Collegium Ludiorum – The Guild of Gamers
An association of gamers dedicated to improving the art
Jace quickly extracts a sample of the condensed plasma from the reactor, but finds it only partially fills the bottle – they must have just recently drawn most of it out! #boardgames #corespace #gameplay #starwarsgame
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… while gesturing to Satiene to cover the engineer. #boardgames #corespace #gameplay #starwarsgame
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Lars dismisses the engineer and proceeds to open the security hatch to the research bay. Jace rushes in to begin extracting a sample while gesturing to Satiene to cover the engineer. #boardgames #corespace #gameplay #starwarsgame
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The engineer, surprised by the sudden appearance of intruders! #boardgames #corespace #gameplay #starwarsgame
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As the crew quickly move in, Lars opens the door to the operations room, startling an engineer. #boardgames #corespace #gameplay #starwarsgame
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As the Homel docked onto the frontier station, Jace, Lars and Satiene prepared to quickly board. Jace felt the need to say it again to his crew, “Remember, the Empire is trying to exert it’s influence out here. So we get in, grab the sample as quickly and quietly as we can, and get out. Local security is light, but cameras are going to pick us up as soon as we open these doors.” #boardgames #corespace #starwarsgame #gameplay
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I got #CoreSpace board game last year, but hadn’t had a chance to play it. I opened it up last week and tried giving it a spin playing solo to familiarize myself with the rules. I don’t paint, so decided to reskin the setting as the Outer Rim in Star Wars so I could use my ton of pre-painted Star Wars minis. #boardgames #gameplay #corespace
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Core Space is a board game developed and published by Battle Systems. I’ve been a backer of their various Kickstarters for great 3D cardboard terrain over the past few years, and have been very pleased with their products.
As gamers, they decided to create some rules to use for a miniatures game of their own design. Core Space was the result of that, and they have also just completed the 2nd Kickstarter for another introductory box / expansion to the main game called Core Space: First Born. It is a co-operative / semi-cooperative game that has the feeling of Firefly mixed with Clank. Players can team up or compete or switch back and forth through the game.
I got the Core Space board game last year, but hadn’t had a chance to play it. I opened it up last week and tried giving it a spin playing solo to familiarize myself with the rules. I don’t paint, so decided to reskin the setting as the Outer Rim in Star Wars so I could use my ton of pre-painted Star Wars minis.
The set-up was pretty quick as the grey plastic clips are much easier to use than the original Battle Systems design of the ramps for the walls. It also looks cleaner and definitely easier to store.
Since this was going to be a solo play through, I decided to basically use the Salvage Run sample mission, but use an Example map from the Deluxe Rulebook as well as add on a second level. And since I already had my Galactic Terrain prepared, decided to use that instead of the included Cyberpunk Terrain that comes with the Core Space Starter Set.
Gameplay post coming up next.
The rescued scientists tell HQ that their research on alien tech came from a nearby alien ship that had crashed two years prior. If they can recover some more of the items they were researching, it could prove to be extremely helpful in repelling this alien invasion!
HQ has already detected new activity at the remains of the ship, but the mission was too crucial to ignore. So the Agents are sent out once again.
Now cognizant of the dangers of these invaders, HQ sends out a full squad to recover what the researchers need. Joining Mercury and Titanium, are Iridium the sniper, another marine code-named Chromium, and the rebuilt body of the Medic into a cybernetic armor shell.
As the sniper moves into position from behind the small mound, a spine critter catches his scent and bounds out of a nearby tent that was set up the study the remains of the alien craft!
But the agents are well prepared, bullets and blades bringing it down quickly.
The Xenos emerge from the crashed ship to investigate, and are met by the sniper’s fire. But the Xeno Alpha has an energy shield as well as armor!
The Xenos move into the optimal range for their blasters, delivering punishing bolts back at Iridium.
The rest of the squad move up to engage, pushing the Xenos back towards the ship.
The exchanges of fire are withering, but the armor on both sides withstands the beating. So far…
The squad refocuses on concentrating fire to bring down the Alpha, clearing space for Mercury to quickly move into the first room and find the first piece of alien tech.
The agents consolidate their gains with a sniper shot to the Xeno Beta, but the spine critter is able to close.
And with a quick burst from the Medic’s autopistol, the spine critter is downed, allowing him to deploy a sentry gun and the rest of the squad to form up…
…just in time for the alien counter assault!
The coordinated defense brings down the Xeno Alpha and helps the agents withstand the offensive.
A strange metallic noise resonates in the air and suddenly, a large alien robot appears alongside one of the alien commanders!
The squad pivots to face the newly arrived greater threat,
as Mercury and the marine clear out the aliens in the flank.
Titanium steps up without hesitation, the SAW heralding his advance. The powerful weapon tears away the energy shields and chunks of armor protecting the Interlopers, but is not enough to stop them.
That fearlessness buys time for the medic to drop back and deploy GD-209, it’s autocannon shredding more pieces off the tough alien armor.
And the sentry gun finishes the job. However, the alien robot’s armor is showing itself to be tougher as the agents’ bullets continue to rain down on it.
Meanwhile, Mercury moves to search for the other alien tech, sending for a small drone to suicide blast the alien signal in the room ahead.
