Solarquest
Encyclopedia
Solarquest is a space
-age real estate
trading game published in 1985. Patterned after Monopoly
, the game replaces pewter
tokens with rocket
ships and hotels with metallic fuel stations. Players travel around the sun
acquiring monopolies and fending off attacks. They seek to knock their opponents out of the game through a combination of bankruptcy
, laser
blasts, and dwindling fuel supplies.
Renowned for its playability and appealing design, this board game
developed a devoted fan base before going out of print in the late 1990s. The company that introduced it, Golden Press/Western Publishing Company, is now a part of Random House
. Solarquest has attracted a renewed following in recent years due to its availability on eBay
and other auction sites.
acquiring properties, charging rent, and building fuel stations within individual planetary systems. The player who builds the greatest financial empire and survives the perils of space travel to become the last player on the board wins the game, according to the 1986 Solarquest rules.
Players roll dice and travel along a blue flight path from planet to planet. There are also Red Shift cards directing players to specific destinations (e.g. Advance to Mars).
Players can buy planets and moons, and trade with one another to acquire monopolies. They can also build fuel stations on these bodies, and charge fees for refueling. Each planet has a deed card with instructions on rent and fuel costs.
Research labs and space docks are similar to the utilities in Monopoly. Federation stations cannot be owned, but offer an opportunity to collect cash and purchase spare fuel stations.
There are also 16 black dots, representing planets' gravity, and 17 blue dots, representing floating in space. Altogether, the board has a total of 91 spaces (compared to Monopolys 40).
It is always good to have spare fuel stations on hand. If a player runs out of fuel after landing on a planet that has no fuel station, he can force the sale of the property, build a fuel station, and replenish his fuel tank.
Red Shift cards are only drawn if double sixes are rolled. If another set of doubles is rolled (e.g. 1-1, 2-2, etc.) the player collects 100 federons, moves the number of spaces corresponding to the pips on the dice, and then has the option of either landing on that space or "bypassing" it and rolling again. Bypassing it means that the player does not pay rent, expend fuel when leaving the space, or do the other usual things associated with landing; instead, he continues his turn, rolling the dice and moving again from the bypassed space. Lasers can be fired when bypassing.
In Strategic Solarquest, the players' mobility is diminished because most Red Shift cards cause the player to jump around the board to a different location. This can be good or bad – good, if the player is trying to continue orbiting a planet, buying up properties; bad, if the player ends up paying high rents because he is stuck in orbit around a planet whose moons are mostly owned by another player.
Like Monopoly, this game can theoretically go on indefinitely as cash accumulates and it becomes difficult to force bankruptcy.
Solarquest subsequently went out of print until 1995.
released an Apollo 13 edition featuring artwork from the 1995 Universal Pictures
film, Apollo 13
. Some differences between the 1995 edition and earlier versions include:
was published in 1997 by Valen Brost Game Co. Similar to Risk
, this game has secret mission cards specifying an assignment that the player can complete to win the game. The rules contained quirky provisions such as the last sentence of the rule on laser battles: "If an opponent fires a laser at your ship and rolls 12 (i.e., double sixes), your ship is totally disabled and you are out of the game. Your attacker wins all of your money and property. Exception: If you hold the “Invented a new force field” mission card you survive the attack and automatically win the game!" Spaceopoly is apparently now owned by John N. Hansen Co.
guru Jonathan S. Harbour. Although Harbour and others on the Visual Basic Forum conducted preliminary planning for this project, Harbour suspended his involvement in order to work on more lucrative projects, citing the need to support his family. The thread subsequently died. Nicholas Bostaph of Nightscape Creations Software created an adware
version that was, unfortunately, buggy to the point of unplayability.
On September 14, 2007, Maryland programmer Zac Gochenour remarked, "Ultimately, I think this would also be a cool game to port to the Wii
, because you have the hands-on feel of a board game. And with WiiWare
coming soon, that could happen." In spring 2008, Game Institute instructor Brian Hall announced that a Microsoft XNA
adaptation was in active development. In April 2009, a version of the game was released through sourceforge
.
Outer space
Outer space is the void that exists between celestial bodies, including the Earth. It is not completely empty, but consists of a hard vacuum containing a low density of particles: predominantly a plasma of hydrogen and helium, as well as electromagnetic radiation, magnetic fields, and neutrinos....
