TEXT: 1
  
  ALIEN SPACE BATTLE 
  MANUAL
  By Lou Zocchi
  Fifth printing April 1979
  © 1973 Lou Zocchi
  edited by Tony Van Liew 2001
  INTRODUCTION
  This  adult  intelligence  game  has  been  de-
  signed to minimize luck and maximize skill. 
  The parts of this game which are applicable to 
  all players are explained first. Each ship in the 
  game has a secret weapon in addition to its 
  main  weapon.  The  rules  for  each  secret 
  weapon  are  written  on  the  backside  of  the 
  appropriate ship hit record. To increase your 
  enjoyment of your first games, learn only the 
  secret weaponry of the ship you’ll captain. If 
  your friends will also restrict their learning to 
  the ships they command, no player will know 
  what to expect from the other and the excite-
  ment of the unknown will closely simulate ‘real 
  life’  conditions. It also  gives  all  players  the 
  same  disadvantage  and  challenge.  Special 
  mismatch rules at the end of these rules tell 
  you  how  to  preserve  the  challenge  of  the 
  ‘unknown’ enemy ships.
  COUNTERS
  Remove  the  red  ship  counter  sheet,  hit 
  records and magma template sheet from the 
  center of this book by removing the staples 
  gently. Cut each  ship  counter  from  the  red 
  sheet along the solid black lines so that each 
  playing  piece  is  a  4-inch  square  of  red 
  cardboard. Glue each square of cardboard to 
  a  thick  piece  of  cardboard  to  increase  its 
  lifespan. Then push a needle with 6.5 feet of 
  string or white thread on it, through the ‘X’ in 
  the center of the ship drawing and knot the 
  string  on  the  underside  so  that  it  can’t  be 
  pulled back through the counter. A few drops 
  of hot candle wax or glue should hold the knot 
  you tie in the thread to bottom of the playing 
  piece. Five feet from the center of the ship tie 
  a knot in the string. Cut the strings so that 
  none are longer than 6 feet. Put a 7-foot string 
  on the Rojun counter because he needs the 
  extra foot. Put each ship hit record into it’s 
  own clear plastic document protector and write 
  on the plastic with ‘Phanto-Pencil’ or ‘China 
  Riter’ [or Dry Erase marker Ed.]  or other type 
  of wax or grease pencil. The old wax/grease 
  will easily wipe off with a clean rag. Hit record 
  sheets are used to show damage.
  This game is played on a large table or floor. 
  The strings in the center of each ship are used 
  to define the angle on which you are shooting 
  your weapons. Every ship in this game has a 
  weakness. Your mission is to exploit his weak-
  ness while hiding your own.
  HOW TO WIN
  When two or three people play, the survivor is 
  the  victor.  When  playing  team  games,  the 
  side, which destroys the most enemy ships, 
  wins.  After  you  become  familiar  with  this 
  game, you can create your own conditions of 
  victory: the player scoring the most hits, the 
  player taking the least damage, and so on.
  HIT RECORD SHEET
  Every ship in this game has its own hit record 
  sheet. These sheets show how much energy 
  the engines produce and where that energy is 
  spent. The sheets also show how much dam-
  age has been suffered and which portions of 
  the ship are out of action. Please look at the 
  Earthship hit record sheet while we explain 
  how the sheets are used. Note the drawing of 
  an Earthship in the upper right hand corner of 
  the sheet. The ship counter that matches this 
  drawing is used to portray the location of the 
  Earthship  during  the  game,  unless  the 
  MISMATCH option (to be explained later) is 
  used.
  MAIN ENGINES
   Every ship in this game has at least one main 
  engine and one auxiliary engine. The Earth-
  ship and three others have two main engines. 
  The main engines are the only ones that can 
  propel ships at warp speeds (faster than light). 
  No two ships have the same type of engine 
  and  no  two  engines  generate  the  same 
  amount of power. In addition to propelling the 
  2
  
  ship, main engine power may be combined 
  with  auxiliary  engine  power  to  fire  blazers, 
  energize defensive shields, drive sensors and 
  life  support  systems,  and  operate  special 
  weaponry.
  Note  that  the  Earthship  can  generate  eight 
  units of energy from its starboard engine and 
  another  eight  units  of  energy  from  its  port 
  engine. As long as neither engine is damaged, 
  the Earthship may generate 16 units of energy 
  in each turn of the game. Each factor of dam-
  age inflicted upon an engine deprives it of one 
  unit of energy output. If the Earthship were to 
  suffer three hits on its starboard engine during 
  this turn of play, it would generate only five 
  units  of  energy  from  its  starboard  engine 
  during the next turn of the game. Its captain 
  would be required to draw a grease pencil line 
  through the numbers 6-7-8 on the starboard 
  engine to show that they are no longer func-
  tioning. Damaged engines cannot be repaired 
  in the basic game. Unused energy cannot be 
  stored up for later use in most cases.
  AUXILIARY ENGINES
  Auxiliary engines can propel the ship at the 
  sub-light speed of one inch per turn, regard-
  less  of power  output.  Energy  from  auxiliary 
  engines cannot be combined with energy from 
  main  engines  to  propel  the  ship  at  warp 
  speeds. One unit of auxiliary power is used to 
  move  one  inch  and  any  remaining  unused 
  energy may be used for life support, sensors 
  and so on. When a ship moving one inch per 
  turn on auxiliary power switches to warp rive, 
  its movement is two inches in the next turn.
  MOVING
  Ship counters are moved two inches for each 
  warp, so a ship going at warp 2 would be 
  moved 4 inches. Since each ship counter is 4 
  inches square, moving it one half of its own 
  length would equal a movement of warp 1. To 
  move a counter at warp 7, you’d move it 3½ 
  times its own length.
  If you look into the SPEED BOX on the hit 
  record,  you’ll  see  that  it  costs  one  unit  of 
  energy to move the ship at the speed of warp 
  1, and two units of energy to move at warp 2. 
  Speed must increase by only one warp per 
  move so no ship can accelerate from warp 1 
  to warp 3 without first moving one turn at warp 
  2. To move at warp 7 costs the Earthship 13 
  units of energy. To move faster than warp 7 
  costs 14 units of energy in each turn. All ships 
  moving warp 7 or faster must roll a die to see 
  if their ship can withstand the stress. If a one 
  is  rolled,  their  ship  disintegrates  from 
  overstress. If they are moving at warp 8, they 
  must roll twice, if moving at warp 9 roll three 
  times and so on. The energy number under 
  the plus sign is what must be spent to move at 
  warp 8 and beyond.
  Speed  decays by one  warp  factor  per  turn 
  when no energy is used for propulsion. A ship 
  moved at warp 6 last turn, but spending no 
  power for propulsion this turn, would coast at 
  warp 5 (two and one half counter lengths).
  When two or more ships stop on the same 
  spot, they are assumed to have vertical sepa-
  ration.  A  stationary  or  coasting  ship  must 
  expend one unit of auxiliary or main engine 
  energy to change its heading. A ship moving 
  under  power  need  not  expend  additional 
  energy to make course changes.
  No ship can change its course by more than 
  45° when moving faster than warp 2. Ships 
  moving warp 1 or less can fly new courses 
  which  differ by 180°  on either side of their 
  former  heading  if  reverse  thrust  is  applied. 
  Ships moving warp 1 or faster can’t use auxil-
  iary  engines  to  reverse  thrust.  Reversing 
  thrust while moving warp 2 stops the ship in 
  place  and  rotates  it  to  any  new  heading 
  desired. One unit of main engine energy would 
  have been used. Reversing thrust cuts forward 
  velocity in half. A ship moved warp 6 last turn 
  and  reversing  thrust  this  turn,  uses  main 
  engine energy for a warp 5 move and the ship 
  moves only one and one fourth ship counter 
  lengths, which is one half of the normal warp 5 
  distance. On the next turn, it could coast at 
  warp 2, or accelerate to warp 3. A direction 
  change of more than 45° could not be made 
  because starting speed was greater than warp 
  2. Ships moving warp 1 last turn and coasting 
  3
  
