Sunday, July 1, 2012

Defining Moment #2: Star Frontiers

2. Star Frontiers, 1983

So about a year after me #1 spot intro we were visiting some relatives in another state. Apparently my mom's cousin was (and still is) a big gamer. He had given me a present at one point during our visit and it was the sweetest package deal ever; a box of Star Frontiers miniatures and the Star Frontiers RPG boxed set.

Holy crap. To a nine year old this was amazing; the artwork, the user-friendly rules, and miniatures. Miniatures? What the heck are these? Then I saw all the minis that mom's cousin had painted, shelves full of them. I'm now thinking this gift was spur-of-the-moment out of his own collection, something I've caught myself doing for nieces and nephews form time to time. I remember making myself carsick on the long drive home because I couldn't put the rulebooks that came in the boxed down.

Whereas the #1 spot opened the door, this was the light beyond.

6 comments:

  1. I always wanted Star Frontiers, but by the time I got hold of a set, nobody wanted to play it. All I remember now is the flying fox winged looking guy on the front cover... I never wanted to play human characters if I could get away with it.

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    1. Come to think of it, Star Frontiers also opened up the concept of playable alien and non-human races in general, something's that's kind of stuck with me since.

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  2. Ah the Yazirians. Always fun to play. Mik, you know this is one of my favorites.
    -J

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    1. For good reasons, of all the reboots out there, this one seems like a no-brainer.

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  3. Was is really that long ago? Way back in the 80's, the idea of having my Dralasite hop into a rent-a-taxi and the fare automatically being deducted from his credit balance seemed so sci-fi.

    This one only lasted a few months for us, being supplanted by Call of Cthulhu.

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    1. Heh, yes it really was that long ago! And it does seem that future is here today, so to speak.

      As for CoC I unfortunately never discovered that gem. Maybe a little Delta Green much, much later but I missed out a big chunk of gaming goodness with that one's absence.

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