The Inside Scoop on Gaming

Slag! is a tabletop spaceship combat game for 2 to 3 players. Slag! takes the middle road when tackling the nightmarishly complex problem of spaceship combat, abstracting some of the more problematic aspects of space combat while retaining some of the complexity and realism of zooming around and blowing each other up in outer space.

Slag! is exceptional for three reasons, the most obvious of which is its price: you can't go far wrong for seven dollars. In this case, you can't go wrong at all; Slag! is well worth the retail price.

To bring the cost of a wargame under ten bucks, some sacrifices have to be made. This is another place where Slag! is exceptional. Instead of using cardboard or plastic figures, Slag! comes with 5/8" round stickers that you put on pennies. The result is that the artwork is thin and inexpensive to produce, while the structure of the counters (the expensive part of game counters) is something most people have in their pockets. This is a fantastic idea, and I'd expect to see more small game companies using it (full disclosure: I plan to use this idea myself before too long).

The most surprising place where Slag! is exceptional is that it's diceless. The last thing I expected from a tabletop strategy game was that it didn't need dice. Even more surprising than the lack of dice is that Slag! functions just fine without them. It works so well, it makes me reconsider the need for dice in other traditionally dice-bound games.

Slag! does have a few blemishes. The game mechanics are not coherently organized, requiring several readings to understand a basic concept like missile attacks. (A simple chart of the weapons and what they do would be a big help.) Additionally, the combat mechanics are not consistent: sometimes "damage" just makes it easier to hit the enemy ship, and other times "damage" actually increases damage. Obviously, this is confusing. Hopefully the next version of Slag! (which is being written as we speak) will iron out these wrinkles.

Slag! is a fun little game, and well worth the money.

Style: 2 (Needs Work)
Substance: 4 (Meaty)

Slag!
Author: Greg Porter Category: tabletop space combat Company/Publisher: Blacksburg Tactical Research Center Cost: US$6.95 Page count: 24 pages (plus counters, etc.) Playtest Review by Brandon Blackmoor on 07/31/98. Genre tags: none	Slag! is a tabletop spaceship combat game for 2 to 3 players. Slag! takes the middle road when tackling the nightmarishly complex problem of spaceship combat, abstracting some of the more problematic aspects of space combat while retaining some of the complexity and realism of zooming around and blowing each other up in outer space. Slag! is exceptional for three reasons, the most obvious of which is its price: you can't go far wrong for seven dollars. In this case, you can't go wrong at all; Slag! is well worth the retail price. To bring the cost of a wargame under ten bucks, some sacrifices have to be made. This is another place where Slag! is exceptional. Instead of using cardboard or plastic figures, Slag! comes with 5/8" round stickers that you put on pennies. The result is that the artwork is thin and inexpensive to produce, while the structure of the counters (the expensive part of game counters) is something most people have in their pockets. This is a fantastic idea, and I'd expect to see more small game companies using it (full disclosure: I plan to use this idea myself before too long). The most surprising place where Slag! is exceptional is that it's diceless. The last thing I expected from a tabletop strategy game was that it didn't need dice. Even more surprising than the lack of dice is that Slag! functions just fine without them. It works so well, it makes me reconsider the need for dice in other traditionally dice-bound games. Slag! does have a few blemishes. The game mechanics are not coherently organized, requiring several readings to understand a basic concept like missile attacks. (A simple chart of the weapons and what they do would be a big help.) Additionally, the combat mechanics are not consistent: sometimes "damage" just makes it easier to hit the enemy ship, and other times "damage" actually increases damage. Obviously, this is confusing. Hopefully the next version of Slag! (which is being written as we speak) will iron out these wrinkles. Slag! is a fun little game, and well worth the money. Style: 2 (Needs Work) Substance: 4 (Meaty)