RPGnet : The Inside Scoop on Gaming

WHAT IS THIS GAME?

Champions of the Galaxy is best described as a sci-fi wrestling roleplaying game. The official CotG website touts it as a "collectible card game", but I feel that's pretty much off-base. In truth, CotG is best played as a roleplaying game to truly capture the feel of pro wrestling.

Now before anyone goes thinking, "Oh boy....yet another product trying to cash in on the current wrestling craze", let me set the record straight. Champions of the Galaxy has been around since the mid 1980's and is done primarily as a labor of love by Mr. Filsinger. Trust me on this one, I have fairly regular contact with him and he turned down a job as a Dean of a college so that he'd still be able to produce CotG. Seriously.

Also, it should be mentioned that there is a TON of support material available. Filsinger has published a whole slew of sets over the years that adds new wrestlers, new optional rules, new matches and new ideas for plots/angles. These are priced at a reasonable $10 to $12 per expansion set. Also, the online CotG community (which I am proudly a part of) is astoundingly productive. You can find killer new death-matches, homemade wrestlers and all sorts of other goodies for free on the net.

WHAT YOU GET IN THE CORE SET

In the initial set, you get 24 wrestler cards. Each card represents one wrestler. On one side is a picture of the grappler and on the other side is the wrestler's stats. Everything you need to know about them (other than background) is on the card itself.

You also receive a rulebook that is well-written and easy to follow. You'll NEVER have a rules dispute in CotG. EVER! You can learn the rules and be playing within 10-15 minutes. All the necessary charts are provided as well.

As a nice little bonus, the set has been enhanced with a couple of nice extras. One is a special edition game card and the other is a game newsletter. Oh and dice. lol.

HOW IT PLAYS

Champions of the Galaxy does an admirable job of simulating pro wrestling. It is fast paced and unpredictable.

Each wrestler has three levels of offense. Each level contains six different attacks. Each attack has a number in front of it, designating how good the grappler is at pulling the move off and how much damage it does. It's all rolled into one number. There are a few other attack types as well such as "into the ropes", "into the turnbuckle", etc. These attacks directs your opponent to roll on a particular chart (e.g., if you roll an "out of the ring" result, your opponent must roll on the Out Of The Ring Chart). On Level Three, wrestlers have 1 to 2 finishing maneuvers (rated from +1 to +5). Here's an example of a wrestler's Offense;

LEVEL ONE OFFENSE:

1. leaping leg lariat 3

2. dropkick 2

3. into the ropes

4. punch 1

5. snap suplex 2

6. huricanrana 3

LEVEL TWO OFFENSE:

1. powerbomb through table 3

2. DDT 2

3. backbreaker 3

4. elbowsmash 2

5. into the turnbuckle

6. snapmare 2

LEVEL THREE OFFENSE:

1. flying body press 3

2. deathjump

3. out of the ring

4. sleeperhold 3

5. knee drop 3

6. THE ANNIHILATOR (+3)

Each wrestler also has three levels of Defense. Like the Offense levels, these are each divided into six results. These results generally contain indicators about how bad the last move affected him. This is followed by a number as well. Sometimes, you'll see the wrestler's name listed in a defensive level. These are called counters and represent the defender going on the offense. These too are followed by a number. Lastly, you'll see that on level three defense, each wrestler has a "Pin" rating (the lower the number, the harder he is to pin). Here's a sample defense.

LEVEL ONE DEFENSE:

1. dazed 1

2. dazed 1

3. KILLER 2

4. KILLER 1

5. dazed 1

6. hurt 2

LEVEL TWO DEFENSE:

1. hurt 2

2. hurt 2

3. KILLER 2

4. dazed 1

5. hurt 2

6. down 3

LEVEL THREE DEFENSE:

1. hurt 2

2. PIN 3

3. down 3

4. down 3

5. hurt 2

6. hurt 2

The game procedes by the attacker starting off on level one offense. He rolls a die and announces the result. Let's say, Killer rolls a "dropkick 2". This indicates that the opponent must roll on level two defense. Let's assume the defender rolls a "hurt 2". This means the attacker now rolls on level two offense. If the defender ever rolls one of his counters, he takes to the attack at a level equal to the number following his name. If the defender rolls his Pin result, he must roll higher than his pin number on 2d6. If he fails, he has been pinned. If he succeeds, he kicks out and his pin number goes up by one to represent fatigue. Now if the attacker ever rolls his finisher, the defender must instantly roll 2d6. He must get higher than his Pin number + the Finisher's rating.

There's much more to it (such as more stats and more variables on offense & defense), but that's pretty much the nuts and bolts of the system.

THE GOOD, THE BAD and THE UGLY! Let's look at the good, bad and wretched qualities of the game....

