Star Trek opening monologue.

Space ship combat games have been a main part of the wargames hobby, almost since its conception as a modern day pastime and come in a variety of shapes, sizes and formats. There are hundreds available on the market, some based on a particular film or TV show, others more diverse. The real hard part is sorting the chaff from the wheat and finding one that suits all encounters and occasions is almost an impossibility. Space combat has long been a favorite of mine, ever since I saw the Death Star Assault in Star Wars, twenty years ago. I have tried and played almost every system I can find, searching for that elusive 10. Well if you’re like me then you need look no further.

Jon Tuffley created his own vision of tactical space ship combat as an A5 size rule booklet way back in 1991. The rules system was known as Full Thrust and set the way for other games to follow. The booklet was available at games shows and by mail order only with no retail outlets to sell it and surprisingly sold out completely (I'm lucky enough to have a copy myself) so Jon re-wrote the system and put it out in a much more expanded version, this time full size and with a full color glossy cover.

The second edition of Full Thrust covers almost everything you could possibly wish for in a game and in such a way that even a novice gamer wont get bogged down with complexity. The system is broken up into twelve sections and each one concisely gives you all the information needed to play the game. So how does it work?

Well after setting up the battlescape (normally a black cloth or board with stars painted on it and sometimes 3d planets and space debris!) all that remains is to follow this simple turn sequence. Here’s a brief overview of the basic rules, the game contains a much more detailed system in the advanced rules but I wont touch on that here. So here we go with a basic turn sequence.

1. Write Movement Orders.
2. Move Asteroids and other Non fixed- move bodies (if applicable).
3. Move all Ship in accordance with written orders.
4. Move Any/All Fighter Groups.
5. Fire Any/All Ships, Players Alternating One Ship each.
6. Make any remaining Unused Fighter Attacks.

Play then proceeds with the next game turn.

And that’s it! A very simple and well thought out system that doesn’t bog one down with lots of math and calculations. Obviously it’s a little more complex than just six lines of text and the rules clarify each and every step, with clear and well written examples of play along the way.

Ships are divided into three distinct groups, these being Escorts (Couriers through Corvettes and Frigates to Destroyers), Cruisers (Battleships and Heavy Escorts), and Capital Ships (Fleet Carriers and Superdreadnoughts, think of Star Destroyers in Star Wars for an easy comparison). Its these groups that make up the real back bone of the system and the unique way that each type moves, fires and can take damage.

By writing down your orders in advance you really have to think before you move. This can sometimes slow things down a little but adds more realism to the game and once you’ve played a few times it comes as second nature. Movement uses a Clock Face method and so its quite simple to work out which way you should be going. And as the game is in space you have to watch your speed as velocity in space is constant so if you go too fast you may not be able to turn in time to avoid a nasty accident (believe me its great watching the look on someone’s face when they mess up and piledrive one of their own ships!).

To represent combat is simple as each ship has a number of Fire Controls which permit it to fire or engage one target each firing section of the turn, so obviously ships with large numbers of FC’s can target more than ships with less FC’s. Once you have chosen your target you must work out if you can actually bring a weapon to bear on it. Each ship has four fire arcs (Fore, Aft, Port, Starboard.) and unless stated you can never fire from your Aft arc as that’s where the engines are. Weapons are split into beam and missile and each has its advantages and disadvantages.

Objectives are as simple or complex as you want to make them and each battle can be played as part of a campaign with the rules for such play covered or as a stand-alone encounter. There is also a large number of scenarios to play too. There are a lot of things that I haven’t covered here on the basic game, such as the advanced rules and the background of the universe that the system is set in (more on which in a moment) but that is the basics of the system at a glance. Movement is perhaps the hardest thing to get used to at first as I have said earlier, but persevere with it and you will soon get the hang of the system. Got to be the best starship combat system I have played.

The way that the system is designed you can use it for any type of space combat, from Star Wars and Star Trek to Babylon Five and Battlestar Galactitica. The system uses a background created by Jon in which mankind seems all alone in the universe and is at a constant state of war with himself. Its only at the end of the timeline that man has his first encounters with an alien life force and this isn't covered at all in the basic rules but left somewhat open for the sequel.

Which brings me very nicely to More Thrust.

More Thrust give the player a chance to get to use even more ships and advanced weapon systems. For the first time we are introduced to some of the alien races that live along side us in the galaxy, the Kra’Vak and the Sa’Vasku. Both of these races are vastly different to the forces of humanity and both have unique, exotic weapons.

We also get new rules for anti-fighter/missile weapons, sensor jamming, damage control, and fleet morale. Plus what happens when you get too close to a planet or moon and the effects that gravity has on your fleets. All laid out very clearly once again and full examples of play are once again there to back up the text.

Ground Zero also produce another couple of sets of systems, Dirtside and Stargrunt. Dirtside is the game of combat on a huge scale (similar to Games Workshops Epic system in scale and comparison only but far more scope) and Stargrunt takes the battles to unit, man to man level. Rules in More Thrust are given to include these systems and by the use of a novel mini system called Interface you will have no troubles at all using the rules as a whole (the original intention.).

More Thrust also give rules for playing the system at tournament/ championship level, and sets out the rules and limitations that are legal and illegal in tourneys.

In the original rules system, players were limited to the size and mass of the vessels that they could build. More Thrust allows you to build the kind of star ships that would dwarf the mightiest in Star Wars and are many miles in length and brimming with weapons in every port.

A final section of the book gives the player some alternatives to playing in a standard universe and introduces such ideas as Victorian space combat (as in Space 1889 and Warlords of Mars genre) and even comedy with reference to such icons as Red Dwarf and Spaceballs. All this and more information on how to get the most from the system and even a listing of companies that supply miniatures that are suitable, a very generous idea when you consider that Jon makes his own ranges of star ships (excellent too by the way).

So there you have it a complete system and a rules addition for less than the price of most basic systems. If your looking for a new starship combat system then I cant recommend any higher than Full Thrust. Jon also wrote the ship combat system for the upcoming Babylon Project Earth Alliance source book from Chameleon Electric and they use a modified version of the Full Thrust rules. And if you are interested in Full Thrust, then there are plenty of sites here on the Internet that support the system and offer campaign settings counters and optional rules.

Oh and a final word if you do play starship combat systems and collect or use Galoobs Micro Machines (Star Trek, Star Wars, Babylon 5). They are discontinuing the lines of these ranges at the end of this year so grab them while you can.

Full Thrust is available from.