Played SFB back in the 1980's at the South Dorset Military Society wargames club. In 1999 Star Fleet Command came out and I started playing this, with my son. SFC 1 is SFB compatible up to the 1998 Volume 3 ruleset and the in game ships (which are wrongly modelled) are all SFB ships up to this ruleset. Having played SFB before gave me a huge tactical advantage in SFC over my son (who hadn't) as I knew how things were actually working in the PC game and would visualise SSD damage in my head when looking at the SFC computer game info for translation. He never cottoned on for years as to why I would launch an admin shuttle and have it near my ship (enhances sensor range, etc.). I recently bought a copy of the 1991 Captain's Module P1 on E-Bay and scripted the "Last Day Of The Bounty Hunters" scenario into my enhanced version of SFC (I added the Kzinti, Tholian, LDR, WYN, etc. races & ship models into my SFC game years ago sourced from various download sites). Currently modelling the SFB Frax fleet ships to add into the game. SFB SSDs are directly translatable into the SFC shiplist attributes file by using the Ship Edit software tool by Eagle Eye Software. It does take 15 to 20 minutes of keyboard work though.
Did you ever play SFC on GameSpy or games radar I think it was called? My pal and I moved onto Orion Pirates for the base game and he modded it really well. We both played SFB prior too.
We started playing SFB back in the very early 80's in High School, it was our first science fiction game where we would take time for a large number of people to set around a large table using the miniatures. Sadly I haven't played a game in awhile, but might have to remind the crew to take time and play a game or two again
Same here, hours and hours of fun. Played up to 5AM some nights. Biked back to my house as the sun came up. It was based on the Amarillo Design Bureau's Star Trek Technical Manual that Roddenberry used for the original series. The first movie and Paramount diverted from the original and they went their separate ways. ADB and SFB had a Captain's Log magazine and they added many modules. The strategic game Federation and Empire was fun as well. FASA made an RPG which included ship blueprints and their catalog mentioned a massive copy-cats of SFB but as far as I know they never actually sold it. There was a really old British Star Trek game, I have a copy and it seems to predate SFB but I only saw it in store one year.
I love the Star Fleet Universe! I went Federation Commander however with both the Klingon/Romulan Frontier sets however. I enjoy how they stream lined the SFB rules (fewer impulses, two scales; Starship and Fleet Scale) allowing for larger fleet actions in a bit more reasonable time. I mainly went that route because my kids (well, the boys aged 9 to 15) were willing to learn. Original SFB would be overwhelming them at this point. However, I remember flipping through my Dad's copy of the SSD's as a kid, and that stands out as the best feature of the systems. If you are going to captain a ship, like piloting a Mech, you might as well see your displays! Before computer games really captured that, SFB did the best.
My first true love! Has there ever been a game more played and enjoyed so much? All through the 80s my school friends and I played this from the Pocket Edition on. Funny thing is we found Car Wars and because it was similar we ended up playing that for way too long. All the box sets ssds grease pencils and chits are still stored lovingly in air-tight bags inside a waterproof box. When I'm buried I wanted to go with me. Thank you!
Same here, hours and hours of fun. Played up to 5AM some nights. Biked back to my house as the sun came up. It was based on the Amarillo Design Bureau's Star Trek Technical Manual that Roddenberry used for the original series. The first movie and Paramount diverted from the original and they went their separate ways. Originally they were sold as small format games, not boxed, but once they had three of them they republished them as a boxed game. ADB and SFB had a Captain's Log magazine and they added many modules. The strategic game Federation and Empire was fun as well. FASA made an RPG which included ship blueprints and their catalog mentioned a massive copy-cats of SFB but as far as I know they never actually sold it. There was a really old British Star Trek game, I have a copy and it seems to predate SFB and I think it used miniatures but I only saw it in store one year.
I used to play this in the navy. I was 20 or so now 57yrs old. I recently scored the 1983 version of the boxed starter and some expansion stuff. Love this game. Re reading the rules and playing some solo senerios to brush up. I was not that good at it then we shall see if im wiser now. Good sowed, the word us given.
