John Carter: Warlord of Mars

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This article is about the SPI board game John Carter: Warlord of Mars. For the role-playing game published by Heritage Models Inc., see John Carter, Warlord of Mars (role-playing game).
Cover of John Carter Warlord of Mars.png

John Carter: Warlord of Mars is a two-player board game published by Simulations Publications, Inc. (SPI) in 1979 that is based on the Barsoom novels of Edgar Rice Burroughs featuring the hero John Carter.

Description[]

Edgar Rice Burroughs began to write Barsoom stories starring the transplanted Earthman John Carter in 1911, and the setting became one of his most popular over the next three decades.[1]: 229  The board game John Carter is based on the works of Burroughs, and is divided into three separate games in a semi-modular format.[2]

Components[]

The game components are:[3]

  • 400 die-cut cardboard counters
  • a game map
  • two 8-page player's booklets
  • 28-page rulebook
  • 16-page sourcebook titled The World of Barsoom.
  • game box

Gameplay[]

The overall game is subdivided into three smaller games:[3]

  • Duelling Game: one on one combat with monsters and villains
  • Strategic Game, often involving the rescue of a woman who has been kidnapped by a villain
  • Military Game, for fleet-sized combat

Publication history[]

John Carter was designed by Eric Goldberg and Mark Herman, with graphic design by Redmond A. Simonsen and artwork by Don Maitz. It was released by SPI in 1979, and was on SPI's Top Ten list for four months.[4]

Reception[]

In the inaugural edition of Ares (March 1980), David Ritchie rated the game an above average 8 out of 9, commenting, "Like Burroughs' original heroes, their cardboard counterparts must win only by fair means. To win by engaging in foul acts - which, among other things, loses the love and respect of your lady - means that, in game terms, you've lost the whole enchilada. For the first time in the history of the hobby, a game has been built around such themes as love, romance, treachery, remorse, hatred and friendship."[2]

In Issue 25 of Phoenix (May-June 1980), John and Deidre Evans were impressed by the "stunning" cover art, and also found the counters and map colorful. However, they found several problems in each of three games, thought the rules were poorly organized, and several rules were ambiguous. Nonetheless they rated the game highly, concluding "If you think you'd like swashbuckling excitement and you're prepared to bear with the rules layout, we think you'd enjoy John Carter, Warlord of Mars: play it for fun."[5]

In the October 1980 edition of Dragon (Issue 42), Tony Watson thought it was "an interesting game, and remarkably true to its sources." However, Watson had issues with the frequent duels, which he found "a bit repetitious" and "less than exciting" due to the simplicity of the combat rules. He also pointed out the imbalance of the game, saying, "The chance for a villain to win is infinitesimal; the question is not if a hero will win, but when." But he concluded that there was a market for the game: "Players who are interested in the game as a way of participating in the adventures on Barsoom will be able to overlook these points and fully enjoy the game."[3]

Other reviews[]

  • Campaign #94
  • Space Gamer #24
  • Simulacrum #14
  • American Wargamer Vol. 8, No. 12

References[]

  1. ^ Clareson, Thomas D. (1971). SF: the Otherside of Realism. Popular Press. ISBN 0879720239.
  2. ^ a b Ritchie, David (March 1980). "A Galaxy of Games". Ares Magazine. Simulations Publications, Inc. (1): 31.
  3. ^ a b c Watson, Tony (October 1980). "The Dragon's Augury". Dragon. TSR, Inc. (42): 48–49.
  4. ^ "SPI Best Selling Games 1979". spigames.net. Retrieved 2021-12-07.
  5. ^ Evans, John; Evans, Deidre (May–June 1980). "Love, Honour and the Barsoomian Way: A Review and Game Discussion". Phoenix. No. 25. pp. 7–11.CS1 maint: date format (link)
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