Asteroid Zero-Four

''Asteroid Zero-Four'' is a science fiction board wargame published by Task Force Games in 1979.

Description

American and Soviet miners in the asteroid belt have been cut off from contact with Earth by solar flares, and become engaged in a nuclear war for dominance.

Components

The game is played with:
* 17" x 22" map
* counters for missiles, fighters, bombers, tankers, engineers and damage.
* 20-page rulebook
* two Strategic Displays

Gameplay

During a turn,
* spacecraft and missiles are launched
** missile targets are revealed simultaneously
**spacecraft can engage in combat
* spacecraft can land to re-arm, refuel and be repaired
*engineers can be deployed to repair their asteroid

Victory conditions

At the end of the last turn, the player with the asteroid still best able to function as a mine is the winner.

Publication history

Although best known for their boxed game '' Starfleet Battles'', Task Force Games started in 1979 by publishing a series of microgames designed by Stephen V. Cole, the second being ''Asteroid Zero-Four'', released in 1979 with artwork by Alvin Belflower and Allen D. Eldridge.

Task Force Games continued the same storyline in a sequel, ''Cerberus'', in which the combined U.S.-Russia forces from ''Asteroid Zero-Four'' invade another planet.

Task Force Games developed a 16K computer version of ''Asteroid Zero-Four''.

Reception

In the September 1979 edition of ''Dragon'', Tim Kask compared ''Asteroid Zero-Four'' to '' Starfire'', also published at the same time by Task Force Games, and found that ''Asteroid Zero-Four'' was "slightly more involved than ''Starfire''" but promised to be excellent because both were designed by Stephen Cole.

In '' Ares Magazine'' #1 (March 1980), Steve List rated ''Asteroid Zero-Four'' at 6 out of 9, saying, "the key to the game is the static defenses; missiles to pick off the incoming ships at long range and lasers to swallow up those who close. Massed attacks are necessary to saturate these defenses. While this game is not particularly good science fiction, it is fun to play."

In the September 1980 issue of ''The Space Gamer'' (Issue No. 31), Steve Winter found "''Asteroid Zero-Four'' to be "an intelligent, challenging game. It takes nerves and strategy to play well. If you can handle the bookkeeping, this one will make you sweat."

Alestair Brown in ''White Dwarf'' #22 (December 1980 – January 1981) gave it a 6, and said "verdicts ranged from almost total bewilderment ... to enthusiastic enjoyment".

In Issue 35 of ''Phoenix'', Richard Jordan found the missile damage resolution too time-consuming, and concluded "A good idea, although too much bookkeeping for my liking ..For Sc-Fi buffs well worth looking at, and for Wargamers in general an excellent cobination of Strategy and Tactics."

In Issue 27 of ''Simulacrum'', Joe Scoleri commented, "At its core, ''Asteroid Zero-Four'' is a shoot-em-up slugfest. The victory conditions require you to blast the hell out of the mining operations on the opposing asteroid while trying to keep yours from being blasted as badly." Scoleri did note the relative complexity of the game compared to other microgames, saying, "Of course, the game's detail comes at a price. While not overly complex or onerous for its time, today’s gamers may find ''Asteroid Zero-Four'' too labor intensive for a pure slugfest style game.

Reviews

*''Fantastic Science Fiction'' v27 n11https://archive.org/details/Fantastic_v27n11_1980-10/page/n21/mode/2up

See also

* ''Galac-Tac''
* ''Starweb''

References

{{reflist

Board games introduced in 1979
Science fiction board wargames
Task Force Games games
Wargames introduced in 1979