-age real estate
Real estate
In general use, esp. North American, 'real estate' is taken to mean "Property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals, or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this; an item of real property; buildings or...
trading game published in 1985. Patterned after Monopoly
Monopoly (game)
Marvin Gardens, the leading yellow property on the board shown, is actually a misspelling of the original location name, Marven Gardens. The misspelling was said to be introduced by Charles Todd and passed on when his home-made Monopoly board was copied by Charles Darrow and thence to Parker...
, the game replaces pewter
Pewter
Pewter is a malleable metal alloy, traditionally 85–99% tin, with the remainder consisting of copper, antimony, bismuth and lead. Copper and antimony act as hardeners while lead is common in the lower grades of pewter, which have a bluish tint. It has a low melting point, around 170–230 °C ,...
tokens with rocket
Rocket
A rocket is a missile, spacecraft, aircraft or other vehicle which obtains thrust from a rocket engine. In all rockets, the exhaust is formed entirely from propellants carried within the rocket before use. Rocket engines work by action and reaction...
ships and hotels with metallic fuel stations. Players travel around the sun
Sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields...
acquiring monopolies and fending off attacks. They seek to knock their opponents out of the game through a combination of bankruptcy
Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....
, laser
Laser
A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of photons. The term "laser" originated as an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation...
blasts, and dwindling fuel supplies.
Renowned for its playability and appealing design, this board game
Board game
A board game is a game which involves counters or pieces being moved on a pre-marked surface or "board", according to a set of rules. Games may be based on pure strategy, chance or a mixture of the two, and usually have a goal which a player aims to achieve...
developed a devoted fan base before going out of print in the late 1990s. The company that introduced it, Golden Press/Western Publishing Company, is now a part of Random House
Random House
Random House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...
. Solarquest has attracted a renewed following in recent years due to its availability on eBay
EBay
eBay Inc. is an American internet consumer-to-consumer corporation that manages eBay.com, an online auction and shopping website in which people and businesses buy and sell a broad variety of goods and services worldwide...
and other auction sites.
Mission
Players travel through the solar systemSolar System
The Solar System consists of the Sun and the astronomical objects gravitationally bound in orbit around it, all of which formed from the collapse of a giant molecular cloud approximately 4.6 billion years ago. The vast majority of the system's mass is in the Sun...
acquiring properties, charging rent, and building fuel stations within individual planetary systems. The player who builds the greatest financial empire and survives the perils of space travel to become the last player on the board wins the game, according to the 1986 Solarquest rules.
Game board
A journey around the Sun encompasses:- 33 moonsNatural satelliteA natural satellite or moon is a celestial body that orbits a planet or smaller body, which is called its primary. The two terms are used synonymously for non-artificial satellites of planets, of dwarf planets, and of minor planets....
; - 9 planetPlanetA planet is a celestial body orbiting a star or stellar remnant that is massive enough to be rounded by its own gravity, is not massive enough to cause thermonuclear fusion, and has cleared its neighbouring region of planetesimals.The term planet is ancient, with ties to history, science,...
s, of which 5 can be landed on; - 9 federation stations;
- 6 research labs; and
- 5 space docks.
Players roll dice and travel along a blue flight path from planet to planet. There are also Red Shift cards directing players to specific destinations (e.g. Advance to Mars).
Players can buy planets and moons, and trade with one another to acquire monopolies. They can also build fuel stations on these bodies, and charge fees for refueling. Each planet has a deed card with instructions on rent and fuel costs.
Research labs and space docks are similar to the utilities in Monopoly. Federation stations cannot be owned, but offer an opportunity to collect cash and purchase spare fuel stations.
There are also 16 black dots, representing planets' gravity, and 17 blue dots, representing floating in space. Altogether, the board has a total of 91 spaces (compared to Monopolys 40).
Color groups
The color groups are:- Orange (Jupiter's moons): CallistoCallisto (moon)Callisto named after the Greek mythological figure of Callisto) is a moon of the planet Jupiter. It was discovered in 1610 by Galileo Galilei. It is the third-largest moon in the Solar System and the second largest in the Jovian system, after Ganymede. Callisto has about 99% the diameter of the...
, GanymedeGanymede (moon)Ganymede is a satellite of Jupiter and the largest moon in the Solar System. It is the seventh moon and third Galilean satellite outward from Jupiter. Completing an orbit in roughly seven days, Ganymede participates in a 1:2:4 orbital resonance with the moons Europa and Io, respectively...