Few game systems get to stay not just around but in production for 40+ years I have the 1979 boxed set (with all expansions) in my collection... Also have the latest rules set and cadet game (programmed instruction), now to get playing
my friends and I used to play in the local tournaments at Pacificon and Origins when it came around, I placed second one time and my friend placed 1st, He was Hydran and I was LDR. Great times
Hi all, I played a LOT,. and I mean a LOT of Advanced SFB, so I'm hoping someone can answer this question, what differences are between SFB and Federation Commander? Are allocation sheets used like SFB, and how is it simplified?
Had lots of fun playing Star Fleet Battles way back in the 1980s. My first game being in 1983. Such a great game. I just might have to see about getting back into it. Are you thinking about doing some how-to videos on SFB? It would certainly help me introduce it to the uninitiated. 😉
You might like to upgrade to Federation Commander, same game and components but the turn is compressed from 32 to 8 impulses for slightly faster play. Has a fleet game where the ships pop easily but you can field fleets and finish in less than a day. Full colour dry erase SSDs.
Between 1980 and perhaps 88 or 89 SFB and Car Wars were the dominant scifi warsims at all the conventions. Good memories. Some bad. I'm sorry I never got to play some of the fan made stuff from the 90s and early 2000s. Oh well.
I bought the boxed Star Fleet Battles in 1981 or so at a gaming shop in Florida (on vacation), and took it home, opened it up, perused the gigantic 200 pp. rulebook and came to the conclusion that it was far too complex and confounding to learn. I returned it to the shop citing this, and bought some other game or D&D aide instead. I loved the idea of the game, but it really seemed impossible to learn at the time.
Good question. The only thing I could find is a signature on the box art: WinterBauer. You could Google that names art. You could also check out some forums or FaceBook groups and see what they say. Hope that helps. Take care. ~Fritz
a very great vid. I would like to see more. have you gotten into fasa trek as well? as a gamemaster, I make very complicated rpg/larp continuities n even add non trek elements to spice things up.
Battletech is similar because Battletech was the first ever "Clone" of a popular game... SFB. At the time SFB stood along D&D as the two dominant games of the industry and FASA said "Let make a simple version of SFB with robots instead of space ships." There wouldn't be a "Battletech" without SFB.
@@davechilds3268 SVC famously came up with the first elements of SFB while he and a friend were playing Jutland while watching Balance of Terror in the background. I assumed that was what you are talking about. From a game design perspective, I am former SFB Staff and a game designer for 40 years who invented Artificial Time (AKA "The Matrix"), the most secret thing in the world today, SFB is mostly a blending of concepts from SVC's earlier games like Robots.
Loved this game back in the day.I totally dominated when it came to full plotted movement as in you lay out your movement with regards to speed and speed changes for the turn.I would cut opponents to pieces and nobody wanted to play plotted movement against me and accused me of cheating but how can you cheat when you dont know what your opponent is going to do?The only thing that sucks about the game is how long it takes to play.The bigger the ships the longer the game.I really enjoyed playing the Andromedans and "weapons raping" when doing an Alpha Strike on an opponent's ship in say a 6 player game.....I would choose who would die and get to it LOL.
My favorite was the Klindong D7C. I loved having drones come from one direction and turning away from the opponent and coming back with a snapturn and firing all phasers and disrupters while the drones came in from another angle. I loved pre plotted too.
Played SFB back in the 1980's at the South Dorset Military Society wargames club.
In 1999 Star Fleet Command came out and I started playing this, with my son. SFC 1 is SFB compatible up to the 1998 Volume 3 ruleset and the in game ships (which are wrongly modelled) are all SFB ships up to this ruleset.
Having played SFB before gave me a huge tactical advantage in SFC over my son (who hadn't) as I knew how things were actually working in the PC game and would visualise SSD damage in my head when looking at the SFC computer game info for translation. He never cottoned on for years as to why I would launch an admin shuttle and have it near my ship (enhances sensor range, etc.).
I recently bought a copy of the 1991 Captain's Module P1 on E-Bay and scripted the "Last Day Of The Bounty Hunters" scenario into my enhanced version of SFC (I added the Kzinti, Tholian, LDR, WYN, etc. races & ship models into my SFC game years ago sourced from various download sites).
Currently modelling the SFB Frax fleet ships to add into the game.
SFB SSDs are directly translatable into the SFC shiplist attributes file by using the Ship Edit software tool by Eagle Eye Software. It does take 15 to 20 minutes of keyboard work though.
