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Retail games that are now FREE!!!
Rob S
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Just like the Title says.

This geeklist is about games that were once $$$ but are now free.

Please add to this list...
Posted Fri Mar 23, 2007 2:50 pm
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1. Board Game: Full Thrust [Average Rating:7.34 Overall Rank:647]
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Rob S
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Best free Space Combat out there...IMHO

Simple, fast-play rules that can be used with any size of starfleet! Basic rules of play can be learned in just a few minutes! No referring to charts or tables required during play!

http://www.gtns.co.uk/store1/commerce.cgi?page=downloads.htm...
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Edited Fri Mar 23, 2007 2:44 pm
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Kent Reuber
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Dirtside II is also a free download.
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As is Star Grunt II.
Kristian
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A lot of people think this is the best space combat game out there PERIOD.
Jeremy Fridy
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Kent
Ohio
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I like starmada JUST a little more for ease of play. But Full Thrust is a true classic and any gamer worth his salt should take a look.
2. Board Game: Cry Havoc [Average Rating:6.60 Overall Rank:1086]
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Rob S
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A man-to-man medieval combat wargame. Each side is comprised of peasants, seargants, bills, men-at-arms, and knights. Various scenarios are included in the rules. There is also a very good FREE computer version of Cry Havoc...and with AI too!

http://www.cryhavocfan.org/eng/suite/cryhavoc/chgame.htm
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Edited Fri Mar 23, 2007 2:44 pm
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3. Board Game: Dawn of the Dead [Average Rating:5.87 Overall Rank:3282]
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Rob S
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Dawn of the Dead (based on the classic 1978 horror film) can be played as a two-player game (humans vs. zombies), as a solitaire game, or as a cooperative game with two to four players controlling the human heroes.

http://www.homepageofthedead.com/games/dbg.html
4
José Carlos de Diego
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Updated version of the board and counters
http://www.witchmastercreations.com/dawn.php

Hugh G. Rection
United States
Chula Vista
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jcd2001es wrote:
Updated version of the board and counters
http://www.witchmastercreations.com/dawn.php


Oooh, very nice find! :D
Tony Fr
United States

Ohio
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Great find. I have been playing with the other copy. I like the colors of this much more.
Boss Key
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Computerized version based on the game under the title:

"Chopping Mall"

at

http://www.angelfire.com/dragon2/lmagic/bosskey.html
Edited Tue Oct 13, 2009 8:54 am
4. Board Game: Circus Maximus [Average Rating:6.64 Overall Rank:657]
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Rob S
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Ancient Roman chariot racing...Fun, Violent and Free!!
The more victims...err I meant players... the better!

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5. Board Game: Warp War [Average Rating:6.14 Overall Rank:2467]
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Kent Reuber
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One of the most popular of the Metagaming micro games using an interesting diceless combat system. Rules are available for download at: http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/usr/gc00/reviews/warpwar.h...
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William Hostman
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Again, this isn't licensed by Metagaming...

And Howards was supposedly fanatical about buying rights, not licensing them. My copy is copyright Metagaming, not the Author.
Duncan McEwen
United States
Reynoldsburg
Ohio
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Please note that the rules linked to are the Fan made advanced rules. The original rules are much simpler with fewer systems.

The advanced rules really look like a "missing link" between WarpWar and Starfire. ;)

Thanks,
Duncan
6. Board Game: Warmaster [Average Rating:7.24 Overall Rank:727]
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Kent Reuber
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Available for download at: http://www.specialist-games.com/warmaster/rulebook.asp
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Rick Blaney
United States
Lewiston
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Is there another link available? 'cuz this one seems borken.
Steven Pow
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twinfreak wrote:
Is there another link available? 'cuz this one seems borken.


http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/content/article.jsp?commun...
Rick Blaney
United States
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thumbsup Sweet! Thanks!
7. Board Game Publisher: Heritage USA
William Hostman
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Barbarian Prince, Demonlord, Dragon Rage, Goblin, Grav Armor, Outpost Gamma, Star Smuggler, and Star Viking.

all at http://dwarfstar.brainiac.com/ds_webfaq.html
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Chris Drake
United States
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Unfortunately, Dragon Rage and Star Smuggler are not available for download. Too bad as I think Dragon Rage is the best of the bunch.
Darrell Pavitt
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Actually, Star smuggler's designer has allowed it to be downloaded - check the site. Only Dragon rage is unavailable.
8. Board Game: Melee [Average Rating:6.80 Overall Rank:895]
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William Hostman
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Actually, almost the whole TFT line.

