Farewell Startrek-games.com and Post Rescue

As you may have seen or read elsewhere, IGN has decided to shut down a number of sites it hosted, including Chessmess' wonderful, long-lived Star Trek Games site. Although the focus over the past decade had primarily been Trek-themed PC and videogames, Chess was just beginning to expand into other areas such as tabletop gaming and online sims. I had made a few contributions recently and was planning on making it a regular gig to cover non-RPG tabletop games I don't cover here.

With STG gone, I'll probably occasionally include coverage of these games -- such as the Star Fleet Universe, rare Tsukuda Japanese Trek wargames and the old Star Fleet Battle Manual -- here at Groknard as as well. I do want to thank Chess for the opportunity to contribute to STG and for all the work he's done in Trek gaming over the years, and wish him the best.

There was one post I did in March that I liked a lot, so I'm going to republish it here for the sake of posterity.
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Updates from the Star Fleet Universe
Originally posted on Star Trek Games, March 16, 2009

Are you familiar with the Star Fleet Universe games from Amarillo Design Bureau? You should be!

Since this column on tabletop Trek games is still relatively new, I thought I should introduce the Star Fleet Universe (SFU) before getting to news about its latest products. You have probably heard about their signature game, Star Fleet Battles (SFB), if for no other reason than it having been the basis of Interplay’s 1999 videogame, Starfleet Command and its sequels Starfleet Command II: Empires at War and Starfleet Command: Orion Pirates.

SFB is a tabletop wargame of the “hex-and-counter” flavor, designed in the mid-70s by Stephen V. Cole. It was initially released in 1979 by Task Force Games and under Cole’s guidance (and subsequently through his company ADB), SFB has thrived through various versions over the decades. In fact, the entire product line has grown to include pewter starship gaming miniatures, a faster and simpler SFB-like line of games called Federation Commander, the RPG Prime Directive, and the action card game Star Fleet Battle Force and more, all set in the Star Fleet Universe.

Although based on elements of Star Trek, the Star Fleet Universe adheres to an alternate canon. It was originally built upon the legacy of TOS, the Animated Series and the 1975 book The Star Fleet Technical Manual by Franz Joseph, on which its licensing is based (SFU products are — contrary to myth — licensed through Paramount as well). But the SFU is a different reality, as if Star Trek had taken a different path before the events that started with Star Trek The Motion Picture.

In the SFU, you’ll find the Federation, Klingons, and Romulans. You’ll also find the Kzinti, Orions and many elements unique to the SFU’s history. You won’t find Cardassians, the Borg or the Dominion. For licensing reasons, you also won’t find Kirk, Spock or even the words “Star Trek”. But the world in which the SFU games takes place will definitely look and feel familiar to anyone raised on TOS.

The best way to see if the Star Fleet Universe and its games are for you is to jump in and play… for free! ADB has made available a downloadable starter version from its Federation Commander game system called First Missions. It’s a 34 page PDF manual that includes rules, counters, a map, full color ship cards and scenarios. Just add some 6-sided dice and a friend, and you’ll be ready to take command of a Federation Heavy Crusier or a Klingon D7 Battlecruiser.

If you like it, there are plenty of options available to go further with Federation Commander. There’s a full version Klingon Border game, but if you prefer the Vulcan’s cousins, there’s Romulan Border. If you’re low on funds, consider Academy because you can always move on to Graduation later. The games are very modular and available in such a way that you can easily mix and match and never spend money on what you don’t need. For complete information, check out ADB’s website for Federation Commander and more.

ADB has made some new product announcements across most of its game lines:

Star Fleet Battles Master Annex File - Master Ship Chart, Master Fighter Chart, Master Gunboat Chart, complete Sequence of Play, and all of the other annexes and data tables for SFB, updated to include the past four years of products. Now available.

Star Fleet Battles Galactic Conquest Rulebook (4th Ed) - A printed manual intended for use with the “Galactic Conquest” campaign engine for Star Fleet Battles.

Prime Directive: Federation - Supplement for the Prime Directive RPG, detailing the extensive history of the Federation, the history and culture a dozen member races, military organizations, medals, starships, politics, intelligence agencies, and so on. The D20 Modern version will be available on April 20, and the GURPS version is scheduled for May 18. (NOTE: obviously, this is out of date. Neither has been released, and no specific date is yet available)

Orion Dreadnought (1/3788 scale miniature) - One of the latest editions to the Starline 2400 series of pewter miniatures, the Orion DN is the biggest pirate ship of all time, and has more guns, more power, and more sheer terror than any other pirate ship.

Finally, ADB and Majestic Twelve Games have announced an agreement to develop Klingon Armada, a Starmada supplement set in the SFU tentatively scheduled for release in the summer of 2009.

Starmada is another extremely popular miniatures boardgame of starship combat, and Klingon Armada will contain all of the rules options, additions, and starship designs necessary to allow players to pit forces of the Klingon Empire against their perpetual enemies, the United Federation of Planets.

I’ll bring you more information on this as it becomes available.