Starforce: Alpha Centauri

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Starforce was a board game published in 1974 by Simulations Publications Inc. as one of their first science fiction games, a departure from their usual historical wargames. The game was based on a concept by Redmond Simonsen.

Contents 1 Concept 2 Unique Mechanics 3 Spin offs 4 Cultural Impact

[edit] Concept

StarForce described a future history of humanity reaching out into local interstellar space, and making first contact (and war) with a number of alien species. FTL travel was based on telesthetic (telekinetic?) powers enhanced by artificial intelligence, both from on-board crew members and with the assistance of fixed Star Gate installations. Space combat was relatively non-violent, mostly based on telepathic disruption of the enemy's crews. The space volume on the map represented real astronomical data, and players soon became very familiar with the layout of nearby stars.

[edit] Unique Mechanics

Unlike most board games, StarForce used both pre-plotted simultaneous movement, and a 3D playspace covering a radius of approximately 20 light years from Sol. "Semi-hidden" movement allowed players to display their horizontal location (counter on the map) while keeping their vertical position concealed.

[edit] Spin offs

Two spin-off games were developed. "StarSoldier" covered "super-infantry" combat on the worlds and objects of the StarForce universe, and included rules that allowed it to be used to resolve planetary actions during a StarForce game. It also used pre-plotted simultaneous turn resolution. "Outreach" took the game to a galactic scale, covering centuries of time, and describing massive movements of huge civilisations across a large part of the Milky Way galaxy. Outreach was not compatible with the other two games.

[edit] Cultural Impact

The Human League pop group took their name from one of the StarForce power groups.