Alpha Omega (board game)
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Avalon Hill
 Battleline (1st edition), 1977 | |
| Designers | Sean Hayes, J. Stephen Peek |
|---|---|
| Publishers | Battleline Publications Avalon Hill |
| Publication | 1977 |
| Genres | Board wargame |
| Players | 1-3 |
Alpha Omega is a science fiction board wargame published by Battleline Publications in 1977 that simulates combat between alien and human space fleets. Avalon Hill acquired the game and republished it in 1980.
Setting
In the distant future, the human race has created a small empire of a dozen star systems and is thriving. Then a hyperspatial tunnel opens and the Droves, a race of hive mind androids, emerge to attack.[1] The Droves also attack a nearby alien race, the Rylsh, and humans and Rylsh form an alliance against the Droves. Their only hope of survival is to destroy the Droves' hyperspatial tunnel.[2]
Gameplay
Alpha Omega is a tactical science fiction game for 1-3 players in which each player takes control of one of the space fleets: the humans, the Rylsh, or the Droves.[2] The hex grid map, featuring oversized 1.25 in (3.2 cm) hexes, is scaled at 186,000 mi (299,000 km) or one light-second per hex.[3] Turns represent 6 seconds of game time. The human weapons are conventional science fiction weapons. The alien weapons are very different, and have some special effects. The game includes a number of scenarios that follow the storyline of the war.[2]
Each ship produces energy that must be allocated each turn to various tasks: movement, scanning and cloaking devices, shields, beams, and special weapons. Ships can allocate energy to their normal drives to move up to five hexes per turn at below the speed of light. or can use their FTL (Faster Than Light) drive to travel at either 6, 12 or 18 hexes per turn. However, the FTL drive uses all available energy, so combat is not possible during FTL travel.[3]
At the start of each turn, following energy allocation, each player plots a course for each ship in their fleet for the turn. These movement plots are revealed simultaneously.[2]
Publication history
Alpha Omega was created by Sean Hayes and J. Stephen Peek and published by Battleline Publications as the company's first science fiction game.[2] The counters featured photographs of metal spaceship miniatures produced by Valiant Enterprises ,[1] Although Battleline made no overt link to Valiant's products, critics noted that the oversized hexes on the map board seemed an ideal size for Valiant's metal ships.[2][1]
In 1980, Avalon Hill acquired the rights to the game, and republished it with the same box cover and few changes to the rules. In 1982, Avalon Hill published a second edition with new cover art by Mark Wheatley.