It's not often that I encounter a tabletop game that tickles my fancy as much as Dropfleet Commander does and I need to share this enthusiasm with you. 

This should be beyond obvious that this game is about... spaceships. Large and small, everything is centered around building and managing a fleet of spaceships in space. They are very clearly defined in their tonnage: from extremely small and nimble light ships (corvettes, lighters, destroyers, monitors, frigates, etc.), medium cruisers, heavy battlecruisers and battleships, and finally (enter fanfare here) colossal DREADNOUGHTS. The ultimate dream of any spaceship enthusiast, the one ship that ships the hardest.

It matters because 1) this is really cool thing to make a game about, and 2) it gives very interesting mechanical and strategical options. More on that later.

Since we are playing with a fleet of spaceships, they need... ekhm... space to move around. The Dropfleet Commander system uses a very simplistic approach to space, represented as a 2D space. So no 3D maneouvers apart from matter-of-factly moving between the Orbit and the Atmosphere. This keeps the game simple but also gives some strategical opportunities to outmaneouver your opponent and avoid their fire altogether.

The 2D representation doesn't make the game any more visually interesting. While every single element of the board (apart from the ships models) can be represented by a flat token, there are beutifully sculpted space stations (general purpose "modular space stations" and faction-specific ones), launch assets (fighters, bombers, and torpedoes), and dropsite features (facilities like orbital guns, hangars, communication arrays, etc.) available in plastic and resin. You can start simple and follow down the rabbit hole like I did. 

The first edition of Dropfleet Commander was released in 2016, which (at the moment I'm writing this) makes it a 9-year-old game. And believe me when I say: it feels like there is almost a decade of storytelling and world building behind this game.

You can go to the official Dropfleet Commander downloads page and download the Lore Primer for free to soak the rich and turbulent history of this universe. While I don't find it especially easy to follow, the lore primer is more or less a dry-and-factual chronicle of the narrative and shows how it evolved from version 1 to version 2 and beyond. It's a really great read that gave me some insight into how the factions "work" and why they look and behave the way they do.

Bear with me because it's not easy to explain this one without delving into non-gaming aspects of design and visual storytelling. This game comes with 6 factions: 3 human-based ones (the United Colonies of Mankind, the Resistance, and the Post Human Republic) and 3 alien species (the Scourge, the Shaltari, and the Bioficers), representing a certain archetype.

We have your generic UCM militaristic society, scrappy and rugged Resistance, and somehow inhuman PHR. There is no significant visual or conceptual overlap between them, which keeps their distinctive flavor fresh and unique to the point I could imagine choosing a faction for the look and feel alone (looking at you PHR).

On the other spectrum, the alien species are made by brain-eating Scourge, not-lizard-men Shaltari, and ChatGPT-in-space (aka "ancient AI") Bioficers. This visual and conceptual split is very evident in the way their ships  are designed and how they operate.

Let me say you this: not matter how those ships are painted, you will know immediately to which faction they belong. I find that admirable they are designed in such a distinct way while still being interesting and unique. 

Those ships are simply beautiful and you can paint them however you want. I've painted my UCM ships to look like the fleet from Halo games, my PHR fleet can be jokingly called "Post Koi Republic", and my Bioficers are a disco, painted in neon-pink-and-purple to catch the eye and send a message they are in for the party at the objective. Contrary to some other wargames, being bold and creative is not only possible but also encouraged. 

This is both a very simple and very complex game. You can pick up the rulebook and read it in one evening and play right away. The game mechanics are based on very intuitive concepts: you move around in straight lines, rotate in easy to manage angles, shoot in a very straighforward way. Nothing out of the ordinary. 

Yet, as you get deeper into how the game works and the more-advanced mechanics, there is enough complexity to satisfy even the most nitpicky tabletop general. Suddenly 

And don't even get me started on the list building in this game. I think it's great, once it clicks and one starts understanding how the "faction stats" are created. Launch assets, battalion fight, dropsites, and fleet management. All these mechanics build on top of each other to make a very interesting, consistent, and exciting game system Dropfleet Commander is. 

I will cover it some other time but there is a lot of nuance to it and I admire the game designers (mostly Dave Lewis) for their ability to create so much from so very little. Each ship tonnage class is, in a way, a permutation of a couple of available components. Which means: if you want a specific combination of weapons, launch assets, and special abilities or keywords, then there probably is a ship for you in the Stats document. I will be covering the list building and its various intricacies some other time so stay tuned. 

I don't want to point my fingers at certain companies that force you to buy rules in very expensive-yet-boring codexes or whatever those books are called, but I'm happy to report: TTGames is cool. May I repeat: TTGames is cool.

You can download literrally everything you need for this game from the Dropfleet Commander Resources page. Rulebook, FAQ and Errata, all stats, scenarios, building instructions, and even printable tokens and scenery elements are available for free in a convenient PDF format. Those are the same materials you would find in the Starter Box, so you can either skip it if UCM and Bioficers are not your cup of tea. Or make more tokens just because you need them. 

I find that attitude nice and refreshing. It also means that I can see what other factions are about and decide if I like to collect and play them without taking a huge financial risk. TTCombat I command you for being a customer-centric company that respects its customers. 

I was looking for a space battle game for a while and the minute somebody in my tabletop group suggested checking it out I knew it's something for me. After spending some more time, researching the rules, building and painting the ships, and playing the game I can say with absolute certainty: It's a great game.

My family who never want to play Warhammer with me because it's too hard likes Dropfleet Commander for the intuitive mechanics, the game has official NewRecruit support that is actively developed, and there is a fantastic freindly community around the game. Everything to love and not much to dislike. You should give it a try and come back here from time to time because I will be writing about it regularly, sharing my thoughts and guides, and of course reporting the battle reports.