Just in time for PAX, Ares Games’ launched to retail Battlestar Galactica Starship Battles ($60). It’s a spaceship miniatures combat game in some ways similar to other such games on the market. Movement is facilitated by templates. There are cards for various pilots. And draw tokens to determine damage.
Like its namesake television show, however, the game features an added level of realism for spaceship movement. Ships carry momentum from round to round. They can face and fire one direction while moving in another. And the game even carries rules for elevation. Kinetic energy and other maneuvering factors are tracked for each ship on a small, individual plastic control panel.
Battlestar Galactica Starship Battles starter sets come with four prepainted plastic ship figures, two Colonial Vipers and two Cylon Raiders.
This fall, Ares Games will begin shipping Tripods & Triplanes, an alternate-history miniatures game compatible with Wings of Glory. The game supposes an alien invasion of Earth during the waning days of World War I. The airplanes (same as those from Wings of Glory) are more agile but the alien mechs have powerful lasers. Starter sets will retail for $50.
Later this winter, Ares will launch Battlestar Galactica Starship Battles. Starter sets with two Colonial Vipers (painted for individual pilots) and two Cylon Raiders should retail for $50-60. Of course, additional ships, including Basestars and Battlestars will come later. For each ship, there’s also a small plastic “controller” to track altitude, kinetic energy, and speed. Space combat in this game includes momentum.
Organizers in Gothenburg, Sweden are planning a Battlestar Galactica LARP to take place over 3 days aboard an actual navy destroyer. Participants will experience the early post-Cylon-attack period on The Monitor Celestra, a previously decommissioned ship suddenly isolated from the rest of the fleet.
The LARP is being run three times over weekends in March for groups of up to 150. While operated as a “non-profit fan event”, registration prices range 2400-3400 SEK ($370-525), depending on the class of character chosen. The fees cover food, lodging, and all required costumes.
[via GeekDad]