Sky Galleons of Mars
Encyclopedia
Sky Galleons of Mars is a board wargame
designed by Frank Chadwick
, Marc W. Miller
and Loren Wiseman
, published in 1988
by Game Designers' Workshop
. It is set in an alternate Victorian Era
where the major nations of Earth are extending their colonial interests on Mars (a barbarian, Edgar Rice Burroughs-style planet) and Venus (a primitive planet teeming with dinosaurs). The discovery of Liftwood, a martian plant endowed with anti-gravity powers, allows the deployment of aerial fleets in the skies of the Red Planet.
The game won Origins Award
s for Best Fantasy or Science Fiction Boardgame of 1988 and Best Graphic Presentation of a Boardgame of 1988, and was the inspiration for the role-playing game
Space: 1889
. It can be played on its own or as the tactical ship combat game for Space: 1889
.
that serves to regulate movement and combat. Small plastic models represent the various flying ships involved in the fight, though paper counters
can also be used.
The rulebook is split into two main sections, Basic Rules and Advanced Rules. Basic is the game at its simplest form, with rules for moving, firing and taking damage. The Advanced section adds detailed rules for ramming and grappling, towing other vessels, crew small arms, crew quality, and more. The rest of the booklet includes seven scenarios along with rules for a campaign game.
During a battle, play proceeds through turns, each of which is broken down into three phases:
Initiative Phase: The players change crew assignments. If desired, boarding parties can be assembled or disbanded at this stage. Players also roll dice
to determine who is the First Player that turn.
First Movement/Fire Phase: The First player moves all of his ships. Both players attack (taking into account range, weapon type, etc.). If damage is taken, it is resolved now.
Second Movement/Fire Phase: The second player moves all of his ships. Both players attack (taking into account range, weapon type, etc.). If damage is taken, it is resolved now.
Board wargame
A board wargame is a wargame with a set playing surface or board, as opposed to being played on a computer, or in a more free-form playing area as in miniatures games. The hobby around this type of game got its start in 1954 with the publication of Tactics, and saw its greatest popularity in the...
designed by Frank Chadwick
Frank Chadwick
Frank Chadwick is a multiple-award–winning game designer and New York Times Best Selling author.-Beginnings:Frank Chadwick, along with Rich Banner and Marc Miller, were members of the Illinois State University in Bloomington-Normal Games Club. They used their club funding to design war games...
, Marc W. Miller
Marc W. Miller
Marc Miller is an award-winning wargame and role-playing game designer and author.-Career Beginnings:Marc Miller, along with Rich Banner and Frank Chadwick circa 1972, was a member of the Illinois State University Games Club. Banner engineered a grant which funded the printing of blank hex sheets...
and Loren Wiseman
Loren Wiseman
Loren Wiseman is an award-winning wargame and role-playing game designer, game developer, and editor.-Game Designers' Workshop:Loren Wiseman published Eagles , his first wargame, through Game Designers’ Workshop in 1974...
, published in 1988
1988 in games
This page lists board and card games, wargames, miniatures games, and table-top role-playing games published in 1988. For video and console games, see 1988 in video gaming....
by Game Designers' Workshop
Game Designers' Workshop
Game Designers' Workshop was a wargame and role-playing game publisher from 1973 to 1996. Many of their games are now carried by other publishers.-History:Game Designers' Workshop was originally established June 22, 1973...
. It is set in an alternate Victorian Era
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
where the major nations of Earth are extending their colonial interests on Mars (a barbarian, Edgar Rice Burroughs-style planet) and Venus (a primitive planet teeming with dinosaurs). The discovery of Liftwood, a martian plant endowed with anti-gravity powers, allows the deployment of aerial fleets in the skies of the Red Planet.
The game won Origins Award
Origins Award
The Origins Awards are American awards for outstanding work in the game industry. They are presented by the Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts and Design at the Origins Game Fair on an annual basis for the previous year, so the 1979 awards were given at the 1980 Origins.The Origins Award is commonly...
s for Best Fantasy or Science Fiction Boardgame of 1988 and Best Graphic Presentation of a Boardgame of 1988, and was the inspiration for the role-playing game
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
Space: 1889
Space: 1889
Space: 1889 is a role-playing game of Victorian-era space-faring,created by Frank Chadwick and originally published by Game Designers' Workshop from 1988 to 1991 and later reprinted by Heliograph, Inc...
. It can be played on its own or as the tactical ship combat game for Space: 1889
Space: 1889
Space: 1889 is a role-playing game of Victorian-era space-faring,created by Frank Chadwick and originally published by Game Designers' Workshop from 1988 to 1991 and later reprinted by Heliograph, Inc...
.
Scale
Each hex on the map represents 200 yards, each turn represents one-minute of time and a single model represents an individual cloudship or aerial gunboat.Gameplay
The game is played on an hexagonal mapboardHex map
A hex map, hex board or hex grid is a gameboard design commonly used in wargames of all scales. The map is subdivided into small regular hexagons of identical size.-Advantages and disadvantages:...
that serves to regulate movement and combat. Small plastic models represent the various flying ships involved in the fight, though paper counters
Counter (board wargames)
Boardgame counters are usually small cardboard squares moved around on the map of a wargame to represent armies, military units or individual military personnel. The first modern mass-market wargame, based on cardboard counters and hex-board maps, was Tactics, invented by Charles S. Roberts in 1952...
can also be used.
The rulebook is split into two main sections, Basic Rules and Advanced Rules. Basic is the game at its simplest form, with rules for moving, firing and taking damage. The Advanced section adds detailed rules for ramming and grappling, towing other vessels, crew small arms, crew quality, and more. The rest of the booklet includes seven scenarios along with rules for a campaign game.
During a battle, play proceeds through turns, each of which is broken down into three phases:
Initiative Phase: The players change crew assignments. If desired, boarding parties can be assembled or disbanded at this stage. Players also roll dice
Dice
A die is a small throwable object with multiple resting positions, used for generating random numbers...
to determine who is the First Player that turn.
First Movement/Fire Phase: The First player moves all of his ships. Both players attack (taking into account range, weapon type, etc.). If damage is taken, it is resolved now.
Second Movement/Fire Phase: The second player moves all of his ships. Both players attack (taking into account range, weapon type, etc.). If damage is taken, it is resolved now.
Components
- Rule Book
- Introduction to Space: 1889Space: 1889Space: 1889 is a role-playing game of Victorian-era space-faring,created by Frank Chadwick and originally published by Game Designers' Workshop from 1988 to 1991 and later reprinted by Heliograph, Inc...
(16pp) - Ship Form Book (16pp)
- 2x Reference Folders
- 15 plastic Sky Galleons and Aerial Gunboats
- 4x dice
- 2x 22"x28" maps
External links
- Sky Galleons of Mars fan site
- The Sky Galleons of Mars mailing list
- http://www.salute.co.uk/mainframe.htm South London Warlords - Cloudships of Mars