Conspiracy

Illuminati

Tabletop Tuesday: This Review Is Being Monitered

Submitted by ChrisBateman on Tue, 03/25/2008 - 16:27.

Type:

Tabletop

Developer:

Steve Jackson

Check It Out

Illuminati is the classic Steve Jackson Games boxed set of conspiracy and high weirdness, inspired by the equally classic Illuminatus! trilogy by Robert Anton Wilson and Robert Shea. The game won the Origins Award when it was first released in 1982, and inspired a trading card version in 1995 called Illuminati: New World Order, which plays similarly. In all honesty, I think no other boardgame has had such an influence in my life as this one –- both in terms of my admiration for its tight yet expressive game mechanics, and also for introducing me to the work of Robert Anton Wilson, and ultimately to the Discordian Society, of which I am a key member (I could tell you why, but then I’d have to scramble your brains with a spoon).

Smugglers 3

Smugglers 3

Smugglers 3 hearkens back to an earlier generation of 4X space exploration and conquest games. In a way, it's the sort of game I might have played on my old Apple II--but of course much prettier graphics.

You're a starship captain during an interstellar civil war, belonging to one of four factions in the war. Your primary activities involve trading (including smuggling illegal goods, if you so choose); accepting combat missions in support of your faction; or becoming a pirate and attacking planets. As usual in games like this, you start off with a tiny ship, and progress is mainly in the form of earning enough money and rising in rank so that you can get bigger and better ships.

[more]

All Our Games Are Belong to You

...when you Log In or Register. Gives you the ability to post to the forums and your own blog; to rate games and receive recommendations based on your ratings; and to bookmark games for later reference.