StarForce ‘Alpha Centauri’: Interstellar Conflict in the 25th Century

About this board game

StarForce ‘Alpha Centauri’: Interstellar Conflict in the 25th Century is a 1974 space-combat simulation for 1–3 players, with an approximately 240-minute playing time. Set in a conjectural future where telekinesis moves ships through space, it portrays a struggle across a three-dimensional sphere of 74 star systems.

Earth’s home system sits at the center of the map, which covers roughly 40 light years in diameter. A hexagonal grid regulates movement and position, but the exact locations of pieces remain unknown until opposing forces meet in the same three-dimensional hex space. Players plot and execute movement simultaneously, using Stellar Shifting to maneuver their forces and pursue the objectives described in the rules.

• StarForces: groups of four interstellar spaceships
• StarGates: space stations used as pieces on the main map
• Hidden positioning: exact locations are revealed when units meet
• Two combat systems: a probability-table Basic Game and a tactical Advanced Game

In the Basic Game, battles are resolved by comparing the total variable strengths of the units involved and consulting a probability table. The Advanced Game transfers engagements to a separate tactical display, where forces move, attack, and defend in three dimensions while spending a fixed number of action points per tactical turn.

Combat does not usually destroy pieces. Instead, outcomes randomise them, typically sending them to a location far from the action. Included in the StarForce Trilogy box set with Outreach and StarSoldier, StarForce ‘Alpha Centauri’ also includes special rules for using StarSoldier as its tactical game.