, IoIo (moon)Io ) is the innermost of the four Galilean moons of the planet Jupiter and, with a diameter of , the fourth-largest moon in the Solar System. It was named after the mythological character of Io, a priestess of Hera who became one of the lovers of Zeus....
, EuropaEuropa (moon)Europa Slightly smaller than Earth's Moon, Europa is primarily made of silicate rock and probably has an iron core. It has a tenuous atmosphere composed primarily of oxygen. Its surface is composed of ice and is one of the smoothest in the Solar System. This surface is striated by cracks and...
, AmaltheaAmalthea (moon)Amalthea is the third moon of Jupiter in order of distance from the planet. It was discovered on September 9, 1892, by Edward Emerson Barnard and named after Amalthea, a nymph in Greek mythology. It is also known as '....
, HimaliaHimalia (moon)Himalia is the largest irregular satellite of Jupiter, the sixth largest overall in size, and the fifth largest in mass. It was discovered by Charles Dillon Perrine at the Lick Observatory on 3 December 1904 and is named after the nymph Himalia, who bore three sons of Zeus .- Discovery...
, ElaraElara (moon)Elara is a prograde irregular satellite of Jupiter. It was discovered by Charles Dillon Perrine at Lick Observatory in 1905. It is the eighth largest moon of Jupiter and is named after the mother by Zeus of the giant Tityus....
, ThebeThebe (moon)Thebe also known as ', is the fourth of Jupiter's moons by distance from the planet. It was discovered by Stephen P. Synnott in images from the Voyager 1 space probe taken on March 5, 1979, while orbiting around Jupiter...
, MetisMetis (moon)Metis , also known as ', is the innermost moon of Jupiter. It was discovered in 1979 in images taken by Voyager 1, and was named in 1983 after the first wife of Zeus, Metis...
, AdrasteaAdrastea (moon)Adrastea , also known as ', is the second by distance, and the smallest of the four inner moons of Jupiter. It was discovered in Voyager 2 probe photographs taken in 1979, making it the first natural satellite to be discovered from images taken by an interplanetary spacecraft, rather than...
, SinopeSinope (moon)Sinope is a retrograde irregular satellite of Jupiter discovered by Seth Barnes Nicholson at Lick Observatory in 1914, and is named after Sinope of Greek mythology....
. - Yellow (Saturn's moons): TitanTitan (moon)Titan , or Saturn VI, is the largest moon of Saturn, the only natural satellite known to have a dense atmosphere, and the only object other than Earth for which clear evidence of stable bodies of surface liquid has been found....
, RheaRhea (moon)Rhea is the second-largest moon of Saturn and the ninth largest moon in the Solar System. It was discovered in 1672 by Giovanni Domenico Cassini.-Name:Rhea is named after the Titan Rhea of Greek mythology, "mother of the gods"...
, IapetusIapetus (moon)Iapetus ), occasionally Japetus , is the third-largest moon of Saturn, and eleventh in the Solar System. It was discovered by Giovanni Domenico Cassini in 1671...
, DioneDione (moon)Dione is a moon of Saturn discovered by Cassini in 1684. It is named after the titan Dione of Greek mythology. It is also designated Saturn IV.- Name :...
, TethysTethys (moon)Tethys or Saturn III is a mid-sized moon of Saturn about across. It was discovered by G. D. Cassini in 1684 and is named after titan Tethys of Greek mythology. Tethys is pronounced |Odysseus]] is about 400 km in diameter, while the largest graben—Ithaca Chasma is about 100 km wide and...
, EnceladusEnceladus (moon)Enceladus is the sixth-largest of the moons of Saturn. It was discovered in 1789 by William Herschel. Until the two Voyager spacecraft passed near it in the early 1980s very little was known about this small moon besides the identification of water ice on its surface...
, MimasMimas (moon)Mimas is a moon of Saturn which was discovered in 1789 by William Herschel. It is named after Mimas, a son of Gaia in Greek mythology, and is also designated Saturn I....
, HyperionHyperion (moon)Hyperion , also known as Saturn VII, is a moon of Saturn discovered by William Cranch Bond, George Phillips Bond and William Lassell in 1848. It is distinguished by its irregular shape, its chaotic rotation, and its unexplained sponge-like appearance...
