Hi!
I saw there was a request to change the game from a WWI game to something which made more sense and was well known, such as outer space. Well, here's the outer space version. I still need to test play it though, but it's going to be something like this. What do you think?
Thanks in advance,
ACG
Space Wars
NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 2
AGE: 10 to adult
DURATION: 1 to 2 hours
COMPONENTS
1 hex board
2 basic sets of fleet cards (60 cards per set)
60 Earth ship tokens
60 Alien ship tokens
1 set of modifier tokens (+1/0, 0/-1, etc.)
1 eight-sided die (d8)
1 twelve-sided die (d12)
2 pads of paper
OBJECTIVE
To land one of your ships on the enemy’s homeworld, on the opposite side of the board.
SETUP
Place the board between the two players with a planet facing each player. Each player’s task is to defend the planet nearest him, and as such he gathers the appropriate set of ship tokens.
Players may either use the decks provided with the game or choose to create their own decks of 60 cards.
Finally, each player draws seven cards.
GAME PLAY: STRUCTURE OF A TURN
The two players wait for one of them to give the signal and simultaneously draw a card to begin a turn (if there are no cards left, the players have to use what is left in their hand and on the battlefield). They then plan up to five actions: each player writes them down in the order he wants them executed. At any time, a player can say “done”, at which point both he and his opponent reveal their actions, committing to them. If the opponent hasn’t gotten all his actions written down, too bad for him – you have to think quickly during a battle.
Note that each unit has a name. The actions must specify the unit by name, and both players can tell what the units’ names are from the tokens.
After the actions are revealed, roll the d8. A 1-4 means Earth acts first, a 5-8 means the Aliens do. People alternate actions after that point: for instance, if Earth goes first, Earth’s first action is performed, then the Aliens’ first, then Earth’s second, and so forth.
If an action cannot be performed because something got in the way, too bad. Moves stop in the hex before the one with the obstacle, destroyed units don’t shoot, etc.
CARDS There are three types of cards: unit cards (playing them summons a ship, chosen at random from the reserves, to the battlefield) action cards (which can be used to modify units and the battlefield environment) and interrupts (which can be played at any time during the battle, including as actions). Unless stated otherwise, playing a card constitutes an action.
ACTIONS
An action can be one of the following:
1. Have a unit on the board attack a specified target (generally an enemy unit, and generally with a proton missile). This attack may be modified by modifier cards played from the player’s hand. For instance, a player may write down “The Bozeman fires on Aaarg in hex 12"
2. Have a unit on the board move. The player plans this as “The Bozeman moves from hex 12 to hex 16 via hexes 13, 14, and 15" – the entire route must be specified.
3. Have a unit on the board use one of the tools in its arsenal, such as a cloaking device or debris cleaner.
4. Play a unit card to deploy a unit or to influence the battle in some way. Units start out anywhere on their homeworld their commander chooses. Place a token, chosen at random from the reserves, on the board in the hex to represent the unit. The equivalent order is something like “A ship is summoned to hex 1".
OFFENSE AND DEFENSE
Each unit starts out with an offensive value of zero and a defensive value of zero. A high offensive value means that the unit is good at attacking and in general wreaking havoc on the enemy. A high defensive value means that the unit is unusually mobile and hard to hit.
A “+1/+2" bonus means: add 1 to offense, add 2 to defense.
BASIC COMBAT: SHOOTING WITH A PROTON MISSILE
A unit may attack any target within four hexes of it (as long as there are no other units in the way). The player counts off the range to the target in hexes, doubles it, subtracts the attacking unit’s offensive value, and adds the defending unit’s defensive value. He then rolls the d8. If the roll equals or exceeds the value calculated above, the targeted ship is destroyed. The destroyed ship is replaced with a Debris token.
Note that a 1 is always a miss and an 8 is always a hit.
If there are multiple units in a hex, the attacker can choose which unit to target. If the attacker misses, it may hit one of the other units in the hex (choose at random). If there aren’t any other units in the hex or it missed all of them, its trajectory continues until it hits an obstacle or another target.
BASIC COMBAT: MODIFIERS
A unit in a debris field gets a defensive bonus of +1 and an offensive penalty of -1 per Debris token in a hex.
A cloaked ship gets a defensive bonus of +5 but cannot fire.
An attack with a Laser puts the enemy ships at a defensive penalty of -2. After all, spacecraft generally don’t travel faster than light.
BASIC MOVEMENT
Unless stated otherwise, each unit may move up to four spaces in an action. Any number of friendly units may share a hex, but one may not enter squares occupied by an opponent. If a unit finds part of his path occupied by an enemy unit, his movement stops just before that hex.
