How I Discovered StarFire, a Tactical Space Game, and Got Involved
A personal story of finding a game I missed along the way.
I have always been a fan of science fiction, especially StarTrek. I love the idea of exploring the galaxy, meeting new civilizations, and facing different challenges. But there is one thing that always bothered me about StarTrek: the space battles. They seemed so unrealistic and boring, with ships just firing at each other without any strategy or tactics. I wanted to see more complex and dynamic combat, with maneuvers, formations, and weapons systems. I wanted to see space battles that made sense and were exciting to watch.
One day, I decided to vent my frustration on social media. I posted a rant about how StarTrek space battles were lame and how I wished there was a better way to depict them. I expected to get some likes, some comments, and maybe some recommendations for other sci-fi shows or movies. What I did not expect was a rabbit hole going back 40 years.
The comment was from a threads user saying something like "If you want to see realistic and tactical space battles, you should check out the Honor Harrington series by David Weber." Never one to back away from a good audiobook, I looked up the author and found The StarFire series that looks the most interesting. Audible and goodreads could not agree on what order the books should be in so I started googling “starfire book series” and found 8 books from 1990-2016.
Googling StarFire also uncovered a table-top game dating back to 1979. In those days, there were many games you could pick up at your local game store that would be printed out on folded 8.5x11 paper, include a hex-grid map and a few small carboard counters. My favorite of these games was Start Fleet Battles. My friends and I played countless house of SFB, and even created our own campaign rules. We were really into it. I’ve never encountered a space fighting game with as detailed tactics. As these games matured they would get boxed editions, rules clarifications, and a community that would play at game conventions. Somehow, I never encountered StarFire, but it shared some DNA with SFB as well as many versions thru the decades. It had several editions, expansions, and spin-offs, and it had a loyal fan base. It also had a website, where I could learn more about the game and its rules. The latest being Solar Starfire released in 2012. This finally landed me at https://www.starfiredesign.com
As I browsed the website, I was amazed by the depth and complexity of StarFire. It was not just a game, it was a simulation. It had a hex-based map, firing arcs, movement points, shields, armor, sensors, missiles, beams, fighters, and more. It had rules for ship design, fleet composition, combat resolution, damage control, and scenarios. It had a backstory that spanned thousands of years and dozens of races. It had everything I ever wanted in a space game.
I noticed that the website had a section for ship models. I clicked on it and saw that there were 3D printed models of various StarFire ships, in different scales and colors. They looked amazing, and as a 3D printing hobbyist, and I had a printer at home. I wondered if I could get the STL files for the models and print them myself.
I clicked on the forum section of the website, hoping to find some active discussions and friendly people. But I was disappointed. The forum was broken, and looked like it had not been updated in years. It seemed that the website was neglected and outdated, and that the game was dying. I wondered if there was anyone who still cared about StarFire. I decided to join the discord server.
I introduced myself and explained how I had discovered StarFire and what I was looking for. I was met with warm and enthusiastic responses. The people on the server were friendly, helpful, and passionate. They welcomed me to the community and offered me their advice and support. They told me the STL files for the ship models were not available for personal printing, but I would order them already printed online. They also told me something that blew my mind: they were working on a new edition of the game, with updated rules, graphics, and content. They were not just fans, they were contributors. They were not just playing the game, they were developing it. They were not just keeping the game alive, they were making it better.
I took a call with one of the primary developers a week later and we discussed the project and the role I could play. I told them that I had some experience in web design and development, and that I could help with revamping the website and making it more user-friendly and attractive. They said that would be great, and that they had been looking for someone to do that for a long time. On the call I was amazed to find that most of the core team was less than 100 miles from my house in Oregon.
That's how I discovered StarFire, a tactical space game, and became part of its community and hopefully contribute to the continued development.