SPACE RULES:
Big Damn Space Battles

rulebook cover


Brief Description

The goal here is to "have loads of fun blasting apart huge spaceacraft with wild abandon." Players can use one of the pre-designed ships, or build their own starships - select crew size, number of shields, size of shields, weapons (blasters, torpedoes, or missiles, in up to four strengths), and rate your captain for marksmanship, then add up the points to find the total "worth" of your ship.

ship record form

Each turn has four steps:

  • allocate energy from engines to weapons, shields, and propulsion
  • simultaneously reveal speeds
  • move and act
  • remove casualties

Moving and acting is handled in ten phases. During each phase, players can spend propulsion to move or turn, and can fire weapons (but each weapon can only fire once per turn). Energy weapons use a chartless combat procedure. Missiles move on the board once launched, and may "lock on" (but targets can "evade"). Damage is tracked on the ship record sheets, and progressively degrades ship performance.

The rulebook includes 3 scenarios. The ship data booklet provides information for 10 ship types, from fighters to dreadnoughts. Optional counters are included.

Period A universe where "...huge spacecraft battle it out over worthless planets for control of space and everything in it."
Scale
Ground Scale Unstated
(but a planet takes up 9 hexes)
Time Scale Unstated
Figure Scale Each figure apparently represents a single ship
Miniature ScalesUse of toy spaceships recommended
(larger ships may require a larger hexgrid)
BasingIndividual
Contents
  • rules cover/gameboard (with 1" diameter hexes)
    flip side of cover
  • 8-page rulebook
  • 4-page Jurgen's Fighting Ships booklet (ship stats)
  • 1 sheet of black-and-white counters (must be cut out)
    counter sheet
Designer Paul Arden Lidberg
Publisher First edition published 1998 by Crunchy Frog

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Last Updates
7 October 1998page first published
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