Starfire is a game of space combat created originally by Steve Cole, of Star Fleet Battles fame, in 1976. It was published in a revised version by Task Force Games in 1979. It was designed to be a quick playing game of fleet combat in space, with an easy to use starship design system, and a progression of technological development. This edition was expanded with two supplements, the first adding fighters, while the second included a campaign system. Over the years, the game has been expanded, but remains essentially the same quick-playing space combat game that it began as. The edition released in 1992 as a boxed set is the most recent version of the system.

Starfire began as a purely tactical game, but with a simple system for starship construction, it lent itself well to campaign play. The Imperial Starfire game is a supplement to Starfire which allows for campaign play, as well as new technologies.

Starfire as a space combat game began with an interesting concept for interstellar travel called warp points. Rather than having some type of faster than light drive, natural "wormholes" in space exist which allow the slower than light ships to jump between star systems. Starships are strictly slower than light, and no FTL technologies exist at all.

In part due to this, the game is able to present not just a tactical and strategic (empire management) scale of play, but also operational. While battles are always resolved on a tactical hex-grid map with counters representing the units, they move to these battles on a level of play called "system", which allows forces to be maneuvered within a single star system, or through several star systems, prior to making contact, and allowing for ambushes to be set, raids on supply units, etc.

Tabletops / Miniaturen