Welcome back Admirals! Do you live in the New England area and have nothing to do the day after Christmas? Cage Free Games and Battleground Games and Hobbies have your back with the Career Mode launch for Admirals: Star Strike! Don’t live nearby but still interested? Read on anyway, because we’re here to talk about this exciting Sealed Play format and how you can get it in your hands to ring in a new year of space combat!
Career Mode is a unique Sealed Play format where every 3 games you play earns you access to a new Booster or a powerful new ability. Whereas other games’ sealed formats are designed around single events, Career Mode lets you grow a powerful fleet that can very quickly exceed the limitations of Constructed play fleets. The drawback, of course, is the sealed format – You’ll have to develop strategies around what Order and Refit cards you pull, and which Ships you have unlocked access to. The format borrows from various miniature game Narrative campaigns and classic TCG Sealed events, creating a fun and challenging new space combat experience.
Career Mode sets come with a range of high-quality components, including:
- Waterproof plastic cards that are pre-sleeved for convenience and protection
- Clay Composite Ship Tokens
- Dry-Erase markers and Dice
We are also debuting our neoprene playmats, complete with some basic gameplay reminders so those first few games go by with fewer rulebook-checking breaks!
To start your Career in the Star Strike Universe, you can pick up a Starter Set (MSRP $40), containing 7 Ships, 16 Orders and all the Weapon Cards necessary to play your faction for the current Season. Career Mode games can be played on any of our maps (For a free option, grab Map Pack 1 from the downloads page).
Once you’ve played three games, you’ve completed your first Tour of Duty! Each Tour you complete allows you to add one Booster Pack to your Fleet Roster, or alternatively you can take a Perk or Skill Upgrade, improving your options for Fleet and Order selection each time you play a game.
What happens though, if you’ve racked up a few Tours and are introducing a friend to the game? While you can certainly start a new career with them, the Career Mode system lets you play your “Experienced” fleet against newcomers easily. For each Tour you’ve completed more than your opponent, you include 1 fewer Order card in your Order Library, restricting your options and leveling the playing field for the newer player.
For Patreon subscribers interested in this format, there’s a guide coming on how to transform your digital files into a Sealed Play collection to run a Career set for you and your friends (as well as a number of other assembly guides, now that we’ve recovered from our recent health crisis). However, if you want to get your hands on our waterproof plastic cards, your first opportunity will be at Battleground Games and Hobbies in Norton, MA on the 26th. Following that, the $10 discount on Career Mode starters will also be available for all of our Patrons for use on our Etsy Store!
Cage Free Games is committed to affordable, quality physical copies, and while the initial price of a Career set is a little steeper than we wanted, the core idea is that once you’ve picked up your starter, you’re playing roughly a Tour (3 games) a week with friends and/or family, and committing $8 or less rather than dropping tens or hundreds on packs and singles every week like other card games. We want this to be a sustainable hobby, not one that burns through your money! If you have ideas or input on how we can improve this aspect of Career Play, please let us know by emailing starstrikecareer@gmail.com, or reach out to us on Facebook or Twitter!
We wish everyone a safe and happy holiday season, whatever you celebrate (or don’t!). And on a personal note: COVID sucks, even a “mild” case. Be safe, mask up when in public, and if you can get the vaccine/booster, we highly recommend you do.
Prices for Career Play sets are as follows:
- Starter Sets (all factions): $40 ($30 at launch event and for Patrons)
- Playmats: $35
- Booster Packs: $8 (First booster free with a completed Tour at Launch event)