The robot’s bionic fist meets Titanium’s armor with a thunderous crack, but the Defender’s armor manages to hold up.
With the threat of the Nexus robot looming, Iridium calms his nerves and with an Eagle Eye, places a debilitating shot through the mechanical monster!
The destruction of the Nexus robot buys the precious time for the squad to form up on Titanium and continue to search the alien craft.
Their caution is justified
as two more alien signals appear!
Titanium moves up to engage.
Pushing the Xeno back and allowing Chromium to grab another alien artifact.
Whereas the tight quarters are idea for Mercury’s blades against the spine critter she finds in the next room.
She deftly dispatches it and recovers the last needed alien artifact sample. And with that, the agents quickly return to HQ with the items the scientists need for their research. [Yay! Victory condition met!]
The Galaxy Defenders (with their post-mission 3 upgrades).
A radio cry for help comes from the nearby Area 51 scientific research base. The aliens are attacking the scientists there! The agents hurry to rescue them, if possible…
Agent Mercury charges forth and slices a gashing wound into the xeno lurking behind the sand dune.
It quickly backs away to bring it’s blaster to bear…
but not before Titanium cuts it down with his SAW.
Just as the machine gun fire subsides, a woman wearing a blood stained lab coat bursts out of the closest door, quickly followed by a 8 foot tall spider-alien! It’s claws tear into the woman’s flesh, and a moment later, her screams abruptly die.
Meanwhile, the dying cries of another scientist from around the corner presage the arrive of another spine critter.
Mercury rushes forward to try to pull the aliens’ attentions away from the civilian scientists, her blade slashing deeply into the xeno – but not quite enough to kill it.
The other Arachnos attacks with its pincers, but she manages to parry and dodge the most damaging ones.
However, the grievously wounded Arachnos is able to grasp onto her and drag her back inside the building.
Titanium comes up to support her – but one spine critter leaps through a window and lunges forward with its jaw, repelled only by his thick armor. The other one charges forward from around the building, blood from the scientist still dripping from its maw.
Mercury’s blade dispatches the Arachnos, setting herself free to move to engage the other Arachnos.
But the scent of blood from her ragged wounds also draws the spine critter’s jaws towards her. Thankfully, ber training at such close combat melee allows her to defend against the vicious teeth.
This gives the medic an opportunity to move up and deploy the GD-209 drone – its autocannons quickly dispatching the spine critter.
Just then the radio squawks an encouraging message from HQ “we found the malfunction is caused by an alien jamming mechanism – proceed with visual confirmation of the scientists ASAP!” And so Agent Titanium moves up to the office building, but it turns out the detected signal just inside the door is an alien, and not a scientist! The SAW at short range makes quick work of the Xeno however.
But the xeno is accompanied by another Arachnos, and yet another leaps through the back window into the room where Mercury is, surprising her as its claws tear into her. She drops, fighting to remain consciousness in the hopes of rescuing the scientist she spies cowering in the corner of the room!
The medic quickly moves up and pumps Mercury full of stimulating medicines – this jolts her up and with the extra vigor, delivers a debilitating blow in retaliation against the Arachnos.
Mercury rescues the thankful scientist and moves to the back door…
…where the signals turn out to be a another xeno chasing a scientist! And next door, a spine critter scrambles to join the melee against Titatnium.
Mercury’s sudden appearance and attack causes the ranged-combat Xeno to back away! The medic risks himself to rush up to rescue the scientist, even as it puts him directly into the line of fire of the Xeno.
Meanwhile the scientist just next door attempts to stay out of the way of the flying spines and razor sharp claws of the raging melee between Titanium, the Arachnos and the spine critter!
More aliens show up – fresh human blood covering their maws.
[I just received the first expansion box set which came with painted minis – yay! (I don’t paint…)]
It is not looking good for the agents – a Xeno Beta has just entered into the room with Titanium. (And I just drew the card that activates all the baddies!) The agents are close to death and the scientist is bleeding out. Does Titanium go for a hail Mary to try to rescue the bleeding scientist? Or try to live to fight another day, leaving the scientist to the aliens?
Titanium attempts the rescue – and the gambit fails. The scientist dies, impaled by a hail of spines. He gasps out with his dying breathe, “there… is… another…”
A moment later, that last scientist bursts out of the door of the main research complex, a pair of Arachnos chasing her and discharging a sticky web that suddenly traps her. Mercury can just reach her by leaping through the window, but can only attempt a rescue after dealing with spine critter waiting just outside the door…
And Mercury deftly dispatches the demon dog, rescuing the last scientist!
No other scientists left to rescue, the agents themselves need to get out alive! No easy task as the medic still has the Xeno Beta targeting him as well at the Arachnos that is clawing at him, and Titanium still faces off against three aliens.
As Mercury moves back to support the medic, the pair of Arachnos rapidly advance on them. A flurry of vicious attacks leaves the medic and Titanium teetering on the edge with one hit point left…
At the end, Titanium was able to escape, but the medic fell to the barrage of blaster fire from the Xeno, sacrificing himself to save Mercury one last time.
Well, I managed to meet the victory condition of rescuing three scientists and have at least half of the agents survive… That was very close!