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Gametime Games
Heritage Models was an American game company that produced role-playing games, metal miniatures, and game supplements. Wargaming and fantasy miniatures Heritage Models, a manufacturer of metal miniature wargaming soldiers, was founded by Jim Oden in the 1970s in Dallas, Texas. In 1974 Oden also opened a retail games store, The Royal Guardsmen. Oden ran into cash flow problems, and in January 1977 agreed to merge with Custom Cast, a miniatures company founded by Duke Seifried that specialized in the new market of fantasy miniatures for the burgeoning role-playing game market. Siefried and Oden agreed to merge Custom Cast, Heritage Models, and The Royal Guardsman under the Heritage Models name. Seifried moved to Dallas to support the new company. Siefried created licensed lines for several Hollywood and fantasy fiction properties such as Conan the Barbarian, ''Lord of the Rings'', and John Carter of Mars. Game historian Shannon Appelcline noted that "Seifried [was] one of the most ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Microgame (board Games)
A microgame is a board game or wargame packaged in a small set. Description Microgames enjoyed popularity during the 1980s and have seen a revival with the popularity of tabletop games in the 21st century. The term generally refers to board games or wargames which were packaged and sold with instructions and maps or playing surfaces printed in a booklet format, or as one large sheet folded until it became "pocket sized" (approximately 4×7 inches). Game pieces (also known as chits or counters) were printed on one or more sheets of thick paper which the player sometimes had to cut for themselves. Other microgames had fully die-cut cardboard sheets like those included with most board wargames. Steve Jackson Games used the Pocket Box to package many of their games in this format. While small scale wargames and board games, including Tabletop Games' Micro Series Games, had existed before they began publishing, Metagaming Concepts first used the term " MicroGame" when they releas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spellmaker
''Spellmaker'' is a board game for two to four players published by Gametime Games, a subsidiary of Heritage Models, in 1978. Gameplay ''Spellmaker'' is a fantasy game where wizards are competing against each other to rescue a princess from captivity by a dragon. The first wizard to successfully lead the princess to his castle is the winner. The wizard stays in his tower for the entire game and from afar, uses a variety of creatures (giants, princes, dwarves, and frogs) to escort the princess. Combat is resolved with a simple "larger creature wins", but movement takes place before combat, so a weaker creature can move away from a more powerful creature before combat takes place. Of more importance to victory is the use of magic to create new creatures and move them (and the princess) towards a particular wizard's castle. Reception In the March–April 1979 edition of ''The Space Gamer'' (Issue No. 22) Norman S. Howe found the game had problems: "''Spellmaker'' is a very exciting g ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scott Bizar
Scott B. Bizar is the founder of Fantasy Games Unlimited, a game publisher which contracts writers and artists that work primarily on role-playing games. Career Scott Bizar founded his game company Fantasy Games Unlimited (FGU) after being dissatisfied with games from TSR (company), TSR such as ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (1974) and ''Warriors of Mars (game), Warriors of Mars'' (1974). The first two products from the company were the man-to-man miniatures combat game system ''Gladiators (wargame), Gladiators'' (1975) by Hugh McGowan, and ''Royal Armies of the Hyborean Age'' (1975), the first wargame to take place in the world of Conan, which was co-designed by Lin Carter who was roommates with Bizar. Bizar met Edward E. Simbalist and Wilf K. Backhaus at Gen Con IX in 1976, and he was interested in their role-playing game ''Chevalier'' they had brought with them but decided not to sell to TSR; Bizar helped get their game published over the next year as ''Chivalry & Sorcery'', the first ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fantasy Games Unlimited
Fantasy Games Unlimited (FGU) is a publishing house for tabletop and role-playing games. The company has no in-house design teams and relies on submitted material from outside talent. History Founded in the summer of 1975 in Jericho, New York by Scott Bizar, the company's first publications were the wargames ''Gladiators'' and ''Royal Armies of the Hyborean Age''. Upon the appearance and popularity of ''Dungeons & Dragons'' from TSR, the company turned its attentions to role-playing games, seeking and producing systems from amateurs and freelancers, paying them 10% of the gross receipts. FGU also copyrighted their games in the name of the designer so that the designer would receive any additional royalties for licensed figurines and other uses. Rather than focusing on one line and supporting it with supplements, FGU produced a stream of new games. Because of the disparate authors, the rules systems were incompatible. FGU Incorporated published dozens of role-playing games. Fan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Swordbearer (role-playing Game)
