Intro
Fleet Scrap is a space combat game using cards and dice. Build a fleet, destroy your rivals, and collect the scrap of their ships to win the game!
Overview
This game includes 2 decks of 54 cards each.
One deck has all of the ships that will be used in the game.
One deck has operations that affect aspects of game play.
Each player should have 3 dice - 2 matching, 1 different.
Each round consists of 3 phases:
- Deployment - Build and manage your fleet.
- Salvo - Activate Tactics, calculate your Attack, and apply damage to an opponent's fleet.
- Conclusion - Exchange Scrapped Ships, discard played Operations, and draw new cards.
Description
Fleet Scrap is a space combat game using cards and dice where players build a fleet with the Ship cards and destroy the fleets of their opponents. The Operations cards are used to introduce adjustments to aspects of game play that serve to give hope to the underdog, thwart the carefully laid plans of the confident, and aid your desperate ploy to snatch a win from the jaws of defeat. Dealing damage, or scrapping, a ship does not guarantee it is out of play as various Operation cards allow the player to save or further utilize the doomed ship. To win the game, you must collect the most amount of scrapped ships that you manage to wrangle away from your opponents.
Each round consists of three phases to measure the cadence of combat. The Deployment phase allows the players to build and manage the Ships in their fleet. Maximums are set to ensure no player's fleet becomes insurmountable and maintain fair game play.
The Salvo round is when players add up their total attack value to apply Salvo damage to a weaker fleet or perform a Raid which deals reduced damage but can sometimes be the better option. Raids ensure even smaller fleets have a chance to do some damage every round.
Finally, the Conclusion phase is when scrap exchange occurs, any remaining Operations used that round are discarded, and all players may draw new cards.
Only one Operation card may be played by each player per phase. The cards are separated by phase so their effects are attuned for appropriate effect and often swing the ensuing results.
The dice are used during Deployment and Salvo phases to help guide game play. It is best to use two matching dice for the Salvo phase and a distinctly different single die for the Deployment phase as both Ships and Operations refer to these dice for effect.
During Deployment, the single die is used to determine the limit of ships that may be deployed to each player's fleet.
Rolling the two matching dice at the beginning of the Salvo phase only establishes a reference point for Operations and activating ship tactics. The dice are never added to any combat values. Even though these two dice are rolled during the Salvo phase, they are also referenced during the Conclusion phases, when applicable.
Ships are divided into Military, Mercenary, Cyborg, and Ranger factions and each has their own features.
Ship tactics include a range of attributes designed to add interesting twists to the game.
Blockade is a passive tactic that allows the player to limit an opponent's ability to deploy ships to the fleet and to mitigate incoming Raid damage. Conversely, Modulation is also a passive tactic used to increase Deployment values and adjust Tactics die rolls.
Assault tactics increase the destructive firepower of that particular ship, giving a bonus to the Salvo value for that round.
Squadron ships work well with each other, adding the highest Squadron value in fleet to Salvo when any one of them are activated.
Subterfuge will subtract the highest value in fleet from an opponent's Salvo if any Subterfuge tactics in fleet are activated.
The Rally tactic increases the maximum amount of Defense values allowed in a fleet.
Large ships with the Bays tactics are able to Deploy small ships with the Reserves tactic for free, one per round. The Reserves tactic simulates that a ship with Bays in fleet is able to easily replace the Reserves ship. Think of an aircraft carrier (with Bays) able to maintain a fighter plane (Reserves) presence throughout the combat. In effect, this allows the Reserves ship to ignore Salvo and Raid damage as long as a ship with Bays is in fleet. Operations may scrap a Reserves ship and the Flak tactic makes opposing Reserves ships vulnerable to Salvo and Raid damage.
The Logistics tactic simulates an ability of the ship to find opportunity in battle, allowing the player to draw more cards when activated by one of the Salvo dice or to enable one other ship's tactics.
While there is an element of strategy to Fleet Scrap, it is mixed with a hearty dose of luck from the draw of the cards to the roll of the dice. A seemingly hopeless game early on could very well reverse by the end.
While the game is designed for 2 to 4 players, it could be played by up to 6 players but that may get cumbersome. It would be best to split up into 2 different games if there are more than 4 players.
We hope you have as much fun playing Fleet Scrap as we had making and playtesting it.