From: Carl Anthony Watson Subject: TSR's Star Probe/Star Empires STAR PROBE/STAR EMPIRES Game System This was a pair of rulebooks offered by TSR in the mid '70s for playing large scale science-fiction campaign games. A third book was mentioned to be in preparation, but this writer has no knowledge of it ever seeing print. (I'd welcome any information anyone has on that third volume.) STAR PROBE (John M. Snider, TSR, 1974, 36 pgs, 19" x 21" black and white mapsheet) Star Probe is a game of space exploration, with each of one to six players selecting a home world and racial type, and outfitting an exploration ship with crew, specialist teams, supplies, fuel and weapons to explore worlds and add them to their empires. Mechanics are fairly simple, if a bit confusing -- there are a number of charts and tables that could have been better constructed. Turns are 1 month and the suggested game length is 5 years. Upon arrival at a system, the player determines its type and usability, makes contact with the natives if present and possibly resolves battles with hostile creatures or locals. Most of the game is managed on a record sheets where players keep track of their ship's complement of science teams, marine groups, and the expendable exploration modes. There is a set of rather rudimentary spaceship combat rules that need to be used with player-provided hexsheets and counters or miniatures. Victory is measured by the economic value of the systems surveyed and presented to the "Board of Review". The game is quite playable solitaire, since there is minimal player interaction. Star Probe came out at just about the same time as the first edition D&D rules, to which it physically bears considerable resemblance - same typeset, unappealingly presented tables, and cartoonish art (though the booklet's line art pictures do possess a certain charm). STAR EMPIRES (John M. Snider, TSR, 1977, 72 pg) Continuing on from the basis laid by Star Probe (the exploration of SP would serve to define the initial positions in the new game), Star Empires shifted the scale to the clash of entire stellar societies. The rules book is essentially a set of modules for use in a large scale campaign game; it seems quite easy to pick and choose among them or to customize them to suit individual group tastes. The standard items for this sort of game are all covered: determination of the economic value of star systems; rules for production and researching of new technologies; descriptions of types of ships, weaponry and ground units; rules for space combat between fleets played out on battle boards; intelligence and espionage operations. The game is replete with big charts and tables (the flow charts for technological research are convoluted wonders). No map or counters are provided, though the players could use the Star Probe map or make up their own easily, and instructions are provided for preparing unit counters. As a game design, Star Empires looks both forward and backward. With its complicated processes, factoring in of the effects of government and racial types, and the myriad of options for just about everything, Star Empires anticipates some of the better computer games on the same topic (I'm thinking specifically of Master of Orion and Master of Orion II). At the same time, it is something of a pinnacle in the type of complicated, record-intensive, on-going, multi-player SF campaign game that was popular with some gaming groups in the late '60s and early '70s, before companies like GDW, Metagaming and SPI began producing more traditional and less unwieldy SF wargames. Tony Watson ----------------------------------------------------------------------------