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Triplanetary was the science fiction board wargame published by Game Designers' Workshop in 1973. It was the simulation of space combat within a solar system in the early 21st Century. A game was designed by Marc W. Miller when the portion of a series to exist as known as "The Stars! The Stars!". (Note that there was the science-fiction novel written by E. E. "Doc" Smith with the same name, although the two are not otherwise connected.)

the game consisted of the 16-home book of patterns (sustaining Quadruplet extrthe places of errata & clarification); a curse map of the inner solar system; a clear acetate overlay for the map, the grease pencil, a placed of unlifelike counters representing the various spaceships, and the 6-sided dice. (A replacement game area sold for US$6.80 in 1973.) The game scenarios typically allowed for two players, although some allowed for more players.

A map includes a Sun, Mercury, Venus, Earth and its Moon, Mars, part of the Asteroid belt, and Jupiter, along with a iv big jovian moons. There were as well curse for deuce of the big asteroids, & for the secret asteroid base. A shell is Nine.Three million miles across, and then that a placement of the moons is completely unrealistic. (It were placed primarily for game play purposes than for accuracy.)

Game play
A virtually all innovative feature of this game was a clear acetate sheathing that allowed every streaming video player to plot a movement vectors of their ships. Every ship may accelarate in a period of a turn, which so modified the vector of these jinx in any counsel. A ships continued to watch their todays vector even from either turn to turn, which can simply exist as modified by acceleration or by typing a "gravity field" of the planet. (For simplification purposes, this gravity field consisted of a sextuplet curse surrounding the planet.) Moons have the weaker gravity that lone affected a course whenever ships pass across 2 adjacent hexes

Acceleration consumes the share of a ship's fuel supply, and players were involved to track a todays fuel unexpended in both ship. In case all the fuel was consumed, the ship would exist as unable to accelerate. Ships may refuel by landing in friendly planets; orbiting a base, or even passing slowly across an star-shaped base. It can besides refuel by matching speed by owning an additional ship (like the tanker) and transferring fuel.

To each one game was played inside the series of turns that alternated between each of the players. Every turn the streaming video player followed the sequence of 5 phases:

  • Astrogation — plotting a movement vector of both ship.
  • Ordinance — launch mines & torpedoes from either ships.
  • Movement — watch aforethought course to recently location.
  • Combat — attack enemy ships within range, including utilizing mines & torpedoes; roll for space hazards.
  • Resupply — perform various logistic activities, besides when robbery & deliverance.

    a ship counter showed the vessel silhouette symbol; an identifier number; a combat rating; fuel capacity, & a cargo capacity. A counters were printed witharound many colors to represent different sides in every conflict. A war vessel types were: Corvette, Corsair, Frigate, Dreadnaught, Torch (Frigate that doesn't need fuel), & Orbital Base. A non-combat ships: Transport, Packet (armed transport), Tanker (fuel host), & Liner.

    Combat utilized a damage table that was according to the ratio of the attacker ship combat nature and severity thereto of the defender. A odds ranged from either 1:2 to 4:1. a six-sided die roll was wont to determine a effects of an attack, using a single subtrated from either a roll for every curse of range between the ships. Prior to a outcomes come applied, a ship existence attacked could optionally fire upon its aggressor.

    a resolutions of an attack come expressed around a total of turns the ship is disabled, or even, for high odds & a favorable roll, the ship is destroyed. Higher die rolls resulted around further damage. In case a accumulative damage to a ship mandatory further than Pentad turns to repair, the ship was destroyed.

    Torpedoes & mines too develop their have combat damage tables that come utilized whenever the course of the mine or even torpedo intersected a ship. (Torpedoes were usually super efficacious weapons, when it experienced the 2/3 risk to force an elimination symptom.) There were also damage outcomes for ramming attacks, when well as for moving as well apace across star-shaped whammy.

    Occasionally scenarios have hidden counters, & so that ships and planets might exclusively identify enemy vessels that came in range. Planets potty detect ship types as much as 5 whammy away, when ships could market scanner the few feet away of 3 curse.

    Scenarios
    A game come using 6 scenarios, + even more, an extra pair in the errata sheet.

    Grand Tour — a multi-streaming video player race just about the planets. Escape — 1 side is attempting to free streaming a tyrannic government by fleeing a solar models, piece a more endeavor to prevent a escape. Lateral Heptad — Pirates try to nab a affluent liner spell avoinding the navy. Interplanetary War — Globe colonies rebel from either a rule of the mother planet. Alien Invasion — Globe forces try to prevent an invasive inflict of alien barbarians. Piracy — Pirates try to loot merchandiser transports when patrol endeavors to neutralize their efforts. Merchandiser might expand fleet by redeeming loading with success. Prospecting — Economic scenario of mining asteroids. Retribution — Watch as much as a Escape scenario.

    • Triplanetary
    A classic game of interplanetary warfare.

    ChrisW's Triplanetary Page
    A brief and accurate description of this classic game's strengths and weaknesses.




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