Smooth-playing rules. A match generally only takes between 5 and 15 minutes. This enables you to run entire "shows" in a reasonable time frame.
Captures the atmosphere and quirkiness of wrestling. It's amazing that such a simplistic system can accomplish this without bogging itself down in needless details.
CotG is perfect for those who like to tinker with the rules or perhaps create their own optional rules. In fact, me and my playing group (The Coroner Crew) designed rules for submission holds and brawls. It's easy to do, as the game is so "wide open". Flexibility is very key to CotG.
The fan support is incredible! You can find hundreds of websites, a bunch of e-mail discussion groups (such as GWF Hardcore & Ringmasters), unofficial sets for sale (nGo) and so much more. The CotG online community is a blast!
Tom Filsinger. This man is devoted to his creation and keeps up with everything the fans do with the game. He reads match results from players' federations, checks out home-made wrestlers, looks over home-grown rules and specialty matches. In short, Tom's dedication is the very heart and soul of the CotG community.

No official wrestler creation rules. Granted, Filsinger's expansion sets contain all-new wrestlers, so I guess a method of character creation would diminish the need to get these wrestlers, but I still see it as a detriment. That's why we've developed our own rules for this (available for free online).
Lack of advertising. CotG is only (as far as I've ever seen) advertised in wrestling magazines. I've always felt that the game would garner more sales if Mr. Filsinger also extended his advertising to gaming magazines and such.

I can honestly say I find nothing "ugly" about CotG.
IN THE END...
Champions of the Galaxy is a well-designed game that successfully does what it sets out to do....simulate wrestling in a sci-fi universe. It has a highly addictive quality and leaves itself open to your creativity and ingenuity.
Tom Filsinger has labored for many years to perfect his "baby" and has pretty much done so. I know the basic run-down of the game I presented earlier lacks some color, but that was just the stripped-down-to-the-bare-bones version. I omitted a whole heck of a lot of things (e.g., Choice Situations, Power, Agility, Ring Ratings, Ropes Ratings, Disqualifications and a whole lot more) for sake of simplicity. After all, if ya wanna know all the details, purchase the core set! lol.
Seriously, though, I highly recommend Champions of the Galaxy for anyone who likes sci-fi or wrestling. It's a fantastic alternative to "traditional" rpg's and is an absolute blast to play! Give it a shot!
Check out the official CotG page at... http://www.gwfwrestling.com/home.htm
And check out our CotG page (w/ links to other great sites) at... http://baby_cindi.tripod.com/CoronerCrew.html

Style: 4 (Classy and well done)
Substance: 5 (Excellent!)

