Invasion of the Air-eaters
Invasion of the Air-eaters is a science fiction near-future board wargame published by Metagaming Concepts in 1979 as part of its MicroGame line.
Gameplay
Invasion of the Air-eaters is a two-player microgame. One player represents a race of alien creatures that starts an invasion of Earth with the intention of transforming the atmosphere to sulfur dioxide so they can breathe it. The other player takes the side of the Terrans, who try to stop the invasion and save Earth.[1] The aliens begin the game with technical superiority, but the Terrans can try to overcome this by diverting industrial resources into research and development of new weapons.
The game's components consist of a 12" x 24" hex map of Earth, a 24-page rulebook, and 135 counters.[2]
The game-turn begins with phases for alien production, air conversion and deployment, followed by a six-segmented movement phase that includes opportunities for both alien and Terran unit movement. A combat phase follows, with the aliens attacking first, followed by the Terrans. A sequence of Terran production and research towards newer and better weapons ends the turn.[2]
Publication history
In 1977, Metagaming Concepts pioneered a new type of small, fast and cheap wargame packaged in a ziplock bag titled Ogre. It proved popular, and Metagaming produced more MicroGames. Invasion of the Air-Eaters was the 12th game in the series, designed by Keith Gross, with cover art by Doug Potter, and published by Metagaming in 1979.
Reception
In the January 1980 edition of Dragon (Issue 33), Tony Watson recommended Invasion of the Air-Eaters, saying, "The game combines a number of different concepts in a blend that should please most gamers. A grand strategic situation is handled quite nicely with a small map and a handful of counters. The situation is classic, and the game mechanics bear this out. The opposing sides are quite different, both in the units available to them and the tactics needed to use those units properly. This differentiation adds to and builds on the game's colorful rationale, as well as providing the two players with the challenge of handling an opponent whose capabilities are not a mirror image of one's own. There are plenty of tactics here to be sought out, plenty of different plans and strategies to employ. The result is a game which, from this reviewer's stand-point, succeeds on all points."[2]
In the first issue of Ares Magazine (March 1980), Steve List believed that the game was unfairly stacked against the Terrans, and rated the game as only 4 out of 9, saying, "The design should have made for an intriguing game of management as well as combat, but the aliens never lose. This may be a design statement that certain corporations have saturated the atmosphere with too much sulfur dioxide already, but it does ruin the play value of the game."[1]