Howard Thompson disappeared... and hasn't been enforcing his rights. So, they all are available for D/L until Howard complains, under an Abandonware principle.

http://www.jgimmigration.com/tft/index.htm
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Brad Oliver
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That doesn't make them free, of course, just more easily "copyright-violatable" ;)

Edit: The Wikipedia entry for Howard Thompson also speculates (apparently without sourcing) that some of the IP was sold to Avalon Hill.
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Edited Fri Mar 23, 2007 11:13 pm
Ed Sherman
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lightnng wrote:


I went to that link and read it. I don't think you did. What that link said is that game mechanics are not copyrightable. It doesn't say "oh, sure make your own copy of Heroscape."
Paul Blake
United States
Corbin
Kentucky
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Copyrightable: Artwork, specific text of rulebook/cards/board etc.

Trademarked: Game name, character names, card names, slogans and mottos, etc.

Not protected: The core gameplay.

In terms of making a legal copy of a game (and such is possible), you can do so by not using any of the copyrighted or trademarked items. That sometimes (but not always) means either retheming the game, or removing the theme completely, making the game a complete abstract. So, if I wanted to make my own personal version of Acquire for personal use, I could do so if:

-I changed the name of the game (Obtain!)
-I wrote the rulebook myself, from scratch, without quoting the original rulebook in part or whole.
-I renamed the stock certificates.
-I created all the artwork myself.

It can still be about hotel chains, or tech businesses: Such concepts are outside the scope of that which can be copyrighted and/or trademarked. Arguably, I could even sell my derivative game, although it would be a bad idea: Currently legal or not, game publishers generally have more robust legal teams than your average private citizen. But making it for personal use, so long as I don't use any copyrighted or trademarked material in its creation? That is undoubtedly legal, regardless of whether the game is in or out of print.
Adrian Bolt wrote:
Bzzzzzt... WRONG!


I assume that you, as a Master Of The Unfounded Statement, are speaking to yourself?

I think you are making a common grammatical error.
Yes, you CAN.
No, you MAY not.

Bzzzzzt! Right back atcha!
Edited Sun Mar 23, 2008 5:39 pm
William Roop
United States
Mendon
Michigan
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Bzzzzzt to all y'all! While this is a worthy debate, please take it to a different thread... This was a geek-list worthy thread and your legal debate, while entertaining, is causing my poor modem to begin second-guessing itself. It now informs me that it wants to be a pocket-calculator! Just as I begin to enjoy reading through agreat list, I get bombarded by "abandonware vs freeware" the court game. Either design it and sell it, or discuss it somewhere else please.

respectfully yours

Beholm Drolendar
Wizard of the murky light.
9. Board Game: Modern Naval Battles [Average Rating:6.53 Overall Rank:1240]
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William Hostman
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Now available as print and play for free, or at cost printed cards at $18/box.

http://www.relativerange.com/cwnb/
http://www.relativerange.com/orders.htm
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John W
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This is the first game that came to my mind.

Fun one.
Bart Delbroek
Belgium
Hasselt
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The links seem to be dead. Too bad...
John Mellby
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piwi100 wrote:
The links seem to be dead. Too bad...


Try here:

http://www.relativerange.com/Relative_Range/Cold_War_Naval_B...
10. Board Game: Space Hulk [Average Rating:7.67 Overall Rank:73]
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Joey McNabb
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Anchorage
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Space Hulk - a real gem - is available. Itis well worth the time and effort to make your own copy of the board. Minis from many systems can be used.

GamesWorkshop has released a pdf of the tiles for this game. The rules, missions and alternate tiles are all available on BGG and on the web.

