Space Fleet
Encyclopedia
Space Fleet is a board game for 2-4 players, published in 1991 by Games Workshop
and designed by Jervis Johnson
and Andy Jones.
The game is set in the Games Workshop fictional Warhammer 40,000
universe and is centered on combat between spacecraft
. It can be seen as a fore-runner to Battlefleet Gothic
.
arc of a circle covering the front, sides and rear of the ship. 12 shield tokens are then distributed amongst the fire arcs by the player. 4 Damage tokens are placed on the centre of the combat display, and the players' ships are set up at opposite ends of the board.
Players chose a movement option secretly on their helm computer chart. The movement options varies from moving 0-2 squares and changing a ship's facing. Ships are then moved simultaneously, with any ships that end up in the same square being considered to have rammed
each other. Ramming damage is assigned by each player dropping 4 six-sided dice into the box lid, which was divided into a 3x3 grid. Any dice that land in the middle grid count as one point of damage to the appropriate arc of the ship.
After movement, weapons are fired. Players choose a target, then roll the appropriate number of dice in the box lid depending on the location of the target in the shooting ship's fire arc. The ship's keel
gun can only fire in the 90 degree arc to the front and inflicts most potential damage at a range of 3 squares, while the ship's broadside
guns inflict most potential damage at a range of 1 square and can only fire to either side of the ship. Any die that occupies a hit grid section in the box inflicts one point of damage. Any die in a hit section which rolls a six is deemed to have caused a critical hit, with additional damage to the target determined randomly on the Critical Damage chart.
Any damage inflicted causes the removal of shield tokens from the target ship's appropriate fire arc. Once all shields have been removed, further damage to that arc causes the removal of Damage tokens. Once all 4 damage tokens had been removed, a ship is destroyed.
Like movement, firing is resolved simultaneously, resulting in the possibility that ships could destroy each other on the same turn.
Play then resumes with a new movement phase.
The winner is the player who destroys his opponent first.
magazine published expanded rules, differentiating between the Eldar
and Imperial
ships included in the original box and adding rules for additional races such as the Tyranids
.
Ships now had fixed shields on each fire arc and a different number of damage points. They also had different special rules, Critical Damage tables, speed and an associated points cost. Each ship also had their effective weapons range increased to 9 squares.
The Imperial ships were classed as Gothic Battleships and no longer had any shields to the rear due to their engines. They had more damage points than the Eldar ships and did more damage at close range. The keel gun was changed to a vortex torpedo with a fixed forward fire arc (a more limited version of the original forward fire arc) and they retained their broadside weaponry.
The Eldar ships were classed as Eldar Wraithships. They had shields on all fire arcs, but had stronger shields on the front arc. They did slightly more damage at range than the Gothic Battleship, their speed was increase to 3 squares and were classed as 'super maneuverable', allowing them extra movement options on an expanded helm computer. They were also constrained by the solar wind
, the direction of which was determined at the start of the game. The ship's facing in relation to the solar wind at the start of the movement phase determined its maximum movement for the turn.
The Wraithship's keel gun was changed to a Plasma torpedo, also with a fixed forward fire arc like the Vortex torpedo, but their broadside attacks were changed to a forward arc only.
The rules for additional ships were also added such as the Eldar Shadowhunter, which removed attack dice equal to or lower than its current speed and the Dominator Battleship with an Inferno Cannon weapon that had an area effect.
Games Workshop
Games Workshop Group plc is a British game production and retailing company. Games Workshop has published the tabletop wargames Warhammer Fantasy Battle and Warhammer 40,000...
and designed by Jervis Johnson
Jervis Johnson
Jervis Johnson is a game designer for Games Workshop.He is currently one of Game Workshop's long-term strategy managers, having previously been employed as head of its Specialist Games division.Jervis is credited with creating the following games:...
and Andy Jones.
The game is set in the Games Workshop fictional Warhammer 40,000
Warhammer 40,000
Warhammer 40,000 is a tabletop miniature wargame produced by Games Workshop, set in a dystopian science fantasy universe. Warhammer 40,000 was created by Rick Priestley in 1987 as the futuristic companion to Warhammer Fantasy Battle, sharing many game mechanics...
universe and is centered on combat between spacecraft
Spacecraft
A spacecraft or spaceship is a craft or machine designed for spaceflight. Spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including communications, earth observation, meteorology, navigation, planetary exploration and transportation of humans and cargo....
. It can be seen as a fore-runner to Battlefleet Gothic
Battlefleet Gothic
-External links:* - An unofficial, community-driven fan wiki dedicated to providing Official & Un-official content and linking the Battlefleet Gothic community....
.