  this turn have no movement. The maximum 
  speed in reverse is the same as the maximum 
  speed forward, but can only be used for slow-
  ing down. Ships always point in the direction 
  of their movement, unless tentacled (which is 
  explained in the Repazoid section). To change 
  course, stretch the firing string over the new 
  heading  and  hold  the  string  to  the  floor  at 
  some  point  well  clear  of  the  ship  counter. 
  Next,  rotate  the  ship  counter  until  the  360 
  mark on its top is aligned under the shooting 
  string. Now that the ship is pointing in the right 
  direction, move it the proper number of ship 
  counter lengths to equal its authorized speed.
  STARTING THE GAME
  All players (except the Rojun) start the game 
  by  placing  their  ships  at  equidistant  points 
  from each other and the center of the playing 
  area. The first move must be made at warp 3 
  toward the center of the playing area. After the 
  first  move,  players  may  coast,  maintain  or 
  increase speed and change heading by up to 
  45° on either side of the first heading used. 
  The Rojun starting procedure is explained on 
  the backside of his hit record sheet.
  BLAZERS
  Most ships have a Blazer battery that is pow-
  ered by Blazer generators. A shot powered by 
  3 Blazer generators may cause up to three 
  units  of  damage  and  if  powered  by  six 
  generators, it could cause up to six units of 
  damage. One unit of energy from either the 
  main or auxiliary engine is needed to power 
  each generator used. A shot powered by two 
  Blazer generators uses two units of energy 
  and  may  cause  two  units  of  damage.  No 
  Blazer battery may fire more than one shot per 
  turn.  Most  Blazer  batteries  can  fire  in  all 
  directions.  Blazer  beams  stop  in  the  first 
  torpedo, ship, magma template, or other item 
  touched which is not another beam of some 
  kind. (See weaponry cross-index on back of 
  rules to be sure.) Since the Earthship has six 
  Blazer generators, it could fire a strength six 
  blast by spending six units of energy on the 
  Blazer generators. It could not spend seven 
  units of energy on six generators.
  DEFENSIVE SHIELDS
  Each ship has defensive shields, which can 
  reduce the damage from Blazer beams, and 
  some  special  weapons.  If  a  strength  three 
  Blazer beam hits a strength two shield, one 
  unit of damage results. A shield set at strength 
  three or more, which is hit by a strength three 
  or less beam, suffers no damage. One unit of 
  energy is used to activate each unit of defen-
  sive shield, so a strength four shield uses four 
  units of energy for each turn in which it is 
  raised. All shields remain effective throughout 
  that  entire  turn  of  play,  regardless  of  how 
  many times it is hit or breached. In the follow-
  ing turn, it must be powered again if it is to be 
  used.  When  several  Blazers  hit  the  same 
  shield during the  same turn, they each  are 
  counted separately…unless only one ship has 
  fired its twin blast, in which case they do count 
  as a combined shot. The Earthship has six 
  defensive  shields. If two of them had been 
  destroyed during an earlier turn, no more than 
  four shield factors could be raised regardless 
  of  how  much  power  you  claimed  to  be 
  cramming into it.
  HITS
  Everything forward of the shaded area in the 
  center of each ship counter is the cabin area. 
  Hits  in  the  cabin  count  against  either  the 
  Blazer generators, special weapon generators 
  or the defensive shield generators. Hits falling 
  within  the shaded band count against the life 
  support  or  sensor  systems.  Hits  aft  of  the 
  shaded band count against the main or auxil-
  iary  engines.  The  captain  suffering  the  hit 
  decides  how  much  damage  to  log  against 
  each system in the stricken area. He does not 
  tell which component takes the damage until 
  the game is over. Blazer hits by the last foot of 
  string carry one factor less power because at 
  extreme  range  the  beam  dissipates.  So  a 
  strength six shot has only strength five power 
  beyond five feet. After all players have moved, 
  each must estimate which anglemark of the 
  compass circle is the one to shoot over. No 
  test shots are allowed and no player is allowed 
  to lay any type of object on the face of the 
  compass or playing piece to help estimate the 
  proper angle of fire. Each player must write 
  4
  
