Recently in the Hard-SF and Realistic spacecombat a boardgame has sawn and reaped quite a storm.
We've seen several implementations of spacewarfare, however when you pick seams what you get is either a recreation of WWII naval warfare or some implementation of WWI ariel dogfight with some glossy Sci-Fi brassing.
Attack Vector: Tactical is the first game to truely model 3D engagements, with a vector based movement.
What makes the game even more noteworthy is that it manages to do so without bogging down the players in difficult calculations by showing the maths under the carpet of the rules.
(That's not to say that AV:T is unrealistic, quite the contrary; the rules manages to sum up in a presentable form all the physics that's behind the game.)
Quoted from the Wargamer's
review.
The rules are tangibly deep, but the package as a whole is readily digestible through scalable tutorials and game scenarios. It’s possible to run through the tutorials in an hour and have enough of a footing to drop a few sleek, beam-equipped ships on the map and start slugging it out. Heck, the game is oodles of fun just at that level, which is a good thing because I’m still muddling my way through the ballistics rules. I know I'll have to make a certain investment to grasp the entirety of the rules and get into actions with larger and more advanced craft.
I can see space cowboys of practically all walks sinking their teeth into this one. While it's not "My First Tactical Space Combat Game," all the math and physics that make this offering such a standout rightfully step aside when it's time to play. Sure, there are data sheets to tick off and missiles to track, but the game aids allow players to focus on nurturing their inner Kirk, Archer, Picard, or Janeway rather than having them noodle over reams of graph paper. The focus here is on the action, and darn good action at that. Gamers prepared to do a little homework will be rewarded.
