1 Gigasun

The spaceship combat game A Billion Suns finally arrived at my local game store. I'm looking forward to trying this game out; the resource management (starting with no ships on the table and giving a limited number of orders each turn--not to mention trying to win the game while expending as little as possible) looks extremely interesting. The rules can accomodate two to four players, and there is a campaign system as well. This book is from the author of Gaslands, but the combat engine is completely different, and there are no specially marked dice or templates required. The scenarios (multiple for a single game) look interesting and play out on separate maps, with players having the option to jump fleets between the game boards. Now that we're getting ready to start in-person gaming soon, I can't wait to introduce A Billion Suns to my group.

"Space ships for your space war"

Browsing online for cheap toys to use in Stargrave, I came across the Space Union line of sci-fi sets, advertised as "Space ships for your space war." According to the packaging, this toy line is made by Peng Rong out of China. I found two items, once looking like a SHIELD helicarrier, and the other like a more conventional science fictional vessel.  

Each was under twenty bucks, and free shipping. I got a whole lot of toys for my $40. Not only were they large models, suitable for use in 28mm skirmish games, but each big ship carried several smaller toys, a mix of flying and ground vehicles. 

The set incuded a couple of scale-indeterminate winged craft that could do in a spaceship game, a tracked tank that might work in Ogre, and even a die-cast sedan. While the car is too small for 28mm, the construction-type hover vehicle and the four-legged walker (which will make a nice robot guardian) are the perfect size for Stargrave and other sci-fi games, like Mutants & Death Ray Guns.

These toys have a lot of potential in my scenarios as objective, opponents, opportunities, or even just scatter terrain. Unfortunately, the low price of these sets means the undersides of most of these vehicles are hollow, but that won't be an issue in most games. 

Still, it's a lot of bang for your gaming bucks. These spaceships just need some new paint jobs, and they'll be ready for use as terrain features or objectives. Their size means they will block line-of-sight and provide vantage points, which will make tactical situations interesting. All in all, I'm happy with my purchase.

Now I'm off to work on my space ships for my space war.