Federation Commander

[Toanstation]

Just wanted to share (and express my thanks) that I've been teaching my 12-year-old Federation Commander. We've played two games so far (Fed CA vs Klink D7 and a Kzinti attack on a Fed starbase). He's been loving it. While he's been playing TTRPGs casually for about 2 years now, earlier this month, we played our first tabletop wargame. This was WW2 naval miniatures (Sorry, not Battlewagons), which he enjoyed. But, I've been a fan of the SFU since playing with the Designers Edition back in the 80s, so I wanted to share such a rich setting with him.

I realized that SFB would probably be a bit too much for him (he's smart, likes details, but he is twelve). So, since I have a copy of Fed Com from when it was first released, I decided to give that a go. It was an instant hit, and he liked it more than naval miniatures. He liked that he had more choices and decisions to make, energy allocation and how damage works.

Some thoughts on introducing a younger generation to our hobby:

1) While enthusiasm is important, temper it with not becoming a firehose of information. Don't overwhelm them too much.

2) Don't be afraid to set certain rules aside initially. In our first game, we completely ignored drones, marines, and tractors. I had him play the Klingons so that he didn't have to deal with multi-turn arming cycles. We also played using miniatures movement instead of on a hex map because turn modes are simpler to explain with miniatures movement, and you don't need involve sideslipping. In our second battle (the base assault), we didn't use marines or transporters.

3) After each game, talk with them about what they liked and didn't like, and make sure you highlight the things they did well (it's important to remember that in many games like Fed Comm, experience can make a huge difference).

Anyway, thank you, ADB, for decades of gaming and creating a game and setting that I can share with my son.

[dapooley]

4) lose!

Well actually, that's just what happens... Pre-teen + Hellbores.

Marine raids are fun, as are energy packed shuttles. Reading off the internal damage is highlight though.

[paulgenna]

Well done sir!