Flashes in a Starry Sky – Alpha
I’m really happy to release an early alpha of the Flashes in a Starry Sky rules. It’s a fast-paced mech game set in space that with resource management, which allows you to constantly interrupt the flow of the game. Heavily inspired by things like Gundam and the 1v1 clashes of ace pilots. Flashes attempts to emulate those fast-paced and fencing-style battles. It uses resource management of energy to allow you to interrupt your opponents, the fact that space sees objects drift through it without complete control. All with a D10 system to resolve combat with an emphasis on Motion and direction.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1pwEjMuOUhj8CWf71WncjzCEk-HP7x2AQ2qnQHM3F-6o/edit?usp=sharing
In this article, I’ll give an overview of some of the core mechanics and how they work thematically and mechanically.
Motion
We all know that movement is one of the most important aspects of any miniatures game, and the same is true for Flashes. However, unlike many other games, moving isn’t an action. Instead, it happens either at the start or end of an activation and the mech moves a distance equal it its current motion in inches in the direction it was last set. We call this Drift in the game, and anything with a Motion equal to or less than the active mech also undergoes Drift at the same time. This results in an ever-changing battlefield that needs constant adaptation.
Thematically, this is because all the battles are in space and if something starts moving in a direction in space, it keeps moving in that direction until something intervenes. Mechs can activate Thrusters to change direction and Motion as an action, but unless they do so or interact with other objects in the environment, they continue as they were previously.
Due to the low model count, this should never become cumbersome to keep on top of. However, any feedback on this is hugely appreciated.
Interrupting
Interrupting is a huge part of Flashes. Every turn, the player gets a single action for their chosen mech. However, by interrupting your opponent, you can chain together actions. All interruptions use energy, and as long as you have enough energy, you can keep interrupting. I’ve written rules for when and how interrupting works, and from the initial playtesting, it is such a fun rule.
Since Flashes doesn’t (at least currently) have rounds and each “turn” is a single action and activation, the game flows quickly anyway. However, when you start chaining interruptions to avoid being shot at, massively increase your Motion and swing at your opponent with a laser sword for them to counter with a strike of their own first; it feels amazing. It has some kinks to work out that the Trigger Deck is helping to resolve, but on the surface, how cool does that sound?
Thematically, the idea for this is massively inspired by the Gundam anime and other similar shows with fast-paced 1v1 battles between ace pilots that have this constant back and forth. One mech dodges and whizzes past some debris before shooting through the other side, only to be met with a plasma cannon aimed directly at them, and all they can do is try and Block. All of this is happening in the blink of an eye.
Trigger Deck
All of your Interrupts go into the Trigger Deck, and whatever is on top of the Trigger Deck resolves first. This is a way of tracking the order of actions, and the Trigger Deck is limited to 1 card per action per player, so you need to think tactically about when you use each type of Interruption. If you’ve played Magic: The Gathering, this draws inspiration from the Stack and works in a similar way.
Thematically, this works because it means you commit to each action. If you are already swinging that plasma axe, you can’t then again swing it, but you might be able to throw out a kick or block. It also prevents movement spam or block spam, and prevents some of the obvious ways Interrupting could be abused.
As you can likely see, I’m really excited by the development of Flashes in a Starry Sky. It still has a lot to go before the first full version is complete. However, I wanted to get eyes on it as soon as possible to share my excitement. If mechs aren’t your thing, check out Malefactor for some fantasy action. Until next time!
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