Starfire (1975)

The original Starfire, obscurely published in 1975, was the prototype for the later Task Force Games series. The presentation is minimalist: a mostly blank hex sheet and one page of rules. Players must improvise their own counters!

Like its successor, the game depicts combat between spaceships. Each ship is represented by a series of letters,with each letter representing a system (shields, engines, several types of beam weapon, torpedoes, guns, etc.). In each turn, ships fire their weapons, then move. The probability of a hit depends upon range. A hit destroys one of the target's systems, gradually reducing its firepower, defenses and speed. Movement is simply a number of hexes equal to the number of engine systems - no momentum or other complications of physics.

There are three scenarios: "Main Battle Fleet", "Convoy Action" and "Planet Assault". Terrain, in the form of radiation belts or asteroids, may be added in the players' discretion.

• Starfire