  down on his hit record sheet the strength of 
  his shields, angle of fire, and the strength and 
  type of weaponry being fired. After all players 
  have written their intentions, the first shooter 
  announces his fire angle. He holds his ship to 
  the floor while his opponent pulls the shooting 
  string taut and moves it left or right until it is 
  exactly  centered  over  the  fire  angle 
  announced on the compass circle around the 
  shooting  ship.  The  shooter  is  forbidden  to 
  touch  the  string  while  it  is  being  moved 
  towards the announced shooting anglemark. 
  Each tic mark on the compass circle is one 
  degree. A shot fired on the 273 heading would 
  have the strings stretched over the third tic 
  mark clockwise from the long 270 mark. Shots 
  can be fired on half-degree headings by laying 
  the string between the marks instead of over 
  them. After the string has been stretched taut 
  over the proper compass mark, it is examined 
  to see if any portion of the string touches any 
  portion of any other playing piece. If the string 
  crosses another ship, and if the strength of the 
  shot  exceeds  the  strength  of  the  shield, 
  damage must be inflicted. A ship being hit on 
  its port engine could not log that damage off 
  on its starboard engine, even if the port engine 
  were totally destroyed earlier, but he might be 
  forced  to  log  that  damage  against  any 
  surviving auxiliary engine power.
  SPECIAL WEAPONS
  The intention to fire special weapons is not 
  announced  until  after  everyone  has  written 
  their angle of fire and type of weaponry used: 
  after which the only player entitled to change 
  his target or alter his shooting plans is the 
  tentacled Zark victim. (Details are explained 
  on the backside of the Zark hit record, but 
  should  not  be  examined  now.)  Players 
  shooting special weapons always fire first but 
  the  damage  they  cause will not  take  effect 
  until the next turn of play. The Zark ship is the 
  only one whose special weaponry will possibly 
  change the fire angle of his victim. See special 
  weaponry cross-index chart on the back page 
  to learn how various weapons interact.
  When writing the angle for each shot, write all 
  three digits, followed by a decimal point and 
  the  number  5,  if  shooting  on  half-degree 
  marks. Each shot angle written must use at 
  least three digits to be legal. So a shot at 4° is 
  really written 004. A shot between 004 and 
  005 would be written 004.5. Nothing smaller 
  than  half  degree  shots  can  be  written  or 
  attempted.  Hits  against  allied  ships  count. 
  Continuous strikes by blazers, proton torpe-
  does and nytron lances against a portion of 
  the ship that is already completely destroyed 
  causes no additional damage. Two or more 
  ships shooting at the same target during the 
  same turn must each record their results inde-
  pendently. They cannot combine their power. 
  Damage inflicted does not influence perform-
  ance until the following turn.
  SENSORS
  For each factor of operating sensor, a ship can 
  ‘see’  two  feet.  Since  most  ships  have  four 
  factors of sensors, most of them can see out 
  eight feet. If weaponry was effective out to that 
  distance, they could open fire at that range. As 
  sensors are damaged, the range at which you 
  are permitted to fire is reduced. Thus a ship 
  with only three operating sensors cannot fire 
  at targets more than six feet away. Players are 
  not permitted to fire at ships that are beyond 
  sensor  range.  Sensors  require  one  unit  of 
  energy to operate regardless of how far out 
  they see. The Rux can sensor out to 12 feet 
  and the Earthship can lay proton mines even 
  when its sensors have been totally destroyed.
  LIFE SUPPORT SYSTEMS
  When  less  than  three  life  support  systems 
  function, the ship loses its ability to perform 
  combinations of maneuvers because of lower 
  crew efficiency. During one turn of play, when 
  only one or two life support factors operate, 
  you  may  perform  only  one  of  the  following 
  functions  per  turn:  change  direction,  fire, 
  reverse  thrust,  increase  speed,  or  change 
  from  coasting  to  maintaining  a  speed.  One 
  turn after al life support is destroyed, the ship 
  is dead and must be removed from the playing 
  surface. During its last game turn without life 
  systems, it may perform only one of the func-
  tions listed above as its dying act. No player 
  may turn off his life system just to get one 
  5
  
  extra unit of energy. Life support systems use 
  only one unit of energy per turn, regardless of 
  how many life unit factors are operating.
  SEQUENCE OF EVENTS
  DURING EACH TURN OF THE GAME
  1. Each player circles the speed and energy 
  used this turn in the speed block and fills 
  out the lower portion of his hit record sheet, 
  except  for  the  Blazer  fire  angle,  shield 
  strength and power of the weapon being 
  fired.
  2. Each player moves his shooting string over 
  the new course recorded on his hit record 
  sheet  and  rotates  his  ship  until  its  360 
  mark is aligned with the string. All players 
  move  ships  the  appropriate  distance 
  circled in the speed block. All movement 
  occurs simultaneously so that no one can 
  benefit  from  waiting  to  see  where  an 
  opponent  will  move.  A  Repazoid  with  a 
  tentacled victim coasts on his old course 
  while losing one warp per coasting turn. 
  Repazoid  victims  who  escaped  will  now 
  move at warp 2 on any heading that is 45° 
  on either side of his old one. The Rojun 
  ship  makes  itself  visible  and  all  special 
  weaponry  templates,  torpedoes,  pods, 
  mines,  etc.  which  are  enroute  from  a 
  previous  playing  turn  are  now  moved, 
  exploded, etc. and any ships destroyed by 
  them  are  removed  from  the  playing 
  surface.  Proportional  movement  of  Rux 
  torpedoes  and  their  targets  will  also  be 
  executed at this time.
  3. After  all  movement  is  completed,  each 
  player  records  the  angle  at  which  his 
  weapons  will  fire  and  notes  how  much 
  power  is  being  spent  for  weapon  and 
  shield  strength.  Note  which  weapon  is 
  being fired (special weapons or Blazers but 
  never both.)
  4. After all players say they are ready to fire, 
  those using special weapons identify them-
  selves and lay out their shots. The effect of 
  their fire doesn’t become evident until after 
  all Blazers have fired. If the Repazoid suc-
  cessfully uses his special weapon, he asks 
  his  victim  which  energy  source  powered 
  his Blazer shot. If the Blazer was aimed to 
  fire at anyone other than the Repazoid, it 
  must be re-aimed to fire at the Repazoid. If 
  entitled to do so, it must fire.
  5. Players  shooting  Blazers  announce  their 
  angle of fire and strength of blast. Intended 
  victims announce their shield strengths and 
  if not strong enough to protect, help the 
  shooter by moving his shooting string over 
  the firing angle. If hit, the appropriate dam-
  age is recorded. The Rojun vanishes now.
  6. Remove all destroyed ships from play and 
  revert to step 1. Ships that have played for 
  one full turn with a damaged system may 
  attempt to repair  it now. An abbreviated 
  repeat of these steps is listed just below 
  the ship drawing on every hit record sheet.
  SAMPLE MOVE DESCRIBED
  A damaged Dort with 12 energy units coming 
  from his main engine and only four more units 
  coming from his damaged auxiliary engine is 
  filling out his hit record. Last turn he’d been 
  going warp 2. He wants to move warp 3 and 
  change course this turn. He writes his new 
  course 330 on the hit record sheet and the 
  number 16 in his total energy block. One unit 
  of energy is used powering the life support 
  system and another one is used powering the 
  sensors. Since he wants to move warp 3, he 
  circles this in the speed and energy block and 
  writes the cost of warp 3 (the number 5) in the 
  course change and warp energy block. So far, 
  seven units of energy have been used. One 
  for sensors, one for life support and five for 
  propelling the ship the ship at warp 3. (Since 
  the ship is not coasting, no additional energy 
  is required to change course.) The Dort has 
  only nine units of energy left for his shields 
  and  Blazer  or  special  weaponry.  He  now 
  executes step 2 of the sequence by laying out 
  his shooting string on course 330. He rotates 
  the ship until the 360 mark is aligned under 
  the shooting string and the new course to be 
  flown. All players now move their ships. Since 
  his speed is warp 3, he moves one and one 
  half  playing  counter  lengths  [6  inches]  and 
  stops. Next comes step 3. He decides to shoot 
  over the 245 mark of the compass surrounding 
  his ship  drawing.  He  writes 245  in  the  fire 
  angle column. Since the target appears to be 
  6
  
