Triplanetary
Encyclopedia
Triplanetary was a science fiction
board wargame
published by Game Designers' Workshop
in 1973
. It was a simulation of space
combat within the solar system
in the early 21st Century. The game was designed by Marc W. Miller
as part of a series to be named "The Stars! The Stars!". A second edition of the game was issued in 1981. In 1989, Steve Jackson
acquired the rights to the game, with ambitions to release a new version of the game in 1991. However, although a draft version was created, a new edition was never released.
The game consisted of a 16-page book of rules (with 4 additional pages of errata and clarification); a hex map
of the inner solar system; a clear acetate
overlay for the map, a grease pencil, a set of cardboard counter
s representing the various spaceship
s, and a 6-sided dice. (The replacement game parts sold for US$6.80 in 1973.) The game scenarios typically allowed for two players, although some allowed for more players.
The map includes the Sun
, Mercury
, Venus
, Earth
and its Moon
, Mars
, part of the Asteroid belt
, and Jupiter
, along with the four largest Jovian moons. There were also hexes for two of the largest asteroids, and for a secret asteroid
base. The scale is 9.3 million miles across, so that the placement of the moons is entirely unrealistic; they were situated primarily for game play purposes than for accuracy.
Acceleration consumes part of a ship's fuel
supply, and players were required to track the current fuel remaining on each ship. If all the fuel was consumed, a ship would be unable to accelerate. Ships could refuel by landing on friendly planet
s; orbiting a base, or passing slowly through an asteroid base. They can also refuel by matching speed with another ship (such as a tanker) and transferring fuel.
Each game was played in a series of turn
s that alternated between each of the players. Each turn a player followed a sequence of five phases:
A ship counter
showed the vessel silhouette
symbol; an identifier number; the combat rating; fuel capacity, and the cargo
capacity. The counters were printed in several colors to represent different sides in each conflict. The combat ship types were: Corvette
, Corsair
, Frigate
, Dreadnaught, Torch (Frigate that doesn't need fuel), and Orbital Base
. The non-combat ships: Transport
, Packet (armed transport), Tanker (fuel carrier), and Liner.
Combat used a damage table that was based on the ratio of the attacker ship combat strength to that of the defender. The odds ranged from 1:2 to 4:1. A six-sided dice roll was used to determine the results of an attack, with one subtracted from the roll for each hex of range between the ships. Before the results are applied, the ship being attacked can optionally fire upon its attackers.
The results of an attack are expressed in a number of turns the ship is disabled, or, for high odds and a favorable roll, the ship is destroyed. Higher dice rolls resulted in more damage. If the cumulative damage to a ship required more than 5 turns to repair, the ship was destroyed.
Torpedoes and mines also have their own combat damage tables that are used when the course of a mine or torpedo intersected a ship. (Torpedoes were generally very effective weapons, as they had a 2/3 chance to inflict an elimination result.) There were also damage results for ramming attacks, as well as for moving too rapidly through asteroid hexes.
Some scenarios use hidden counters, so that ships and planets can only identify enemy vessels that come within range. Planets can detect ship types up to five hexes away, while ships can scan a distance of three hexes.
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
board wargame
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...
published 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...
in 1973
1973 in games
This page lists board and card games, wargames, and miniatures games published in 1973. For video and console games, see 1973 in video gaming.-Significant games-related events of 1973:*Game Designers' Workshop founded....
. It was a simulation of space
Outer space
Outer space is the void that exists between celestial bodies, including the Earth. It is not completely empty, but consists of a hard vacuum containing a low density of particles: predominantly a plasma of hydrogen and helium, as well as electromagnetic radiation, magnetic fields, and neutrinos....
combat within the solar system
Solar System
The Solar System consists of the Sun and the astronomical objects gravitationally bound in orbit around it, all of which formed from the collapse of a giant molecular cloud approximately 4.6 billion years ago. The vast majority of the system's mass is in the Sun...
in the early 21st Century. The game was designed by 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...
as part of a series to be named "The Stars! The Stars!". A second edition of the game was issued in 1981. In 1989, Steve Jackson
Steve Jackson
Steve Jackson may refer to:* Steve Jackson , set theorist at University of North Texas* Steve Jackson , co-founder, with Ian Livingstone, of Games Workshop...
acquired the rights to the game, with ambitions to release a new version of the game in 1991. However, although a draft version was created, a new edition was never released.
