“Talon Tuesdays” is an article series appearing on InsideGMT periodically on Tuesdays. It features articles from the Talon development team regarding the game’s design, development and upcoming release.
Issue #20: Talon Puzzle 1
Things are winding down here on Talon Tuesdays. In the last 20 consecutive weeks, we’ve taken you on a whirlwind tour of the Talon game system, the game’s design and events surrounding its development. We’re not done yet, we still have a few more things we’d like to share, plus I feel like there is so much more to show off! I’ve heard from the guys at GMT that the game is shipping now as I write this article so there’s a lot to be excited about. The Talon Tuesday posts will probably slow down to less than once a week going forward.
What I want to introduce now are Talon Puzzles. The clockwork nature of the impulse track and the exactness of the maneuvering in Talon lends itself to the creation of logical puzzles. Sure, you still have to roll dice and at any moment, your opponent could flip the initiative, upending your plans. The beat to beat decision making is what makes Talon a special system. We’re going to take an arbitrary game situation and try to determine the most optimal outcome for a given side.
In Talon Puzzles, we’ll post a finite game situation with a specific question. The goal is usually to “solve” the puzzle by dealing or avoiding damage in the most optimal way possible during one impulse of the game. They should be fun and help you learn some cool tips and tricks. Feel free to post your responses on the forums or the comment section of the blog (or write them on the back of a $21 bill and mail them to us…). I’m sure for some of these, you guys will be able to come up with BETTER solutions that we do—in fact that is my hope! We’ll start off with an easy one:
Terran has the initiative. The Terran DD Achilles’ starboard shield is down. She just managed to finish off charging her Torpedo in Impulse D. She could use the multi-arc nature of the weapon on the DD to fire the torpedo into CL Fearless’ down front shields, but, she decides to hold fire for now since range 3 isn’t as good as range 2 for Torpedoes…however it’s still pretty darn good. Also she’s too preoccupied worrying over her down shield. Talon notices this misstep and wants to capitalize on the opportunity. It’s now Talon’s turn in Impulse D. How can CL Fearless ensure maximum hull damage against the Achilles before Impulse F?
Previous Article in the Series: Talon Tuesday Issue #19: The Newest Ship in the Fleet
Next Article in the Series: Talon Tuesday Issue #21: How to Build a Warhead
Author: Bob Seifert
Man, this puzzle has me drooling over this game, let me see if I’ve got this right:
Use 1 power to enable side slip.
Now, if I’m correct, that means when my ship moves, that will then place me in the rear arc of the terran ship with my forward arcs at range 3, so if my rolls are statistically spot on, 2 out of my 3 disruptors would hit, dealing 4 damage to the rear arc, blowing the shields away and putting a couple of damage on the hull, with a roll on the critical table too.
I won’t confirm or deny whether yours is the most optimal approach given the puzzle parameters until we do our “Answer” issue but please feel free to discuss it here or on the corresponding threads on boardgamegeek or CSW. 🙂
Fake a surrendar and open at at point blank range!
On Impulse D, Fearless should spend its available AP to enable a side slip and then execute the sideslip during the movement portion of the impulse. This places Fearless at range 3 from Achilles, but still in Achilles’ port shield (and weapons arc). Because Terran still has the initiative, Achilles goes first during Impulse E. If the Terran player is wise, Achilles will fire its torpedo at Fearless while it still has the chance. During the 2nd player portion of Impulse E, Fearless should use its remaining afterburner to move straight ahead, putting itself at range 2 and in Achilles’ rear shield arc. With a little luck, all three of its disruptors will hit, knocking down the 2 point shield and doing 4 points of internal damage, thus destroying Achilles.
I’d like to commend the design team for the excellent “Talon Tuesdays” series, which has been very interesting. I’m eagerly anticipating the release of this well-designed game.
actually you are in the DD’s rear arc after the sideslip
use your impulse D AP to power a sideslip
sideslip to starboard in impulse D movement
burn a jet in impulse E to move forward
fire all 3 disruptors at range 2 on impules E
odds of a kill 125/216
odds of crippling 75/216
odds of downing the shield 15/216
odds of tossing your gunnery officer out the airlock 1/216
expected hull damage 3
even if you don’t kill the destroyer, the best shot he can get hits your intact port shield
You and the initial post are correct, Fearless is in the destroyer’s rear arc after the side slip. Missed that.