  beyond  the  range  of  his  special  secret 
  weapon, the Dort decides to fire blazers. He 
  sends three energy units to his shields and 
  spends the remaining six on his Blazer gen-
  erators.  When  his  hit  record  sheet  is 
  completely  filled  out  for  this  turn,  he  an-
  nounces that he is ready to shoot. He calls out 
  his  angle  of  fire  and  strength  of  shot  after 
  those firing special weapons have fired. If his 
  shot  is  stronger  than  the  shield  raised  in 
  defense, the string is laid over the shooting 
  angle to see where the shot goes. If the shot 
  had been equal to or less powerful than the 
  shield, there would have been no need to see 
  where the shot went because it could do no 
  damage. While the Dort holds his ship to the 
  floor, he tells his opponent how to move the 
  string so that it will be stretched tautly over the 
  245  mark.  His  opponent  holds  the  string’s 
  furthest end and moves it as directed. If the 
  string crossed the enemy cabin area, and his 
  shield was set to one, he’d suffer five units of 
  damage  to  either  his  shield  system,  Blazer 
  generators or special weapon generators. The 
  opponent logs his damage and announces his 
  own angle of fire and strength. Now the Dort 
  holds  his  opponent’s  shooting  string  and 
  moves it as directed. If the return shot has a 
  strength  of five,  and  the  string  crosses the 
  Dort shaded area, the Dort is required to log 
  two factors of damage against his life support 
  or sensor system. He could put both damage 
  points on one of the systems, or divide it up so 
  that  each  system  suffers  one  point.  Play 
  reverts back to step 1 for the next move of the 
  game. Eleven turns can be recorded on each 
  sheet before it must be cleaned off to record 
  more movements.
  OPTIONAL RULES
  1.   Continuous practice will improve your aim 
  to the point where you rarely miss. When this 
  time comes, you can change the hit procedure 
  as follows: Record the angle and strength of 
  shots BEFORE any player moves a ship; i.e., 
  write your fire angle while still in step 1. When 
  you  realize  that  all  combatants  are  moving 
  faster than the speed of light, it seems logical 
  that fire  must  be  directed  to  predetermined 
  points before anyone moves. After all ships 
  have moved, lay out the fire angles recorded 
  on  the  hit  sheets.  TEACHERS  PLEASE 
  NOTE:  When  playing  with  this  variation  in 
  classroom games, students who use geometry 
  to plot anticipated enemy ship movements and 
  corrective fire angels will get more hits than 
  players trying to use intuition, eyeball or other 
  forms of guesstimates.
  2.   Add altitude (vertical separation) to the 
  game so that in addition to writing his angle 
  and speed of movement, each player checks 
  whether he is diving, climbing or holding his 
  altitude.  When  each  player  writes  his  fire 
  angle, he also checks the altitude movement 
  he thinks his target made. If he checked climb 
  and the target had marked climb on his record 
  sheet, a hit would be scored if the shooting 
  string also crosses the enemy ship drawing 
  and  his  shot  exceeds  the  strength  of  the 
  enemy shield. If you’d expected him to hold 
  and he climbed or dived, you’d miss your shot 
  even though its angle was correct.
  When  using  the  altitude  rule,  all  weapons 
  except the tentacle beam, javelin torpedoes, 
  proton mines, magma beam, old style nuclear 
  device  and  stalker  pods  must  specify  their 
  altitude intentions. Each of the weapons just 
  mentioned  expand  equally  in  all  directions 
  when  detonated  and  have  limited  proximity 
  fuses which will detonate when only altitude is 
  used to  evade one of these weapons
  [Transcriber’s  note:  In  space  it  takes  three 
  points to describe a plane, so altitude only 
  really comes into play when there are more 
  than three ships involved. Up until that point, 
  all  direction  changes  merely  show  relative 
  movement  anyway.  Once you  have  four  or 
  more ships, I think it would be more accurate 
  to include a plus or minus altitude angle in 
  your direction changes and use the Pythago-
  rean theorem to keep track of relative distance 
  above and below the arbitrary “zero level” of 
  the floor, vertical distances, etc.]
  3.   Use a combination of 1 and 2 both above 
  or incorporate 4 below.
  7
  