The game consisted of a 16-page book of rules (with 4 additional pages of errata and clarification); a hex map
Hex 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:...
of the inner solar system; a clear acetate
Acetate
An acetate is a derivative of acetic acid. This term includes salts and esters, as well as the anion found in solution. Most of the approximately 5 billion kilograms of acetic acid produced annually in industry are used in the production of acetates, which usually take the form of polymers. In...
overlay for the map, a grease pencil, a set of cardboard counter
Counter
In digital logic and computing, a counter is a device which stores the number of times a particular event or process has occurred, often in relationship to a clock signal.- Electronic counters :...
s representing the various spaceship
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....
s, and a 6-sided dice. (The replacement game parts sold for US$6.80 in 1973.) The game scenarios typically allowed for two players, although some allowed for more players.
The map includes the Sun
Sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields...
, Mercury
Mercury (planet)
Mercury is the innermost and smallest planet in the Solar System, orbiting the Sun once every 87.969 Earth days. The orbit of Mercury has the highest eccentricity of all the Solar System planets, and it has the smallest axial tilt. It completes three rotations about its axis for every two orbits...
, Venus
Venus
Venus is the second planet from the Sun, orbiting it every 224.7 Earth days. The planet is named after Venus, the Roman goddess of love and beauty. After the Moon, it is the brightest natural object in the night sky, reaching an apparent magnitude of −4.6, bright enough to cast shadows...
, Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
and its Moon
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
, Mars
Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. It is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance...
, part of the Asteroid belt
Asteroid belt
The asteroid belt is the region of the Solar System located roughly between the orbits of the planets Mars and Jupiter. It is occupied by numerous irregularly shaped bodies called asteroids or minor planets...
, and Jupiter
Jupiter
Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest planet within the Solar System. It is a gas giant with mass one-thousandth that of the Sun but is two and a half times the mass of all the other planets in our Solar System combined. Jupiter is classified as a gas giant along with Saturn,...
, along with the four largest Jovian moons. There were also hexes for two of the largest asteroids, and for a secret asteroid
Asteroid
Asteroids are a class of small Solar System bodies in orbit around the Sun. They have also been called planetoids, especially the larger ones...
base. The scale is 9.3 million miles across, so that the placement of the moons is entirely unrealistic; they were situated primarily for game play purposes than for accuracy.
Gameplay
The most innovative feature of this game was the clear acetate overlay that allowed each player to plot the movement vectors of their ships. Each ship could accelerate during the turn, which then modified the vector one hex in any direction. The ships continued to follow their current vector from turn to turn, which could only be modified by acceleration or by entering the "gravity field" of a planet. (For simplification purposes, this gravity field consisted of the six hexes surrounding the planet.) Moons have a weaker gravity that only affected a course when ships pass through two adjacent hexesAcceleration consumes part of a ship's fuel
Fuel
Fuel is any material that stores energy that can later be extracted to perform mechanical work in a controlled manner. Most fuels used by humans undergo combustion, a redox reaction in which a combustible substance releases energy after it ignites and reacts with the oxygen in the air...
supply, and players were required to track the current fuel remaining on each ship. If all the fuel was consumed, a ship would be unable to accelerate. Ships could refuel by landing on friendly planet
Planet
A planet is a celestial body orbiting a star or stellar remnant that is massive enough to be rounded by its own gravity, is not massive enough to cause thermonuclear fusion, and has cleared its neighbouring region of planetesimals.The term planet is ancient, with ties to history, science,...
s; orbiting a base, or passing slowly through an asteroid base. They can also refuel by matching speed with another ship (such as a tanker) and transferring fuel.
Each game was played in a series of turn
Turn
Turn may refer to:In music:* Turn , a sequence of several notes next to each other in the scale* Turn , an Irish rock group* Turn LP, a 2005 rock album by Turn* Turn , a 2004 punk album by The Ex...
s that alternated between each of the players. Each turn a player followed a sequence of five phases:
- Astrogation — plot the movement vector of each ship.
- Ordnance — launch mines and torpedoes from ships.
- Movement — follow plotted course to new location.
- Combat — attack enemy ships in range, including using mines and torpedoes; roll for space hazards.
- Resupply — perform various logistical activities, as well as looting and rescue.
