| Vigilant | 16 Mar 2018 6:47 a.m. PST |
Reading a book last night reminded me that next year it will be 50 years since man stepped on the moon for the 1st time. My initial thought was it can't really be half a century ago, it seems like only yesterday. My next thought was what would be a good way to celebrate the event by a game? Any thoughts out there> |
| Wackmole9 | 16 Mar 2018 6:56 a.m. PST |
Moon base exploration game using Marx Spacemen Figures. |
| Cacique Caribe | 16 Mar 2018 7:12 a.m. PST |
Are you thinking Pulp sci-fi (60s style) or astronauts from our time? Dan |
Oberlindes Sol LIC  | 16 Mar 2018 8:53 a.m. PST |
I had those Marx astronauts when I was boy: link link |
| Wackmole9 | 16 Mar 2018 10:00 a.m. PST |
Someone does a repop of them. I bought 2 bags at a 2nd hand store recently. |
 Tacitus | 16 Mar 2018 12:11 p.m. PST |
The cynic in me thinks, "oh wow, very exciting game… roll 3d6 to see if astronaut has to pee before launch, roll 2d6 to see if proper stage separation occurs, roll on chart to see effects of improper stage separation, roll d20 to see if Armstrong trips when exiting lunar module." Oh yeah (sarcastically), riveting… Then I was struck by all the things that had to occur in perfect synchronicity. There were thousands of such rolls of the dice, with lives on the line, that had to be plotted out by very smart people. Now I feel truly awestruck by how much actually went in to getting a human being safely on the moon and back. I am humbled. |
 etotheipi  | 16 Mar 2018 4:25 p.m. PST |
Atari's Lunar Lander (1979)
|
| Lucius | 16 Mar 2018 6:28 p.m. PST |
50 years wasted, with the stupid shuttle program being a total dead end. Historians will scratch their heads and wonder why the Americans didn't immediately start a lunar colony, on their way to Mars. On a more positive note, try to score a copy of the old Marine 2002 game by Yaquinto. It is the first Russo-American lunar war. It is a great game, aND a good place to start. |
| mjkerner | 16 Mar 2018 10:49 p.m. PST |
"Historians will scratch their heads…", heck, I'VE been scratching my head for the last 50 years! |
| zoneofcontrol | 17 Mar 2018 5:15 a.m. PST |
I remember laying on the floor at my aunt's house playing with some toys and watching the first landing/moonwalk on TV. Looking back years later I always thought they simply put the cart before the horse. They worked like crazy to get there. They accomplished just that, they got there. But with a vehicle similar to a VW bug. I'm not knocking what they did, they did wonders. They just had not invented enough technology to maintain and sustain.
The focus of the effort was to get there and get there first. The shuttle and satellite programs were back burner stuff. (Think WWII German blitzkrieg. The advancing tanks and troops did great until they had to stop and wait for horse-drawn supply wagons to catch up to them.) I think moving forward we need to have manned programs. We can send out all the craft we want. But unless there are humans aboard, John and Jane Q. Public just are not as interested. |
| 14Bore | 17 Mar 2018 11:40 a.m. PST |
|
| etotheipi | 18 Mar 2018 5:03 a.m. PST |
. But unless there are humans aboard, John and Jane Q. Public just are not as interested. Even the novelty of that will wear off very quickly. In the 60's John and Jane Q. Taxpayer were interested in spending the budget on other things. Still are. The reason for the success and also the lack of a vision forward was the cult of personality surrounding John F. Kennedy. People wanted to achieve his goal of putting a man on the moon because he said it. When he died, that became more important. But it was only because he said it. There was no rationale behind what people wanted, so there was no other work. The people with vision have tried to push the ideas forward. I'm glad the shuttle program was able to be realized. And it still lives on … the reusable launch vehicle program may be different technology, but it is the same intent. Unfortunately, that vision is driven by individuals and industries, not the people. I still am waiting for my shot to take a trip to Luna and the Mars colony. Pack up my 3D printer and start converting Martian soil into miniatures … |
 Legion 4  | 18 Mar 2018 6:36 a.m. PST |
I loved all those Marx toys ! They were my 1st War game pieces ! Too bad the aliens on the Moon told us not to come back … They were upset that we kept leaving stuff all over the place ! Littering up their moonscape !  |
| Lucius | 18 Mar 2018 7:09 a.m. PST |
Since I helped get the topic off-track, here is a link to the Marine 2002 description and components on boardgamegeek.com link |
| Vigilant | 19 Mar 2018 9:24 a.m. PST |
I'm thinking more on the lines of a pulp style late 60s feel. It seems to be such an important event that it should be commemorated somehow. It was the 50 years thing that hit me, so long ago. Then I got to thinking of the changes during my grandfather's life. He died in 1981 just short of 100. He saw the world go from horse and cart to space travel, pretty amazing. Then again he survived being wounded twice on the Somme, so he was pretty amazing himself, even if he always scared the proverbial out of me when I was a youngster. |
begins to think about terrain for Team Yankee.
