Starship Troopers (board wargame)

Last updated
Starship Troopers
Cover of Starship Troopers wargame.png
Publishers Avalon Hill [1]
Publication1976;48 years ago (1976)
Players1–2
Playing timecirca 120 minutes

Starship Troopers is a board wargame by Avalon Hill based on the 1959 novel of the same name by Robert A. Heinlein. [2] It was originally released in 1976 and designed by Randall C. Reed. Twenty years later, Avalon Hill redesigned and re-released a "movie" version (entitled Starship Troopers: Prepare for Battle!) in 1997 to coincide with the movie's release.

Contents

The game is a hexagon-based wargame for two players. [3] The player who takes the side of Arachnids has a sheet of paper with a copy of the map-board on which he plots out his bug-hive and tunnel system. The Mobile Infantry player sends in his soldiers and tries to dig them out. A third faction, the Skinnies, starts out playing on the bug side, but switches to the human side during later scenarios.

Publication

The game was designed by Randall C. Reed who was the head of The Avalon Hill research and development staff in the late 1970s, and was one of the first new Avalon Hill employees after the Charles S. Roberts era. He later left Avalon Hill to work with wargames for the U.S. Marine Corps. [4]

Scenarios

The game is set up as a series of seven scenarios that recreate the battles described in the novel; the first scenario uses the basic rules, and then each succeeding scenario adds a new layer of rules, gradually increasing the complexity of the game as players advance through the scenarios: [5]

Reception

In his 1977 book The Comprehensive Guide to Board Wargaming , Nicholas Palmer commented that this game "should please anyone who enjoyed the book; others can enjoy it but may be a bit bewildered at times!" He concluded, "The tactical problems are excellently done and true to the book." [6]

In the August–September 1976 edition of The Space Gamer (Issue No. 7), Todd Roseman felt that the game "faithfully recreates the heroic battles of the Terran Mobile Infantry as described in the classic Robert Heinlein novel" and concluded that "for those people who read Starship Troopers and said to themselves, 'I know there's a great game in there somewhere', go out and get a copy of SST... on the bounce!" [7] In the next issue of The Space Gamer, Sumner N. Clarren recommended Starship Troopers, saying "The game is truly tactical in scale and in flavor." and that "Starship Troopers is a fine tactical science fiction board game from Avalon Hill." [8]

In 1977, in the inaugural edition of White Dwarf, Martin Easterbrook gave the game an overall rating of 9 out of 10, saying, "All in all this is probably the best SF game currently on the market because it has the well worked out background of Heinlein's novel and because it is an extrapolation of current military technology, allowing Avalon Hill to use their experience in game design" [2]

In 1980, in the inaugural edition of Ares Magazine , Eric Goldberg gave Starship Troopers a rating of 5 out of 9, citing the limited replay value of the game. ""The play of the game will prove interesting for the first few times, but then the simulation value of the game will be exhausted - this cannot stand on its own as a game." [9]

In the April 1980 edition of Dragon , Michael Crane liked the game components, which he said were up to Avalon Hill's usual high standards, although he didn't enjoy the colors used on the board game, which he called "enough to make the stomach churn." But he thought the rule book was well thought out, and concluded that "the game does provide a general 'feel' for the novel". Crane concluded by recommending the game, calling it "an excellent buy". [5]

In the 1980 book The Complete Book of Wargames , game designer Jon Freeman commented that this game "provides a refreshingly different environment in which to maneuver a fairly standard array of units." Freeman noted "If the game has a fault, it may be that it's too conventional — it's PanzerBlitz in spacesuits." He gave this game an Overall Evaluation of "Very Good", concluding, "the action is fast and furious, and the game is exciting as any on the market." [10]

Reviews

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Starship Troopers</i> 1959 science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein

Starship Troopers is a military science fiction novel by American writer Robert A. Heinlein. Written in a few weeks in reaction to the US suspending nuclear tests, the story was first published as a two-part serial in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction as Starship Soldier, and published as a book by G. P. Putnam's Sons on November 5, 1959.

<i>G.E.V.</i> (board game) Board wargame published in 1977

G.E.V. is a science fiction board wargame that simulates combat in the near future between supertanks and other futuristic weaponry. The game was designed by American game designer Steve Jackson as a sequel to his Ogre board game when he was working for Metagaming Concepts. When Jackson left Metagaming to form his own company, he took the rights to both G.E.V. and Ogre with him, and all subsequent editions have been produced by Steve Jackson Games.

<i>Wooden Ships and Iron Men</i> 1974 board wargame set in the Age of Sail

Wooden Ships and Iron Men is a naval board wargame simulating naval combat during the Age of Sail that was published by Battleline Publications in 1974, then revised and republished by Avalon Hill the following year.

<i>White Bear and Red Moon</i> Fantasy tabletop wargame

White Bear and Red Moon is a fantasy board wargame set in the world of Glorantha, created by Greg Stafford and published in 1975. Stafford first tried to sell the game to established publishers, but despite being accepted by three different game companies, each attempt ended in failure; eventually he founded his own game company in 1974, the influential Chaosium, to produce and market the game.

<i>PanzerBlitz</i> World War II board wargame published in 1970

PanzerBlitz is a tactical-scale board wargame published by Avalon Hill in 1970 that simulates armored combat set on the Eastern Front of World War II. The game, which was the most popular board wargame of the 1970s, is notable for being the first true board-based tactical-level, commercially available conflict simulation wargame. It also pioneered several concepts that would become industry standards.

