
- BGG rank
- BGG #6,486
- BGG rating
- 6.9
BattleTech: CityTech
- 2–6 players
- 90 min
- Complexity 3.4/5
- 1986

Expansion for Star Trek: Starship Tactical Combat Simulator
1985
Rules assistance for Ship Construction Manual (Second Edition)
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.

What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Ship Construction Manual (Second Edition) is an expansion for Star Trek: Starship Tactical Combat Simulator released in 1985 60 minutes per game and ages 10 and up. It was designed by Forest Brown, Wm. John Wheeler, and David F. Tepool and its main mechanics are Paper-and-Pencil, Role Playing, and Hexagon Grid.
Like the Star Trek Starship Tactical Combat Simulator and its other book form expansions, the Ship Construction Manual is called a supplement for the Fasa Star Trek Role Playing Game but primarily has material for the Combat Simulator boardgame. This supplement includes everything a player needs to generate all new starships, as well as all of the necessary statistics for the use in the Combat Simulator board game. In addition, there is background material usefull for the role playing game and some basic guidelines on creating deck plans based on your ship designs. From the cover: Begin your career as a starship engineer. The Ship Construction Manual contains all the information necessary to construct starships for your STAR TREK Role Playing Game. The recently declassified information in this manual allows the design of state-of-the-art starships of Federation, Klingon, Romulan, Gorn, or Orion origin. The easy-to-use format combined with the comprehensive data also provides the information necessary to build any ship active during the last 60 years of Star Trek history. The 80-page rulebook includes the tables for the various engines, weapons, shields, and computers that make up starships, essays on the design philosophy of the major races, detailed information on the cost and availability of the equipment, and a system for rating the ships in combat. The Ship Construction Manual is required reading for all Star Fleet personnel and potential ship designers from all of the major races.
The listed playing time for Ship Construction Manual (Second Edition) is 60 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 Ship Construction Manual (Second Edition) for ages 10 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.
Ship Construction Manual (Second Edition) 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.
Ship Construction Manual (Second Edition) belongs to these categories: Wargame, Movies / TV / Radio theme, and Science Fiction. Its main mechanics are Paper-and-Pencil, Role Playing, and Hexagon Grid. 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 Ship Construction Manual (Second Edition) are: Forest Brown, Wm. John Wheeler, and David F. Tepool. 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 Ship Construction Manual (Second Edition) as an expansion for Star Trek: Starship Tactical Combat Simulator. Expansions add new content, rules or scenarios to the base game and usually cannot be played on their own, so you need Star Trek: Starship Tactical Combat Simulator to use it. Check that your edition of Star Trek: Starship Tactical Combat Simulator is compatible, as some expansions were revised between editions.