Matagot Captain SONAR Board Game - English Edition

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One way that can happen is when a sub needs to surface for repairs (or because they moved themselves into a corner–you can’t cross your own previous path), because the forces of entropy and time are going to bring it down, despite the best efforts of the Engineer. When you surface, you have to tell the other team in which segment of the map you’ve done so, and then everyone has to trace out part of an image of a submarine without going outside the lines, like you’re a kid with a coloring book. That visual reference makes the shame of failing over and over on the same dumb bend in the image so much greater as you know that the enemy sub is racing towards your direction. It’s harder than it looks. Don’t judge me! Each time the Captain announces a course, the Engineer crosses out a symbol corresponding to the announced course (north, south, east, or west), signifying a breakdown. He can cross out any symbol in the Central Circuits or in the Reactor, as long as it is in the correct control panel. There are typos in the rulebook, usually relating to sloppy editing from French to English. Oh, man. A kapitány előtt egy térkép hever. Amikor megadja az irányt, ezen a térképen jelöli a tengeralattjáró útját, egy egységet az adott irányba. A lokátoros előtt ugyancsak ott a térkép, rajta egy átlátszó plexilap. Ő ezen jelöli, hogy az ellenfél épp melyik irányba haladt. Mivel a pálya sosem teljesen üres - néhány sziget itt-ott akadályozza a tengeralattjárók szabad kóválygását -, manőverezni kell, így a tengeralattjáró által leírt minta előbb-utóbb láttatni fogja, merre is vannak éppen. Ha a lokátoros ügyes, akkor inkább előbb, mint utóbb. Important: there are two different ways to play: real-time mode and turn-by-turn mode. for a first game, or if you are playing in a noisy environment, we suggest you play the turn-by-turn mode. however, the real-time mode will guarantee that you get the stress and adrenaline rush of a real submarine duel!

Circuits linked together can self-repair when all the corresponding symbols are crossed out. Then the engineer will erase all the breakdown marks on the sheet. If it seems like the Captain is the only person who really matters here, that’s sort of true, but also not true at all. They’re like a conduit through which information flows. But then they have to also comprehend that information and make smart decisions about it. Mostly they’re going to be shouting out directions (north, south, east, or west) and marking where their submarine is going on the handy dry-erase map. As the submarine moves, just like in real life, it starts to slowly crumble into oblivion and also charge up all of its useful functions. Bad alternator, perhaps? Volcano is the campaign's last map and by far its most volatile. Islands will keep emerging semi-randomly (in other words each side will make them emerge where it makes their opponents' lives harder), until enclosed seas are created. The winner is either the submarine that sinks its opponent, or the submarine that finds itself in a bigger sea space when the islands prohibit the subs from reaching one another. The winner of this scenario is the winner of the campaign, no matter the results of the previous naval battles.The counter-argument to this is that the less demanding role(s) like First Mate are ideal for newer players or those who can’t handle the fever-pitched pressure of some other roles. Sometimes this disparity in roles is a great thing. Other times, not so much. It will vary largely depending on the group. Getting together a team of eight is usually a tall ask, unless you are at a convention or a board gaming café. So, it seemed the lovers of nautical battles would have to return to chequered paper and pencils and get practicing their Battleship strategies if they wanted to play in a more intimate group setting. Perhaps, no longer.

