So, should I buy this game?

[Scoutdad]

I have taught four people, who never played SFB how to play FC, and did it in under an hour. And I am by no means an expert with FC, but I LOVE it. Games go sooooooo much faster with the system. I do still play SFB, so you can surely do either or both. But yeah, I would recommend springing for a set, and try it out. (I personally like using the "new" color counters, the new mounted maps, etc even though I have tons of SFB stuff.)

As for ease of play... during the final round of play testing prior to the release of FC:KB (draft 5.0, I think it was) - I took the game to my Boy Scout Troops, semi-annual game night. Between myself, Mike Curtis, Joe Butler and of course, Plasmboy; we taught 12 kids (ages 11 to 14) to playing just a few minutes. They then played for the better part of the night, just blowing stuff up.

And the cool new toys are nice. Even though we rarely play SFB any more, when we do - we use the FC map panels. Being able to leapfrog into unused areas speeds play.

[Duckdodgers]

Did anyone mention the First Missions introductory rules? I skimmed a bit.
I am printing them off for a person at work to look over is why I ask.
It is how I learned the game, I had played SFB and that helped too.

Being a frugle person I think it is they way to start.

[FatSteve]

I recently went to Genghis Con here in Colorado, and I had an opportunity to play a couple gamse using Federation Commander. I really liked it. Now it is just a question of the most economical way to go about buying the whole game. I'll start with the "reference rulebook" and go from there.

[jmt]

If you're interested in economy, then get either the Klingon Border or Romulan Border boxes. These give you everything you need to play - maps, counters, ship cards, and rules.

You can then just add what pieces you find interesting - Hydrans, Pirates, Battleships, etc...

[Mithras]

Tonight I taught the Fed Com system to members of my group who had heard of - and were terrified by - the size and complexity of Star Fleet Battles. They loved it, and in fact, two of them are talking about picking up miniatures for the game, since they liked the look of my Tholian fleet so much.

Like me, these guys are big sci-fi fans, but I don't think I'd ever have even begun to get them interested in playing SFB. With Fed Commander, we have a system that we can comfortably play to resolution in under four hours, and that's something I just can't say for SFB, much as I have fondness for it.

To top it all off, the employee working at the store tonight is an old time SFB player, who was -amazed- that we were already in combat within fifteen minutes.

Just adding fuel to the fire here, but I'll reiterate. Check out Federation Commander - you won't regret it.

-M.