Obscure Games

[markymark1970]

Or how about Star Force Alpha Centauri (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starforce:_Alpha_Centauri).  Why not go full 3D on a 2D map on your first space game?

I would love to play some Sky Galleons.  I'm up in Littleton, so if you give me a few weeks notice I can dust off (20+ years of dust) my copy and head on down.

Ha!  I was just reading that wiki page for Star Force, and it says that the 80's band Human League (who I dig) took their name from one of the game's factions.  Who knew!

[zorper]

Starfire can be fun too.  As small a battle or as big as you want.

Starfire is a kick ass little space game.  Totally underrated. 

[Landlubber]

OK, so maybe after Genghis con we should have an Obscure Space Naval Games day. Sounds like several people have at least one of these systems. Would be fun to try them out!

Speaking of the con, I think I'm going to skip Space 1889 at con and sign up for Scythe on Sunday.

[Dakkar]

Speaking of the con, I think I'm going to skip Space 1889 at con and sign up for Scythe on Sunday.

All the good stuff is crowded on Sunday! There's both Guildball and Blood Bowl, Space 1889, Cthulhu Wars, and Mark gacy's Star Wars game which is kick-ass.

[McKInstry]

I still have a ton of Starfire books and rules. Never did have the miniatures but boy howdy I loved the board game.

The books are not a bad read either.

I'd be very up for a post-Ghenghis obscure day somewhere along the Front Range.

[Ruckdog]

These all sound interesting to me! Most of them seem to fall into what Greg and I call "Class C" games on the podcast.

[markymark1970]

I still have a ton of Starfire books and rules. Never did have the miniatures but boy howdy I loved the board game.

The books are not a bad read either.

I'd be very up for a post-Ghenghis obscure day somewhere along the Front Range.

I really enjoy the books/background.  Not sure that I've encountered another game system that went into nearly as much detail as those books did for the first two interstellar wars, the Rigellian war, Crusade and the Arachnid war in Nexus magazine (another age reference Zorper) and the updated version on the web somewhere.  I have read dozens and dozens of times, never gets old.

Check these out.  I never had funds to get the Starfire miniatures way back when, but one of the designers (I think) has started making ships and selling them on Shapeways.  You'll recognize most of them from box and book covers that span years.  Pretty cool, will eventually pick some of these up.

https://www.shapeways.com/product/ZWC4NGXZY/rigellian-rpst-tambacounda-refit?optionId=40206055

[McKInstry]

Oh my. I did not need to know about the Starfire miniatures. The unpainted lead/resin/plastic mountain is intimidating enough right now.

[markymark1970]

Oh my. I did not need to know about the Starfire miniatures. The unpainted lead/resin/plastic mountain is intimidating enough right now.

Same boat here...  Uhg.  I need to win Powerball so I can quit work and paint or pay someone to paint.

[McKInstry]

I retire in 64 days. I just need to live another 106 years to catch up on painting.

[Landlubber]

Someone once told me that modelers and hobbyists don't pass away until all their stuff is built and painted.

So...I think everyone on this forum is going to live forever.

[markymark1970]

I retire in 64 days. I just need to live another 106 years to catch up on painting.

Oooo, congrats to you!  Maybe YOU can paint my miniatures, with all that free time you'll have. 

[zorper]

...Arachnid war in Nexus magazine (another age reference Zorper) and the updated version on the web somewhere.  ...

I think my friend still has his old Nexus magazines.  I hadn't thought about those in 30 years.  There was a time you had to hunt for gaming info...

[Ryjak]

And then there is "Little Wars", which I believe is considered the first miniatures wargame:

http://gardenwargaming.com/wargame/LW39.html

I don't think Calvary or infantry had guns they could actually fire; they could only kill each other in melee combat.  However, cannons fired actual projectiles players had to aim and physical knock down pieces to kill them.  This may be the only way to have a skill test for firing weapons, instead of a random mechanic (rolling dice) or a deterministic mechanic (at this distance, I inflict X damage).

[Ruckdog]

And then there is "Little Wars", which I believe is considered the first miniatures wargame:

http://gardenwargaming.com/wargame/LW39.html

I don't think Calvary or infantry had guns they could actually fire; they could only kill each other in melee combat.  However, cannons fired actual projectiles players had to aim and physical knock down pieces to kill them.  This may be the only way to have a skill test for firing weapons, instead of a random mechanic (rolling dice) or a deterministic mechanic (at this distance, I inflict X damage).

I have also heard of an old system that used paper silhouettes of the ships. Players dropped pencils from a certain height onto the silhouette of their target, and when it landed, it left a mark on the paper. Where it landed was where the target was hit. I think it was mentioned in an old book I have called The Art of Wargaming. I'll have to dig that book out and figure out which system this was.