|
Great Science Fiction Books that have not yet been made into Boardgames or CCGs
|
|
|
Going through the database on members who share common interests with me , I could not help but notice that many of us geeks have a penchant for a little bit of Science Fiction on the side.  Many collectors have Avalon Hill's Dune (Herbert) or Starship Troopers (Heinlein) or even the fantasy based Game of Thrones (Martin) (Boardgame and CCG) But what other great Sci Fi/Fantasy Books would make excellent Boardgames or CCGS and why? What central character or theme could stimulate a core mechanic in a game? And What might that mechanic be? Exercise those sensors and beam down some grey matter and let Geekdom know your thoughts.
|
|
|
Posted Thu Oct 12, 2006 4:57 pm
|
|
|
|
|
Yes, Mayfair released a game covering this Hugo award-winning novel.
No, it did not include the actual, strategic campaign for which Haldeman provided numerous stellar references - enough to actually devise a campaign.
No, the ground combat system that was designed did not impart any feel for the abilities of the powered suits used in combat, nor did it handle any of the long-range or heavy weaponry.
I'd really like to see a game release that does justice to this novel.
|
|
|
|
Footfall - Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle
A fantastic novel detailing the invasion of Earth by a species somehwat resembling smallish elephants - possessing interstellar travel, and the ability to toss asteroids (or other, kinetic-energy devices) at the Earth. A global war ensues, with several actions on different continents described in the novel, and culminates in a fight-to-the-death in orbit, between a cobbled-together last hope of man against the enemy mothership.
What the hell more could you ask for?
Also needs cinematic adaptation. Badly.
|
|
|
|
I would go for Iain Banks' "Culture" series starting with 'Consider Phlebas'.
Funky spaceships with "Minds" of their own and names like "Getting there BUT slowly". Collectible ships you build or just great board bits.
I could easily spend a couple of hours in "Special Circumstances". Spying, intrigue and paranoia...and a little bit of death.
F*** the Prime Directive let's go and mess with the Aliens' culture.
|
4.
Board Game: Pandora
[Average Rating:0.00 Unranked]
|
|
|
|
Pandora's Star - Peter F. Hamilton
...and the sequel, Judas Unchained, depict a war between humanity, who has adopted wormhole travel to the exclusion of spaceships (travelling directly from one planet's surface to another), against a remorseless, super-aggressive, single-mind species, which has been honing its space combat abilities against its own kind for millenia. Humanity starts the conflict at a distinct disadvantage, and must claw its way first towards just holding the line, while trying to find a way to deliver a desperate but necessary knock-out blow.
|
|
|
|
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card. This fictional space setting of the war between humans and buggers might have made for an interesting war game.
|
|
|
|
The Deathgate Cycle by Weis & Hickman (authors of Dragonlance - Chronicles amongst others) Very basic outline of plot: 2 races of people who have extremely powerful magic are against each other, both think they are the gods of the universe, each trying to control the lesser races (humans, dwarves and elves), only to find that they are not the gods they think they are.
This is my favorite fantasy book series I've ever read. So much so, that I re-read it about every two years. Now, I've never played Netrunner, but I have read a lot about it, and a lot of people think very highly of it. That is the game I picture someone doing The Deathgate Cycle on. One faction would be the Patryns, the other the Sartan.
Orrrr....what would be really kewl, is a 4 player CCG. 2 teams - One person plays a Patryn deck, another a Sartan deck. The other two people partner with one of them, and play a mensch deck (what they call the lower races of people - funny cause I looked up the word. In the books it is a very not nice word). The Partyn and Sartan decks could only affect each other, while the mensch decks could affect everyone. The game would probably not sell, as it would only work really well with 4 people. But it would be fun.
|
|
|
|
There at least three Harry Turtledove books/series that would good fodder for wargames:
Guns of the South--The books has several battles the Confederates (armed with AK-47's provided by the Afrikaaner Resistence Movement using a time machine) against the Union (revised Battle of the Wilderness and Battle of Washington) and the final battle where President Lee has to invade the well armed Afrikaaner base. Probably best handled at a tactical/operational level.
WorldWar Series: Space faring Lizards invade Tosev3 expecting to find warriors wearing metal plate armor on animalback. But they are surprised in the 800 years that their journey to took when they arrive at Tosev and find Tosevites are engaged in a global war with primitive aircraft, tanks, ships, chemical explosives. The Conquest Fleet has far superior weapons to the Tosevites, but they are thin on the ground. And the Tosevite leaders: Churchill, Hitler, Togo, Stalin and Roosevelt, realize the threat and temproarily call of hostilities to deal with the invasion.
Possibly as a strategic card based game where the Lizards have to win quickly before the humans can improve thier technology. Also several battles in the war can be adequate simulated.
--Timeline 191 How Few Remain, Alternate Great War, American Empire, Settling Accounts books: Based on the idea that Lee 'sGeneral Order 191 was not lost by the courier prior to the Battle of Antietam, thus Lee successfully outflanks McClellan's Army of the Potomac, invades the North and forces a political settlement of the Civil War. The series continues with a Second Mexican War over the CSA's acquisition of Sonora & Chihuahua, WW1 and WW2 between the USA and CSA.
Cerainly strategic games on all three wars and many indiidual battles are available.
|
|
|
|
THE PLAYER OF GAMES/ Iain M Banks
Boy, how could I not have put this one first? You must read this book because this is how many of us Geeks treat their game playing fix.
The new spin on the Russian Roulette theme using Humans as live ammunition is a master piece of SF writing.