A unit may be moved back onto its homeworld, taken out of play, and recalled back into a player’s hand (put a discarded unit card in your hand).
Optional Rule – Attacks of Opportunity: If a unit moves into a square occupied by an enemy unit, all units in the square are permitted attacks of opportunity. A moving target is harder to hit, and the attacking units are caught a little by surprise. The moving unit gets a defensive bonus of +3 and the attacking unit gets an offensive penalty of -3. If there are no other modifiers in play, the moving unit is eliminated on a roll of 6 or better. If the moving unit survives, it continues on its journey.
If the moving unit’s final square is occupied by an enemy unit and the moving unit survives the attack of opportunity, the moving unit stops in the hex before the one with the enemy unit.
BASIC MOVEMENT: MODIFIERS
A unit must spend one extra space’s worth of movement to enter a hex with one or more Debris tokens.
A unit must spend two extra spaces’ worth of movement to enter a space with a minefield.
Cloaked ships may only travel at three-quarters speed: that is, they can only move three hexes in a turn. They may not land on a planet while cloaked.
CLOAKING DEVICES
A player may choose to engage or disengage a ship’s cloaking device as an action. Cloaked ships receive a defensive bonus but cannot fire. They also travel at a slower speed than uncloaked ships. A cloaked ship is turned upside down on the board.
CLEANING UP DEBRIS
A unit may spend an action to remove a Debris counter from its current square.
MODIFIER CARDS: COMMONS
This is where the Collectible Card Game aspect of the game comes into play. There are many cards in the deck which can be used to affect the battle. Each deck will have 60 cards, consisting of a bunch of unit card and a bunch of “other” cards – and it is these “others” which can be collected. Bold cards may also be used as interrupts.
MINOR ENGINE DAMAGE: Selected enemy unit may travel one fewer space than normal this turn.
MINOR HULL DAMAGE: Selected enemy unit suffers 0/-1 until end of turn.
MINOR GUN DAMAGE: Selected enemy unit suffers -1/0 until end of turn.
MINOR ENGINE IMPROVEMENT: Selected friendly unit may travel one more space than normal this turn.
MINOR HULL IMPROVEMENT: Selected friendly unit gains 0/+1 until end of turn.
MINOR GUN IMPROVEMENT: Selected friendly unit gains +1/0 until end of turn.
SECOND CHANCE: Force a reroll of a die.
REINFORCEMENTS: Draw two cards. If there are fewer than two cards in your deck, draw all remaining cards.
BELAY THAT ORDER: Cancel an action, either yours or the opponent’s. May only be used as an interrupt.
ENGINE OVERLOAD: This card allows a chosen unit to travel at faster than its maximum speed until end of turn. For each hex that it travels beyond its maximum, place a permanent “speed -1" counter on it.
GARBAGE DUMP: Place a Debris token on a chosen ship’s current hex.
GROUND SUPPORT: Fire on an enemy ship from your homeworld. Treat this as a photon missile attack from the hex on your homeworld closest to the target.
REPAIR CREW: Can be used to prevent a ship from being destroyed after it has been hit (in which case it is an interrupt and therefore does not constitute an action). It may also be used as an action to undo any form of Engine Damage, Gun Damage, or Hull Damage.
BERSERKER: Used in conjunction with an attacking unit. This unit gets +3/-3 until end of turn. May be used as an interrupt: if so, it only lasts one action. Playing this card does not constitute an action.
LEAVE: Remove a unit from play and bring him back to your hand. When it is deployed again, it gets a +1/+0 bonus as long as he is in play. This card cannot be played while the enemy is imposing an Orbital Blockade.
MODIFIER CARDS: UNCOMMONS
LUCKY BREAK: Change a die roll to any value you wish. May only be used as an interrupt. [Think Loaded Die from Munchkin]
SHELL SHOCK: Enemy unit gets -1/-1 until end of turn. Maybe used as an interrupt: if so, it only lasts one action.
LAY MINEFIELD: Lay a minefield in a chosen friendly unit’s current hex.
ELIMINATE MINEFIELD: Eliminate a minefield in a hex adjacent to a chosen friendly unit. The hex with the minefield must be specified as well as the ship defusing the mines.
LASER: Used in conjunction with an attacking unit. Unit fires a laser instead of a proton missile. Playing this card does not constitute an action.
CONSCRIPTION: Draw four cards. If there are fewer than four cards in your deck, draw all remaining cards.
