"First Sci-Fi Rules?" Topic

Out of interest, what was the first set of sci-fi miniature skirmish rules to be published?

Mike

I'm no expert, but I would think Starguard would be among the first. One could make the argument for Avalon Hill's Starship Troopers, as well.

1st set I recall was called starguard. I was told it was several years old when we first played while watching the original Battlestar Galactica back in 1979.

The oldest set I have is simply called Marine. I consists of 7 pages of foolscap sheets. I can't read who published it but I was playing them in 1972 and the were defiantly not new then.

x42

Space marines was up there as well. Cant say if it was published as early as 72 but I had an old copy in 76 or 77.

Wasn't Star Frontiers: Knight Hawks the first or one of the first true starship to starship miniature wargames? I'll see if I can find my copy to dig up a published date.

I remember "Spacequest," mid-70's RPG that we used for gaming sci fi stuff… before getting into "Space Opera" (by FGU).

Rob

"Wasn't Star Frontiers: Knight Hawks the first or one of the first true starship to starship miniature wargames? I'll see if I can find my copy to dig up a published date."

It may have been one of the first in mass distribution, but starship miniatures had been around for years before Star Frontiers (which was mid-80s, IIRC), as had semi-RPG systems like Mayday from GDW (mid-70s). The SFB minis started back to the mid-70s as well, though much of that line was released in the 80s.

I think Zocchi's Alien Space has them all beat…it was out way before Traveller and Star Frontiers.

I searched boardgamegeek.com for games in the sci-fi and miniatures categories published before 1975.

They list Alien space (1973)
boardgamegeek.com/game/8046

and
Starguard (1974)
boardgamegeek.com/game/8198

Hmmm. I wonder how much a 1st edition copy of Starguard is worth nowadays.

Mayday (GDW) and Starfleet Wars (Superior) are 1978.
Starfire and Star Fleet Battles are 1979. The Zocchi plastic Star Trek ships are even older.
Knight Hawks 1983.

I had a set of rules by Minifigs around 1974/75 for their early SF figure range. Copied typeset sheets. Must have lost them in a move years ago though.

How far back to Valiant's Stardate 3000 go back?
I'd swear I picked up some of those back near 1975…
and later a copy of the Alpha Omega game that used pictures of them as counters.

Not that those are 'sci-fi miniature skirmish rules'

Our own homebrew rules back in the early 80's…

Then the first edition of WH40K. Now back to our homebrew rules ;p

Ooops, perhaps I should have read the topic question…

I played StarGuard before I found Space Marine (FGU). Space Marine seemed to be derivative of Tractics, which would put it mid to late '70s.

I played Alien Space when it first came out

STARGUARD! was AFAIK the first set of science fiction *miniatures* rules published circa 1974. SPACE MARINES by FGU came later (I have a second printing copyrighted 1977). I first played STARGUARD! in 1977, and still do whenever I get the excuse…>;D

Leland R. Erickson
Metal Express
metal-express.net

Hi Starguard right here, 1974, according to my (sigh, so uncool) second edition. 1974 also saw Star Probe which has vector based spaceship tactical combat. For traditional human miniatures, don't forget Galactic Grenadiers, which was a boxed set of 40 miniatures and very simple rules. The powered armor troops in the pack were very Heinlein, Y-rcks and all.

According to the Courier Time Line of Miniatures Wargaming
1974
Alien Space by Lou Zocchi, first tactical spaceship game(second edition)

- John McEwan releases 25mm science fiction/fantasy figures and Star Guard science fiction miniatures rules.
More here
TMP link

There is also these in the timeline for 1971

Don Houghton makes first mention of a science fiction game, in Wargamer's Newsletter. "What rules might apply for a regiment of Daleks or a squadron of mounted Cybermen?"

- Airfix releases Astronaut figures, prompts Don Featherstone to ask, "Do we have the scope for Space Wargames?"

