Revolt on Antares Review
Review By William A. Barton
The Space Gamer #44 (October 1981)
REVOLT ON ANTARES (TSR)
$4.00.
Designed by Tom Moldvay.
One 4" x 7" 20-page ru1es booklet, 11':1,' x 14" map, 84 die-cut counters, two 6-sided dice, plastic box.
Two to four players.
Playing time 30-90 minutes.
Published 1981.
Call in the jump troops! Break out the laser tanks! They're revolting on Antares 9! Three scenarios allow the rebel houses to rise in rebellion against Imperial Terra and its allies, the Terrans to defend Imirrhos against revolting houses in league with alien invaders, and for the various houses to try to become the most powerful on the planet. Units in the game represent laser tanks, powered infantry, jump troops, hovercraft, air wings, faction leaders, artifacts and "Galactic Heroes" who might be persuaded to join one side or the other. Action takes place on a hex map of the planet showing fortresses, economic sites, land and sea. It is only the presence of alien artifacts and special abilities on the part of the faction leaders and Galactic Heroes that keep REVOLT ON ANTARES from being routine.
The artifacts and abilities are what make this minigame. Each faction leader has a certain "psychic' power that can affect combat (or, in one case, recruitment of heroes) -teleportation of unit, summoning of lightning, projection of hallucinations, etc. - making them formidable enemies and valuable allies. The artifacts possesed by the houses -dimensional plane, energy drainer, force cannon, etc. - add to their strength. And the Galactic Heroes can help tip the balance for a faltering side, if the right one is recruited. The randomness of the placement of the artifacts and the availability of each individual hero help keep the game from degenerating into predictability.
The game does tend to bog down some, however, even with heroes and artifacts. This is especially true if a powerful stack is trapped by several weaker stacks at the edge of an ocean and it doesn't have any units capable of crossing water. The reinforcement schedules seem just a bit unbalanced, too, but not fatally in most cases. And the dark green counters of House Braganza are almost impossible to read - a real design flaw there.
Although REVOLT ON ANTARES isn't overly exciting, it can be an interesting little game to play, especially if you like the smaller games with an SF (make that science fantasy) flavor.