Here's a link putting many of the resources in one place:

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/fileinfo.php?fileid=22810
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Robert Wilson
Canada
Riverview
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The warhammer 40k minis work really well
Rob S
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New York
New York
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Wow! I did not know this game was free to print and play!!!....I sure am glad I created this geeklist!!! :p I am going to put together this game right now
Wjekoslaw Beljo
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Do anyone know the content of the Space Hulk Campaign online or for free?
Richard Johnson
United States
Seattle
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Wow. Very cool. I spent the weekend printing the tiles out and sticking them to foam board. Can't wait to finish this project up. Thanks.
Robert Wilson
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http://www.necronhulk.co.uk/

has tiles and rules for necrons as well as the original campaigns
11. Board Game: Lost Patrol [Average Rating:6.80 Overall Rank:1746]
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Joey McNabb
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This is a nice game that can be printed from files here on BGG. It's been called "Space Hulk Lite", and can be played as a 2 player or solo.

It takes very little time to construct - and is a very engaging game with simple rules, a changing gameboard, and dripping with theme!

thumbsupthumbsupthumbsup
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José Carlos de Diego
Spain
Zaragoza
Zaragoza
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Lost Guild (a fantasy/medieval version of Lost Patrol)
http://www.labsk.net/index.php?topic=4672.0
(in Spanish)
United Kingdom

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I love this game!

Any tips on how to play this game solitaire?

And where can I find an English language translation of the 'Lost Guild' variant?
Marco
United States
La Mesa
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Here's the email I got from Games Workshop:
------------------------------------------------------

Hello,
There are no plans, that we know of, to re-release that game or make it public domain.

Thank you,

John Spencer
Hobby Specialist
Games Workshop Direct Services
6711 Baymeadow Drive
Glen Burnie, MD 21060-6401
1
Edited Thu Jun 7, 2007 6:52 pm
Samuel Hinz
Australia
Brisbane
Queensland
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just finished creating my own copy of this game, and i must say it is quite good. just played two games, yesterday, and sure to play another 2 today. great little 2 player game.
12. Board Game: HeroQuest [Average Rating:6.76 Overall Rank:492]
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José Carlos de Diego
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Zaragoza
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HeroQuest is Milton Bradley's approach to a Dungeons & Dragons-style adventure game. One player acts as game master, revealing the maze-like dungeon piecemeal as the players wander. Up to four other players take on a character (wizard, elf, dwarf or barbarian) and venture forth into dungeons on fantasy quests. Miniature plastic characters and doll-house style furniture make this game very approachable. Expansions were also released for this system.


HeroQuest Collection
http://heroquest.no-ip.com/
3
Yo Mama


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http://www.aginsinn.com/

This site has plenty of Hero Quest downloads, including the original version, all the expansions and plenty of player-created content.
Justin Hoffman
United States
Ashburn
Virginia
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flying_noodle wrote:
http://www.aginsinn.com/

This site has plenty of Hero Quest downloads, including the original version, all the expansions and plenty of player-created content.


Sadly, this one seems to be dead.
Slev Sleddeddan
United Kingdom
Victoria Park
Manchester
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Canada
Thorold
Ontario
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Slev wrote:


Site now at http://www.yeoldeinn.com/
Matt Mallas
United States
Bartlett
Illinois
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Has anybody gotten this "no-ip" site to work recently? I keep getting the error "530 Not logged in." when trying to download files.

I know I downloaded the entire thing a few years ago, so hopefully I can find the original download on one of my computers.
13. Board Game: Wiz-War [Average Rating:7.01 Overall Rank:381]
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José Carlos de Diego
Spain
Zaragoza
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In this light, beer & pretzels type of game, players are transformed into wizards attempting to collect treasures from twisted little maze. At the heart of the game, is a deck of cards which the players use to cast spells, power-up spells, and augment movement. Each turn, players can move up to three spaces (or more with the right cards). However the goal is to penetrate the other players' section of the maze, pick up one of their treasures, bring it back to your area. The first player to capture two such treasures or kill all the other wizards is the winner.

Jeff's Custom Wiz-war
http://www.jeloba.com/wizwar/

English Rules:
http://www.box.net/public/matoe20lhs

epengr's wiz-war page (cards and boards)
http://www.wizwar.com/members/epengr/

Wikipedia page for WizWar (encyclopedia)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiz_war
1
Alexander B.
United States
Austin
Texas
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Uh... this is freeware? I don't think so. I heard Tom Jolly recently talking about the rights to this game, and it certainly didn't sound like he had given this to the public domain.
Panayiotis Zinoviadis
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Thessaloniki
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2 years to go.......

