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× Talk about the latest and greatest AT, and the Classics.

Was 2008 A Good Year For Science Fiction Games?

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29 Dec 2008 00:15 - 29 Dec 2008 00:30 #15804 by Harkonnen13
I've been thinking lately that good science fiction boardgames are few and far between. 2007 was pretty bleak for SF games but I might have been kind of clueless about it since it was the year I transitioned out of miniatures gaming and I didn't know what the fuck was going on. Lately there's been enough games coming out or coming to my attention that I actually have a nice diversion to new wargame rules when reading rules is what I want to do. A couple licensed games, an out of the blue FFG game, some others. These:

Battlestar Galactica
Mecanisburgo
Android
another version of Neuroshima Hex (the components and rules are better than the last one) and an expansion for it
Kriegbot
Starcraft

6 games isn't really a glut when compared to the horror games and fantasy games but that's a fair selection, especially since most of those hit in the last quarter of the year. Maybe just the last part of the year was good. If there were more new SF boardgames I would be doing a lot less wargaming. Yeah there's some old SF classics (I'm proud to own a sandworm cover edition of Dune) but I can't spend my life tracking down OOP boardgames. We need more SF games released every year.

Was this a better than average year for science fiction games? Is this the start of a cool new trend?
Last edit: 29 Dec 2008 00:30 by Harkonnen13.

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29 Dec 2008 03:43 #15809 by moss_icon
still waiting for a sci-fi war game really. of those, the only one that i have any inclination to play is BSG.

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29 Dec 2008 10:31 #15813 by Sagrilarus
Any good game can be turned into a good science fiction game by prepending the text, "Moonbase: " onto its name.

I like SF themes, but like in Science Fiction writing, the writing has to come first. The theme adds a nice layer of frosting but the cake is what's driving the show. That said, one good SF game a year is sufficient to declare success in my opinion, and BSG cleared that hurdle with some room to spare.

Sag.

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29 Dec 2008 10:32 #15814 by Sagrilarus
moss_icon wrote:

still waiting for a sci-fi war game really. of those, the only one that i have any inclination to play is BSG.


Moonbase: Warriors of God is excellent.

Longbows kick ass on the moon.

Sag.

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29 Dec 2008 10:39 #15815 by Shellhead
I only have a few wargames in my collection, but one is an excellent science-fiction wargame: Starship Troopers. I've only had the chance to play the first two scenarios, but I would love to eventually play some of the more complex advanced scenarios, which include attacking hidden underground complexes and using some extremely nasty weapons.

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29 Dec 2008 10:46 #15818 by JoelCFC25
The new edition of Cosmic Encounter made it in 2008, too.

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29 Dec 2008 11:32 #15824 by Harkonnen13
JoelCFC25 wrote:

The new edition of Cosmic Encounter made it in 2008, too.


One more for the list.

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30 Dec 2008 12:17 #15875 by Notahandle
Since I bought Neuroshima Hex in 2007 I don't count that one, which leaves Kriegbot as the only one of interest from your list (which I bought a few weeks ago). I'm not sure about Cosmic Encounter: do I really need yet another copy of that game?! :unsure:

Sagrilarus wrote:
"Moonbase: Warriors of God is excellent.
Longbows kick ass on the moon."
Just forget about trying to hit anything with the Trebuchets. I mean, really, what were they thinking with those rules?

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30 Dec 2008 13:01 #15879 by DeletedUser
I just read a kickass Matt Drake review for Supernova:

http://drakesflames.blogspot.com/2008/12/board-game-review-supernova.html

This one wasn't on my radar at all, but I'll have to look into it a bit more closely as it sounds wunderbar.

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30 Dec 2008 13:56 #15887 by Harkonnen13
Notahandle wrote:

Since I bought Neuroshima Hex in 2007 I don't count that one, which leaves Kriegbot as the only one of interest from your list (which I bought a few weeks ago). I'm not sure about Cosmic Encounter: do I really need yet another copy of that game?! :unsure:


I tried Kreigbot with 2. I think it will be much better with 4.

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30 Dec 2008 18:52 #15914 by Notahandle
Death and Taxis wrote:
"I just read a kickass Matt Drake review for Supernova ... This one wasn't on my radar at all, but I'll have to look into it a bit more closely as it sounds wunderbar."
I lost interest when I realised the astronomy was nonsensical. Euros generally have a tissue thin theme; this is worse.

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30 Dec 2008 19:50 #15923 by moofrank
The S/F game I most want to see (ok...second most) is Ascendancy.

I did get to peruse the rules and a prototype at length, and I like. It is a very Twilight Imperium-ish game, but with fewer units, a smaller board and ramp up period, and diceless.

Diceless is of course the worrying part. It looks as if there is enough randomness in other parts of the game to keep the game from becoming overly programmed.

www.jklmgames.co.uk/gamessin.php?game=421

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30 Dec 2008 19:56 #15925 by Michael Barnes
Can't believe Branham let this thread go by without mentioning SPACE ALERT in that pile of SF-themed games, so add that one too.

SF definitely was the "hot" theme this year after a ridiculous drought of space games. Hell, I remember Robert Martin trying to convince me that ANDROMEDA (yes, the space ashtray game) was "pretty good" just because it was about the only SF game out there. Most of them weren't great, but between BSG, SPACE ALERT, GALAXY TRUCKER, and the CE reissue there's a nice range out there right now.

Still haven't played KRIEGBOT, but I was happy to see that it's all academic and based on fact like Sierra Madre's games always are. And it comes with a plastic bug, which makes it awesome by default.

MECANISBURGO sucked. Can't say it enough. $80 wasted.

I really, really hope that ANDROID inspires somebody to continue the idea of doing a more serious SF themed game that veers from the usual space opera/hardware wars style.

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31 Dec 2008 06:39 #15941 by jur
other SF themed games:

Ad Astra. okay but nothing special
Duck Trader. Enough said
Planet Steam

The point is of course that these games have pasted on themes rather than being real SF.

But BSG and Starcraft (not a 2008 release) have lit up this year.

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31 Dec 2008 17:34 #15965 by moofrank
The holidays (and Rock Band) have killed Duck Dealer and Planet Steam making it to the table, but they are not really pasted on themes.

Planet Steam is a fairly abstract business / resource game. The thing is, it is M.U.L.E.-themed as opposed to space themed. M.U.L.E. really could have been set in a Midwest Prairie.

Duck Dealer....is at its heart a pick up and deliver space trading game. The mold was set by Empire Builder and all of the crayon rails games. Duck Dealer does include jumpgates, which keeps it from being a straight train game. It does have practically zero luck, and a nifty tactical-plan-5-moves-ahead-puzzle-thing going. Which means I'll like it, ATers will hate it, and most of the Euro crowd will declare it tedious and brain-burning.

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