  4.   If you prefer luck, roll a die to see if hits 
  are scored after your string has crossed the 
  enemy ship drawing. A 1-2-3 is a miss, while 
  4-5-6 is a hit. The number rolled to score a hit 
  can  be  changed  to  suit  your  conception  of 
  playability and could also be used as a handi-
  cap factor. Experienced players would need to 
  roll  a  5  or  6  to  score  damage,  but  novice 
  players can score damage with 3-4-5-6 on a 
  die roll. The roll of a miss here simulates the 
  movement of an enemy ship in an unexpected 
  vector. Naturally,  your  Blazer  strength  must 
  exceed  his  shield  strength  before  any  die 
  rolling occurs.
  5.   MISMATCH  OPTION:  To  enhance  the 
  suspense  element  where  no  player  knows 
  what type weaponry is being carried by his 
  opponent, turn all ship counters upside down 
  and mix them up. Each player draws a counter 
  to represent the ship he’ll captain in the game. 
  Next, place each hit record into a separate 
  envelope. Mix them up and let each player 
  draw one. Since it is highly unlikely that the 
  ship drawing he already has in his possession 
  will match the ship drawing on the hit record 
  card drawn, no player will know for sure what 
  type of equipment his opponent has until it’s 
  too late.
  [The following was not included in the Fifth 
  Edition rules, but is added here by the tran-
  scriber for your bemusement. Any reference to 
  tics refers to the compass used on the ships in 
  the Star Fleet Battle Manual.]
  6.   VECTOR MOVEMENT: To better simulate 
  what it’s really like to maneuver in the airless, 
  gravity-less  void  of  space,  where  there’s 
  nothing to push against when you turn, or slow 
  you  down  when  you  stop  accelerating,  use 
  these vector movement rules. In order to use 
  vector  movement,  each  player  will  need  a 
  coin,  washer,  or  similar  small,  flat  marker. 
  Vector movement adds a ship’s Heading to its 
  Speed and Course. These are also used a bit 
  differently. NOTE: Vector movement assumes 
  that all movement is sub-light, so the game 
  scale is changed somewhat.
  Before movement, place the flat marker under 
  the center of the ship counter. Write the ship’s 
  Heading under the Course column on the hit 
  record  (at  the  beginning  of  the  game,  the 
  Course is the same as the Heading: straight 
  forward  at  0°  [200  tics]).  Write  the  Course 
  (change) under the Dive column, and Speed 
  (in inches, if you wish) in the Hold column. If 
  using the Altitude rules, write either “H”, “D”, or 
  “C” under the Climb column to indicate either 
  Hold, Dive or Climb.
  To  move  the  ship,  stretch  the  firing  string 
  along the tic mark indicated by its Heading. 
  Measure along the string the distance shown 
  by its Speed, and move the ship counter to 
  that point without changing the facing of the 
  ship. Leave the small marker showing where 
  the ship began its movement. Now, turn the 
  ship according to the normal movement rules 
  as indicated by the Course written under the 
  Dive column. Finally, move the ship straight 
  ahead  (or  backward,  if  reversing  thrust) 
  according to the normal movement rules and 
  the  amount  written  under  the  Warp  Energy 
  column. 
  Now comes the hard part: stretch the firing 
  string back to the center of the small marker 
  you  left  where  the  ship  began  movement. 
  Read the tic mark the string crosses and either 
  add 180° (200 tics) if the tic mark is less than 
  180 (200) or subtract 180° (200 tics) if the tic 
  mark is greater than 180. Write this number 
  under the next turn’s Heading. Measure the 
  distance from the center of the ship counter to 
  the  center  of  the  small  marker.  Write  this 
  number under the next turn’s Speed. Finally, 
  to end the ship’s movement, place the small, 
  flat  marker  under  the  center  of  the  ship 
  counter.
  If a ship puts no energy into movement, it con-
  tinues at the same Speed and Heading as the 
  previous turn. A ship gets its full acceleration 
  allowed  by  the  amount  of  energy  put  into 
  movement, regardless of how fast it moved or 
  how much energy was put into movement the 
  previous turn.
  At your discretion, you can continue to limit 
  ships to 45° (50 tics) maximum turn while at 
  speed. Alternately, you can allow ships to put 
  more energy into turning farther. For example, 
  8
  
  1 extra point gets up to 90° (100 tics), 2 extra 
  points  gets  you  180°  (200  tics). Or  just let 
  them  turn  as  far  as  they  want,  as  long  as 
  some energy is put into movement. It’s up to 
  you. Just make sure you agree on what you’re 
  doing before the game starts.
  FLEET RULES
  When conducting fleet size games of four or 
  more players, the following rules may be used:
  1. No one may advise an ally about tactics or 
  weaponry choices to be used.
  2. A home base must be designated. Ships 
  that suffer damage may be repaired at the 
  home base at the rate of one damage point 
  repaired per turn.
  3. The side that destroys the other’s home 
  base first wins!
  4. As each player finishes writing and moving, 
  he calls out his number. The first finished 
  calls out ‘one’, the second calls out ‘two’, 
  etc. This is the order in which they fire after 
  all  players  have  called  out  a  number, 
  Damage inflicted is immediately  effective 
  and  may  prevent  another  player  from 
  shooting if it’s severe enough.
  5. A tin can or something of your own design 
  can be used as a home base piece. The 
  base can be given shields and some form 
  of  weaponry.  A  separate  commander 
  should  be  designated  to  man  the  home 
  base. The home base may move at the 
  sub-light speed of one inch per turn.
  6. A  ship  destroyed  by  combat  cannot  be 
  towed back to port and re-crewed unless 
  provisions for this are worked out before 
  the game begins. We further suggest that 
  the  number  of  shields  and  maximum 
  strength of base weapons be agreed upon 
  before the game begins. For example, a 
  base with a strength of eight could have 
  four shields and a strength four Blazer, or 
  four javelin torpedoes. His counterpart may 
  choose to  have a shield of six  and two 
  Blazers, or perhaps a strength two Nytron 
  lance/cube generator, etc.
  ALIEN SPACE CAMPAIGN 
  RULES
  [Transcriber’s note: Rather than use the lame-
  o half-baked rules provided in the Fifth Edition, 
  you would be better served just using Alien 
  Space as the ship-to-ship combat portion of 
  your favorite galactic conquest game. Use the 
  Ship Building Formulas below to approximate 
  the ship types in your game, or just make up 
  your own! Ed.]
  SHIP BUILDING FORMULAS
  [Portions of this section have been modified to 
  give more consistent and even results. Ed.]
  ENGINE COSTS
  The number of hits a main engine survives 
  prior to stopping is part of its building cost in 
  credits. A main engine that needs 8 hits to 
  stop it costs 8. All auxiliary engines cost .5 
  credits per hit.
  The Kuzi has a total of 15 main engine factors 
  and 3 auxiliary factors to make a total cost of 
  16.5.  The  16.5  pays  for  the  strength  and 
  stamina, but the efficiency cost must also be 
  computed. The strength of all engines com-
  bined (16.5 for the Kuzi) is multiplied by the 
  energy spent at every speed up to and includ-
  ing into maximum safe speed.
  For example: the Kuzi engines cost 16.5 and 
  at warp factor 1 the ship moves 1, which is 
  100% efficiency so a factor of 100 must be 
  used in the multiplication. 16.5 strength, times 
  warp factor 1, times one unit of energy, times 
  100 efficiency = 1,650. To move at warp 2, 
  16.5 strength times warp 2, times 2 units of 
  energy times 100 efficiency = 6,600.
  16.5 strength, times warp 3 times 3 units of 
  energy times 100 efficiency = 14,850.
  16.5 strength, times warp 4 times 5 units of 
  energy (divide 4 by 5 to get efficiency of 80) 
  times 80 efficiency = 26,400
  16.5 strength, times warp 5 times 8 units of 
  energy (divide 5 by 8 to get 62.5) times 62.5 
  efficiency = 41,250.
  9
  
