The Omega War
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The Omega War is a science fiction-themed board game published by TSR through its subsidiary Simulations Publications, Inc. (SPI) in 1983.
Setting
The Omega War is a two-player game of strategic warfare for control of a post-apocalyptic North America.[1]
Three hundred years after a devastating atomic war left the nations of the earth in ruins, North America has been rebuilt as a number of clanholds and other population centers under the control of the World Union. But rebels wish to overturn the status quo.[2]
Components
The game includes:[1]
- 22" x 34" hex grid game map
- 200 diecut counters
- 32-page rulebook
- two 6-sided dice (not included in the magazine edition)
Gameplay
The Rebels are pitted against the Union. Each turn is composed of twelve phases:
- Union recruitment phase
- Rebel political phase
- Rebel march phase
- Rebel combat phase
- Union reaction phase
- Rebel exploitation phase
- Union march phase
- Rebel reaction phase
- Union combat phase
- Union exploitation phase
- Rebel reinforcement phase
- Game turn record phase
Victory conditions
There are three possible ways to win:
- If the Political Index (PI) is greater than 45 at the start of a turn, then the revolution collapses and the Union player wins.
- If the PI is less than 5 at the start of a turn, then the Rebel player wins.
- If the game date reaches the end of November 2421, then victory is determined by the PI level: 30 or less indicates a Rebel victory, above 30 is a Union victory.
Publication history
In the early 1980s, SPI ran into financial difficulties and was taken over by TSR, which then used SPI as a subsidiary to release board wargames. The Omega War was one such product, a board game designed by David James Ritchie, with illustrations by Timothy Truman. It was originally published as a pull-out game in Issue 14 of Ares (Spring 1983), and was also released the same year as a boxed set.[1]
