''Space Crusade'' is an
adventure board game
An adventure board game is a board game in which a player plays as a unique individual character that improves through gameplay. This improvement is commonly reflected in terms of increasing character Attribute (role-playing games), attributes, bu ...
produced by
Milton Bradley
Milton Bradley (November 8, 1836 – May 30, 1911) was an American business magnate, game pioneer and publisher, credited by many with launching the board game industry, with his eponymous enterprise, which was purchased by Hasbro in 1984, and ...
together with
Games Workshop
Games Workshop Group (often abbreviated as GW) is a British manufacturer of miniature wargames, based in Nottingham, England. Its best-known products are ''Warhammer Age of Sigmar'' and ''Warhammer 40,000''.
Founded in 1975 by John Peake (gam ...
and was first made in 1990. It was produced in the
UK and available in some other countries including
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
,
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
,
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
,
Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark
...
,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
and
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
. In
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
,
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
and the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
, it is known as ''Star Quest''.
It is a sister game to ''
HeroQuest
''HeroQuest'', sometimes written as ''Hero Quest'', is an adventure board game created by Milton Bradley in conjunction with the British company Games Workshop. The game was loosely based around archetypes of fantasy role-playing games: the ...
'', which was also produced by Milton Bradley and Games Workshop. It uses many of the concepts of the Games Workshop's ''
Space Hulk
''Space Hulk'' is a board game for two players by Games Workshop. It was released in 1989. The game is set in the fictional universe of ''Warhammer 40,000''. In the game, a "space hulk" is a mass of ancient, derelict space ships, asteroids, and ...
'' and ''
Warhammer 40,000
''Warhammer 40,000'' is a miniature wargame produced by Games Workshop. It is the most popular miniature wargame in the world, and is particularly popular in the United Kingdom. The first edition of the rulebook was published in September 1987, ...
'' games, but at a much simpler level of game play.
The game was designed by Steven Baker. The original box artwork was by
Jim Burns
Jim Burns (born 10 April 1948) is a Welsh artist born in Cardiff, Wales. He has been called one of the Grand Masters of the science fiction art world.
In 1966 he joined the Royal Air Force, but soon thereafter he left and signed up at the N ...
, and the later edition had a cover by
David Sque.
Gameplay
The game is designed to be played with 2 to 4 players, taking turns until one wins. One player takes the role of the
alien
Alien primarily refers to:
* Alien (law), a person in a country who is not a national of that country
** Enemy alien, the above in times of war
* Extraterrestrial life, life which does not originate from Earth
** Specifically, intelligent extrater ...
s, controlling all the aliens and monsters on the space hulk, which were a mixture of
Chaos
Chaos or CHAOS may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Fictional elements
* Chaos (''Kinnikuman'')
* Chaos (''Sailor Moon'')
* Chaos (''Sesame Park'')
* Chaos (''Warhammer'')
* Chaos, in ''Fabula Nova Crystallis Final Fantasy''
* Cha ...
,
Orks,
Genestealer
In the fictional universe of ''Warhammer 40,000'', the Tyranids are a race and a playable army in the tabletop miniatures wargame.
The Tyranids are described as a nomadic society of aliens which originated from beyond the Milky Way Galaxy and ...
s and other aliens from ''Warhammer 40,000''. The alien player takes on a significantly reduced role compared with that of a
Game Master
A gamemaster (GM; also known as game master, game manager, game moderator, referee, or storyteller) is a person who acts as an organizer, officiant for regarding rules, arbitrator, and moderator for a multiplayer role-playing game. They are ...
in traditional
role-playing game
A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within ...
s, with its sole role being to stop the marine players from accomplishing their missions.
The other players are marine players, and each controls a squad of 5
Space Marines
The space marine, an archetype of military science fiction, is a kind of soldier who operates in outer space or on alien worlds. Historical marines fulfill multiple roles: ship defence, boarding actions, landing parties, and general-purpose hi ...
in standard power armour, one of whom is a Commander. Each squad is further equipped with order commands as well as equipment cards. Marines can be armed with different weapons: light weapons allow marines to move faster at the cost of reduced firepower. Heavy weapons operate in special ways, such as being able to hit all units in a horizontal line, or attacking multiple targets.
The blue squad represents the
Ultramarines, the red squad represents the Blood Angels, and the yellow squad represents the
Imperial Fists
In the fictional universe of ''Warhammer 40,000'', the Space Marines, also known as the Adeptus Astartes, are superhuman warrior-monks who fight for the Imperium of Man. They wear mechanised suits of armour and have modified genomes that grant the ...