Nice.
Did you ever play SFC on GameSpy or games radar I think it was called? My pal and I moved onto Orion Pirates for the base game and he modded it really well. We both played SFB prior too.
We started playing SFB back in the very early 80's in High School, it was our first science fiction game where we would take time for a large number of people to set around a large table using the miniatures. Sadly I haven't played a game in awhile, but might have to remind the crew to take time and play a game or two again
Same here, hours and hours of fun. Played up to 5AM some nights. Biked back to my house as the sun came up. It was based on the Amarillo Design Bureau's Star Trek Technical Manual that Roddenberry used for the original series. The first movie and Paramount diverted from the original and they went their separate ways. ADB and SFB had a Captain's Log magazine and they added many modules. The strategic game Federation and Empire was fun as well. FASA made an RPG which included ship blueprints and their catalog mentioned a massive copy-cats of SFB but as far as I know they never actually sold it. There was a really old British Star Trek game, I have a copy and it seems to predate SFB but I only saw it in store one year.
I love the Star Fleet Universe! I went Federation Commander however with both the Klingon/Romulan Frontier sets however. I enjoy how they stream lined the SFB rules (fewer impulses, two scales; Starship and Fleet Scale) allowing for larger fleet actions in a bit more reasonable time. I mainly went that route because my kids (well, the boys aged 9 to 15) were willing to learn. Original SFB would be overwhelming them at this point. However, I remember flipping through my Dad's copy of the SSD's as a kid, and that stands out as the best feature of the systems. If you are going to captain a ship, like piloting a Mech, you might as well see your displays! Before computer games really captured that, SFB did the best.
My first true love! Has there ever been a game more played and enjoyed so much? All through the 80s my school friends and I played this from the Pocket Edition on. Funny thing is we found Car Wars and because it was similar we ended up playing that for way too long. All the box sets ssds grease pencils and chits are still stored lovingly in air-tight bags inside a waterproof box. When I'm buried I wanted to go with me. Thank you!
Same here, hours and hours of fun. Played up to 5AM some nights. Biked back to my house as the sun came up. It was based on the Amarillo Design Bureau's Star Trek Technical Manual that Roddenberry used for the original series. The first movie and Paramount diverted from the original and they went their separate ways. Originally they were sold as small format games, not boxed, but once they had three of them they republished them as a boxed game. ADB and SFB had a Captain's Log magazine and they added many modules. The strategic game Federation and Empire was fun as well. FASA made an RPG which included ship blueprints and their catalog mentioned a massive copy-cats of SFB but as far as I know they never actually sold it. There was a really old British Star Trek game, I have a copy and it seems to predate SFB and I think it used miniatures but I only saw it in store one year.
I used to play this in the navy. I was 20 or so now 57yrs old. I recently scored the 1983 version of the boxed starter and some expansion stuff. Love this game. Re reading the rules and playing some solo senerios to brush up. I was not that good at it then we shall see if im wiser now. Good sowed, the word us given.
Few game systems get to stay not just around but in production for 40+ years
I have the 1979 boxed set (with all expansions) in my collection...
Also have the latest rules set and cadet game (programmed instruction), now to get playing
I remember being at school playing this, along with Traveller, Laserburn and Battletech!
Ahhh... the good ol' days. Good times.
my friends and I used to play in the local tournaments at Pacificon and Origins when it came around, I placed second one time and my friend placed 1st, He was Hydran and I was LDR. Great times
I would love to go through some of my old boardgames.
It's a fun lil journey. I have been thinking about this one for years. Glad I found it.
~K
Nice looking look through of the box thank you. The miniatures game is called A Call to Arms Starfleet Battles i believe
Thanks, lorddraconum.
Didn't know the name off-hand.
Take care.
~Fritz
My mate was into this game many moons ago, but I successfully avoided going down this rabbit hole. :-)
Hi all, I played a LOT,. and I mean a LOT of Advanced SFB, so I'm hoping someone can answer this question, what differences are between SFB and Federation Commander? Are allocation sheets used like SFB, and how is it simplified?
Damn I have played so much of this game back in the 90's
Had lots of fun playing Star Fleet Battles way back in the 1980s. My first game being in 1983. Such a great game. I just might have to see about getting back into it.
