Science Fiction

 

Published from 1950 to 1980, Galaxy Science Fiction Magazine tried to focus on social issues, rather than technology.  You can find 355 back issues of  Galaxy Science Fiction Magazine on the internet archive.

 

I spent a frozen February Saturday at Flint Con (held in Flint, Michigan, of course). It’s always a great miniatures convention, with a large number and variety of games, an interesting flea market, good on-site food and lots of old friends to catch up with. Rod Cain runs a great show at the Lutheran school, with proceeds benefiting students at the school.

The highlight for me was the chance to play Atomic Tank (manufacturer’s site) with designers Matt and John. The epic scale 10-ish mm game with atomic tanks, armored infantry and big stompy robots is part of their Retroverse series of games, which also includes the 28mm Retro Raygun skirmish game and War Rockets, a space ship fleet game.

All of the products have a Flash Gordon – Buck Rogers – 1930s – 1950s science fiction vibe. The figures are terrific.

In the Atomic Tank base game, players command a force of either Galacteers (Earth humans) or the Robot Legion. The Galacteers are speedy and good shots. The Robot Legion is tough and has a “brutal” close combat attack. Additional factions are in the works. I am anxious to see the not-Ming -the-Merciless faction.

Atomic Tank has some interesting mechanics. To activate units, players roll a number d6s equal to their activation stat, and can take as many actions as 4 – 6 results rolled. When shooting or in close combat, the attacker rolls a number of d6s equal to their shooting or assault stat while the defender simultaneously rolls d6s equal to their defense stat. A hit and damage are scored based on the highest “unblocked” d6 score of 4 – 6 from the attacker. For example, if the attacker rolls a 6, 5 and 3 and the defender rolls a 5 and 4, the 6 is unblocked (the 3 is a flat out miss) and goes through.

Once players grok the “blocked concept, the game plays very smoothly.

The figures are a bit larger than what I remember of the old GW Epic 40k, but still small enough to get a good sized game on a smaller table. The four player game I was in used a couple of banquet tables, but I think you could get in a good game on standard dining room table with four, and a card table with two.

It will come as no surprise to any who have been at a table with me that my dice betrayed me early and often. Still, I had a lot of fun in a losing effort.

I think that with its retro vibe, clever dice mechanics and beautiful figures, Atomic Tank is a winner.