I have my homemade version but i will probably be the first in my city order the new edition.....in two years or more......:(

Imagine FFG taking Wiz-War reprint or even Valley games......

Make it three years....... PpPp
robin goblin
Canada
Toronto
Ontario
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Hey Tom,

I made a copy as an xmas present for my son a few years ago: it was a lot of hard work, but it's an excellent game and we've had a lot of fun with it. Thanks for making it possible for people to make a copy of the old edition while it's been out of print. Much appreciated and I look forward to the new edition coming out!!

Robin
Jeff B


California
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I'd just like to confirm that as Tom mentions above, I've spoken with him about Jeff's Custom Wiz-war ( http://www.jeloba.com/wizwar/), and he gave me specific permission to make it publicly available via the web. I still hope to see additional retail editions of this great game, but in the mean time, we fans have to do what we can to keep the spirit of the game alive. :-)

- Jeff
1
Edited Mon Jul 21, 2008 3:54 pm
ShNar gRu
United States
Elk Ridge
Utah
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I actually own a copy, have for a few years now (eBay find) but never played it. Should I start? Am I missing out by letting it collect dust?

-shnar
14. Board Game: Café Race [Average Rating:6.49 Overall Rank:2504]
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José Carlos de Diego
Spain
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Café Race is a race game set in a business office. The players take the role of office workers going upstairs to the first floor to get a cup of coffee who then improvise a race while they are going back downstairs… with a cup full of coffee. The player that makes it to the bottom of the stairs and spills the least amount of coffee wins.

Old componentes and old English Rules:
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/fileinfo.php?fileid=13879

New commercial English Rules:
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/fileinfo.php?fileid=22091
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15. Board Game: Advanced Civilization [Average Rating:7.94 Unranked] [Average Rating:7.94 Unranked]
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José Carlos de Diego
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This game has a huge following and is widely regarded as one of the best games about ancient civilizations. Each player takes on the role of leader of an ancient civilization, such as the Illyrians or Babylonians. Your task is to guide your people through the ages by expanding your empire and using its proceeds to finance new technological advances, such as Literacy, Metalworking, or Law. The advancements help your civilization better cope with its problems as well as help bring new advancements.

Civilization: The Expansion Project
http://www.civproject.net/

Hellenization
http://www.civiboard.com/hellenization/
6
16. Board Game: Statis Pro Football [Average Rating:6.12 Overall Rank:2454]
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José Carlos de Diego
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More of a simulation than a balanced game, Statis Pro American Football uses the AH Fast Action Card system. Individual players are rated for their ability to throw/catch/run, block, rush the passer, and several other ratings. You are the coach for your team, and choose from a selection of offensive or defensive moves (Inside Run, Short Pass or Blitz, Run No Key as examples) which affect the outcome, and then flip a deck of cards to work out the result. So if I call the right pass defense against your pass, it becomes harder to complete the pass, or a Run defense means your Run gets less yardage. But if I get it wrong, my defense may have no effect or even greatly increase your chances.

The game rules cover pretty much every eventuality, but with all the modifiers, it can slow down when combinations happen. In particular turnovers or penalties can make it slow. And luck can be a factor. Get it all right and you still lose the ball, or concede the TD.

The basic game comes with stats cards for every player in every team. Avalon Hill produced several years worth of cards for use with the game, which you could buy separately. And a strong team will overwhelm a weaker team. Strong offense generally pushes past a weak D and there's not a lot you can do except be lucky. But by picking evenly-matched teams, it does require some forethought to work your team to a score. It's best to include the endurance rules, which mean that some players must 'rest' before you can re-direct a play to them. This means cycling players and dealing with injuries makes tricky decisions for you.

If you love American Football and know the players and enjoy stats, then Statis Pro American Football is for you. If you're looking for a fun game with a football theme, look elsewhere, maybe at AH's game Paydirt.

