Star Blazers Games

Star Blazers board game

Described by Andrea Controzzi:

The Italian board game is loosely based on the story of the first series. The Argo has to reach Iscandar and return to Earth in 52 moves, each representing a week of the voyage. Gamilas must delay and prevent her from completing her mission before the time expires. The game board is a hex field. Argo has 2 small vessels representing the Black Tiger squadrons, while Gamilas has 3 vessels representing 3 fleets used to intercept the Star Force. There is one player for each side.

The game mechanics are very roughly based on the original show. The vessels on both sides are capable of laying mines (something which the Star Force did not do) to block the other's path and fire a limited supply of missiles at the enemy or to clear their mines. Mines are not harmful, they simply block the way. Missiles can destroy the Black Tigers for the rest of the game, but can only delay Argo herself by inflicting damage according to some random event cards.

When Gamilas' vessels are destroyed, they are simply reborn on Gamilas, obviously representing their almost unlimited military power. Also, the Gamilas vessels can return to the home planet to re-arm, while Argo starts out with a limited supply. The game allows Argo to warp in some areas, to speed up the voyage and evade the enemy, and provides clusters of impassible asteroids to further reduce the space where the ship can maneuver.

The rules are very simple, clearly meant for a young audience, and the game is pretty challenging for the Star Force player if the Gamilas player is experienced.