The genre of team-based strategy games is far under-explored, and I think the excitement of Captain Sonar proves this. Most team games in the boardgaming realm involve secrets, lies, and betrayal. The Resistances or Two-Rooms-And-A-Booms certainly have their place, and there are plenty of combat games where alliances can be formed, but not everyone gets into deception, and alliances are easily broken. Few games put you on a team you know you can trust and rely on, and pit you against another team of human players instead of a game A.I. Some players are more reticent to play the Captain role – that’s a lot of responsibility, or at least it seems like it. But the mechanics are simple, and I encourage people to give it a try. It’s not as bad as you think, and again – you’re working with a team. Your teammates can pitch in. There’s plenty of strategy to explore – I’ve played more than anyone I know as the Captain, and I’m still figuring out the best way to move, to find the enemy, to stay hidden. It hasn’t become an automated exercise; if anything, I keep learning new ways to put things together. A few different maps to keep you on your toes Radio Interceptor: listen to enemy Captain and map it out, primary communication with firstmate. In conjunction with first mate the radio would be able to discover the best estimated location of the enemy. It certainly teases an expansion or two. The other systems, dropping a mine and silence (or as we call it ‘Silent Running’), do not halt the action, the captain needs only to announce it. If you want to have fun at parties and game nights, here is a comprehensive guide on how to play Captain Sonar. Let’s dive in. Game ComponentsWe’re really happy about the success of the game," Bates said. "It’s great to see the excitement we felt when we first played it is shared by everybody else." He marks empty spaces on the gauge in accordance with the announcements of the captain. He charges up the weapons each time he marks an empty space. A sikerhez mindenkire szükség van. Nincs olyan, hogy ki a fontosabb. Mindenkinek koncentrálnia kell a maga területére, persze az összhang is kiemelten fontos: ha a lokátoros tudja, merre van az ellenfél, a kapitány vagy szonárt fog kérni, hogy ellenőrizze (akkor a szonár be kell, hogy legyen töltve az első tiszt által, a zöld rendszernek működnie kell, mert ide tartozik a szonár - ez a mérnök felelőssége), vagy lőni fog (ekkor pedig torpedó kell és a piros rendszernek kell működnie). Senki sem dőlhet hátra, hogy majd a többiek megoldják. Három, kettő, egy - IDŐ! After that, the captains of both teams will shout “Dive”, signaling the start of the game. They will both announce the course of their submarines and draw a route on their maps. This is illustrated in the Alpha Map below. Announcing a course Note: Each sheet has a space for the player's name and the name of the submarine (team name). Team Lineup

And that’s when we heard the captain of the enemy team shout from across the table: "Firing torpedo!" I could go into exactly how each system works but I’m going to give you the abridged version in the form of this handy list: Teams are divided into four roles, each armed with only a dry erase marker and a special laminated sheet. The captain’s job is in some ways the easiest: the main task is just to move the sub around your mapped grid of dots, avoiding islands and disguising your location and path as best you can. On each move, you have to announce the direction journeyed (north, east, south, west) but not your location. The Engineer MUST inform the Captain of breakdowns. The Captain will be able to decide to surface when he thinks he is safe and far from the enemy (though only the Radio Operator can guarantee that!). This will allow for uninterrupted repairs and preparation for a new route.He passes the sheet to a teammate, who does the same with another section of the submarine and continues passing it on until all sections are secured (including all teammates' initials). If there are fewer than four players on a team, some players will need to secure multiple sections. And that’s where the radio operator comes in. The radio operator’s sole job is to listen to the opposing team’s captain and chart enemy sub movements on a clear sheet of plastic that overlays the map. After 10 moves or so, the radio operator should be able to deduce the opposing sub’s location by shifting this overlay around. A few sonar or drone maneuvers (or a few bad moves by the opposing captain) will narrow the location down even faster. The Captain is the leader of the team, responsible for guiding the submarine and for coordinating the team members. The Captain can move his submarine one space at a time in one of four directions: north, south, east, or west. You might get more mileage with your own house rules – say, forcing people to change up their roles in the middle of a game, or adding other weird restrictions or challenges.

When a teammate activates sonar, he announces "ACTIVATING SONAR". The enemy Captain announces two pieces of information about his submarine's location. This can include the row, column, or sector in which the submarine is located. So for me, I get a little bored with the Engineer or First Mate, and am overwhelmed by the Captain role. I love the game, but only when I’m playing as the Radio Operator. This is a pretty narrow window when, ideally, I’m opening up that role for others on occasion. Some have tried to fix this by usually playing with six, with one player acting as both First Mate and Engineer (which are usually seen as the less complicated roles). But they simply aren’t as fun for some, even when combined.Captain Sonar scales pretty well depending on the size of your table/friendship group. Smaller maps give way to bigger, more difficult ones as you get more comfortable with the game, and switching between real-time and turn-based mode is as easy as flipping over those maps. Jobs can also be cut or doubled up, so even if there are only two people on a team then responsibilities can be split between them. Each role is significant, separate, and ret inter-reliant. You’re part of the team no matter what you’re doing, and your efforts will help the team achieve victory. Yet nothing is overcomplicated. After half a game, most players will stop thinking about the mechanisms – “what do I do each turn?”“How do I repair the sub?” – and focus only on hunting down the enemy. You get immersed in the theme and the action, and that’s fun. I’m givin’ it all she’s got, captain!