Bomber's Statis Pro Football
http://www.bombersgolf.com/StatisPro/FootBall/home.html
This week's Chit Chat Film Club film of the week is . . . . . . . . NUNS ON THE RUN
England
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I wrote that! :)

I've started playing this again with my friend Mike, and after our first match (abandoned half-tine SF 49ers 42 Redskins 0) we both found the site. Mike's downloaded the new rules sets and the entire 2006 roster*. We played a full match from noon to 10pm with a meal break. My Chicago Bears beat his Baltimore Ravens with a FG on the final play of the game after a thrilling contest. The teams are ranked now, so it's easy to pick balanced opponents, and the more you play, the faster it gets. I strongly recommend any football fans to try Statis Pro out.

* warning - the new roster is sorted by player position, not by team. So get one 2006 team, you have to print the whole lot, cut them all out, then sort them out. But for an amateur job, it's highly professional. You get the whole set of FAC cards, so everything you need to play is available, except a gridiron.
1
Edited Sat Mar 24, 2007 5:38 pm
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I copied the description of the game in the bgg game section. Sorry.
This week's Chit Chat Film Club film of the week is . . . . . . . . NUNS ON THE RUN
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No problem! It took me a few minutes to figure why it looked familiar...
17. Board Game: Gunslinger [Average Rating:6.99 Overall Rank:527]
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José Carlos de Diego
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Zaragoza
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Gunslinger is based on a quick and easy game system that recreates the split-second nature of gunplay. Each turn the players secretly play cards to define exactly what they will do during the next two seconds in the game. Then they step through these actions on the playing map, resolving each shot in the split-second when it takes place. Gunslinger resolves combat quickly and easily. The attacker draws a result card that shows exactly where his shot hits, which combines with his gun to determine the damage he inflicts. This recreates the critical differences between weapons: Winchesters, Shotguns, Buffalo rifles, Colt's "Peacemaker", Smith & Wesson's breakopen guns and Remington's Derringer are a few of the guns in the game.

Cryhavocgames.net
http://cryhavocgames.net/Gunslinger.htm

The Wargamer.com
http://www.thewargamer.com/Gunslinger/Gunslinger.html

Claus Ekstroems page (scenarios, shot evaluator, rules, maps)
http://www.ekstroem.com/gunslinger/
2
Alex Henderson
Cayman Islands
Grand Cayman
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Actually, the rules are found here: http://www.amarriner.com/gun/rules.php
Edited Wed Mar 28, 2007 3:20 am
José Agüero
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I'm actually quite interested in putting together my own copy of this game, but where would you say I can get the original boards, player aids and counters?

So far I've been able to get the cards, rules and fan-made additions.

Thanks;
18. Board Game: Necromunda [Average Rating:7.13 Overall Rank:374]
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Dave J
United Kingdom
Plymouth
Devon
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Another freebie from the Games Workshop 'Specialist Games' stable. Their best game of recent years?

http://www.specialist-games.com/necromunda/default.asp
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William Hostman
United States
Eagle River
Alaska
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Their best in recent years? I'm not so sure.

I prefer Inquisitor, at least mechanically, for the detail levels.

Of course, I've got most of the preview materials for GW's Confrontation as published in WD... and it's halfway between the two. =I= scaled attributes and details, Necromunda theme and play-style.
Dave J
United Kingdom
Plymouth
Devon
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True, Confrontation looked awesome when GW first started puttting rules in WD.

Although I think that GW made a wise decision to split the game (virtualy) in two: Inquisitor and Necro. Both great games.
James Cheevers
France
Pamproux
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We had a full set of Confrontation rules when I worked in GW in Liverpool (must have been 91/92). We had built terrain for a 4x4 area and had converted gangs (with my Darkman leader).

It was very good, very detailed and a lot of fun. We sent our reports back to HQ and looked forward to seeing a commercial product which ultimately never came. Necromunda was fine but wasn't the near the level of Confrontation.

James
nick s
Australia
Unspecified
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Is anyone else getting an error for specialist-games these pages?

Quote:

ADODB.Recordset error '800a0e7d'

The connection cannot be used to perform this operation. It is either closed or invalid in this context.

/store.html, line 15
x m


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person23 wrote:
Is anyone else getting an error for specialist-games these pages?