  16.5 strength, times warp 6 times 11 units of 
  energy (divide 6 by 11 to get 54.5) times 54.5 
  efficiency = 59,350 (ignore fractions).
  16.5 strength, times warp 7 times 14 units of 
  energy times 50 efficiency = 80,850.
  After  adding  all  the  costs  listed  above,  the 
  Kuzi engine table totals 230,950. To give it the 
  ability to move faster than its maximum safe 
  speed at the same  energy, pay double the 
  cost  of  the  engine  as  computed  so  far. 
  230,950 times 2 = 461,900. So, 230,950 plus 
  461,900 totaled together are 692,850 which is 
  the cost of the Kuzi engine. If more energy is 
  required  to  exceed  max  safe  warp  speed, 
  divide energy needed for max safe speed by 
  energy needed to exceed max safe speed. For 
  example, the Zeron needs 8 units of energy to 
  go at maximum safe speed. To exceed max 
  safe speed he must spend 9 units of energy. 8 
  divided by 9 – 88 efficiency factor. Its engine 
  cost to  go  max  safe speed  is  264,898.  To 
  exceed  max  safe  speed  he  pays  double, 
  which is 529,796. However, additional energy 
  is required to go beyond max safe speed, so 
  the  percentage  of  extra  energy  (88)  is 
  multiplied by 529,796 to diminish the cost of 
  overdriving to 466,220. 466,220 plus 265,898 
  = 731,118 for the Kuzi engine.
  SHIELDS
  Pay one point for each degree of protection 
  coverage and multiply this by 100 times the 
  number of defensive factors the shield has. 
  Because the Kuzi defends 360° with 4 factors, 
  360 X 400 = 144,000. [A ship may have more 
  than one shield, but cannot have two shields 
  covering the same area. For example, a ship 
  can  have  one  shield  covering  360°,  two 
  shields covering 180° each, three shields cov-
  ering  120°  each,  four  shields  covering  90° 
  each, etc. Each of these configurations will 
  give  full  coverage  to  the  ship,  but  multiple 
  shields  will  take  damage  separately.  Add 
  together the cost of each shield. Of course, a 
  ship doesn’t need to have 360° shield cover-
  age,  you  can  leave  parts  of  the  ship 
  unshielded if you want. Ed.]
  SENSORS
  Sensors cost 1 [point] per degree of coverage 
  times the number of back-up systems, times 
  the sensing distance in inches. The Kuzi can 
  sensor in 360° and has 4 back-up systems 
  and he can sensor out to 72 inches so 1 X 360 
  X 4 X 72 = 103,680. Ships without 360° sens-
  ing out to 72 inches must move first. Ships 
  that sense beyond 72 inches move last.
  LIFE SUPPORT
  Life Support systems cost 100,000 for each 
  back-up factor, so 5 life supports = 500,000.
  BLAZERS AND PHASERS
  Blazers and Phasers cost one point for each 
  degree or tic mark [Radian] over which they 
  fire. This is multiplied by the number of inches 
  of range and by the max power that can be 
  fired. The Kuzi can fire two strength 5 blasts 
  over 180° each out to 72 inches: 2 X 5 X 180 
  X 72 = 129,600. [Remember than the last 12 
  inches (1 foot) of Blazer/Phaser fire is reduced 
  by 1 unit of damage.]
  COST OF KUZI RECOMPUTED
  Engines
     731,118
  Shields
     144,000
  Sensors
     103,660
  Life Support
     500,000
  Blazers
               129,600
    
  1,608,378
  [The following section was not included in the 
  Fifth Edition rules. It is extrapolated and con-
  densed from various notes on the Ship Record 
  Sheets.]
  SPECIAL WEAPONS
  Ship  Special  Weapons  come  in  four  basic 
  types: Beam (instantaneous), Ordnance (tor-
  pedoes), Area Effect (cones, etc.) and Other. 
  There  is  a  general  formula  for  all  special 
  weapons.  Each  type  adds  its  own  special 
  element. The general formula is this:
  Number of weapon banks
    X
  Arc of fire (in degrees or tic marks) X
  Maximum Damage/Generators
    X
  Range in Inches
    X
  Width of Beam/Fire
    X
  Blast Radius (in inches)
    
       
    
            
    
