Star Patrol

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Star Patrol

Star Patrol is a science fiction tabletop role-playing game published by Gamescience. It began in 1977 as Space Patrol, a 32-page book about space adventures and combat. In 1980 it was revised and renamed Star Patrol and released as a boxed set that included a 68-page rulebook, a large deck-plan of a Pioneer-class starship, a hex-grid sheet, cardstock miniatures, and dice. A Star Patrol Mission Master Pack with combat reference sheets followed in 1981, and a second edition appeared in 1982. In the second edition, starship statistics were expanded to reference ships from other SF sources, including Star Trek’s USS Enterprise.

What you do in the game
- Space adventures, space combat, and ship design in a sci‑fi setting.
- Character creation expands beyond humans to aliens, with options for psionics and cybernetics.
- In the second edition, players can choose from about 32 alien races and a range of professions such as soldier, engineer, scientist, astronaut, trader, rogue/thief, and spy/diplomat.
- There are about 25 skills, and equipment includes weapons from a dagger to a heavy blaster.
- The game includes monsters, starship combat, and five introductory scenarios to get started.

Publication history at a glance
- Space Patrol (1977): designed by Michael Scott Kurtick and Rockland Russo; 32-page book.
- Star Patrol boxed set (1980): expanded rules, 68-page book, ship deck plan, hex grid sheet, cardstock minis, dice.
- Star Patrol Mission Master Pack (1981): combat reference sheets.
- Star Patrol (1982): second edition with more extensive starship statistics.

Reception and what critics thought
- Some early observers saw Space Patrol as mostly a combat system with little world-building, noting it was good for combat but weak as a campaign game.
- When Star Patrol came out, reviews were mixed but generally recognized it as a more complete SF system than Space Patrol. Critics praised its ambition and ideas, while noting some vagueness in rules and unclear charts.
- Some reviewers saw Star Patrol as a strong sourcebook for other SF games and a valid alternative to Traveller, while others felt it was incomplete for beginners.
- Dragon and Ares magazines, as well as other era publications, discussed the game’s strengths and flaws, with opinions ranging from highly favorable to cautiously critical.

In short, Star Patrol started as a lightweight SF combat game and evolved into a fuller science fiction RPG with expanded character options, starship play, and a broader set of rules—resulting in mixed but influential reception in the RPG community.