Star Wars Armada

In Star Wars Armada, you send a fleet of capital ships and starfighter squadrons against an opponent's to vie for galactic domination.  As you'd suspect, each unit has strengths and weaknesses, so position your ships for maximum effectiveness.  You can also use upgrades (like enhanced weapons or famous admirals/pilots) to aid in the fight.  May the best commander win . . .

I've been waiting for this one for a long time.  The starships are my favorite part of the galaxy far, far away, and the only game to date focusing solely on them- 2006's Starship Battles- was a dismal failure.  Would Armada be up to snuff?  I've played only once, so I don't yet hold a completely informed opinion, but what follows are my initial impressions.

The good:
- most game components are of high quality.  The capital ship models are fantastic, and the myriad counters and cards are also good.  The ship stands are well-constructed.  The fighter squadrons are very small and unpainted, but it makes sense given the scale of the game (the focus is on the capital ships).
- the counters/stats are well-presented.  There's a lot of information for each unit (which is presented across cards and dials), but it's done in a smart way that helps everyone understand what's going on.
- the rules capture the expected nuances of Star Wars fleet operations.  Based on conflicts in the films, this game delivers what I expected.  Capital ships, due to their momentum and bulk, are forced to accelerate or decelerate slowly- they can't stop on a dime- and can move only in wide arcs, as restricted by a handy maneuver tool.  Fighters can buzz around and screen their larger allies from enemy fire.
- I can only hypothesize (since only the starter set has been released to date), but this game looks to have many customization options that promise good re-play value.  You add weapons and commander/pilot cards to your units to increase their potency- for a cost.  The recommended fleet size is 300 points, so whether that is comprised of many 'basic' units or fewer 'enhanced' units is entirely up to you.

The bad:
- this game is expensive.  The starter set retails for $100; the expansion packs range from $20-$50 . . . for as little as one ship.  You can generally get everything 30% cheaper online, but still . . .
- there's a moderate-large learning curve.  Lots of data, rules, and options.  I think a few games will clear most things up, but there is an initial 'whoa'.  That's fine by me . . . but it means I'll have a harder time finding friends willing to learn.  Every game is a balance between 'authenticity' and simplicity, and it looks like Armada mildly favors the former.
- the rulebook isn't overly intuitive.  The primary instruction method is through an example game, which can be very good, but it leaves a lot of questions unanswered.  The included glossary answers most of them, but I had a harder time with the format than expected.
- the board can get crowded.  It can be hard to rotate the dials on a ship's base when it's in the middle of a swarm of fighters . . . several times, we inadvertently moved other ships trying to access the relevant dial.  That could get problematic, as range matters for attacks and such, and even subtle movements could change things.

Overall:
I'm happy with the game and believe it to be a solid recreation of a Star Wars space battle.  I think regular play will turn it into a favorite of mine.  The key phrase here is "regular play;" if I can't find a gaming buddy for this, I won't play enough to get over the aforementioned learning curve.

Rating: A-