Tacking Tuesday #1: Into the Wind

by Charlie Plaine, Acting Second Edition Lead Designer

21st June 2011

The eight standard-size Second Edition virtual expansion, Tacking Into the Wind, will be arriving online at https://www.trekcc.org on Friday, August 5, 2011.

Tacking Into the Wind may only be the eight "standard-size" virtual expansion, but it marks the tenth Second Edition virtual release since the founding of The Continuing Committee in December of 2007. That's a milestone we're proud of, and one that we're happy to celebrate with the release of the long awaited and anticipated ship-based virtual expansion.

As those of you that have been following the message boards, chat room, and blogs for the past few months can testify, Tacking Into the Wind is the expansion formerly known as both Project Rizzi and as "the ship set." Here's an excerpt from the "blurb text" that might appear on boxes or packs:

Starships are the heart of every crew and the center of every adventure, and they finally take center stage in Tacking Into the Wind, the eighth standard Second Edition Virtual Expansion from The Continuing Committee. ... this expansion features ships or ship-related story on nearly every card and for nearly every deck imaginable. It'll be time to revisit old and forgotten deck types with fresh eyes (and fresh engines) when Tacking Into the Wind sets sail.

We aren't exaggerating when we call this expansion "the ship set." One of the original mandates of the expansion when it was first laid out by Mr. Brad DeFruiter was that literally every card would work with ships in some way. I don't know if we've met that goal literally like he originally asked, but there are ships a-plenty in Tacking Into the Wind. It's a theme that permeates the set and it's something we hope you'll really feel and enjoy as you're reading the cards leading up to release.

This expansion also marks the debut of our 2010 Make it So Winner, Mr. Keith "Foreman" Morris. Keith was set to work early by Brad, and he kept busy throughout the entire process and has produced some quality work. We'll be hearing more from Keith in the coming months, both through some articles, the official Q&A thread, and on our podcasts. Let it suffice to say for now that his work has been - and continues to be - outstanding, and this will not be the last time we hear from him on the design side.

For the time being, we'll bring you a new Tacking Tuesday article every Tuesday here on trekcc.org before we start the daily spoilers in July. In the mean time, you can get some exclusive first looks at Tacking Into the Wind by participating in the pre-release events at each of our Continental Championships in the next month.

Tacking Into the Wind will be available for free digital download on Friday, August 5, 2011 and will be legal in all TCC's sanctioned events as of Friday, August 12, 2011. For more information about this upcoming expansion, stay tuned to trekcc.org!