. All three are founding chapters of the Space Marines, and the chapter can be recognized by the insignia on the slider board, and accurately represents the standard colors of the ''
Warhammer 40,000
''Warhammer 40,000'' is a miniature wargame produced by Games Workshop. It is the most popular miniature wargame in the world, and is particularly popular in the United Kingdom. The first edition of the rulebook was published in September 1987, ...
'' versions. Each of the chapters are identical, although the equipment cards for the Blood Angels are specialised in close combat, and the Imperial Fists in use of ranged heavy weapons.
Close range combat rules are enforced when two units engaging are next to each other; the controlling player of the two units in combat roll whatever number of dice allowed for that unit, and the highest wins. Otherwise, ranged combat rules are followed so long as there is line of sight between the two squares that each unit is occupying: the firing player rolls dice for the weapon being fired, and if the die total is above the armour value of the target, it is dealt hit points.
The squad-based system gives each player greater access for strategy and planning. Most of the game is careful calculations of avoiding line of sight, and rushing to attack either from around the corridor, through open doors, or close in with close combat. The mission based system sometimes allows a player to sacrifice units to score points in order to win.
The marine players have the advantage of heavy weapons, special equipment and high armour point values due to their power armour, while the alien player has the advantage of large numbers of pieces and random "Alien Event" cards which may be detrimental to his opponents. The marine Commanders have multiple hit points and special weapons, making them harder to kill.
Each game consists of the marine players receiving their primary mission, docking and entering the space hulk (and later dreadnought factories), completing their mission before the other marine players, and returning their team back to the docking claw. Points are scored for units killed and missions completed, deducted for units lost. Players with sufficient points at the end of the game (including the Alien Player) can be promoted to the next rank, which gives them access to additional order or equipments for the subsequent games.
German Edition
The German version of the game was published under the name ''StarQuest'' to tie-in with ''
Hero-Quest'', which, at that time, was very popular amongst German children.
The translation tones down most of the violent game elements: The aliens are "chaos robots", not living creatures. A player does not kill a robot, the robot is merely removed from this dimension or gets caught by the effects of the weapons and is not harmed at all. Although for example the "Assault Cannon" can quite easily be recognized as a type of machine gun, in the German version it is called "Zero Time Gun" and its effect is explained as "time bubbles" slowing down the enemy.
Box contents
Space Crusade had a large number of components. The list below is included as both a reference and as an indication of quite how comprehensive the game was.
*50 figures
- 3 Marine Commanders
- 12 Space Marines, 8 Orks, 14 Gretchin,
- 3 Genestealers
- 1 Chaos Marine Commander,
- 4 Chaos Space Marines, 4 Androids and
- 1 Dreadnought
*64 Playing Cards
- Three sets of 12 Chapter cards and 28 Alien event cards
*32 blip tokens
*12 rank badges
*6 honour badges
*1 Alien control panel
*24 doors
*6 combat dice
*3 marine reference charts
*32 reinforcement counters
*1 primary mission token
*1 secondary mission token
*4 marks of Chaos
*4 piece gameboard with walls
*3 marine landing docks with
airlock
An airlock, air-lock or air lock, often abbreviated to just lock, is a compartment with doors which can be sealed against pressure which permits the passage of people and objects between environments of differing pressure or atmospheric compo ...
s (extra board pieces where the space marines start)
*3 Commander Scanners with Slides
*Rule book
*24 page Mission Manual
*Advanced rules book
Expansion games and sequels
''Eldar Attack''
A boxed expansion set that introduced
Eldar with special abilities including
psychic
A psychic is a person who claims to use extrasensory perception (ESP) to identify information hidden from the normal senses, particularly involving telepathy or clairvoyance, or who performs acts that are apparently inexplicable by natural laws, ...
powers.
This expansion pack allowed one extra player to control the Eldar miniatures, thus allowing the game to be played by 2-5 people.
''Mission Dreadnought''
A boxed expansion set.
This expansion pack gives the marine player access to additional space marine miniatures, boosting the squad to 6 space marines and the commander. Space marines may carry extra heavy weapons or the tarantula mobile turret.
The alien player gains extra heavy dreadnoughts, which are extremely powerful and capable of wiping out an entire squad. The last mission in the additional mission book allows the alien player to continuously construct additional dreadnoughts for more firepower from the dreadnought factory board.
The additional bulkhead doors and corridor tiles allow players to build more interesting board constructions, whereas the initial game is quite limited to either the square 2x2 mode or the long 4x1 mode.