A ship counter
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...
showed the vessel silhouette
Silhouette
A silhouette is the image of a person, an object or scene consisting of the outline and a basically featureless interior, with the silhouetted object usually being black. Although the art form has been popular since the mid-18th century, the term “silhouette” was seldom used until the early decades...
symbol; an identifier number; the combat rating; fuel capacity, and the cargo
Cargo
Cargo is goods or produce transported, generally for commercial gain, by ship, aircraft, train, van or truck. In modern times, containers are used in most intermodal long-haul cargo transport.-Marine:...
capacity. The counters were printed in several colors to represent different sides in each conflict. The combat ship types were: Corvette
Corvette
A corvette is a small, maneuverable, lightly armed warship, originally smaller than a frigate and larger than a coastal patrol craft or fast attack craft , although many recent designs resemble frigates in size and role...
, Corsair
Corsair
Corsairs were privateers, authorized to conduct raids on shipping of a nation at war with France, on behalf of the French Crown. Seized vessels and cargo were sold at auction, with the corsair captain entitled to a portion of the proceeds...
, Frigate
Frigate
A frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built"...
, Dreadnaught, Torch (Frigate that doesn't need fuel), and Orbital Base
Space habitat
A space habitat is a space station intended as a permanent settlement rather than as a simple waystation or other specialized facility...
. The non-combat ships: Transport
Transport
Transport or transportation is the movement of people, cattle, animals and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, rail, road, water, cable, pipeline, and space. The field can be divided into infrastructure, vehicles, and operations...
, Packet (armed transport), Tanker (fuel carrier), and Liner.
Combat used a damage table that was based on the ratio of the attacker ship combat strength to that of the defender. The odds ranged from 1:2 to 4:1. A six-sided dice roll was used to determine the results of an attack, with one subtracted from the roll for each hex of range between the ships. Before the results are applied, the ship being attacked can optionally fire upon its attackers.
The results of an attack are expressed in a number of turns the ship is disabled, or, for high odds and a favorable roll, the ship is destroyed. Higher dice rolls resulted in more damage. If the cumulative damage to a ship required more than 5 turns to repair, the ship was destroyed.
Torpedoes and mines also have their own combat damage tables that are used when the course of a mine or torpedo intersected a ship. (Torpedoes were generally very effective weapons, as they had a 2/3 chance to inflict an elimination result.) There were also damage results for ramming attacks, as well as for moving too rapidly through asteroid hexes.
Some scenarios use hidden counters, so that ships and planets can only identify enemy vessels that come within range. Planets can detect ship types up to five hexes away, while ships can scan a distance of three hexes.
Scenarios
The game came with six scenarios, plus an additional pair in the errata sheet.- Grand Tour — A multi-player race about the planets.
- Escape — One side is attempting to escape a tyrannical government by fleeing the solar system, while the other tries to stop the escape.
- Lateral 7 — Pirates try to nab a wealthy liner while avoiding the navy.
- Interplanetary War — Earth colonies rebel from the rule of the mother planet.
- Alien Invasion — Earth forces try to stop an invading fleet of alien barbarians.
- Piracy — Pirates try to loot merchant transports while Patrol tries to neutralize their efforts. Merchant can expand fleet by delivering cargo successfully.
- Prospecting — Economic scenario of mining asteroids.
- Retribution — Follow up to the Escape scenario.
See also
- Racetrack (game)Racetrack (game)Racetrack is a paper and pencil game of unknown origins, played by two or more players. It is also known under names such as Vector formula, Vector rally, Vector race, Graph racers, PolyRace, Paper and pencil racing, or the Graph paper race game. Racetrack is played on a squared sheet of paper...
- a pencil-and-paper game that uses a similar movement system to Triplanetary and from which the latter was probably derived. - Attack Vector: TacticalAttack Vector: TacticalAttack Vector: Tactical is a space combat wargame published by Ad Astra Games. The game is consciously designed to model comparatively realistic space combat and eschew common conventions of space warfare...
- a similar hex based space game that attempts to add three dimensional space movement and targeting rules, as well as realistic inertial dynamicsMoment of inertiaIn classical mechanics, moment of inertia, also called mass moment of inertia, rotational inertia, polar moment of inertia of mass, or the angular mass, is a measure of an object's resistance to changes to its rotation. It is the inertia of a rotating body with respect to its rotation...
.