    =
    
  Sub-Total
  10
  
  The thing that makes special weapons differ-
  ent  from  Blazers  and  Phasers,  are  their 
  effects.  Each  special  weapon  must  have  a 
  complete written description of its effects, how 
  it’s used, range, arc(s)  of  fire, beam  width, 
  blast radii, any special abilities, flaws, etc.
  BEAM  TYPES:  Beam-type  special  weapons 
  do damage instantaneously, just like Blazers 
  and Phasers. Since the width of the beam is 
  usually 1°, it can usually be ignored. The blast 
  radius is also usually 1” (contact only) and so 
  can then be ignored. If the weapon has some 
  kind  of  special  ability,  such  as  “ignores 
  shields”, “changes the target’s movement in 
  some  way”,  “target  totally  destroyed”,  etc., 
  multiply  the  standard  total  by  100.  Multiple 
  abilities  don’t  add  extra  multipliers.  If  the 
  weapon  has  some  flaw  that  makes  it 
  unreliable in some way, subtract 500,000. 
  Examples: the Dort Gapper Zapper has one 
  bank that fires over 360° to a range of 36 
  inches, ignores shields but not Nytron Cubes, 
  and totally destroys the target ship, so 360 X 
  36 X 100 – 500,000 = 796,000. 
  The Repazoid Tentacle Beam fires over 360°, 
  is  2°  wide  out  to  36  inches  for  9  units  of 
  damage, changes the target’s movement, but 
  doesn’t work unless the entire beam strikes 
  the target: 360 X 2 X 36 X 9 X 100 – 500,000 
  = 22,828,000.
  The Rojun Nuclear Device can be transported 
  out over 360° to a range of 84 inches. It has a 
  blast radius of 12 inches for a maximum 10 
  points of damage but has only one shot (like 
  ordnance weapons, below). It stuns a ship for 
  several turns, but cannot be fired less than 60 
  inches: 360 X 84 X 12 X 10 X .01 X 100 – 
  500,000 = 3,128,800
  ORDNANCE WEAPONS: Ordnance-type spe-
  cial weapons fire some type of missile that 
  usually move across the play surface over the 
  course of several turns. Include the speed of 
  the torpedo (at maximum damage if differing 
  speed/damage amounts) and the width of the 
  tracking arc divided by 100 into the formula. If 
  there is a limited number of them, multiply the 
  standard formula by the ammo limit divided by 
  10 (if the ship has 20 torpedoes, multiply the 
  formula by 2.0). 
  Examples: the Zeron Stalker Pods fire over 
  360°, move at warp 2 for 6 points of damage, 
  with a 360°-tracking arc. It fires out to 4 feet in 
  its  first  turn,  and  has  a  blast  radius  of  12 
  inches.  360  X  2  X  6  X  3.60  X  4  X  12  = 
  746,496.
  The Rux Javelin Torpedoes have 6 launchers, 
  carries 20 torpedoes that fire over 360°. They 
  accelerate 12 inches per turn for 4 turns, with 
  a blast radius of 12 inches and a tracking arc 
  of 1° (straight forward only): 6 X 2.0 X 360 X 
  12 X 4 X 12 X .01 = 24,883 (drop fractions).
  The  Tholian  Web  does  a  maximum  of  7 
  damage,  lays  a  semi-permanent  barrier 
  behind itself (1° arc of fire) that does not take 
  damage from weapons and deteriorates over 
  time: 7 X 100 X .01 X 100,000 – 500,000 = 
  200,000
  AREA EFFECT: Area effect special weapons 
  use templates (usually cone-shaped) to catch 
  multiple enemy ships. 
  Examples:  The  Rojun  Magma  Intensifiers 
  have  6  magma  generators  creating  4 
  templates that are each 17 inches long and 5° 
  wide.  It has a firing arc of 1° (forward only). 
  Three  of  the  templates  have  automatic 
  destruction, while the fourth does 7 points of 
  damage: 6 X 4 X 17 X 5 X .01 X 300 X 7 = 
  42,840
  The Romulan Plasma Bolt uses 8 generators 
  to  create  a  4  templates  that  are  each  14 
  inches long and 5° wide. It has a firing arc of 
  1°.  Three  of  the  templates  have  automatic 
  destruction, while the fourth does 8 points of 
  damage: 8 X 4 X 14 X 5 X .01 X 300 X 8 = 
  53,760
  OTHER  TYPES:  This  is  the  miscellaneous 
  class  of  special  weapons.  Primarily  it’s  for 
  defensive things such as Cloaking Devices or 
  Transparenators, fighter bays and launchers, 
  11
  
  etc. They usually have no firing arc, blast radii, 
  range or beam width. Fighter Bays cost 1,000 
  for each fighter carried, and Fighter Launchers 
  cost 1,000 each.
  Examples: The Rojun Transparenator has 6 
  generators that make it invisible (and a smaller 
  target) over 360°: 6 X 100 X 360 = 216,000
  The Romulan Cloaking Device has 6 genera-
  tors that make it invisible over 360°: 6 X 100 X 
  360  = 216,000  [Wow!  What  a  coincidence! 
  Ed.]
  The Zark Nytron Cube is more powerful than 
  any shield, so it costs 10 times as much. If you 
  come up with something more powerful than 
  Nytron, it will cost 10 times more than Nytron, 
  or 100 times more than normal. The Nytron 
  Cube uses 3 generators. It can be used offen-
  sively over 360°, out to a range of 36 inches. 
  10 X 3 X 360 X 36 = 388,800.
  FIGHTERS
  Let’s  see  if  we  can  use  the  ship  building 
  formulas  to create small one-  and two-man 
  fighters. To make a fighter, remember that the 
  cost per ship must be kept as low as possible.
  One  of  the  most  important  things  about  a 
  fighter is its limited fuel supply, so let’s give 
  him 2 auxiliary engines which give 100 Light 
  Speeds each [5 inches or Warp 2.5] per fuel 
  factor. Each engine uses ½ a fuel factor per 
  burn and the ship carries only 8 factors of fuel. 
  Each engine may not burn more than 1 full 
  energy unit per game turn. During each turn in 
  which it does not burn fuel, it coasts by losing 
  10% of its speed. Turning costs nothing, but 
  the ship can not turn more than 90° per game 
  turn: 1 X 100 X 2 X 8 = 1,600.
  A minimum of 1 shield factor covering 360° is: 
  1 X 360 = 360
  Since the ships that have the best sensors 
  move last, this ship should sensor out to 73 
  inches and 360°. If they could only scan out to 
  72 inches in a 20° arc, they would be cheaper 
  to build, but they would have to move before 
  any other ship which has better sensor equip-
  ment: 1 X 73 X 360 = 26,280.
  Life support for one person costs 1,000.
  At  this  scale,  the  energy  needed  to  power 
  sensors and life support for only one or two 
  people is inconsequential. Though they need 
  to  be  paid  for,  they  require  no  energy  to 
  operate.
  By giving it 2 Photon Torpedo mounts that fire 
  only in the direction he points (1° firing arc) out 
  to 36 inches with no tracking, you get a cheap 
  weapon system. They use all the energy from 
  the engines to operate, so shields and move-
  ment  can’t  be  used  in  the  same  turn  the 
  Photon Torpedoes are fired, but that’s life: 2 X 
  .01 X 100 X 36 = 72.
  Putting 4 Impact Missiles on the outside of the 
  fighter  cause  it  to  slow  down  faster  when 
  coasting: an extra 10% per missile carried. A 
  fighter can only launch one missile per turn. It 
  fires only straight forward (1° arc of fire) and 
  causes  5  units  of  damage.  It  only  coasts 
  toward its target (loses 10% of its speed per 
  turn) for a maximum range of, let’s say 175 
  inches (if launched at a speed of 20 inches). It 
  does  no  damage  unless  it  actually  hits  its 
  target:  .4  X  5  X  .01  X  175  =  3  (dropping 
  fractions).
  Engines
    1,600
  Shields
       360
  Sensors
  26,280
  Life Support
    1,000
  Photon Torpedoes
         72
  Impact Missiles
    