After you select a region, specifically?
I still get "site is borked" often;
clear the cookie and try a different region.
Jim Miller
United States
Germantown
Tennessee
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19. Board Game: Mordheim - City of the Damned [Average Rating:7.20 Overall Rank:369]
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Dave J
United Kingdom
Plymouth
Devon
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Or is it this?

http://www.specialist-games.com/mordheim/default.asp
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20. Board Game: Aliens [Average Rating:7.33 Overall Rank:543]
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José Carlos de Diego
Spain
Zaragoza
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Aliens allows players to recreate three key battle scenarios from the 1986 science fiction/horror film. The scenarios include "The Reactor Room" (nine marines vs. the aliens in their lair), "Operations and Air Ducts" (the surviving marines face an alien assault and pursuit), and "Ripley vs. The Queen" (Ripley uses a powerloader in her final battle with the Alien Queen). Includes a 17" x 34" game map, character cards, and counters, all featuring photos from the movie.

http://www.labsk.net/index.php?topic=2049.0
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José Carlos de Diego
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Jay Adan
United States
Erving
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I don't believe that FOX would have given permission for this game to be released free on the net.
M C
United States
Orem
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Man, those files are really going to hurt sales!
21. Board Game: Dune [Average Rating:7.67 Overall Rank:59]
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José Carlos de Diego
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Set thousands of years in the future, Dune the boardgame is based on the Frank Herbert novels about an arid planet at the heart of the human space empire's political machinations.

Designed by the creators at Eon of Cosmic Encounter fame, the game can best be described as Cosmic Encounter set within the Dune universe. It does diverge in several mechanical ways but its heart is still in the same place, that is, it is a game that generates a lot of player interaction through negotiation and bluffing.

Players each take the role of one of the factions attempting to control Dune. Each faction has special powers that overlook certain rules in the game. Each turn players move about the map attempting to pick up valuable spice while dealing with giant sandworms, deadly storms, and other players' military forces. A delicate political balance is formed amongst the factions to prevent any one side from becoming too strong. When a challenge is made in a territory, combat takes the form of hidden bids with additional treachery cards to further the uncertainty.

The game concludes when one faction (or two allied factions) is able to control a certain number of strongholds on the planet.

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/fileinfo.php?fileid=7167
http://www.sorvan.com/games/dune/
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3 comments [Hide]
Edited Sun Mar 25, 2007 11:44 am
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José Carlos de Diego
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Edited Sun Mar 25, 2007 11:44 am
John Fairley
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Again, I'm not sure a game is "Free" just because no one is currently publishing it and someone has posted the rules online.
Aaron Tubb
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Not just the rules are available. The entire game has been turned into an easily printable format. It is basically print-and-play.
22. Board Game: Army of Darkness [Average Rating:5.55 Overall Rank:4412]
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José Carlos de Diego
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Army of Darkness recreates the battle for Arthur's Castle at the end of the film, as the Deadites swarm over the walls in their attempt to capture the Book of the Dead. The players take the roles of some of the important characters from the film (Ash, Henry, etc.) and try to defeat Evil Ash and his horde of Deadites. The game can be played cooperatively where the evil forces are controlled by predetermined objectives, or instead one of the players can control all of the evil forces. Game play consists of players searching the castle for allies and equipment they can use to fight the Deadites (flaming arrows, explosives, etc.) and the actual combating of the evil army. Players win if they defeat the four evil champions. Evil wins if Evil Ash gets the Book of the Dead out of the castle or if the Deadite army kills all of the players.

http://www.deadites.net/aodboard.php
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Jay Adan
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Wow.. lots of things here that have been released on the web without permission.
Matthew Morgan
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I find my namesake in board game form, and the link is dead.

EDIT: Hey, turns out the link was just missing an underscore.

Quote:
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Edited Fri Dec 21, 2007 2:10 pm
23. Board Game: London's Burning [Average Rating:6.90 Overall Rank:837]
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José Carlos de Diego
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As a solitaire game, London's Burning place you in command of a pair of RAF fighters in southeast England defending targets against Luftwaffe's bombers.