, PhoebePhoebe (moon)Phoebe is an irregular satellite of Saturn. It was discovered by William Henry Pickering on 17 March 1899 from photographic plates that had been taken starting on 16 August 1898 at the Boyden Observatory near Arequipa, Peru, by DeLisle Stewart...
, JanusJanus (moon)Janus is an inner satellite of Saturn. It is also known as Saturn X . It is named after the mythological Janus.-Discovery and orbit:Janus occupies practically the same orbit as the moon Epimetheus...
. - Turquoise (Uranus' moons): OberonOberon (moon)Oberon , also designated ', is the outermost major moon of the planet Uranus. It is the second largest and second most massive of the Uranian moons, and the ninth most massive moon in the Solar System. Discovered by William Herschel in 1787, Oberon is named after the mythical king of the fairies...
, TitaniaTitania (moon)Titania is the largest of the moons of Uranus and the eighth largest moon in the Solar System at a diameter of 1578 km. Discovered by William Herschel in 1787, Titania is named after the queen of the fairies in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream...
, ArielAriel (moon)Ariel is the brightest and fourth-largest of the 27 known moons of Uranus. Ariel orbits and rotates in the equatorial plane of Uranus, which is almost perpendicular to the orbit of Uranus, and so has an extreme seasonal cycle....
, UmbrielUmbriel (moon)Umbriel is a moon of Uranus discovered on October 24, 1851, by William Lassell. It was discovered at the same time as Ariel and named after a character in Alexander Pope's poem The Rape of the Lock. Umbriel consists mainly of ice with a substantial fraction of rock, and may be differentiated into a...
, MirandaMiranda (moon)-External links:* at * at The Nine8 Planets* at Views of the Solar System* * from the...
, 1985 U1Puck (moon)Puck is an inner moon of Uranus. It was discovered in December 1985 by the Voyager 2 spacecraft. The name Puck comes from Celtic mythology and English folklore. The orbit of Puck lies between the rings of Uranus and the first of Uranus' large moons, Miranda. Puck is approximately spherical in...
. - Red: MarsMarsMars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. It is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance...
, PhobosPhobos (moon)Phobos is the larger and closer of the two natural satellites of Mars. Both moons were discovered in 1877. With a mean radius of , Phobos is 7.24 times as massive as Deimos...
, DeimosDeimos (moon)Deimos is the smaller and outer of Mars's two moons . It is named after Deimos, a figure representing dread in Greek Mythology. Its systematic designation is '.-Discovery:Deimos was discovered by Asaph Hall, Sr...
. - Pink: PlutoPlutoPluto, formal designation 134340 Pluto, is the second-most-massive known dwarf planet in the Solar System and the tenth-most-massive body observed directly orbiting the Sun...
, CharonCharon (moon)Charon is the largest satellite of the dwarf planet Pluto. It was discovered in 1978 at the United States Naval Observatory Flagstaff Station. Following the 2005 discovery of two other natural satellites of Pluto , Charon may also be referred to as Pluto I...
. - Blue (Neptune's moons): TritonTriton (moon)Triton is the largest moon of the planet Neptune, discovered on October 10, 1846, by English astronomer William Lassell. It is the only large moon in the Solar System with a retrograde orbit, which is an orbit in the opposite direction to its planet's rotation. At 2,700 km in diameter, it is...
, NereidNereid (moon)Nereid , also known as Neptune II, is the third-largest moon of Neptune. It has a highly eccentric orbit. Nereid was discovered by Gerard Kuiper in 1949 and was the second moon of Neptune to be discovered.- Discovery and naming :...
. - Purple: VenusVenusVenus is the second planet from the Sun, orbiting it every 224.7 Earth days. The planet is named after Venus, the Roman goddess of love and beauty. After the Moon, it is the brightest natural object in the night sky, reaching an apparent magnitude of −4.6, bright enough to cast shadows...
. - Gold: MercuryMercury (planet)Mercury is the innermost and smallest planet in the Solar System, orbiting the Sun once every 87.969 Earth days. The orbit of Mercury has the highest eccentricity of all the Solar System planets, and it has the smallest axial tilt. It completes three rotations about its axis for every two orbits...
. - Green: EarthEarthEarth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
(cannot be purchased), MoonMoonThe Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
. - Grey: Earth Research Lab, Neptune Research Lab, Uranus Research Lab, Venus Research Lab, Jupiter Research Lab, Saturn Research Lab.
