Minimal Space Combat
A Very Simple Space Combat Game
Game Design by Timothy Swenson
Copyright 1996
This game is Freeware and may be distributed freely.
1.0 Introduction
The premis behind this game is this: what is the simplest
playable game possible to game tactical space combat. The game
must make some reasonable attempt to come close to simulating
space combat and not just the simplest possible game. The
emphasis in this game is fast and easy. Playability is given
more consideration than realism. There is no consideration for
expansion of these rules, because then it would not be minimal.
Use the game for those times when you want a quick and dirty
space combat game or for introducing someone new to gaming. If
you want to go beyond this minimal game, there are other Freeware
games that can do it.
So, here it is, enjoy it, and blast each other to bits.
2.0 Ships
Ships are comprised of the following elements:
ENGINE: Determines the maximum SPEED that a ship may travel.
SHIELDS: Determines the amount of damage a ship may take before
being destroyed.
TO-HIT: The odds of a ship hitting another ship.
WEAPONS: The list of weapons a ship has and their firing arc.
Each ship has six sides. They are Front (F), Front Left (FL),
Front Right (FR), Rear Left (RL), Rear Right (RR), and Rear (R).
See the Facing/Firing Arc Chart below for a diagram.
Ship Turn Record: During the game, damage, speed, and movement
is tracked for each ship using Ship Turn Records. At the
beginning of the game, the ship's stats are entered on the Ship
Turn Record. If a ship does not have a weapon on a particular
side, fill in that oval. If a ship has ENGINE 4 then all but 4
of the ovals are filled in. The rest of the ovals are filled in
when the ship takes damage.
3.0 Ship Design
Each ship is designed using a number of Build Points (BPs) to
spend on the various elements of the ship. Each unit of ENGINE,
SHIELD, or TO-HIT costs 1 BP. Each weapon costs 2 BP. ENGINE,
SHIELD, and TO-HIT may never exceed 5. Only one weapon may be
placed on each side of the ship. No weapons may go in the Rear
of the ship. This means that only 5 weapons may be bought per
ship.
Different sizes of ships can be built, it depends on the number
of Build Points used. The average ship costs about 15 BPs.
Other BP values are 10 and 20. A ship of 25 BPs is the largest
possible.
Below are some example ship designs using 15 BPs.
Ship 1 Ship 2 Ship 3
ENGINE 3 2 4
SHIELDS 3 4 4
TO-HIT 3 3 5
Weapons F,FL,FR F,FL,FR F
4.0 Turn Sequence
Turns are comprised of the following phases:
Move Orders Phase
Movement Phase
Initiative Roll
Player 1 Combat Phase
Player 2 Combat Phase
Before combat takes place, both players roll a die. The player
with the highest die roll becomes player 1. Ties are re-rolled.
5.0 Setup
The setup of the game is entirely up to the players. How many
ships, what type of ships (how many BP's each), the starting
location of the ships, and the victory conditions are for the
players to decide. It is recommended that players first start
off with a small number of ships and gradually build up over
subsequent games. The most obvious victory condition is to see
who can destroy whom.
Needed for Play: A number of 6 sided die, ship counters (one
color per side), and a blank hex map (preferably with numbered
hexes).
6.0 Movement
SPEED is how fast the ship is currently traveling. SPEED may
never exceed the current ENGINE rating. Ships start out the game
at any SPEED less than or equal to the ENGINE rating. SPEED is
written on the Ship Turn Record during the Move Orders Phase.
Acceleration and Deceleration: Ships may accelerate or
decelerate by 1 SPEED each turn. SPEED is written down in the
Move Orders phase.
Moving a Ship: Ships may either move forward, turn left (one hex
side) or turn right (one hex side). Each one of these movements
costs 1 SPEED. Ships may not turn twice in a row, but must move
at least one hex forward between turns. A ship must expend all
of its SPEED in each turn, either by moving forward or turning.
Ship Movement Orders: All movement is plotted before any
movement takes place. These Movement Orders are written on the
Ship Turn Record during the Move Orders phase. Movement Orders
are written down like "2L1". This means to move two hexes
forward, turn one hex side to the left, then move 1 hex forward.
Since all movement (direction and SPEED) is plotted before any
ships move, both players may move thier ships at the same time.
7.0 Combat
Ships may fire on other ships when the following occurs: target
ship is within range of firing ship, there is a clear
line-of-sight between the ships, and the target ship is in the
firing arc of one of the firing ship's weapons. See the Facing/
Firing Arc chart below to determine which arc the target ship is
in. Each weapon on a ship may fire once per turn.
Range: All weapons have a normal range of 4 hexes. Ships may
fire at 5 or 6 hexes, but with a -1 on the To-Hit Roll. Ships
firing at 1 or 2 hexes fire with a +1 on the To-Hit Roll. Range 0
(same hex) is at +2 on the To-Hit Roll.
To-Hit Roll: Once all of the above conditions have been met,
roll 1 die for each weapon firing. If the die roll is equal to
or less than the To-Hit of the firing ship (taking Range
modifiers into effect), then the target ship has been hit.
Damage: Each weapon delivers one hit of damage to the targeted
ship. Roll 1 die. On a roll of 1-4, mark off one oval of SHIELD.
On a roll of 5 mark off one oval of ENGINE. On a roll of 6, the
weapon on that side of the targeted ship is destroyed. If there
is no weapon on that side or the weapon is already destroyed,
mark off one oval of SHIELD. If there is no ENGINE, mark off one
oval of SHIELD. All damage is applied immediately.
Destruction: Any ship with no more ovals of SHIELDs is
considered destroyed.
Facing/Firing Arc Chart
F
FL \__/ FR
__/..\__
\__/
RL / \ RR
R
*Note: Notice that as you extend the firing arcs, some hexes
will be in two firing arcs.
Ship Turn Record
Ship Name: _______________________ Unit #: _____
ENGINE: O O O O O
SHIELD: O O O O O
TO-HIT: ______
Weapons:
F: O FL: O FR: O RL: O RR: O
Turn Speed Move Turn Speed Move
1 _____ __________ 16 _____ __________
2 _____ __________ 17 _____ __________
3 _____ __________ 18 _____ __________
4 _____ __________ 19 _____ __________
5 _____ __________ 20 _____ __________
6 _____ __________ 21 _____ __________
7 _____ __________ 22 _____ __________
8 _____ __________ 23 _____ __________
9 _____ __________ 24 _____ __________
10 _____ __________ 25 _____ __________
11 _____ __________ 26 _____ __________
12 _____ __________ 27 _____ __________
13 _____ __________ 28 _____ __________
14 _____ __________ 29 _____ __________
15 _____ __________ 30 _____ __________