Gammarauders
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 Cover art by Jeff Easley | |
| Designers | Jeff Grubb |
|---|---|
| Illustrators | |
| Publishers | TSR |
| Publication | 1987 |
| Genres | Science fiction wargame |
Gammarauders is a post-apocalyptic board wargame published by TSR in 1987, in which players control "bioborgs", giant creatures that are part animal, part machine. An associated and short-lived comic book series was produced by DC Comics.
Components
Gammarauders is a game for 3–6 players set in the distant future after nuclear warfare has devastated much of the world. Energy is derived from rare plants called a "pods", which all factions fight over.[1]
The boxed set includes a 12-page rule book, a 20-page world book, 12 different hex grid game boards, 6 double-sided character record sheets with a different bioborg on each side, 12 tokens and a deck of cards.[2]
Gameplay
Each player selects a bioborg; each one has a special and unique ability, along with a limited number of slots to hold weapons and shields. Each player also selects a location for their fortress, and chooses one of the game's Alliances:
- The Crimson Moon (Samurai)
- Dah Boys (Organized crime gang)
- Friends of What's Left of the Earth aka "FOWLOTEs" (Hippies)
- The Lab Rats (Scientists)
- The Men in Black (Mysterious agents)
- The Rayzors (Motorcycle gang).
As the game proceeds, players attempt to retrieve pods for energy and draw cards that can improve their bioborg. Once a player feels their bioborg is powerful enough, they try to destroy other players' bases.[1]
Victory conditions
In a 3-player game, the player that destroys the other two bases is the winner. In a 4–6 player game, the player who destroys three bases is the winner.
Publication history
In the mid-1980s, various game companies introduced science fiction wargames with a tone of black humor such as Judge Dredd (Games Workshop, 1985) and Blood Bowl (1986). In 1987, TSR tried to enter this space with Gammarauders, a game created by Jeff Grubb and developed by Allen Varney, with cover art by Jeff Easley, interior art by Larry Elmore, Dennis Kauth, Mark A. Nelson, and Keith Parkinson, and cartography by Dave "Diesel" LaForce.[3]
In 1989, TSR released an expansion set, Revenge of the Factoids, that included six more map boards and 12 more bioborgs.
Gammarauder comics
TSR released an associated comic book series through DC Comics in 1988-89. Issues #1, 3, and 4 contained a short Gammarauder's Micro-RPG role-playing game system that included game mechanics using a six-sided die, and rules for creating handler and bioborg characters. At the end of 1989, after ten issues, the comic series was canceled due to poor sales. The end of issue #10 included a brief summary of what would have happened had the series continued.