The War of the Worlds II is a science fiction board wargame published by Rand Game Associates in 1974 that simulates planetary conquest. Although the title is nearly identical to the novel about an invasion from Mars by H.G. Wells, the two works have no connection.
The War of the Worlds II is a game for 2–3 players on a planetary scale. In the year 2000, each player's race has simultaneously arrived at the Altair system, which contains five uninhabited resource-rich planets. The players fight for the right to own the most planets. [1]
The game contains: [2]
The War of the Worlds II was designed by Phil Orbanes Sr., and was published by Rand Game Associates in 1974 in an album folder with cover art by Al Zygier. [2] The game was not popular. In a 1976 poll conducted by Simulations Publications Inc. to determine the most popular wargames in North America, The War of the Worlds II placed a dismal 198th out of 202 games. [3] As Nicholas Palmer noted in his 1977 book The Comprehensive Guide to Board Wargaming , it was an "ill-received game." [3]
Writing for The Space Gamer #3, David M. Redding thought the game was very poor and concluded, "I unloaded the game at a small fraction of its cost to a rather dense, now ex-acquaintance and he surely got less than he bargained for." [1]
Three issues later, Tony Watson was a bit more nuanced, commenting "War of the Worlds II was a good try. There was obviously a strong effort to get that sci-fi 'feel' into the game, which I feel the designer accomplished. It is unfortunate that he had to deal with a weak game." [4]
Starship Troopers is a board wargame by Avalon Hill based on the 1959 novel of the same name by Robert A. Heinlein. It was originally released in 1976 and designed by Randall C. Reed. Twenty years later, Avalon Hill redesigned and re-released a "movie" version in 1997 to coincide with the movie's release.
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.
Triplanetary is a science fiction board wargame originally published by Game Designers' Workshop in 1973. The game is a simulation of space ship travel and combat within the Solar System in the early 21st Century.
Blitzkrieg is a strategic-level wargame published by Avalon Hill in 1965 that simulates a non-historical attack by one major power against another using blitzkrieg strategy. It was the first commercial wargame that did not simulate an actual historical battle, and with almost 400 counters, it was a precursor of the "monster" wargames of the 1970s featuring more than a thousand counters.
D-Day is a board wargame published by Avalon Hill in 1961 that simulates the six months of the European Campaign of World War II from the Normandy Invasion to the crossing of the Rhine. It was the first wargame to feature the now ubiquitous hex grid map and cardboard counters, and was revised and re-released in 1962, 1965, 1971, 1977 and 1991.
Invasion: America, subtitled "Death Throes of the Superpower", is a near-future board wargame published by SPI in 1976 that simulates a hypothetical coordinated attack on North America by various factions.
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Sorcerer, subtitled "The Game of Magical Conflict", is a fantasy board wargame for 1–5 players published by Simulations Publications, Inc. (SPI) in 1975.
Outreach, subtitled "The Conquest of the Galaxy, 3000 AD", is a strategic board game designed by Irad Hardy and published by SPI in 1976. The players gather resources to expand their empires through the Milky Way galaxy. Although the term was not used at the time, Outreach is an example of the 4X genre. Many of the gameplay elements are adapted from the earlier SPI game, Starforce: Alpha Centauri.
After the Holocaust, subtitled "The Nuclear Devastation of America: Recovery and Reunification", is a near-future board wargame published by Simulations Publications, Inc. (SPI) in 1976 that simulates the economic recovery of the United States following a nuclear war.
Alien Space is a science fiction board wargame published by Gamescience in 1973 that simulates space combat as seen in the Star Trek television show.
The Comprehensive Guide to Board Wargaming is a 1977 book by Nicholas Palmer about the hobby of board wargaming.
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Invasion: Sicily – Alexander vs Kesselring is a board wargame published by Rand Game Associates in 1974 that simulates the Allied invasion of Sicily during World War II.
Missile Boat, subtitled "Tactical Combat On, Over and Beneath the Sea 1964-1984", is a board game published by Rand Game Associates (RGA) in 1974 that simulates naval combat using ships and weaponry from the mid-1960s to the mid-1980s.