From: "Tony D. Morgan" Subject: SPI's Outreach Has anybody out there ever played 'Outreach'? It was published by SPI during the late 1970s. I picked it up a couple of years ago at a wargame convention auction for less than 10 dollars, and have found it to be quite a fun 'change of pace.' You could call it the ultimate wargame. The very attractive map covers most of the galaxy. In it, one or more players take the role of a space-faring race of beings attempting to expand its political/economic/cultural influence at the expense of its neighbors. One major objective is to make the long, dangerous trip to the center of the galaxy, and, once there, recover and bring 'home' so-called 'wisdom chits,' which represent whatever special knowledge is to be had at the galactic core. No, 'Outreach' is not for people who like to push panzers and take strategic hills. But it's not really a sci-fi game, either. I have found it very useful in getting me to think strategically in an EXTREMELY broad sense. It plays quite well solo, BTW. Tony eg060@cleveland.freenet.edu From: Mark Marychurch Subject: Re: SPI's Outreach For several years, friends of mine and myself would quite regularly play 'Outreach' for several reasons. 1) There was a three player version of the campaign (which was the usual number of us that turned up on a gaming night). 2) There was a copy available for free in the club we ran ; ). Generally the game is quite fun but there are some very unfriendly rules (especially in the campaign game). The random event that results in a substantial proportion of your empire 'vanishing' by a rebellion against your benevolence is modified by the number of dreadnoughts you currently own. The table on which the amount lost is determined has 'no losses' for low net die rolls and modifiers (the values I cannot recall) then suddenly 90% loss then decreasing losses to maybe 10%. Unless we repeatedly misread the rules (which is a distinct possiblity!), this seems quite wierd. So we turned that part of the table around so there was an increase in the losses as you were more militaristic. Also dreadnoughts seemed to be the only worthwhile combat ship to build eventually as they also had a modifier in combat (the player with the most had a modifier on the combat results table that determined the losses inflicted on the other player). This is all from memory I must say as it's been over five years since we played a game of 'Outreach' but we definately enjoyed the times we did play it so I could recommend it for a group who aren't very serious about the games they play and are willing to fudge or play to a spirit of the rules. Mark (mark_marychurch@muwayf.unimelb.edu.au) From: "DCoulter@FDANT.NCTR.FDA.GOV" Subject: Re: SPI's Outreach >Has anybody out there ever played 'Outreach'? It was published >by SPI during the late 1970s. I picked it up a couple of years >ago at a wargame convention auction for less than 10 dollars, and >have found it to be quite a fun 'change of pace.' This was my first wargame, bought when I was 15 in 1977. Just having seen _STAR WARS_ the movie (I read the book first), I was looking for a game of the space war type. I was disapointed in the combat aspect of the game, however. After I picked up STARFIRE and then SFB, I often used OUTREACH's map for the strategic part of the game. >You could call it the ultimate wargame. The very attractive >map covers most of the galaxy. In it, one or more players take >the role of a space-faring race of beings attempting to expand its >political/economic/cultural influence at the expense of its >neighbors. One major objective is to make the long, dangerous >trip to the center of the galaxy, and, once there, recover and >bring 'home' so-called 'wisdom chits,' which represent whatever >special knowledge is to be had at the galactic core. If I remember, that is but one of the several scenarios available. I also remember that if you picked up a "Wisdom Chit" with an X on it, it determined that you had discovered that the Galaxy was exploding and you had several million years to evacuate the galaxy, "give or take a few hours". >No, 'Outreach' is not for people who like to push panzers and >take strategic hills. But it's not really a sci-fi game, either. >I have found it very useful in getting me to think strategically >in an EXTREMELY broad sense. It plays quite well solo, BTW. Yes, the game is really somewhat monotonous, but good for either a solo adventure or as a basis for some (hopefully) simple tactical system. I hope to acquire the game someday for sentimental reasons as my copy is in rags. Dan Coulter National Center for Toxicological Research Jefferson, Arkansas INTERNET: DCoulter@FDANT.NCTR.FDA.GOV