Black dice: blowing up enemy ships for fun and profit!

Using black dice ships is one of the more difficult skill sets for newer Armada players to come to grips with (along with "how to squadron", but John's got you covered and then some on that topic). John and I have covered some of the elements on "how to black dice" in ship-review articles such as the Raider, Gladiator, and MC30 articles. We figured it would be useful to combine some of the all-purpose black-dice help into one article and given my love affair with black dice (its kind of my thing, just like squadrons are kind of John's thing) I volunteered as tribute.

In the grim darkness of the alternative future there are only children killing each other for entertainment and a socio-economic system that doesn't really make much sense when you sit down and think about it!

Tips and tricks: running away

Unlike many miniature games, your success in a game of Armada isn't defined purely by win-loss but by the severity of that win or loss. It's not uncommon in casual games for players to concede when it's clear who will win or lose but they're robbing themselves of valuable practice in the fine art of running away. That's what we're going to talk about now with another entry in the smaller-article "tips and tricks" format.

With your shield or on it, you cowards!

Tips and tricks: forking

Mentioned briefly in the swatting swarms article, let's talk a bit more about forking.

NO!

YES!

Tips and tricks: inside turns

This is the first in a series of short articles going over some of the basic things you can do in a game of Armada and, when possible, giving the terminology or at least slang term for them as well. Each article aims to focus on just one small element, so they shouldn't be lengthier treatises (like, say, my "how to use black dice" article) but little bite-sized articles. Many of these topics have been covered briefly in other articles, but having their own dedicated space instead of hiding them in places (like for example I mention inside turning in my Raider article) makes them more visible and easy to find. Anyways, let's get to the point, then:

Roll the chance cube: Armada, dice, and probability

Everything's perfect: your attack is set up just right, you've got the enemy ship dead to rights. The dice roll is just a formality. Here come the dice, and... crap.

At least you won a young Jake Lloyd as a consolation prize?

Dice can and will betray you in any game that utilizes them. On the other hand, they add an element of excitement and vary the play experience. What to expect from them and how far to push them can take some getting used to, and this article aims to further explore that element of Armada.