Everything is here for miniatures games
link

I know Spacefarers isn't the oldest 1981, but I got a copy of it for $2.00 USD at a used bookstore

Hmmm, I've got Alien Space, played it on the kitchen floor as a teen, stretching thread from the centre of the cardboard squares representing the ships. Miniature skirmish, though? I think Bob has the rights to First.

I had a friend who could plug the exact spot on one of the sillohettes from alien space from five feet (using the ship that had the double beams that only stretched out to five feet instead of the six feet like the others)…

He could guess degrees and headings better than anyone I have ever seen…

In the same vein but different genre. He was a terror for off-table artillery in many early miniature games where you had to guess the number of inches in range and offset for your artillery.

He could nail individual tanks in 1:285 scale….

We also played Stargaurd and switched to "Space Marines" from FGU (And consequently, the same named rules but from Bryan Ansell in England from around the same period) in the mid-70's. I think that it was 1977-79 sometime around then… But one of the guys had pictures from their first game of Starguard dating to the early-mid 70's (73-74)….

Nostalgia… Fondly remembering something that was the best of its time, but sucked when compared to later materials or events…

Lou Zocchi's Alien Space was a supplement for his Starfleet Battle Manual. So the latter had to have come out before the former.

I have both around here somewhere… I'll have to check the dates on them.

Actually first came the Star Trek Battle Manual, but Paramount showed up and didn't like it, so it morphed to Alien Space. Then Lou got the license with Paramount and the plastic ship minis and the Starfleet Battle Manual appeared. I attended a history of Alien Space session with Lou at GenCon a few years back.

How far back to Valiant's Stardate 3000 go back?

Not sure exactly, but I bought my first mini from them back in either 77 or 78 so it was at least the 70's. They are still some of my favorites today and very happy they came back in production.

Ironically the first sci-fi game I ever played wasn't a store bought game, but a game myself and friends invented back in the 70's using legos and various sizes of marbles and balls to shoot each other with parts falling off to indicate damage…you likely will not see a gamer doing real damage to their minis today! ;)

We even had movement rules and a basic points cost system. It was inevitable for me to finally discover commerical gaming systems and get more involved. :)

Mike

'There is also these in the timeline for 1971. Don Houghton makes first mention of a science fiction game, in Wargamer's Newsletter. "What rules might apply for a regiment of Daleks or a squadron of mounted Cybermen?""

That couldn't be the same Don Houghton who wrote the 1970 Doctor Who story Inferno, could it? (He also wrote Hammer's Dracula AD 1972).

How old is the 15mm rules set Laserburn?

Laserburn must be post-Traveller, given how much it borrowed from GDW. Late 1970s, I think.

Laserburn is dated 1980 (from the inside of the front cover), Imperial Commander (laserburn 15mm mass combat) is 1981, so not the earliest, but still there near the beginning!

Darkstar, I bought my first Valiant miniature in 1975. It was probably mid-75, as I remember that my parents were having our (then) new house built at the time.

Actualy, the very first "SF" miniatures game could be HG Wells' Little Wars, which were pretty generic.

Publication date was 1910…

Hi

During the "Paramount won't let us do Star Trek so we will call it 'alien space" days, there was still an "underground" playing the original suppressed Trek.

In the day we actually called it "Star Trek in the Park". Using the AMT models and playing on open fields with a much bigger scale!

Another co-incidence. I first played Star Trek because of Michael Scott Kurtic who met Lou in the airforce and by 74 had been working on the rules for several years. I don't know when they published the FIRST version of the rules. The co-incidence is that "Scotty", Mike Kurtic was listed as an author on the first version of Star Guard as well. He was living in Salt Lake City, a few blocks from McEwen when he left the Airforce. Again, I know the rules were for sale in '74, but I don't know off hand if there was actually a published edition prior to that.

Rocky

Ancient thread I know, but fairly sure this can be pushed back, at least the sixties, as I think there was a Helen of Toy set that could count. Blast Off had both gropos and spaceships, though I don't know anything about the rules.

I think Minifigs did lead ships in the 60's, though not aware of an associated rule set.

Doug