StarSoldier
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
StarSoldier is a science fiction board wargame published by Simulations Publications, Inc. (SPI) in 1977.
StarSoldier is a 2-player game in which one player controls invading aliens, and the other controls StarSoldiers defending the planet.[1]
Components
The game box holds:
- 22" x 34" paper hex grid map
- 400 counters
- rule book
- two Level Record Charts
- two six-sided dice
Publication history
In 1974, SPI published StarForce: Alpha Centauri, the first mass market science fiction game.[2] It sold very well, staying on SPI's Top Ten Bestseller list for four years.[3] As a result, SPI created two spin-off games, Outreach in 1976 and StarSoldier in 1977.[4] StarSoldier was designed by Tom Walczyk, with artwork by Redmond A. Simonsen. When both Outreach and StarSoldier proved popular, SPI packaged them and Star Force in one box as StarForce Trilogy.
StarSoldier debuted on SPI's monthly Top 10 list at No. 9 two months before its release due to pre-publication orders. When it was published in January 1977, it immediately rose to No. 1, and stayed on SPI's Top Ten list for the entire year, either on its own, or as part of the StarForce Trilogy.[5]
Game historian Shannon Appelcline noted that "The Space Gamer #6 ( June/July 1976) [was] the first issue to offer up substantial articles on other publishers' games — including discussions of McEwan Miniatures' Starguard! (1974) and SPI's then-forthcoming StarSoldier (1977)."[6]: 214