<i>Arab–Israeli Wars</i> (game) Board game

The Arab-Israeli Wars, subtitled "Tank Battles in the Mideast 1956–73", is a board wargame published by Avalon Hill in 1977 that simulates various battles during the Suez Crisis, Six-Day War and Yom Kippur War.

<i>Starship Troopers: The Roleplaying Game</i> Tabletop role-playing game

Starship Troopers: The Roleplaying Game is a tabletop role-playing game produced by Mongoose Publishing in 2005. The game is based upon the 1959 book Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein, but it is mostly based on its adaptations, Starship Troopers (1997) and Starship Troopers 2 (2004), and the cartoon series ; the game itself was published under license of Sony Pictures. While it is impossible to seamlessly merge all three different interpretations, this RPG does not pick one over the other, instead merging the three as best it can.

Panzer Leader is the sequel to Avalon Hill's PanzerBlitz game.

<i>Chancellorsville</i> (game) War-game set during the US Civil War.

Chancellorsville is a board wargame produced by Avalon Hill in 1961, and republished in 1974 that simulates the Battle of Chancellorsville during the American Civil War.

Starship Troopers: The Miniatures Game was a short-lived miniature wargame released in 2005 by UK gaming company Mongoose Publishing. It drew upon Robert A. Heinlein's 1959 Starship Troopers novel, the films, and the TV series as inspiration through a license from Sony. The game was pulled from the shelves in 2007, and formally discontinued a year later.

<i>Tobruk</i> (game) Board wargame that simulates tank combat

Tobruk, subtitled "Tank Battles in North Africa 1942", is a board wargame published by Avalon Hill in 1975 that simulates tank combat in North Africa during World War II.

<i>Stellar Conquest</i>

Stellar Conquest is a science fiction board game published by Metagaming Concepts in 1974.

<i>WarpWar</i> Science fiction board wargame published in 1977

WarpWar is a science fiction board wargame published by Metagaming Concepts in 1977 that simulates interstellar combat. It was the fourth in Metagaming's MicroGame series.

<i>Melee</i> (game) Board game

Melee is a board wargame designed by Steve Jackson, and released in 1977 by Metagaming Concepts. In 2019, Melee was revived and re-released by Steve Jackson Games.

<i>Air Force</i> (game) 1976 board wargame

Air Force is a board wargame published by Battleline Publications in 1976, and subsequently re-released by Avalon Hill in 1977, that simulates air combat during World War II. Several expansions for the game were also published.

<i>The Ythri</i> Board game

The Ythri is a board wargame published by Metagaming Concepts in 1975 that is based on the 1973 science fiction novel The People of the Wind by Poul Anderson.

Rift Trooper is a 1976 two player board wargame designed by Richard Bartucci and published by Attack Wargaming Association (AWA). It includes three tactical simulations of the science fiction novel Starship Troopers; "Squad Sweep", "Operation Royalty", and "Encounter".

<i>Elric: Battle at the End of Time</i> Fantasy board wargame

Elric: Battle at the End of Time is a board wargame published by Chaosium in 1982, an update of the 1977 game simply titled Elric. It is based on the Elric of Melniboné books by Michael Moorcock. There have been three English language editions, Elric (1977), Elric: Battle at the End of Time (1982), and Elric (1984), published by Avalon Hill.

<i>StarSoldier</i> Board wargame

StarSoldier is a science fiction board wargame published by Simulations Publications, Inc. (SPI) in 1977.

<i>Submarine</i> (wargame) 1976 WWII board wargame

Submarine is a board wargame published by Battleline Publications in 1976 that simulates submarine warfare during World War II. The following year, Avalon Hill bought the rights to the game, expanded the rules and republished it with new cover art.

References

  1. ↑ Gray, Michael (December 11, 1977). "Science: Players can match wits among the stars". Star Tribune . p. 133. Retrieved December 13, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
  2. 1 2 Martin Easterbrook (June–July 1977). "Open Box: Starship Troopers (review)". White Dwarf . Games Workshop (1): 13.
  3. ↑ "Starship Troopers". Boardgamegeek. 1976. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
  4. ↑ Perla, Peter P. (1990). The Art of Wargaming: A Guide for Professionals and Hobbyists. Naval Institute Press.
  5. 1 2 Crane, Michael (April 1980). "The Dragon's Augury". Dragon . TSR, Inc. (36): 64.
  6. ↑ Palmer, Nicholas (1977). The Comprehensive Guide to Board Wargaming. London: Sphere Books. pp. 176–177.
  7. ↑ Roseman, Todd (August–September 1976). "Reviews". The Space Gamer . Metagaming (7): 14–15.
  8. ↑ Clarren, Sumner N. (October–November 1976). "Reviews". The Space Gamer . Metagaming (8): 20–21.
  9. ↑ Goldberg, Eric (March 1980). "A Galaxy of Games". Ares Magazine . Simulations Publications, Inc. (1): 30.
  10. ↑ Freeman, Jon (1980). The Complete Book of Wargames. New York: Simon & Schuster. pp. 224–225.
  11. ↑ "Moves Issue 32" (PDF). strategyandtacticspress.com. Retrieved 19 September 2023.
  12. ↑ "Games and Puzzles magazine | Wiki | BoardGameGeek".
  13. ↑ "Inquest Gamer Partial Collection".

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.