Invasion of the Air-eaters
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Invasion of the Air-eaters is a science fiction near-future board wargame published by Metagaming Concepts in 1979 in which aliens invaders attempt to replace the oxygen in Earth's atmosphere with sulfur dioxide.
Invasion of the Air-eaters is a two-player microgame in which one player represents a race of alien creatures that starts an invasion of Earth with the intention of converting the atmosphere to sulfur dioxide to make it breathable for them. The other player takes the side of the Terrans, who try to stop the invasion and save Earth.[1] The aliens begin the game with technical superiority, but the Terrans can try to overcome this by diverting industrial resources into research and development of new weapons.
The game's components consist of a 12" x 24" hex grid map of Earth, a 24-page rulebook, and 135 counters.[2]
The game-turn begins with phases for alien production, air conversion and deployment, followed by a six-segmented movement phase that includes opportunities for both alien and Terran unit movement. A combat phase follows, with the aliens attacking first, followed by the Terrans. A sequence of Terran production and research towards newer and better weapons ends the turn.[2]
Publication history
In 1977, Metagaming Concepts pioneered a new type of small, fast and cheap solitaire or two-player wargame packaged in a ziplock bag titled Ogre. It proved popular, and Metagaming produced almost two dozen more MicroGames. Invasion of the Air-Eaters was the 12th game in the series, designed by Keith Gross, with cover art by Doug Potter, and published by Metagaming in 1979. Trout produced a sequel, The Air-Eaters Strike Back!, that was published by Metagaming in 1981.[3]
Two more sequels, Again, Dangerous Air-Eaters and Battle for the Planet of the Air-Eaters, were planned, but Metagaming went out of business before they could be published.[4]