Just a flavour below courtesy of the Iain M Banks Web site.
"The Culture — a human / machine symbiotic society — has thrown up many great Game Players, and one of the greatest is Gurgeh. Jernau Morat Gurgeh. The Player of Games. Master of every board, computer and strategy.
Bored with success, Gurgeh travels to the Empire of Azad, cruel and incredibly wealthy, to try their fabulous game ... a game so complex, so like life itself, that the winner becomes emperor. Mocked, blackmailed, almost murdered, Gurgeh accepts the game, and with it the challenge of his life — and very possibly his death."
|
|
|
|
Nine Princes in Amber / The Chronicles of Amber
Roger Zelazny
Sure, you could just make a well-received RPG out this material, but think about the possibilities for tactical or strategic military operations in the quest for the "One True World".
Like PotR, the Machiavellian twists and turns of the Royal Family's quest for the throne and the ensuing fight against the forces of Chaos would make a phenomenal game.
Come on Martin Wallace, Richard Borg, and Christian Petersen- this one is a gem waiting to be crafted and polished. The epic sweep and rich material has kept Zelazny's world fresh every time I read it.
Just think: The flavor of Shadows Over Camelot, mixed in with the scale of War of the Ring, and the intrigue of Arkham Horror. So let it be written... 
|
|
|
|
David Brin's Uplift series. While the earlier books were better, the whole thing had an epic scope. Quasi-religious factions of all the races of the Five Galaxies in a huge war, while attempting to chase down a lone Earth vessel carrying cargo that could turn their "religion" on its head. Great fun. The only great "epic" scale SF novel I've read is A Fire Upon the Deep and I have no idea how to turn that into a game.
|
|
|
|
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
by Douglas Adams
Good books of sci-fi style satire. Very interesting universe. I'm not sure what type of game or games could come of it, though. I'd like to see a Hitchhiker's game that has players going around the galaxy trying to find the answers to the big questions, like 'who really runs the universe, when you get right down to it?' what is the ultimate question?' 'does Magrathea exist?' 'why is the Earth suddenly back again?' and 'what was god's message to the people of the universe?'. There could be a deck of "improbable event" cards which cause seemingly random, incredibly improbable events to happen. Also, a big thick instruction guide which reads "DON'T PANIC!" on it.
Another possibility is a game where you try to be elected as president of the galaxy. Perhaps it could be like a retheme of Die Macher, only with many planets involved.
|
|
|
|
The Lost Regiment, Book 1: Rally Cry, by William R. Forstchen.
A New England regiment from the American Civil War is aboard a transport ship, when they are caught up in a unnatural storm that opens a rift through time and space, transporting the regiment to an alien yet Earth-like world. Turns out, this world has medieval-era villages inhabited by humans who are themselves decedents of others transported from Earth. But the humans here are all enslaved, and many of them serve as cattle, to a warrior race of man-eating aliens called the Tugar, who rule this world.
Before long, the lost regiment finds itself embattled with the Tugar, whose warriors outnumber the regiment 10 to 1; and to make matters worse, Tugar are bigger and stronger than humans. But the regiment has rifles and cannons, to stand against the Tugar with their medieval weapons and armor.
It's a pretty close match.
This could make either a tactical wargame with a highly unusual subject matter, representing a battle between the Civil War era human regiment and the medieval, ogre-like alien Tugar; or a strategic economic/building game, where the regiment and its leaders race to secure recourses and to mass produce Civil War era weaponry and other war materiel, and to build defenses in a medieval town soon to be under siege by the Tugar.
BTW: Rally Cry is the first in The Lost Regiment series. More about this excellent book and series can be found in this wiki entry...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rally_Cry
|
|
|
|
George R.R. Martin's Short Story, Sandkings. A four player wargame where the players manage a "tribe" that starts out as insect-like creatures that then develop into semi-humanoids that work as formation-type warriors.
|
|
|
|
Lord of Light
Roger Zelazny
Easily my favorite of his works -- it deals with a group of space travelers who set themselves up as gods -- of the Hindu pantheon, in this case. They settled the planet generations ago, but kept the technology for themselves, while their descendants live an almost medeveal existance. They have the ability to transfer their personalities into new bodies "avatars" when they die. But one of their number, Sam, rebels against the "gods", takes on the persona of the Buddha and trys to bring enlightenment (not to mention technology) to the world.
About the time I read it, I was playing Kremlin a lot and I thought that you could retheme Kremlin to be a struggle amongst the Gods -- each with an inherent ability, but also abilities dependant on their station in the pantheon. It might not capture the stuggle depicted in the book, but might make for an interesting game.
|
|
|
|
Isaac Asimov/The Foundation Series
I am surprised that Mr Asimov never licensed any of his major "properties" off apart from 'I, Robot'.
He was a great communicator and brought Sci Fi to the masses and stimulated many of the key writers of the 70's and 80's.
'The Foundation Series', in my view was his magnum opus.
It would have made a great old school Avalon Hill type game. I can almost see the box cover in that typical 70's style they had.
A great empire building game across the galaxy; a mystery game to try and find the Foundation Origin. Or a two player game where one player takes the part of the 'Mule'.
I suppose there are many of Asimov's stories that would lend themselves to Boardgames.
"Caves of Steel" would be a great Sci Fi Cluedo.
|
|
Posted Thu Oct 12, 2006 1:21 pm
I was always intigued by the pseudo time travel element and how logistics of warfare could work over century long campaigns.
Now that has potential for a HUGE wargame experience.