Game: Outpost Gamma

Thread: Print and Play Review

FNH1 — 2008-05-18T15:43:14+00:00

This game has long been available for you to download allowing you to print and play your own copy. This review is based on my Print and Play experience of the game.

I found Printing and Playing the game a real pain in the butt. The images provided in the zip file are literal scans of the counters and board. This means they are not designed for printing and playing so the imagry, especially on the board suffers from folds and creases.

I had a bit of trouble lining up the two map segments and scaling the counters to fit the map.

The rules didn't print well either. All but four pages of the rule book are scanned into a PDF with the last four pages being included as jpeg images with two pages on each.

Fortunately the end result is worth the effort of making the game.

The game is for two players. Its set on a far future world where the indigenous low tech people are battling against the off-world miners and their imperial marine guardians.

The two side are not equally balanced. The Miners and Marines are high tech with long range powerful weapons and the locals have only a few weapons but do have hordes of melee troops. I like the counters they are clear and show the attributes you would expect in a wargame, attack,defence, move and range.

The board, printing troubles aside, is a very nice hex map. The terrain plays a major part in the game play. There is a major canal that allows one side to move around very quickly and a lot of indivual features that block LOS , slow down and otherwise effect general game play.

Another neat feature of the game, are the "Storms". These are randomly moving storms that block LOS and allow both sides to use them as cover for movement, vital to winning the scenarios included.

The first scenario is simply, one side has to occupy three mountain tops at the end of the game, and the other is for the Marines to help the miners escape. Simple but challenging for both sides.

All in all it's a good little game. The original published version would be well worth picking up if you see it, and if you want to go to the trouble of printing and playing give it a go.

Summary : Fun little wargame

Image

The Maverick — 2006-03-01T12:29:56+00:00

Box cover, larger scan

Image

The Maverick — 2006-03-01T12:10:57+00:00

Rules booklet

Image

The Maverick — 2006-03-01T11:57:02+00:00

Terrain Key

Image

The Maverick — 2005-02-20T15:21:57+00:00

Sample counters

Image

The Maverick — 2005-02-20T15:21:56+00:00

Map detail

Thread: User Review

The Maverick — 2005-01-01T16:22:17+00:00

Players: 2
Playing Time: 1-2 hours
Period: Science Fiction
Scale: Tactical
. Turn: not specified
. Map: not specified
. Unit: 1 Legionaire, 5 Miners, or 5 Irdans

Box: small box

Components: 12x14" folding cardstock mapsheet, 24 page rulebook, 154 die-cut counters, six-sided die.

Counter Manifest: 7 Legionaire Troopers, 2 Legionaire Heavy Weaponier, 1 Legionaire Commander, 6 Colonial Miners, 88 Irdan Rebels, 15 Irdan Rebel Shooters, 2 Irdan Rebel Leaders, 10 disruption, 4 improved position, 4 fortified position, 6 small energy storm, 6 large energy storm, 2 optic sight, 1 game turn marker.

Dwarfstar says: "On a colonial world of the far future, ten hard-pressed Imperial troopers in mobile battle armor desperately defend their base against mass assaults by hundreds of primitive alien natives, rushing to attack under the cover of violent energy storms. The imperial troopers have the latest in advanced weaponry, high-mobility pulsor units in their armor, and the support of two heavy-weapons specialists. But the native Irdans have sheer numbers, unwavering courage, and their greatest ally -- the hostile environment of their home planet."

The reviewers say: "After what has seemed like an unending number of cute or gimmick-laden microgames, Outpost Gamma is a refreshing return to nuts-and-bolts tactics. When I first opened the game, I was a little put off by there only being two scenarios. However, the tactical richness of the game is such that those two scenarios can keep you going for a long time . . . And the components! The map is a gorgeous, full-color piece of artwork that looks like terrain and is a far cry from the rather dull and even crude maps found in many microgames . . . I recommend Outpost Gamma without reservations . . . you'll get far more than your money's worth." Bruce F. Webster in The Space Gamer #44.

"These first four releases from Dwarfstar Games are definitely above average. I think, however, that Outpost Gamma is the least interesting of the four." Kevin Pollock in Campaign #106.

Comments: A science fiction game styled after a Rorke's Drift style situation. Part of the Dwarfstar game line released by Heritage USA in 1981 and 1982. The line consisted of eight games, with four sci-fi titles and four fantasy titles. The games were especially admired for their excellent graphic design - not only did they blow away contemporary small format games, the polished Dwarfstar look often rivaled that of full-size wargames. The series died when Heritage USA declared bankruptcy in 1982, but 2004 saw a phoenix rise from the ashes, and Outpost Gamma is now available for free authorized download, along with five other Dwarfstar games, at http://dwarfstar.brainiac.com.

Collector's Notes: This has typically been one of the more affordable and available Dwarfstar games. Some of the other games in the series have been seen to hit prices of $75 or more. Boone's Internet Wargames Catalog (4th Ed.) lists low/high/average auction prices for Outpost Gamma at $6/$15/$11. In Boone 3rd, auction prices were $2/$15/$5 and sale listings were $5/$25/$13. A caveat - these values all predate the posting of the free download site.

Also from Dwarfstar games: Barbarian Prince, Demonlord, Dragon Rage, Goblin, Grav Armor, Star Smuggler, Star Viking.

(This is a portion of an article originally published in issue 21 of Simulacrum, July 2004.)

Image

The Maverick — 2004-09-24T13:45:06+00:00

Box back

Thread: Quick Comments

breakmanynecks — 2003-01-13T20:54:31+00:00

This is a cool game, the components are silmilar to Avalon Hill's "Starship Troopers" I remember working on a 'merger' variant rules package for these two games. I bought 2 or 3 copies of this game on clearance 15 or 20 years ago.

Image

breakmanynecks — 2003-01-13T19:09:25+00:00

Image

MarkEJohnson — 2002-08-27T13:19:38+00:00

Image

MarkEJohnson — 2002-08-27T13:19:35+00:00