:13 am: Edit

Ok, sounds up to code. Thanks again!

By David Cheng (Davec) on Friday, September 27, 2019 - 07:42 pm: Edit

Council 2019 Trades & Donations

We had some interesting trade action with the Take One Leave One Library at Council this past weekend.

A gentleman traded a spiral bound Master Rule Book for the loose-leaf Omega Master Rule book. He later discovered that the Omega book has pages 55-66 missing. Can anyone in the community provide these? I will pay postage if necessary.

The Ikeda Brothers (first time Council attendees, all the way from California) traded in a huge pile of booklets. Old Commanders SSD booklets 1-9, Captain's Log 1 & 3-7, and Nexus magazine 14-16. All Jarod wanted in return was the old worn out Basic rule book. So, we've got lots more stuff in there now, some of it very Vintage.

Before any of you ask if we will do trades via mail. At this point, No, we won't. If you want to trade, you will need to come to Council in person.

Please watch this ADB BBS Forum, and your email, for a special announcement related to that. Coming soon.

Full inventory list here:
Link to Take One Leave One Libary Inventory

By Shawn Hantke (Shantke) on Friday, September 27, 2019 - 10:48 pm: Edit

Since ADB is print on demand you should email Leanna. I am pretty sure she would print the missing pages and sell them as a special order, especially if sold with a bigger order since shipping for just 6 pages would be high but more reasonable if say shipped with a few issues of Captain's Log. For example a printed CL#45 Supplement is 8 pages and costs $1 from the Starfleet Store.

By David Cheng (Davec) on Tuesday, December 31, 2019 - 09:32 pm: Edit

Big news about SFB at Council coming soon.

Happy New Year to all, and to all a good night!

By David Cheng (Davec) on Saturday, June 19, 2021 - 09:34 pm: Edit

Hello SFB Community,

We regret to inform you that the Schenectady Wargamers Association has decided to cancel the Council 2021 gaming convention.

While things are looking up for society as COVID vaccinations increase, there is still too much uncertainty to be able to plan an indoor gaming convention this September.

Please watch this space for news about our Star Fleet Battles tournament returning in 2022.

The Schenectady Wargamers Association