- White: Solar Space Dock, Neptune Space Dock, Saturn Space Dock, Uranus Space Dock, Jupiter Space Dock.
Fuel
Players have to watch their fuel level carefully since getting stranded with no way to refuel means the loss of the game. Fuel is only used when leaving a planet or moon. According to the rules, "This occurs because the ship must escape the gravitational pull of the planet or moon." Thus, fuel is not used when leaving a manmade satellite or an empty space.It is always good to have spare fuel stations on hand. If a player runs out of fuel after landing on a planet that has no fuel station, he can force the sale of the property, build a fuel station, and replenish his fuel tank.
Laser battles
A suggested variation is that players who are close enough to each other can fire lasers. A roll of doubles damages the ship, allowing the aggressor to charge for repairs. A roll of double sixes completely destroys the opposing ship, knocking them out of the game.Basic Solarquest
A Red Shift card is drawn when a player rolls doubles. These are similar to the Chance or Community Chest cards in Monopoly. The 36 Red Shift cards consist of:- 25 cards directing the player to a specific destination (e.g. Advance to Federation Station II orbiting JupiterJupiterJupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest planet within the Solar System. It is a gas giant with mass one-thousandth that of the Sun but is two and a half times the mass of all the other planets in our Solar System combined. Jupiter is classified as a gas giant along with Saturn,...
– Use 1 hydron of fuel) - 3 cards in the Red Shift series (e.g. Red Shift 4 – Roll dice – Move 4 times the number rolled – Use 4 hydrons of fuel)
- 5 cards awarding or taking away property (e.g. You WIN a dispute with the Federation League – Choose any unowned property and assume ownership from the Federation)
- 3 miscellaneous cards (e.g. Discover new cometCometA comet is an icy small Solar System body that, when close enough to the Sun, displays a visible coma and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena are both due to the effects of solar radiation and the solar wind upon the nucleus of the comet...
– Collect $400 (Roll Again)).
Strategic Solarquest
The rules also provide for an "Advanced Play" variant known as Strategic Solarquest in whichRed Shift cards are only drawn if double sixes are rolled. If another set of doubles is rolled (e.g. 1-1, 2-2, etc.) the player collects 100 federons, moves the number of spaces corresponding to the pips on the dice, and then has the option of either landing on that space or "bypassing" it and rolling again. Bypassing it means that the player does not pay rent, expend fuel when leaving the space, or do the other usual things associated with landing; instead, he continues his turn, rolling the dice and moving again from the bypassed space. Lasers can be fired when bypassing.
In Strategic Solarquest, the players' mobility is diminished because most Red Shift cards cause the player to jump around the board to a different location. This can be good or bad – good, if the player is trying to continue orbiting a planet, buying up properties; bad, if the player ends up paying high rents because he is stuck in orbit around a planet whose moons are mostly owned by another player.
Comparison with Monopoly
Solarquest is a relatively complex game, with 48 properties available for purchase (compared to Monopolys 28), and the additional considerations of fuel and lasers. The player's path is not as linear as in Monopoly, since it is possible to continue travelling around a planet for several orbits before finally escaping its gravity. Still, the basic concepts are the same, and experience shows it is easy to learn for anyone who has played Monopoly.Like Monopoly, this game can theoretically go on indefinitely as cash accumulates and it becomes difficult to force bankruptcy.
1986 and 1988 editions
Solarquest was published by Golden/Western Publishing Company circa 1985. Minor rule revisions were made in the 1988 edition. For instance, in the 1986 edition, refueling on earth cost $25 per hydron; the 1988 rules provided, "If you land on Earth you may also refuel for free as a welcome home gift from the Federation." Another example is that the 1986 rules allowed the player to collect $500 for passing on Earth and $1,000 for landing on Earth; the 1988 rules provided that "Every time you land on or pass Earth you collect $500 Federons from the bank."Solarquest subsequently went out of print until 1995.
