Space Gamer #49

Space Gamer #49 (cover date March 1982) takes the first star to the right and heads straight on to the gaming hobby's past – and the articles are fun to read, too!

In addition to the regular game reviews, news, and letters, this issue has a mini-theme of Traveller. It includes "Tools for Terrorists" in the Traveller universe, plus an essay by noted game designer Greg Costikyan that – based on conclusions derived from energy calculations – Traveller is science fantasy.

It also includes an armored war machine for Car Wars that's disguised as a recreational vehicle; an essay that examines what Dungeons & Dragons is like without magic; TFT write-ups for the boomerang-throwing Flinger and the damage-sucking Blob (two effective characters that make a powerful team); and designer's notes for the Star Viking strategy game and the Beyond the Stellar Empire play-by-mail game. For fans of the classics, it also includes an in-depth review of Call of Cthulhu. (Spoiler alert: It's a good game!)

Whether you're a fan of old-school gaming or a historian of our hobby, each issue of Space Gamer is the perfect passport to the past!

Written by Greg Costikyan / W.G. Armintrout / William Barton / Chad Irby / Lewis Pulsipher / Arnold Hendrick / Phil Rennert / Robert Cook / Jack B. Everitt