Firestorm Armada - Background

Firestorm Armada is a sci-fi tabletop fleet scale miniatures game. It is by Spartan Games in the UK. They also produce a fantasy fleet game, a Victorian era steampunk fleet and land combat game and recently a steampunk 28mm skirmish game. But I digress...

In a place of congruence between the six major powers of our galaxy stands a region of space known as Fathoms Reach. The divide that occurred amongst the race of man is the root drive of this current conflict between the Alliance of Kurak and the Zenian League.With lasers and mass drivers, missiles and torpedoes, mines and shields...fleets go to war!

The Alliance of Kurak are basically the good guys and are made up of a smattering of smaller races that can buff your fleets. The main races are:

Terran Alliance:The human race was once proud, large and prosperous until a group of outer systems envied the core worlds. This was the birth of the human Dindrenzi Federation and the Zenian League. Terran ships use long range torpedoes and shield technology in their ships.

Aquan Prime: These peaceloving water-breathing creatures have a vested interest in Fathom's Reach due to the proximity of their original homeworld to it. This ships specialize in mines and 360 degree firepower.

Sorylian Collective: Muscled reptile-like, they have long traveled through the stars albeit at a cautious and slow pace. Thie broadsides and close in damage is immense.

The Zenian League are basically the bad guys, made up of smaller races to buff your fleet:

Dindrenzi Federation: A Xenophopic human dictatorship, they have reluctantly gathered alien races to assist them in their war on Terra and their allies. Their forward firing barrage is the deadliest in the game.

The Directorate:  When humanity left for the stars, corporations followed. This empire is made through the cooperation of three major companies who have little regard for human (or otherwise) rights.

The Relthoza: Spider-like beings who specialize in cloaking technology and broadsides, they seek to expand their territory at the expense of others.

The current rulebook is hardbound and looks like this...

It has clear rules and nice pictures...

The previous rulebook was not well organized but did have scenarios and rules to create ships. So if you have ships from another game lying around and find the previous edition, grab it and the new edition for better rules layout and all the errata. The old one looked like this...

So there you have the background. Next is the basic rules.