Dark Future - First Battle Report!

Now then, having provided an overview of the Dark Future Tournament rules, onto our very first battle report for . . . .

Dark Future!

Hey, that was fun. One more time . . .

Dark Future!

All right, I'm over it.  Our first game, I played two renegades and my older boy took the wheel of a the Katan . . . er, I mean, "Interceptor."

18 point interceptor with a roof mount heavy laser turret and oil slicker in the rear.  Hmm, that didn't sound right.  Anyway, you'll see I made up small oil markers, four with oil and four blanks, as required by the rules.  Funny little mechanic, as neither you nor your opponent know whether they're about to run over an oil slick, or just a mirage.  Being as the top speed of each car is "6", a die works perfectly for tracking speed - unless you stop or reverse, that is.

Here's the Datsun turned 9 point Renegade with MG on the bonnet and smoker in the rear.   Hmm, that didn't sound any better.  I made up smoke markers printed up on cardstock - no dummies for that, though. 

5 point stripped renegade with a hood MG, rooftop grenade launcher and ready to squirt some shards out the tail box.  Yeah, that sounds much better.  Just like the oil markers, there are four "real" markers and four blanks.

We laid out our crappy paper road and set up in pursuit mode, with all three vehicles set at a speed of "3".  The road had five straight pieces which, I thought, wouldn't be enough.  After all, the total points on the Renegades (22.5) and the Interceptor (24) seemed evenly matched.  We settled in for what we thought would be a few hours of gaming.

The Renegades got quite a few shots in at the Interceptor, but the Interceptor's heavy laser put a lot of hurt on the fragile Renegades.  My son felt a bit ripped off when he found that the laser only shoots once per turn, not once per phase.  But he soon came to realize that issue was offset by being able to lay down up to 10 points of damage (which, he did).  At close range, the laser's practically an automatic hit.   By turn two, both the Renegades were already on their last piston. 

To add insult to injury, the Interceptor slicked the road and dirtied up my new paint job.  Luckily, I was at Speed "3" and so by dirt buggy passed through the oil unscathed . . . 

. . . only to be blown to smithereens at the top of Turn 3.  And, since the Datsun made the great tactical decision of tailgating his buddy, the Datsun rear-ended the flaming wreck of the buggy and wound up wrecking himself!

So, after hours of designing cars, scratch building weapons, reading the rules, setting up the road and making sure the two sides were evenly matched, the game lasted three turns (only seven phases!) and was never even close.  

Somehow, though, it felt exactly "right".  What were these two dirtside knuckleheads thinking, trying to run down a high-end Interceptor on some god-forsaken, lonely stretch of highway?  They got what they deserved, I say.  

Next up, the two boys square off in a high stakes game of chicken!  Thanks for stopping by!