Holland's Burning variant:

* rules ( http://www.grognard.com/info1/hbrules.doc)
* counters ( http://www.grognard.com/info1/hbcount.zip)
* NE map ( http://www.grognard.com/info1/hbnemap.zip)
* NW map ( http://www.grognard.com/info1/hbnwmap.zip)
* SE map ( http://www.grognard.com/info1/hbsemap.zip)
* SW map ( http://www.grognard.com/info1/hbswmap.zip)
* Fokker record ( http://www.grognard.com/info1/hbfokkerrec.zip)
* Ju52 record ( http://www.grognard.com/info1/hbju52rec.zip)
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Edited Sat Mar 24, 2007 9:31 pm
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24. Board Game: Battlefleet Gothic [Average Rating:6.93 Overall Rank:711]
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A S
United States
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The Games Workshop game of spacefleet combat.

Rules can be downloaded from the afore-mentioned Specialist Games website at http://www.specialist-games.com/battlefleetgothic/Default.as...

This is still an active game, and you can actually buy a copy of the rules and the minis directly from GW:

http://uk.games-workshop.com/storefront/store.uk?do=List_Mod...

I'm currently powering my Star Wars SSB minis with modified BFG rules. :)
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Will
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Interestingly enough, the rules link above from the publisher website mentions that the rules have all been updated for 2007 with errata, etc, and are still availible for download.

Edit: Looks like the specialist games website is gone.
Looks like the PDFs are now here:
http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/content/article.jsp?commun...
Edited Tue Feb 10, 2009 12:52 am
25. Board Game: Dirtside II [Average Rating:7.09 Overall Rank:1642]
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Andreas Udby
United States
Spokane
Washington
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Dirtside is an excellent 6mm (micro-armor) science-fiction wargame. See the game's Geek page for links to the download, PDF's of the chits, design resources, scenarios, etc.
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Will
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For this game, the publisher is providing the rules and counter sheets as a free d/l on thier official page, so this game is definately one of the ones that belong on the list.
In addition to the link on the BGG page (which leads to thier store downloads page), the publisher has another link with the same PDF files:
http://www.groundzerogames.net/index.php?option=com_content&...
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Edited Fri Apr 13, 2007 1:54 pm
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9 comments [Hide]
William Hostman
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Eagle River
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Any "free" list is liekly to fill with much "abandonware." Games that are no longer available, and that the authors &/or IP Owners choose not to enforce their rights (due to ignorance or apathy). Expect it to get worse, not better.

Further, a great number of games (mostly roleplaying but dwarfstar is a good example in Boardgames) are being released on the net with explicit permissions, but retention of the copyrights. And, as for Metagaming's Melee, well, that's 1982. so, given the term at registry, that would be expiring in 3 years. Of course, I've got it all on dead trees... so having a digital backup is no issue for me.
M C
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What about Borderlands Does that count?
Chris D'Andrea
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I tend to think that people are confusing US Copyright law regarding other items with those regarding Games

They are not the same

Here is the actual US Government site regarding games

http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl108.html

and just a glimpse as to what it says (you can go read the whole thing if you want)

Quote:
The idea for a game is not protected by copyright. The same is true of the name or title given to the game and of the method or methods for playing it.


Without getting in too much detail Copyright law does not forbid you from creating a clone of a game. Granted the scanning and downloading of images and rules does in fact violate US copyright laws but to print out and exact clone of a game is not a violation and if you go on to read the site

Quote:
Once a game has been made public, nothing in the copyright law prevents others from developing another game based on similar principles.



So for me to create my own version of "Dune" as long as I use my own images for the game board and cards I have every right to do so. I can even market my own game baring the use of any copyrighted materials (see below)

Quote:
Some material prepared in connection with a game may be subject to copyright if it contains a sufficient amount of literary or pictorial expression. For example, the text matter describing the rules of the game, or the pictorial matter appearing on the gameboard or container, may be registrable.


Now this may not hold true in other countries but here in the US the Government has made it pretty cut and dry that "Games" here are not copyrighted only that some materials (ie rules layout and artwork) are.

If there are any US attorneys that wish to clarify something from that site lets here it but to compare the RIAA's and MPAA's fight against pirating and game copyrights is like comparing Talisman to Caylus. Just not the same animals.



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The clarification on the legality of making your own copy of games is surprising but welcome news.

Pardon but I now must start casting my Hirst molds to create a plaster-built 3D version of Fearsome Floors.
Chris Dieckmann
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But remember!! Freedom isn't free. It costs a buck O five! If you don't pay your buck O five who will????
Edited Sat May 2, 2009 3:48 am
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