Champions of the Galaxy
Author: Tom Filsinger Category: game Company/Publisher: Filsinger Games Line: Champions of the Galaxy Cost: $19 for core set Page count: n/a Capsule Review by Baby Cindi on 10/22/99. Genre tags: Science_fiction	WHAT IS THIS GAME? Champions of the Galaxy is best described as a sci-fi wrestling roleplaying game. The official CotG website touts it as a "collectible card game", but I feel that's pretty much off-base. In truth, CotG is best played as a roleplaying game to truly capture the feel of pro wrestling. Now before anyone goes thinking, "Oh boy....yet another product trying to cash in on the current wrestling craze", let me set the record straight. Champions of the Galaxy has been around since the mid 1980's and is done primarily as a labor of love by Mr. Filsinger. Trust me on this one, I have fairly regular contact with him and he turned down a job as a Dean of a college so that he'd still be able to produce CotG. Seriously. Also, it should be mentioned that there is a TON of support material available. Filsinger has published a whole slew of sets over the years that adds new wrestlers, new optional rules, new matches and new ideas for plots/angles. These are priced at a reasonable $10 to $12 per expansion set. Also, the online CotG community (which I am proudly a part of) is astoundingly productive. You can find killer new death-matches, homemade wrestlers and all sorts of other goodies for free on the net. WHAT YOU GET IN THE CORE SET In the initial set, you get 24 wrestler cards. Each card represents one wrestler. On one side is a picture of the grappler and on the other side is the wrestler's stats. Everything you need to know about them (other than background) is on the card itself. You also receive a rulebook that is well-written and easy to follow. You'll NEVER have a rules dispute in CotG. EVER! You can learn the rules and be playing within 10-15 minutes. All the necessary charts are provided as well. As a nice little bonus, the set has been enhanced with a couple of nice extras. One is a special edition game card and the other is a game newsletter. Oh and dice. lol. HOW IT PLAYS Champions of the Galaxy does an admirable job of simulating pro wrestling. It is fast paced and unpredictable. Each wrestler has three levels of offense. Each level contains six different attacks. Each attack has a number in front of it, designating how good the grappler is at pulling the move off and how much damage it does. It's all rolled into one number. There are a few other attack types as well such as "into the ropes", "into the turnbuckle", etc. These attacks directs your opponent to roll on a particular chart (e.g., if you roll an "out of the ring" result, your opponent must roll on the Out Of The Ring Chart). On Level Three, wrestlers have 1 to 2 finishing maneuvers (rated from +1 to +5). Here's an example of a wrestler's Offense; LEVEL ONE OFFENSE: 1. leaping leg lariat 3 2. dropkick 2 3. into the ropes 4. punch 1 5. snap suplex 2 6. huricanrana 3 LEVEL TWO OFFENSE: 1. powerbomb through table 3 2. DDT 2 3. backbreaker 3 4. elbowsmash 2 5. into the turnbuckle 6. snapmare 2 LEVEL THREE OFFENSE: 1. flying body press 3 2. deathjump 3. out of the ring 4. sleeperhold 3 5. knee drop 3 6. THE ANNIHILATOR (+3) Each wrestler also has three levels of Defense. Like the Offense levels, these are each divided into six results. These results generally contain indicators about how bad the last move affected him. This is followed by a number as well. Sometimes, you'll see the wrestler's name listed in a defensive level. These are called counters and represent the defender going on the offense. These too are followed by a number. Lastly, you'll see that on level three defense, each wrestler has a "Pin" rating (the lower the number, the harder he is to pin). Here's a sample defense. LEVEL ONE DEFENSE: 1. dazed 1 2. dazed 1 3. KILLER 2 4. KILLER 1 5. dazed 1 6. hurt 2 LEVEL TWO DEFENSE: 1. hurt 2 2. hurt 2 3. KILLER 2 4. dazed 1 5. hurt 2 6. down 3 LEVEL THREE DEFENSE: 1. hurt 2 2. PIN 3 3. down 3 4. down 3 5. hurt 2 6. hurt 2 The game procedes by the attacker starting off on level one offense. He rolls a die and announces the result. Let's say, Killer rolls a "dropkick 2". This indicates that the opponent must roll on level two defense. Let's assume the defender rolls a "hurt 2". This means the attacker now rolls on level two offense. If the defender ever rolls one of his counters, he takes to the attack at a level equal to the number following his name. If the defender rolls his Pin result, he must roll higher than his pin number on 2d6. If he fails, he has been pinned. If he succeeds, he kicks out and his pin number goes up by one to represent fatigue. Now if the attacker ever rolls his finisher, the defender must instantly roll 2d6. He must get higher than his Pin number + the Finisher's rating. There's much more to it (such as more stats and more variables on offense & defense), but that's pretty much the nuts and bolts of the system. THE GOOD, THE BAD and THE UGLY! Let's look at the good, bad and wretched qualities of the game.... THE GOOD: Smooth-playing rules. A match generally only takes between 5 and 15 minutes. This enables you to run entire "shows" in a reasonable time frame. Captures the atmosphere and quirkiness of wrestling. It's amazing that such a simplistic system can accomplish this without bogging itself down in needless details. CotG is perfect for those who like to tinker with the rules or perhaps create their own optional rules. In fact, me and my playing group (The Coroner Crew) designed rules for submission holds and brawls. It's easy to do, as the game is so "wide open". Flexibility is very key to CotG. The fan support is incredible! You can find hundreds of websites, a bunch of e-mail discussion groups (such as GWF Hardcore & Ringmasters), unofficial sets for sale (nGo) and so much more. The CotG online community is a blast! Tom Filsinger. This man is devoted to his creation and keeps up with everything the fans do with the game. He reads match results from players' federations, checks out home-made wrestlers, looks over home-grown rules and specialty matches. In short, Tom's dedication is the very heart and soul of the CotG community. THE BAD: No official wrestler creation rules. Granted, Filsinger's expansion sets contain all-new wrestlers, so I guess a method of character creation would diminish the need to get these wrestlers, but I still see it as a detriment. That's why we've developed our own rules for this (available for free online). Lack of advertising. CotG is only (as far as I've ever seen) advertised in wrestling magazines. I've always felt that the game would garner more sales if Mr. Filsinger also extended his advertising to gaming magazines and such. THE UGLY: I can honestly say I find nothing "ugly" about CotG. IN THE END... Champions of the Galaxy is a well-designed game that successfully does what it sets out to do....simulate wrestling in a sci-fi universe. It has a highly addictive quality and leaves itself open to your creativity and ingenuity. Tom Filsinger has labored for many years to perfect his "baby" and has pretty much done so. I know the basic run-down of the game I presented earlier lacks some color, but that was just the stripped-down-to-the-bare-bones version. I omitted a whole heck of a lot of things (e.g., Choice Situations, Power, Agility, Ring Ratings, Ropes Ratings, Disqualifications and a whole lot more) for sake of simplicity. After all, if ya wanna know all the details, purchase the core set! lol. Seriously, though, I highly recommend Champions of the Galaxy for anyone who likes sci-fi or wrestling. It's a fantastic alternative to "traditional" rpg's and is an absolute blast to play! Give it a shot! Check out the official CotG page at... http://www.gwfwrestling.com/home.htm And check out our CotG page (w/ links to other great sites) at... http://baby_cindi.tripod.com/CoronerCrew.html Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 5 (Excellent!)