Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.marketplace
Date: Mon,  4 Jan 1993 17:39:04 -0500 
From: "David M. Bartlett" <db0s+@andrew.cmu.edu>
Subject: More Gaming Stuff: Part 1--my stuff


This first part is stuff from my collection that I'm selling:

Rivits!        Metagaming Microgame                            $5.00 or best
    One of the first intentionally humorous SF wargames.  After the people
    in the world have been essentially whipped out by biological and chemi-
    cal warfare, the fighting continues:  small, cheap, and relatively stupid
    robot warriors called BOPPERS range over the land under the direction of
    only slightly more intelligent factory computers, trying to nail down
    resources vital to keep their forces up and running, while getting into
    pitched battles with competing factories.

    The game system has several fun and challenging elements:  their are six
    different types of Boppers with various advantages and disadvantages:
    airborne Dive Boppers; heavy Big Boppers, can-opener toating Jack Boppers,
    Rocket Boppers, Lite Boppers, and Teeny Boppers.  BUT, with the exception
    of the relatively unpowerful Teeny, all other Boppers can only be 
    programmed to recognize and attack ONE type of enemy unit; once those
    enemy units are destroyed, all friendly Boppers of that type have to
    rush back to the factory to be reprogrammed, or just sit around the battle-
    field waiting to be blown away!  Meanwhile, the enemy factory can be 
    turning out NEW units of that type . . . or maybe not!  What would
    otherwise be a quick and dirty battle won with good dice rolls and who-ever
    has the biggest guns turns into a wild see-sawing back-and-forth that
    requires some skill and a good sense of humor to survive.  Game has map-
    sheet; counters that have been cut-out and mounted onto heavier stock
    die-cut counters; a small rule-book that has color covers and funny
    illustrations; a zip-lock bag to hold the counters, and a small plastic
    to hold everything.

    I have marked the price "$5.00 or Best" because when I've sold Metagames
    in the past the interest has been strong, with people willing to pay
    higher than usual prices for them.  If there is sufficient interest,
    I'll hold an auction for this particular item.

Traveller Book #3:  Worlds and Adventures        (GDW)         $5.00
    Has info for world generation for the original Traveller system,
    from basic stats to charts to determine terrain types on worlds,
    animal encounters, etc.  Also has rules for psychic powers.

Traveller Adventurer:  Mission to Zhodane        (GDW)         $3.00
    Adventure for original traveller:  a mercenary team must infiltrate
    Zhodane space to rescue--of all things--a human sociologist kidnapped
    for unknown reasons.  A fly in the ointment:  the player's "allies"
    are fishy at best, and the Zhodane's, though humanoid, are telepathic!

Traveller Book #0:  Introduction to Traveller    (GDW)         $2.00
    Literally as the title suggests, this book gives an overall introduction
    to what the original Traveller game was about and how it worked; not a
    bad introduction to the ideas and philosophy behind role-playing games
    either.

FOREIGN EXCHANGE: Game of International Finance  (Avalon Hill)  $8.00

"Bookcase" (8"x12"x"3) boxed game of international finance and business.
 Players build multinational corporations, buying and selling properties
in various countries using their respective currencies, all the time
trying to take advantage of fluctuating exchange rates, whether to make
a speculative killing or to "hedge" assets in a country with an unstable
currency by borrowing money against them in a stronger one.  The general
course of play is "Monopoly"-like: players move around the board trying
to buy or trade assets from various countries, ownership of which brings
certain financial benefits when other players land there;  but the rest
of the game you are very much playing against the vagaries of world
markets, with currency fluctuations potentionally devaluing your assets
and currency stocks.  Depending on level of difficulty, play involves
mild to moderate paperwork on pre-printed forms provided with the game,
and a pocket calculator is a must to keep the game moving; but, the game
is a fairly good representation of what multi-nationals do and why they
do it when it comes to borrowing money, investing overseas and trading
on the international market.  Thick cardboard, glossy, folding
gameboard; pre-printed "balance sheet" pads; event and property cards;
playing pieces; and a tray to hold pieces and cards.

Dinosaurs & Cadillacs                                        $14.00

RPG with a fairly different idea when it first came out in the comicbook
"Xenozoic", surplanted by all the TORG/RIFT stuff recently.  Natural
disasters and a bizarre dimensional/time warp mixes up the Earth,
allowing Cadillacs (both ground and flying versions) to cruise after (or
flee from) Dinosaurs and animals/empires from throughout Earth's
history.  The comic book was a somewhat campy conglomeration of 1950's
adventure, flying saucer, lost civilizations, and general SF comics, as
well as 30's and 40's Flash Gordon/Buck Rodgers/Tarzan comic strips, and
this RPG does a decent job of creating this world where drop-dead
gorgeous heroes and heroines with big chests, great legs, cool cars and
big guns try to deal with this strange new world.

Dave B.