The Inside Scoop on Gaming

Have you ever wondered who would win a fight between Spider-man or Captain America? Or who would could take whom between Thor and The Hulk? Well, you are not alone. Billy Tucci, the creator of the comic book Shi, spent many sleepless nights pondering these same questions. (1) Unlike the rest of us, Tucci did something about it. He created BattleBooks.

BattleBooks are printed in the same format as comic books, however they feature a single, color illustration per page along with a panel of numbers and text results that turn the books into a game. Marvel Comics, Top Cow, and Crusade have each published BattleBooks using some of the most popular characters in each stable. (2) The art ranges from fair to great with uniform backgrounds to free artists to concentrate on dynamic poses and threatening scowls.

The game simulates a fight between two characters, either unarmed or featuring the character's favorite weapons. The game has quite a long history before BattleBooks, giving it the benefit of over a decade of playtesting.

In 1980, Alfred Leonardi created a game of bi-plane combat called Ace Of Aces. It involved two illustrated books depicting planes executing various maneuvers. Players each held a book, called out a move or attack, and compared numbers on a chart to determine the outcome of the moves.

In 1983, Leonardi and James Rosinus used the same mechanic to create Lost Worlds, a set of small books depicting man to man fantasy combat. This series proved fairly popular and new books still appear occasionally, including some featuring the characters from Jolly Blackburn's Knights Of The Dinner Table.

1998's BattleBooks is the latest stage in the evolution of this dice-less gaming system. So far, eighteen characters have their own BattleBook: Captain America, Darkchylde, Deadpool, Elektra, Fairchild, Gambit, Hulk, Iron Man, Rogue, Shi, Spider-Girl, Spider-Man, Storm, Thing, Thor, Vampirella, Witchblade, and Wolverine. (3)

Each BattleBook has two components. The first is the comic book itself, with 24 illustrated pages. The second component is a Maneuvers Card that lists all of the character's combat moves. Other than these two pieces, players need only a pen and paper to record the damage done to each other.

Players begin by keeping the Maneuvers Card for their character while exchanging comic books. This way, after every move, players see what their opponents are doing. This provides a first-person feel as they watch their victims reel from the onslaught.

Each turn, both players consult their Maneuvers Card and choose a combat move. Characters have their own special attacks, such as Wolverine's Berserker Fury, as well as some standard defenses like Duck & Recover. The Maneuvers are divided into several categories of attacks such as Power Shots and Special, and are further categorized by color. During the fight, the BattleBooks will refer to these categories and colors, sometimes banning certain categories or giving bonuses to certain colors. This adds a tactical element to the game. For example, Wolverine may not shred his opponent with his claws this turn, but he may force his adversary to do only Jumps on the next turn, making her more predictable.

Each Maneuver has a name as well as a number. After choosing a Maneuver, each player turns to the numbered panel in the BattleBook. Under each illustration in the comic book is a numbered panel. Once each player has found the right numbered panel, they tell each other the number of their Maneuver. Each player finds his opponent's number on the list of numbers within the panel. This will give each fighter a page number, to which each turns to the see the outcome of the exchange.

This sounds far more complicated than it is, although those suffering from short-term memory shortages might want to keep a written list of their choices.

The new page will show the results of the two Maneuvers. Typically, one character appears making an attack while another appears suffering a Score, or a hit. Players tell each other whether or not they Scored on that turn, and how much damage they do. Damage is taken from the Body Points listed on the Maneuvers Card, and the first to reach 0 is knocked out and looses the game. Finally, players read to each other any other results of the exchange. Often, each player will suffer some sort of limitation, either to a move category or to a color, or they will receive a bonus should they score next round.

The battles are quick and the game is very portable, making it a good choice for killing time in between other games or getting a fix when minutes are limited. Because the books are essentially comic books, they do not tolerate much abuse, and the small Maneuver Cards are a little too easy to lose.

The games also seem a bit random. After all, when is it better to attack with the Drop & Kick rather than the Unleash Rage? Perhaps extensive play, or close, mathematical examination, would help reveal tactics, but players will rely on luck for early games.

Because BattleBooks is so similar to Lost Worlds, they beg comparison. BattleBooks has far superior art compared to the Lost Worlds' line drawings. BattleBooks lacks the solid construction of the Lost Worlds books and will not hold up without considerable care. While BattleBooks players are at a loss to determine the benefits and limitations of some enigmatic Maneuver names, many of the Lost Worlds Maneuver Cards provide detailed descriptions of each attack. Finally, Lost Worlds, having been around longer, has considerably more characters and has expanded to include spell cards and magic items that add a new angle on combat. The down side is Lost Worlds' price tag, which is about two dollars more per book than BattleBooks' price.

Unfortunately, the future does not seem bright for BattleBooks. Sales were not dramatic and no publishers have announced further expansions to the game. Still, interested gamers can find the original 18 BattleBooks in comic book shops and Internet auctions. Neither charges much more than the cover price as they have not attained a valuable collectible status. Anyone looking for an amusing, if somewhat silly, game of super-powered combat, BattleBooks provides good fun with small rules load and price tag.