ENGINE DAMAGE: Selected enemy unit may travel one fewer space than normal until the end of the game. Place an Engine Damage token on it.
HULL DAMAGE: Selected enemy unit suffers 0/-1 until the end of the game. Place a 0/-1 token on it.
GUN DAMAGE: Selected enemy unit suffers -1/0 until the end of the game. Place an appropriate token on it.
ENGINE IMPROVEMENT: Selected friendly unit may travel one more space than normal until the end of the game. Place the appropriate token on it.
HULL IMPROVEMENT: Selected friendly unit gains 0/+1 until the end of the game. Place an appropriate token on it.
GUN IMPROVEMENT: Selected friendly unit gains +1/0 until the end of the game. Place an appropriate token on it.
ESPIONAGE: Opponent reveals his hand.
WEAPON OVERLOAD: Used in conjunction with an attacking unit. Selected friendly unit may attack up to four targets in one action. Place a -1/0 token on it at the end of the turn for each target beyond the first. Playing this card does not constitute an action.
MINOR TARGETING IMPROVEMENT: Selected friendly unit can attack units one hex further away than normal until end of turn.
INITIATIVE: All of your side’s actions take place before any of the enemy’s.
MAJOR GUN FAILURE: Selected enemy unit cannot fire this turn.
CEASE-FIRE: No one may fire weapons or land on an enemy planet for the next three turns (this includes the remainder of this turn).
HEAD OF STATE VISIT: All your units get +1/+1 until end of turn.
MODIFIER CARDS: RARES
MISFIRE: Played in conjunction with an enemy attack. Instead of hitting the hex with a targeted ship, the weapon is aimed improperly and hits an adjacent hex. Roll the d12: 1-2 it goes long, 3-4 it goes long right, and so forth clockwise. Any ships in that hex come under attack as if they had been the intended target. May only be played as an interrupt.
REALLY NASTY GUN: Used in conjunction with an attacking unit. This weapon attacks ALL units in the line of fire at +2/0. The attacking ship may not have moved or fired in the previous three turns. Playing this card does not constitute an action.
MAJOR ENGINE FAILURE: Selected enemy unit cannot move this turn.
SELF-DESTRUCT: Sacrifice a friendly unit to attack all units in its hex and the six surrounding hexes.
TARGETING IMPROVEMENT: Selected friendly unit has its range permanently increased by 1. Place the appropriate token on it. It attacks units as if the targets were one space closer to the attacker.
ENGINE REDESIGN: All friendly units may travel one more space than normal until the end of the game.
HULL REDESIGN: All friendly units gain 0/+1 until the end of the game.
GUN REDESIGN: All friendly units gain +1/0 until the end of the game.
SURPRISE WARP: Used in conjunction with the deployment of a unit. This card allows a player to deploy a unit anywhere on the board further than four spaces from the enemy homeworld. This unit may not move for the next two turns as it repairs from the warp. A Surprise Warp can bypass an Orbital Blockade. Playing this card does not constitute an action.
INTERCEPTED ORDERS: Look at the next four cards in the opponent’s deck and rearrange them in any order you wish.
FIRE WHILE CLOAKED: Used in conjunction with an attacking unit. This unit may fire while cloaked until end of turn. Playing this card does not constitute an action.
MUTINY: All enemy actions planned for the remainder of this turn do not take place.
DEFECTOR: A chosen enemy unit joins your side. Turn it around to face you. This unit may be issued orders later on during this turn.
CHARISMATIC LEADER: Play when a unit is deployed. Unit encourages people to fight better and gives all friendly units +1/+1 while this unit is in play. Put a Charisma token on it.
MODIFIER CARDS: EXTRA-RARES
ANTIMATTER EXPLOSION: Destroy all units in play.
TARGETING REDESIGN: All friendly units have their range permanently increased by 1. They attack units as if the targets were one space closer to the attacker.
MAJOR ENGINE REDESIGN: All friendly units may travel two more spaces than normal until the end of the game.
MAJOR HULL REDESIGN: All friendly units gain 0/+2 until the end of the game.
MAJOR GUN REDESIGN: All friendly units gain +2/0 until the end of the game.
ORBITAL BLOCKADE: Starts an Orbital Blockade, which prevents any ships on the enemy homeworld from traveling more than one hex into space. It also prevents enemy ships from landing on the homeworld. All friendly ships within five hexes (minimum three ships) of the enemy homeworld at the time the card is played are assigned to blockade duty, and as a result none of them may fire or move as long as the Blockade is enforced. The Blockade may be released at any time. If more than half the ships enforcing the Blockade are destroyed, the Blockade is lifted.