Are you thinking about doing some how-to videos on SFB? It would certainly help me introduce it to the uninitiated. 😉
Thanks, WM. Idk yet. I imagine I would at least do some replays. Who knows. It's a worthy game.
~Fritz
You might like to upgrade to Federation Commander, same game and components but the turn is compressed from 32 to 8 impulses for slightly faster play. Has a fleet game where the ships pop easily but you can field fleets and finish in less than a day. Full colour dry erase SSDs.
Thanks, Graeme. I prefer smaller and more tactical engagements. Larger battles would be interesting, however.
~Fritz
Between 1980 and perhaps 88 or 89 SFB and Car Wars were the dominant scifi warsims at all the conventions. Good memories. Some bad. I'm sorry I never got to play some of the fan made stuff from the 90s and early 2000s. Oh well.
I bought the boxed Star Fleet Battles in 1981 or so at a gaming shop in Florida (on vacation), and took it home, opened it up, perused the gigantic 200 pp. rulebook and came to the
conclusion that it was far too complex and confounding to learn. I returned it to the shop citing this, and bought some other game or D&D aide instead. I loved the idea of the game,
but it really seemed impossible to learn at the time.
Thanks so much for bringing me back to it
A wonderful game. I am glad I still have it!!! Glad you found some inspiration. :)
~Fritz
It could be possible to play SFB over Discord by using livestream cameras focused on the map.
Yup.
I sparred against the founders of SFB. I played Tholian and Kzinti. Good times man good times.
Awesome. Classic and fun!!! Thanks for the comment, di.
~Fritz
A blast from your past buddy. Looks interesting.
Thanks, Ian. Good fun this game.
~K
SFB is a great game -have you seen Federation Commander which is the same companrys streamlined version of SFB-well worth a look.
Is there an artist credit for the box cover art?
Good question. The only thing I could find is a signature on the box art: WinterBauer. You could Google that names art. You could also check out some forums or FaceBook groups and see what they say. Hope that helps.
Take care.
~Fritz
superb game!
Yup. Totally agree. Good memories.
~Fritz
Did you ever make up stats for your own ships?
Thought about it. Never did... at least yet.
Holy transporter bombs 💣 lol I’m having flashbacks to my teens 👍
Hahahhaaa… hillarious. Thanks, Chris.
~K
a very great vid. I would like to see more. have you gotten into fasa trek as well? as a gamemaster, I make very complicated rpg/larp continuities n even add non trek elements to spice things up.
Battletech is similar because Battletech was the first ever "Clone" of a popular game... SFB. At the time SFB stood along D&D as the two dominant games of the industry and FASA said "Let make a simple version of SFB with robots instead of space ships." There wouldn't be a "Battletech" without SFB.
And there wouldn't be SFB without Jutland. ;)
@@davechilds3268 Or Balance of Terror...
@@kavikkang9411 I mean... the game systems, but sure.
@@davechilds3268 SVC famously came up with the first elements of SFB while he and a friend were playing Jutland while watching Balance of Terror in the background. I assumed that was what you are talking about. From a game design perspective, I am former SFB Staff and a game designer for 40 years who invented Artificial Time (AKA "The Matrix"), the most secret thing in the world today, SFB is mostly a blending of concepts from SVC's earlier games like Robots.
@@kavikkang9411 Yep. We're on the same page.
Loved this game back in the day.I totally dominated when it came to full plotted movement as in you lay out your movement with regards to speed and speed changes for the turn.I would cut opponents to pieces and nobody wanted to play plotted movement against me and accused me of cheating but how can you cheat when you dont know what your opponent is going to do?The only thing that sucks about the game is how long it takes to play.The bigger the ships the longer the game.I really enjoyed playing the Andromedans and "weapons raping" when doing an Alpha Strike on an opponent's ship in say a 6 player game.....I would choose who would die and get to it LOL.
My favorite was the Klindong D7C. I loved having drones come from one direction and turning away from the opponent and coming back with a snapturn and firing all phasers and disrupters while the drones came in from another angle.
I loved pre plotted too.
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Hi, Dauntless! Thanks for the sub. I am glad you enjoyed the video. Stay tuned for more.
~Fritz
ASL rulebook format... was copying SFB. The credit is ALWAYS backwards when it comes to SFB... Hahaha!!!