1. I do not really know that Mr. Tucci lost any sleep over these questions, but I know I have!

2. A complete list of BattleBooks is difficult to find. I believe that only these three publishers participated.

3. Again, lists are rare. I believe this is all of them.

Style: 4 (Classy and well done)
Substance: 4 (Meaty)

BattleBooks
Author: Billy Tucci Category: Combat Game Company/Publisher: BattleBooks Incorporated et al Line: BattleBooks Cost: $3.99 Page count: 24 SKU: n/a Playtest Review by Brad Weier on 06/14/00. Genre tags: Superhero	Have you ever wondered who would win a fight between Spider-man or Captain America? Or who would could take whom between Thor and The Hulk? Well, you are not alone. Billy Tucci, the creator of the comic book Shi, spent many sleepless nights pondering these same questions. (1) Unlike the rest of us, Tucci did something about it. He created BattleBooks. BattleBooks are printed in the same format as comic books, however they feature a single, color illustration per page along with a panel of numbers and text results that turn the books into a game. Marvel Comics, Top Cow, and Crusade have each published BattleBooks using some of the most popular characters in each stable. (2) The art ranges from fair to great with uniform backgrounds to free artists to concentrate on dynamic poses and threatening scowls. The game simulates a fight between two characters, either unarmed or featuring the character's favorite weapons. The game has quite a long history before BattleBooks, giving it the benefit of over a decade of playtesting. In 1980, Alfred Leonardi created a game of bi-plane combat called Ace Of Aces. It involved two illustrated books depicting planes executing various maneuvers. Players each held a book, called out a move or attack, and compared numbers on a chart to determine the outcome of the moves. In 1983, Leonardi and James Rosinus used the same mechanic to create Lost Worlds, a set of small books depicting man to man fantasy combat. This series proved fairly popular and new books still appear occasionally, including some featuring the characters from Jolly Blackburn's Knights Of The Dinner Table. 1998's BattleBooks is the latest stage in the evolution of this dice-less gaming system. So far, eighteen characters have their own BattleBook: Captain America, Darkchylde, Deadpool, Elektra, Fairchild, Gambit, Hulk, Iron Man, Rogue, Shi, Spider-Girl, Spider-Man, Storm, Thing, Thor, Vampirella, Witchblade, and Wolverine. (3) Each BattleBook has two components. The first is the comic book itself, with 24 illustrated pages. The second component is a Maneuvers Card that lists all of the character's combat moves. Other than these two pieces, players need only a pen and paper to record the damage done to each other. Players begin by keeping the Maneuvers Card for their character while exchanging comic books. This way, after every move, players see what their opponents are doing. This provides a first-person feel as they watch their victims reel from the onslaught. Each turn, both players consult their Maneuvers Card and choose a combat move. Characters have their own special attacks, such as Wolverine's Berserker Fury, as well as some standard defenses like Duck & Recover. The Maneuvers are divided into several categories of attacks such as Power Shots and Special, and are further categorized by color. During the fight, the BattleBooks will refer to these categories and colors, sometimes banning certain categories or giving bonuses to certain colors. This adds a tactical element to the game. For example, Wolverine may not shred his opponent with his claws this turn, but he may force his adversary to do only Jumps on the next turn, making her more predictable. Each Maneuver has a name as well as a number. After choosing a Maneuver, each player turns to the numbered panel in the BattleBook. Under each illustration in the comic book is a numbered panel. Once each player has found the right numbered panel, they tell each other the number of their Maneuver. Each player finds his opponent's number on the list of numbers within the panel. This will give each fighter a page number, to which each turns to the see the outcome of the exchange. This sounds far more complicated than it is, although those suffering from short-term memory shortages might want to keep a written list of their choices. The new page will show the results of the two Maneuvers. Typically, one character appears making an attack while another appears suffering a Score, or a hit. Players tell each other whether or not they Scored on that turn, and how much damage they do. Damage is taken from the Body Points listed on the Maneuvers Card, and the first to reach 0 is knocked out and looses the game. Finally, players read to each other any other results of the exchange. Often, each player will suffer some sort of limitation, either to a move category or to a color, or they will receive a bonus should they score next round. The battles are quick and the game is very portable, making it a good choice for killing time in between other games or getting a fix when minutes are limited. Because the books are essentially comic books, they do not tolerate much abuse, and the small Maneuver Cards are a little too easy to lose. The games also seem a bit random. After all, when is it better to attack with the Drop & Kick rather than the Unleash Rage? Perhaps extensive play, or close, mathematical examination, would help reveal tactics, but players will rely on luck for early games. Because BattleBooks is so similar to Lost Worlds, they beg comparison. BattleBooks has far superior art compared to the Lost Worlds' line drawings. BattleBooks lacks the solid construction of the Lost Worlds books and will not hold up without considerable care. While BattleBooks players are at a loss to determine the benefits and limitations of some enigmatic Maneuver names, many of the Lost Worlds Maneuver Cards provide detailed descriptions of each attack. Finally, Lost Worlds, having been around longer, has considerably more characters and has expanded to include spell cards and magic items that add a new angle on combat. The down side is Lost Worlds' price tag, which is about two dollars more per book than BattleBooks' price. Unfortunately, the future does not seem bright for BattleBooks. Sales were not dramatic and no publishers have announced further expansions to the game. Still, interested gamers can find the original 18 BattleBooks in comic book shops and Internet auctions. Neither charges much more than the cover price as they have not attained a valuable collectible status. Anyone looking for an amusing, if somewhat silly, game of super-powered combat, BattleBooks provides good fun with small rules load and price tag. 1. I do not really know that Mr. Tucci lost any sleep over these questions, but I know I have! 2. A complete list of BattleBooks is difficult to find. I believe that only these three publishers participated. 3. Again, lists are rare. I believe this is all of them. Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 4 (Meaty)