Z9M9Z

A Lensman Website

Lensman

The Wargame

 

      There was a Lensman board game made in 1969 by Philip N. Pritchard.  The game is noteworthy within wargaming circles for several reasons.  It was the first science fiction wargame.  It introduced the "battle board" mechanic, wherein strategic movement is played-out on the main board, but tactical combat takes place on a seperate, smaller board.  The game's economic simulation was remarkable for the rich choices available to players, which gave the game a lot of replay value. 

The first edition of Lensman  was released in 1969 by "Galactic General, Terran Publishing Division."  The second edition was released later that year by "Spartan International."  Both editions are extremely rare these days.

A new edition of the game is in development! 

 

The above pictures are from an eBay auction of a set which mixed elements of both the Terran Publishing Division and the Spartan International editions.  The set, even in such poor condition, sold for US$115. 

 

Scan of some of the counters from the original board game.  Counters by Philip Pritchard.  Scan courtesy of Winchell Chung, Jr. 

 

Winchell D. Chung, Jr. adapted the board game into a Windows PC game in 1999. 

 

A hastily-assembled collage of Winchell Chung, Jr's colorful digital images, which play a role surprisingly similar to the above counters in his video game. 

 

Lensman  in action . . .  on a . . .  PalmOS emulator?  Image courtesy of Winchell Chung, Jr. 

 

Click the above thumbnail to get a large image of the main board from Winchell Chung's 1999 computerized version of Philip Pritchard's 1969 classic Lensman  wargame. 

 

  The Dauntless  (Dreadnought) . . .

. . . and the Z9M9Z  (Fleet Command Ship), wargame-style 

 

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Text copyright (C) 2004 Ethan Fleischer