''Bloodtree Rebellion'', subtitled "Guerilla Warfare on the Planet Somber", is a science fiction

board wargame A board wargame is a wargame with a set playing surface or board game, board, as opposed to being played on a computer or in a more free-form playing area as in miniatures games. The modern, commercial wargaming hobby (as distinct from military ...

published by

Game Designers' Workshop Game Designers' Workshop (GDW) was a Board wargame, wargame and role-playing game publisher from 1973 to 1996. Many of their games are now carried by other publishers. History Game Designers' Workshop was originally established June 22, 1973. ...

(GDW) in 1979. The game started as a guierilla wargame based on the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

, but was changed to a science fiction theme due to the social and political divide over the war in the United States.

Gameplay

''Bloodtree Rebellion'' is a two-player game involving guerilla warfare on the planet of Somber. On one side, the Mykin military controls the planet with an iron fist and a vast array of weapons. On the other side, humans — and eventually indigenous aliens — rebel against the Mykin in a series of hit-and-run city raids. After one such raid, the rebels flee into the Bloodtree Forest to escape from Mykin retaliation, and the game devolves into a

-style of combat, with the technologically superior Mykin seeking out the rebels in the jungle.

Components

The game box holds: * 22" x 28" paper

hex grid A hex map, hex board, or hex grid is a game board design commonly used in simulation games of all scales, including wargames, role-playing games, and strategy games in both board games and video games. A hex map is subdivided into a hexagonal tili ...

map scaled at 5 km (3.1 mi) per hex * three city maps * 480 counters * rule book

Publication history

In the late 1970s,

Lynn Willis Lynn Willis (died January 18, 2013) was a wargame and role-playing game designer, best known for his work with Metagaming Concepts, Game Designers' Workshop (GDW), and Chaosium. Biography Willis began by designing science fiction wargames for M ...

submitted a Vietnam War game to GDW. Due to the social and political unpopularity of the war, which had recently ended, Willis was told to rework it into a science fiction game. The result was ''Bloodtree Rebellion'', published by GDW in 1979 with cover art by

Stephen Fabian Stephen Emil Fabian Sr. (January 3, 1930 – May 6, 2025) was an American fantasy and science-fiction artist who only became a professional artist at the age of 54 after losing his job. Despite being a self-taught artist, he became a widely know ...

. Game designer Brian Train noted that everyone at the time knew that Willis was hiding a Vietnam War game behind the science fiction facade, saying, "When it was published, people immediately saw what had been substituted for what — they knew what they were playing."

Reception

In the March 1980 edition of '' Ares Magazine'' (Issue #1), David Ritchie gave ''Bloodtree Rebellion'' an average rating of 6 out of 9, saying, "if you remove the sf trappings, you have a very accurate treatise on the 'little wars' of our own age. Somewhat complex, but playable within a few hours. Buck Rogers goes to Vietnam." In the March-April 1980 edition of ''

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 ...

'' (Issue No. 27), Keith Gross gave a thumbs down, commenting, ""''Bloodtree Rebellion'' is a game to be admired, not played. The political system is innovative and intriguing, the game and background are well-integrated, and guerrilla war is simulated very well. Those interested in these things will find the game interesting. Those who want a game to play over and over should look elsewhere." In the January 1981 edition of ''

Dragon A dragon is a Magic (supernatural), magical legendary creature that appears in the folklore of multiple cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but European dragon, dragons in Western cultures since the Hi ...

'' (Issue 45), Roberto Camino liked the game, calling it "one of the most flavorful sci-fi entries", but he warned about the game's many rules, saying, "Designer Lynn Willis conjures up a memorable world in vivid detail and breathes life into it with an innovative game system, but at the price of considerable complexity."

References

{{reflist Board games introduced in 1979 Game Designers' Workshop games Lynn Willis games