Gameplay
Each player takes a combat display, which shows the ship's 4 fire arcs. Each individual fire arc is a 90 degreeDegree (angle)
A degree , usually denoted by ° , is a measurement of plane angle, representing 1⁄360 of a full rotation; one degree is equivalent to π/180 radians...
arc of a circle covering the front, sides and rear of the ship. 12 shield tokens are then distributed amongst the fire arcs by the player. 4 Damage tokens are placed on the centre of the combat display, and the players' ships are set up at opposite ends of the board.
Players chose a movement option secretly on their helm computer chart. The movement options varies from moving 0-2 squares and changing a ship's facing. Ships are then moved simultaneously, with any ships that end up in the same square being considered to have rammed
Ramming
In warfare, ramming is a technique that was used in air, sea and land combat. The term originated from battering ram, a siege weapon used to bring down fortifications by hitting it with the force of the ram's momentum...
each other. Ramming damage is assigned by each player dropping 4 six-sided dice into the box lid, which was divided into a 3x3 grid. Any dice that land in the middle grid count as one point of damage to the appropriate arc of the ship.
After movement, weapons are fired. Players choose a target, then roll the appropriate number of dice in the box lid depending on the location of the target in the shooting ship's fire arc. The ship's keel
Keel
In boats and ships, keel can refer to either of two parts: a structural element, or a hydrodynamic element. These parts overlap. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in construction of a ship, in British and American shipbuilding traditions the construction is dated from this event...
gun can only fire in the 90 degree arc to the front and inflicts most potential damage at a range of 3 squares, while the ship's broadside
Broadside
A broadside is the side of a ship; the battery of cannon on one side of a warship; or their simultaneous fire in naval warfare.-Age of Sail:...
guns inflict most potential damage at a range of 1 square and can only fire to either side of the ship. Any die that occupies a hit grid section in the box inflicts one point of damage. Any die in a hit section which rolls a six is deemed to have caused a critical hit, with additional damage to the target determined randomly on the Critical Damage chart.
Any damage inflicted causes the removal of shield tokens from the target ship's appropriate fire arc. Once all shields have been removed, further damage to that arc causes the removal of Damage tokens. Once all 4 damage tokens had been removed, a ship is destroyed.
Like movement, firing is resolved simultaneously, resulting in the possibility that ships could destroy each other on the same turn.
Play then resumes with a new movement phase.
The winner is the player who destroys his opponent first.
Expanded rules
White DwarfWhite dwarf
A white dwarf, also called a degenerate dwarf, is a small star composed mostly of electron-degenerate matter. They are very dense; a white dwarf's mass is comparable to that of the Sun and its volume is comparable to that of the Earth. Its faint luminosity comes from the emission of stored...
magazine published expanded rules, differentiating between the Eldar
Eldar (Warhammer 40,000)
In the fictional universe of Warhammer 40,000, the Eldar are a race of elf-like humanoids who look into the future via psychic powers. They are one of the most ancient and advanced races in the universe's history, though younger than the Necrons, the C'tan, and the Old Ones...
and Imperial
Imperium (Warhammer 40,000)
The Imperium of Man is a fictional galactic empire of over a million planets that contains the vast majority of humans in the forty-first millennium, set in the Warhammer 40,000 universe created by Games Workshop....
ships included in the original box and adding rules for additional races such as the Tyranids
Tyranids
The Tyranids are a fictional race from the Warhammer 40000 tabletop game and its spin-off media. They are known to the Imperium generally as Tyranids, because Tyran is the first known planet they devoured and where they were first encountered...
.
Ships now had fixed shields on each fire arc and a different number of damage points. They also had different special rules, Critical Damage tables, speed and an associated points cost. Each ship also had their effective weapons range increased to 9 squares.
The Imperial ships were classed as Gothic Battleships and no longer had any shields to the rear due to their engines. They had more damage points than the Eldar ships and did more damage at close range. The keel gun was changed to a vortex torpedo with a fixed forward fire arc (a more limited version of the original forward fire arc) and they retained their broadside weaponry.
The Eldar ships were classed as Eldar Wraithships. They had shields on all fire arcs, but had stronger shields on the front arc. They did slightly more damage at range than the Gothic Battleship, their speed was increase to 3 squares and were classed as 'super maneuverable', allowing them extra movement options on an expanded helm computer. They were also constrained by the solar wind
Solar wind
The solar wind is a stream of charged particles ejected from the upper atmosphere of the Sun. It mostly consists of electrons and protons with energies usually between 1.5 and 10 keV. The stream of particles varies in temperature and speed over time...
, the direction of which was determined at the start of the game. The ship's facing in relation to the solar wind at the start of the movement phase determined its maximum movement for the turn.
The Wraithship's keel gun was changed to a Plasma torpedo, also with a fixed forward fire arc like the Vortex torpedo, but their broadside attacks were changed to a forward arc only.
The rules for additional ships were also added such as the Eldar Shadowhunter, which removed attack dice equal to or lower than its current speed and the Dominator Battleship with an Inferno Cannon weapon that had an area effect.