The Space Gamer received three Origins Award nominations for Best Professional Roleplaying Magazine (in 1981, 1985, and 1986). The Space Gamer won an Origins Award for Best Professional Roleplaying Magazine of 1982.
Space Gamer began life as a paper magazine published by Metagaming Concepts in 1975. Steve Jackson Games took over publication with issue #27 (dated March/April 1980), and ultimately published 50 issues (plus six issues of spin-off magazine Fantasy Gamer). Issue #76, September/October 1985, became Steve Jackson Games' last issue before the rights to the name went elsewhere. Space Gamer covered all aspects of hobby gaming: RPGs, wargames, card and strategy games, and more. It also featured industry news and reviews. Although Space Gamer is still a great read in its own right, today it's also a fascinating look at an earlier era of hobby gaming.
All the issues of Space Gamer that were published by Steve Jackson Games are available digitally at Warehouse 23, including a bundle of all 50 issues.
Today's featured issue from the vault:
Space Gamer #37 (March 1981)
Space Gamer #37 (cover date March 1981) is three dozen pages of old-school insight – and the articles are fun to read, too!
In addition to the regular game reviews, news, and letters, this issue includes "Troubles in Valetia" (a history of a troubled play-by-mail game in the form of correspondence); a collection of interesting sci-fi weapons; a company report from Fantasy Games Unlimited by its founder Scott Bizar; alternate rules for the sci-fi wargame Freedom in the Galaxy; a slithering cinematic sci-fi scare with stats for The Fantasy Trip, Dungeons & Dragons, and Traveller; a sword-and-sorcery variant for the game Risk; the other five sins of computer-game writing; and Part 11 in the series "Game Design: Theory and Practice," co-written by Steve Jackson. (Steve Jackson is also the author of the featured review about the classic Cosmic Encounter.)
Whether you're a fan of old-school gaming or a historian of our hobby, each issue of Space Gamer is the perfect passport to the past!
See the sample!
 #27 - #36 |  #37 - #46 |  #47 - #56 |  #57 - #66 |  #67 - #76 |
