The Omega War

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The Omega War was a pull-out game in Issue 14 of Ares which featured cover art by Timothy Truman (1983) Cover of Ares Issue 14.png
The Omega War was a pull-out game in Issue 14 of Ares which featured cover art by Timothy Truman (1983)

The Omega War is a science fiction-themed board game published by TSR through its subsidiary Simulations Publications, Inc. (SPI) in 1983.

Contents

Description

The Omega War is a two-player game of strategic warfare for control of a post-apocalyptic North America. [1]

Setting

Three hundred years after a devastating atomic war left the nations of the earth in ruins, North America has been rebuilt as a number of clanholds and other population centers under the control of the World Union. But rebels wish to overturn the status quo. [2]

Components

The game includes: [1]

Gameplay

The Rebels are pitted against the Union. Each turn is composed of twelve phases:

  1. Union recruitment phase
  2. Rebel political phase
  3. Rebel march phase
  4. Rebel combat phase
  5. Union reaction phase
  6. Rebel exploitation phase
  7. Union march phase
  8. Rebel reaction phase
  9. Union combat phase
  10. Union exploitation phase
  11. Rebel reinforcement phase
  12. Game turn record phase

Victory conditions

There are three possible ways to win:

Publication history

In the early 1980s, SPI ran into financial difficulties and was taken over by TSR, which then used SPI as a subsidiary to release board wargames. The Omega War was one such product, a board game designed by David James Ritchie, with illustrations by Timothy Truman. It was originally published as a pull-out game in Issue 14 of Ares (Spring 1983), and was also released the same year as a boxed set. [1]

Reception

In Issue 71 of Space Gamer (December 1984), Rick Swan was not impressed, writing "Not only is The Omega War too long and too dull, the stiff turn sequence and confusing graphics make it a chore to play. Too bad, because there are certainly enough ideas here for a decent game. As presented, The Omega War suffers from too much ambition and too little development." [2]

Other reviews

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References

  1. 1 2 3 "The Omega War (1983)". boardgamegeek.com. Retrieved 2021-10-15.
  2. 1 2 Swan, Rick (Nov–Dec 1984). "Capsule Reviews". Space Gamer . Steve Jackson Games (71): 49.