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Blue Max
- 2–6 players
- 60 min
- Complexity 2.3/5
- 1983
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- BGG #25,854
- BGG rating
- 5.7
Brilliant Lances
1993
Rules assistance for Brilliant Lances
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 2–6 players
- 120 min
- 12+
- Complexity 3.0/5
For 2 players
Rules assistant for Brilliant Lances
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Brilliant Lances is a board game released in 1993 for 2–6 players, 120 minutes per game, and ages 12 and up. It was designed by Frank Chadwick and David Nilsen and its main mechanics are Dice Rolling, Simultaneous Action Selection, and Grid Movement.
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About the game
From the Box: In space combat, you never see your opponent until it's all over, if even then. With acquisition and tracking ranges measured in tens of thousands of kilometers, to human eyes the people that are trying to kill you are not even a speck. But they can hurt you, even though you can't see them. Precise laster arrays and big particle accelerators, honed by centuries of engineering, can reach out without warning to slit your hull like the belly of a fish, spilling life--oxygen, heat, and fuel--into the hard vacuum. That's why space combat is a game of cat and mouse. Keep yourself wrapped in the mantle of space--cold, dark, silent. Keep your thrust burns to a minimum--they blaze like miniature suns for all to detect. Rig your passive sensors to greedily absorb data, but remain quiet yourself--give nothing away. Keep your weapons ready, in case… There! A faint trace of mid-wavelength infrared betrays a meneuver drive. Bring up the ladar dishes while the big passive array builds up a targeting solution. The moments seem endless while every crewmember shares the same thought: "Have they seen us?" It is the unseen enemy at this moment doing the same thing that you are? You might never know the answer. If you beat him, maybe you'll find out. But what if you hadn't seen him first? Some questions must remain unasnwered when death, unbidden, comes scorching toward you as silent, brilliant lances. From the box: Brilliant Lances - Traveller Starship Combat Brilliant Lances includes: -Vector-based movement -Detailed hit location and damage resolution -Lasers, particle accelerators, meson guns, detonation laser missiles, and the systems that defend against them -Extensive ship ratings, including New Era and pre-Collapse warships, from the swift Rampart fighter up to large naval and merchant vessels -Complete starship design rules, usable both with this game and with Traveller: The New Era roleplaying game
Categories
Mechanics
Designers
Publishers
- Game Designers' Workshop (GDW Games)
Questions and answers
Brilliant Lances supports 2–6 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.
The listed playing time for Brilliant Lances is 120 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists Brilliant Lances for ages 12 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
Brilliant Lances has a complexity rating of 3.0 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a medium-weight game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
Brilliant Lances belongs to these categories: Wargame and Science Fiction. Its main mechanics are Dice Rolling, Simultaneous Action Selection, and Grid Movement. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of Brilliant Lances are: Frank Chadwick and David Nilsen. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists Brilliant Lances as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.