Apollo 13 edition
In 1995, Universal GamesUniversal Games
Universal Games is a Nevada company that produced such board games as Merger, Titanic: The Board Game, and the Apollo 13 edition of Solarquest....
released an Apollo 13 edition featuring artwork from the 1995 Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures
-1920:* White Youth* The Flaming Disc* Am I Dreaming?* The Dragon's Net* The Adorable Savage* Putting It Over* The Line Runners-1921:* The Fire Eater* A Battle of Wits* Dream Girl* The Millionaire...
film, Apollo 13
Apollo 13 (film)
Apollo 13 is a 1995 American drama film directed by Ron Howard. The film stars Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon, Bill Paxton, Gary Sinise, Kathleen Quinlan and Ed Harris. The screenplay by William Broyles, Jr...
. Some differences between the 1995 edition and earlier versions include:
- A slightly smaller playing board that now folds into a square instead of into a rectangle.
- New red shift cards allowing three free laser bursts at any player on the board.
- Elimination of refueling on an unowned planet that's been sold back to the Federation with a fuel station on it; under the new rules, you cannot refuel unless you purchase the property from the Federation for the deed price plus $500 for the fuel station placed by the previous owner.
- Six more moons to buy around Neptune.
- Increased purchase costs for most moons.
- For several planets, a reduction in rent when many moons are owned (for example, rent on Ganymede if you have eleven moons of Jupiter is $4630, instead of $7400).
- At several Federation Stations, an increase in the amount of Federons you collect (for example, $800 instead of $200 at Federation Station II).
- Red shifts occur only when the player rolls a three and a one on two dice.
Spaceopoly
A highly simplified spinoff called SpaceopolySpaceopoly
Spaceopoly, a simplified version of Solarquest, was first published in 1997 by Valen Brost Game Co.Your mission in this Monopoly-like game is to build monopolies within the planet systems and complete a special assignment while avoiding bankruptcy and the many perils of space travel.Despite the...
was published in 1997 by Valen Brost Game Co. Similar to Risk
Risk (game)
Risk is a strategic board game, produced by Parker Brothers . It was invented by French film director Albert Lamorisse and originally released in 1957 as La Conquête du Monde in France. Risk is a turn-based game for two to six players...
, this game has secret mission cards specifying an assignment that the player can complete to win the game. The rules contained quirky provisions such as the last sentence of the rule on laser battles: "If an opponent fires a laser at your ship and rolls 12 (i.e., double sixes), your ship is totally disabled and you are out of the game. Your attacker wins all of your money and property. Exception: If you hold the “Invented a new force field” mission card you survive the attack and automatically win the game!" Spaceopoly is apparently now owned by John N. Hansen Co.
Computerized versions
There have been several proposals to create a computerized version of the game, most notably from DarkbasicDarkBASIC
DarkBASIC is a commercial game creation programming language released by The Game Creators. The language is a structured form of BASIC and is similar to AMOS on the Amiga. The purpose of the language is game creation using Microsoft's DirectX from a BASIC programming language. It is faster and...
guru Jonathan S. Harbour. Although Harbour and others on the Visual Basic Forum conducted preliminary planning for this project, Harbour suspended his involvement in order to work on more lucrative projects, citing the need to support his family. The thread subsequently died. Nicholas Bostaph of Nightscape Creations Software created an adware
Adware
Adware, or advertising-supported software, is any software package which automatically plays, displays, or downloads advertisements to a computer. These advertisements can be in the form of a pop-up. They may also be in the user interface of the software or on a screen presented to the user during...
version that was, unfortunately, buggy to the point of unplayability.
On September 14, 2007, Maryland programmer Zac Gochenour remarked, "Ultimately, I think this would also be a cool game to port to the Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
, because you have the hands-on feel of a board game. And with WiiWare
WiiWare
WiiWare is a service that allows Wii users to download games and applications specifically designed and developed for the Wii video game console made by Nintendo. These games and applications can only be purchased and downloaded from the Wii Shop Channel under the WiiWare section...
coming soon, that could happen." In spring 2008, Game Institute instructor Brian Hall announced that a Microsoft XNA
Microsoft XNA
Microsoft XNA is a set of tools with a managed runtime environment provided by Microsoft that facilitates video game development and management. XNA attempts to free game developers from writing "repetitive boilerplate code" and to bring different aspects of game production into a single system...
adaptation was in active development. In April 2009, a version of the game was released through sourceforge
SourceForge
SourceForge Enterprise Edition is a collaborative revision control and software development management system. It provides a front-end to a range of software development lifecycle services and integrates with a number of free software / open source software applications .While originally itself...
.
External links
- Solarquest review at Board Games Database
- Red Shift card manifest.
- Sourceforge.net playable computer game