''Swordbearer'' is a fantasy role-playing game published by Heritage Games in 1982, and then republished by Fantasy Games Unlimited (FGU) in 1985. The game featured a number of original innovations, but despite good critical reception, it failed to find an audience under either publisher. Contents ''Swordbearer'' is a fantasy game system with concepts that were new to fantasy role-playing games of the time. Spheres Unlike the popular role-playing games of the time ''Dungeons & Dragons'' and ''RuneQuest'', characters in ''Swordbearer'' have no classes or professions, instead learning whatever skills are appropriate from six different "spheres" of skills. A character that specializes in a Sphere can learn related skills more quickly. Status There is no money in ''Swordbearer''. Instead, everyone has a Social Status ranked from 1 (slaves and indentured servants) to 17 or higher (nobility). A character with a certain status can obtain any item of the same status. For example, a cha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Star Commandos
''Star Commandos'' is a 1980 board game published by Heritage Models. Gameplay ''Star Commandos'' is a game that comes as a set of 25mm lead miniatures including paints and rules. Reception Tony Watson reviewed ''Star Commandos'' in ''The Space Gamer ''The Space Gamer'' was a magazine dedicated to the subject of science fiction and fantasy board games and tabletop role-playing games. It quickly grew in importance and was an important and influential magazine in its subject matter from the la ...'' No. 33. Watson commented that "While the concept behind ''Star Commandos'' was good one, I can't recommend it to most gamers because of its high price." References {{reflist Board games introduced in 1980 Heritage Models games ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Knights And Magick
''Knights and Magick'' is a role-playing game published by Heritage USA in 1980. Description ''Knights and Magick'' is a fantasy/medieval miniatures system designed for mass or single combat, in individual battles or large political-economic-military campaigns. The game includes rudimentary role-playing rules, magic spells, and guidelines for use with other RPGs. Publication history The ''Knights and Magick Rules Set'' was designed by Arnold Hendrick and published by Heritage USA in 1980 as a boxed set containing three 48-page books and a 32-page book, a digest-sized 16-page pamphlet, and a reference sheet. Reception Aaron Allston reviewed ''Knights & Magick'' in ''The Space Gamer'' No. 35. Allston commented that "Overall, I would guardedly recommend ''Knights & Magick'', but not to straight FRP gamers; they would find little of use. Fantasy and historical ''miniatures'' gamers will find some innovation and a good deal of resource material." Lawrence Schick felt that the game ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Carter, Warlord Of Mars (role-playing Game)
''John Carter, Warlord of Mars'' is a role-playing game published by Heritage Models, Inc. in 1978. Description ''John Carter, Warlord of Mars'' is a science-fantasy system based on Edgar Rice Burroughs's novels of Barsoom, a Mars ruled by various humanoid warrior races that fight with sword and gun. Although it mainly consists of man-to-man combat rules for use with miniatures (as they were published to support a line of Barsoomian figures), it does include some rules for role-playing. Publication history ''John Carter, Warlord of Mars'' was designed by Michael S. Matheny, with a cover by Russ Manning, and published by Heritage Models, Inc. in 1978 as a 64-page book. There were at least two printings with different interior layout but both had a copyright date of 1978. One had a full color cover and one had a red tinted cover. Reception John J. Nutter reviewed ''John Carter, Warlord of Mars'' in ''The Space Gamer'' No. 24. Nutter commented that "Mr. Matheny has built a so ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Der Kriegspilers Fantastiques
Der Kriegspielers Fantastiques was a line of fantasy Miniature figure (gaming), miniature figures that were produced by Custom Cast and then Heritage Models beginning in the 1970s. Publication history American miniature sculptor Duke Seifried founded his own company, Der Kriegspielers ("The Wargamers") in the 1950s to make Napoleonic figures for retail sale. In the late 1960s, Seifried corresponded briefly with J.R.R. Tolkien; later, when he was in England on business, he arranged to meet with the author. During his visit, Seifried offered to sculpt "some pewter Hobbits, Dwarves and Goblins" for Tolkien. Tolkien apparently liked the idea, and he and Seifried made some rough sketches on the spot. When Siefried returned to the United States, he had Tim Kirk, a young artist with the American Greeting Card Company, create some professional renderings of the sketches from which Siefried could then sculpt 25 mm miniatures. Tolkien died before Seifried was finished, but Seifried for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |