<p>Could this have been part of the <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/2891/starfire" rel="noreferrer">Starfire</a> series?  Images show a hexagonal grid &amp; ship counters and the description says:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>A &quot;word&quot; makes up a ship. As damage is done between ships, letters are
crossed off from left to right within the &quot;word&quot; until the ship is
destroyed.</p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-13T14:22:59.917Z
The review at https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1101304/starlord-review-quick-and-simple-game-yesteryear provides even more corroboration: "Damage Allocation: Damage is applied by deleting systems from left to right, bypassing systems that the weapon doesn't affect. So if the the ship SAIGIRII takes 4 standard damage, it looks like this S-A-I-G-IRII having lost a shield (S), armour (A), ion engine (I) and gun (G)."
L. Scott Johnson
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-13T16:11:01.747Z
This definitely looks like it. Is the culture here to accept an answer immediately, or should I wait for 24 hours like some other SEs suggest?
Kyyshak
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-13T19:00:45.307Z
@Kyyshak: In the case of questions tagged as identify-this-game, I don't think there's much reason to hold out for additional, better answers.
Brian
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-14T01:48:26.680Z
https://www.nobleknight.com/P/2147353865/Starfire-I
Jerry Jeremiah
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-14T02:27:48.120Z
Starfire II was the fighter expansion, and Starfire III: Empires was a campaign game with (if I remember correctly) randomly generated star systems and hyperspatial connections between them.
Russell Borogove
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-13T12:15:15.967Z
2020-08-13T12:15:15.967Z
borrible
<p>I remember going through an old board game I found in my parents attic when I was a child (early 2000s, however it's an old game, so it could easily have been released in the 80s) and I was hoping you could all help me.</p>
<p>It was a hex-based space combat game, where players designed their fleets to a set number of points (and a desired Tech Level) before play. This box set had little cardboard counters for the ships, although there was a leaflet inside for ordering little cast model ships in various styles.</p>
<p>The most unique part was how the ship was described. It consisted of a bunch of letters in a row, each one representing a single module. Damage would typically involve crossing out letters from left to right, although some weapons had different rules.</p>
<p>An example (off the top of my head):</p>
<blockquote>
<p>SSSSAAAHHPdGGOIIII</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This would represent a ship with 4 units of shields, 3 armour, some holds, Point Defence and other gubbins, and finally four Ion Engines. So this ship would lose its Shields and Armour first and would lose the engines last.</p>
<p>Finally, I remember there was an expansion pack that brought a new faction along with rules for fighter craft.</p>
<p>Does anyone know what this game is called?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-13T14:18:22.103Z
Could you provide context to "when I was a child"? (e.g., what year or decade are we talking about?)
L. Scott Johnson
<identify-this-game>
Identify this space combat game with a letter based ship architecture
Kyyshak
# Identify this space combat game with a letter based ship architecture

(Asked by: username_0 on 2020-08-13)

I remember going through an old board game I found in my parents attic when I was a child (early 2000s, however it's an old game, so it could easily have been released in the 80s) and I was hoping you could all help me.

It was a hex-based space combat game, where players designed their fleets to a set number of points (and a desired Tech Level) before play. This box set had little cardboard counters for the ships, although there was a leaflet inside for ordering little cast model ships in various styles.

The most unique part was how the ship was described. It consisted of a bunch of letters in a row, each one representing a single module. Damage would typically involve crossing out letters from left to right, although some weapons had different rules.

An example (off the top of my head):

> SSSSAAAHHPdGGOIIII

This would represent a ship with 4 units of shields, 3 armour, some holds, Point Defence and other gubbins, and finally four Ion Engines. So this ship would lose its Shields and Armour first and would lose the engines last.

Finally, I remember there was an expansion pack that brought a new faction along with rules for fighter craft.

Does anyone know what this game is called?

**Tags:** identify-this-game

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Could you provide context to "when I was a child"? (e.g., what year or decade are we talking about?)  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2020-08-13. Score: 24 | Accepted answer

Could this have been part of the [Starfire](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/2891/starfire) series? Images show a hexagonal grid & ship counters and the description says:

> A "word" makes up a ship. As damage is done between ships, letters are
> crossed off from left to right within the "word" until the ship is
> destroyed.

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: The review at https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1101304/starlord-review-quick-and-simple-game-yesteryear provides even more corroboration: "Damage Allocation: Damage is applied by deleting systems from left to right, bypassing systems that the weapon doesn't affect. So if the the ship SAIGIRII takes 4 standard damage, it looks like this S-A-I-G-IRII having lost a shield (S), armour (A), ion engine (I) and gun (G)."  
> **username_0**: This definitely looks like it. Is the culture here to accept an answer immediately, or should I wait for 24 hours like some other SEs suggest?  
> **username_3**: @username_0: In the case of questions tagged as identify-this-game, I don't think there's much reason to hold out for additional, better answers.  
> **username_4**: https://www.nobleknight.com/P/2147353865/Starfire-I  
> **username_5**: Starfire II was the fighter expansion, and Starfire III: Empires was a campaign game with (if I remember correctly) randomly generated star systems and hyperspatial connections between them.  

---