         
    
            
    
           3
    
  Cost of Fighter
  29,315
  Mother ships must be at least twice the physi-
  cal size of the fighters carried, so a mother 
  ship  with  4  half-inch  fighter  counters  must 
  measure at least 4 square inches because 4 
  half-inch fighters = 2 square inches.
  Formulas  for  installing  defensive  armament, 
  engines,  life  support  and  so  forth  were 
  explained  earlier,  as  were  costs  for  fighter 
  bays and fighter launchers.
  12
  
  When launching fighters, remember that the 
  fighter’s  speed  is  the  same  as  the  mother 
  ship’s speed, plus what it gets from its fuel 
  burn,  if  launched  in  the  forward  direction. 
  Assume  the  mother  ship  is  moving  at  100 
  Light  Speeds  [5  inches,  Warp  2.5]  and 
  launches  2  fighters  in  a  forward  direction. 
  During the launching turn, each fighter burns 1 
  unit of fuel and increases its speed by 200 [10 
  inches, Warp 5] in relation to the mother ship, 
  but in relation to the playing surface they are 
  moving 300 [15 inches, Warp 7.5]. Mother of 
  100 [5 / 2.5] + acceleration of 200 [10 / 5] = 
  300 [15 / 7.5] speed.
  If  one  fighter  carried  4  external  Impact 
  Missiles, and the other had none, in the next 
  turn the one with the external load would coast 
  at  a  speed  of  150  [7.5  /  3.75],  while  its 
  companion coasted at a speed of 270 [13.5 / 
  6.75]. Since the  one  with  the  external load 
  loses 10% for itself, plus 10% more for each 
  external  missile  carried,  he  slows  down  by 
  50% per game turn. In the next turn, if both 
  continued  to  coast,  the  one  that  had  been 
  going 270 loses another 10% of 270 which is 
  27. His speed is 270 – 27 = 243 [12 / 6]. The 
  one with the missiles loses 75 because 150 – 
  50% = 75 [3.75 / 1.8]. Ignore fractions of a 
  Light Speed.
  If the speed of the mother ship is added to the 
  speed of the fighter when launched forward, it 
  must  be  subtracted  from  the  speed  of  the 
  fighter  if  it  is  launched  through  a  rearward 
  facing launch port. The speed of the mother 
  ship would be ignored if the fighter is launched 
  sideways.
  When  using  fighters  it  seems  unrealistic  to 
  make  everyone  move  simultaneously.  If  all 
  have the same sensor range, roll the die to 
  see which team must move its units first. All 
  fire will still be done simultaneously, but with 
  fighters  moving  last  in  each  game  turn;  it 
  makes it easier for them to line up shots on 
  large ships.
  The loser of the die roll moves all his major 
  ships (Cruisers, Scouts, Destroyers, Carriers, 
  etc.) Then the winner moves all of his major 
  ships. Then the loser moves all his fighters, 
  followed by the winner moving his fighters.
  EXPANDING ALIEN SPACE 
  TO INCLUDE THE STAR 
  FLEET BATTLE MANUAL
  Alien  Space  is  a  companion  game  to  the 
  STAR FLEET BATTLE MANUAL, which is why 
  you’ll see Star Fleet Destroyers on the cover 
  of ALIEN SPACE and Alien Space Kuzi ships 
  on the cover of the STAR FLEET BATTLE 
  MANUAL. Although each game is complete by 
  itself, using the rules provided in the STAR 
  FLEET  BATTLE  MANUAL  can  link  the  two 
  games.
  DESIGNER’S NOTES
  The speed scale printed on the left side of 
  each ship counter serves two functions. It is 
  used to measure the distance a fighter travels 
  during one game turn. It can also be used by 
  ALIEN  SPACE  ship  captains  who  wish  to 
  convert over to the STAR FLEET movement 
  system.  Although  I  recommend  that  each 
  game retain its own movement system when 
  the two are combined, you have the option to 
  switch. Out-of-play counters can be used to 
  measure fighter movements.
  Each time the previous edition of these rules 
  are sold out, I try to incorporate suggestions 
  made by fans, and improvements or refine-
  ments which were not thought of before.
  This is the first edition to offer Fighter types 
  and Campaign Rules. A number of fans have 
  written  requesting  scenarios  but  I  have  too 
  little time left for playtesting and designing to 
  work up any.
  [What follows is a long diatribe whining about 
  how book publishing and layout work against 
  you. It’s really boring and has nothing to do 
  with how the game was designed, why certain 
  design decisions were made, and other things 
  that  are  really  supposed  to  be  in  the 
  designer’s notes]
  13
  
  14
  
  15
  
  16
  
  17
  
  18
  
  19
  
  20
  
  21
  
  22
  
  is rolled, your tentacle causes no damage and his 
  zapper causes its normal damage.
  23
  
  24
  
  25
  
  26
  
  27
  
  28
  
  29
  
  30
  
  31
  
  32
  
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SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Star Trek RPG/Star Fleet Battles/Star Fleet and Alien Space Battle Manuals/Alien Space Battle Manual.pdf