''White Dwarf''
Two articles about ''Space Crusade'' were published in ''
White Dwarf
A white dwarf is a stellar core remnant composed mostly of electron-degenerate matter. A white dwarf is very dense: its mass is comparable to the Sun's, while its volume is comparable to the Earth's. A white dwarf's faint luminosity comes fro ...
'': one for using Terminators, Space Marine Scouts, Ork Mobs, Tyranids and Genestealer Hybrids (''White Dwarf 134'', 1991), allowing players to use ''Warhammer 40,000'' miniatures, and one campaign called 'Renegade' (''White Dwarf 145'', 1992).
''Advanced Space Crusade''
''Advanced Space Crusade'' was a modular board game published in 1990 by Games Workshop. The premise of the game is that a number of Space Marine scout squads are
boarding a
Tyranid
In the fictional universe of ''Warhammer 40,000'', the Tyranids are a race and a playable army in the tabletop miniatures wargame.
The Tyranids are described as a nomadic society of aliens which originated from beyond the Milky Way Galaxy and ...
ship in order to sabotage its delicate internal "organs". The game is superficially similar to ''
Space Hulk
''Space Hulk'' is a board game for two players by Games Workshop. It was released in 1989. The game is set in the fictional universe of ''Warhammer 40,000''. In the game, a "space hulk" is a mass of ancient, derelict space ships, asteroids, and ...
'' in that it uses 28 mm plastic
Citadel Miniatures
Citadel Miniatures Limited is a company which produces metal, resin and plastic miniature figures for tabletop wargames such as ''Warhammer Fantasy Battle'' and ''Warhammer 40,000''.
In the past Citadel Miniatures was a separate company but i ...
as play pieces, uses modular board pieces to represent the innards of the Hive ship, and has one player controlling the Marines while the other controls waves of Tyranids, but has no greater relationship to ''Space Crusade'' than any other game set in the ''Warhammer 40,000'' universe. Without the license from Milton Bradley, many of the components of ''Advanced Space Crusade'' were released in 1993's ''Tyranid Attack'', a substantially different game.
Video game
Gremlin Graphics Software Ltd. released the ''Space Crusade''
video game
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
version of the game in early 1992. It was available on
Atari ST
The Atari ST is a line of personal computers from Atari Corporation and the successor to the Atari 8-bit family. The initial model, the Atari 520ST, had limited release in April–June 1985 and was widely available in July. It was the first pers ...
,
IBM PC
The IBM Personal Computer (model 5150, commonly known as the IBM PC) is the first microcomputer released in the IBM PC model line and the basis for the IBM PC compatible de facto standard. Released on August 12, 1981, it was created by a team ...
(
MS-DOS
MS-DOS ( ; acronym for Microsoft Disk Operating System, also known as Microsoft DOS) is an operating system for x86-based personal computers mostly developed by Microsoft. Collectively, MS-DOS, its rebranding as IBM PC DOS, and a few ope ...
),
Amiga
Amiga is a family of personal computers introduced by Commodore in 1985. The original model is one of a number of mid-1980s computers with 16- or 32-bit processors, 256 KB or more of RAM, mouse-based GUIs, and significantly improved graphi ...
,
ZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer that was developed by Sinclair Research. It was released in the United Kingdom on 23 April 1982, and became Britain's best-selling microcomputer.
Referred to during development as t ...
,
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in the Guinness ...
and
Amstrad
Amstrad was a British electronics company, founded in 1968 by Alan Sugar at the age of 21. The name is a contraction of Alan Michael Sugar Trading. It was first listed on the London Stock Exchange in April 1980. During the late 1980s, Amstrad ...
and later received an expansion, ''The Voyage Beyond''. It is considered a faithful conversion of the boardgame, with a board that could be viewed in 2D or
isometric projection
Isometric projection is a method for visually representing three-dimensional objects in two dimensions in technical and engineering drawings. It is an axonometric projection in which the three coordinate axes appear equally foreshortened and ...
views (Barker, 1992). The ZX Spectrum version was voted number 24 in the ''
Your Sinclair
''Your Sinclair'', or ''YS'' as it was commonly abbreviated, was a commercially published and printed British computer magazine for the Sinclair range of computers, mainly the ZX Spectrum. It was in circulation between 1984 and 1993.
History
The ...
Readers' Top 100 Games of All Time''.
Reviews
*''
Challenge'' #56 (1991) - Advanced Space Crusade
[https://archive.org/details/Gdw-Challenge56/page/75/mode/2up]
References
*
*
*
External links
*
Starquestnew resources for Space Crusade
{{Games Workshop
Board games introduced in 1990
Science fiction board games
Adventure board games
Games Workshop games
Milton Bradley Company games