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Old 02-24-2019, 06:56 AM   #1
ColBosch
 
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Default A Brief History of: Awful Green Things

The Awful Green Things From Outer Space. Tom Wham's zany boardgame has been in print for decades. It's been out for so long that I've been seeing some confusion as to its origins and history, so here's a brief rundown on its notable editions.

First Edition: TSR's Dragon magazine, issue 28 (August 1979). TSR was always known for its sprawling RPG lines, but on occasion they did print one-off games. This pack-in for the magazine was immediately popular, and TSR quickly moved to publish it as a stand-alone game. A set of expansion rules, "Outside the Znutar," was published in Dragon #40 (August 1980).

Second Edition: TSR, 1980. Stock Code 5005. This is a weird product. It's a fairly standard box with a slipcover, but instead of printing the map on its own, it's found on the inside of the slipcover. This makes the board awkward to use and the game itself awkward to store.

Third Edition: TSR, 1981?. Stock Code 5007. TSR would never be so gauche as to update their copyright dates (well, not for this game, anyway) so it's tricky pinning down when, exactly, this was published. It's much nicer than the second edition, packed in a big kid's game-style box with a proper board and a tray for the counters and dice.

Fourth Edition: Steve Jackson Games, 1988. Stock Code 1111. After TSR let the game go out of print, SJ Games picked up the rights to publish it, likely from Tom Wham himself (ever since this edition, the copyright notices are in his name, not Steve Jackson Games's). This version was one of the classic Pocket Box games, and came in a bright green case. And it's being reprinted as part of the SJ Games "Pocket Box Games of the 80s" Kickstarter campaign!

Fifth Edition: Steve Jackson Games, 1990. Stock Code 1308. This is a large-box edition, roughly the size of Car Wars Deluxe and the like. As far as I can tell, this is also the first edition to incorporate the "Outside the Znutar" optional rules from Dragon #40.

Sixth Edition: Steve Jackson Games, 2000. Stock Code 1335. For a couple of years, SJ Games experimented with using VHS-style cases. These were mostly found in the miniatures line, but two games were re-released in the format: Ogre/GEV and, of course, Awful Green Things. This includes the "Outside the Znutar" rules.

Seventh Edition: Steve Jackson Games, 2003. Stock Code 1335. Now found in SJ Games's modern small-box format, this edition is very, very red. It was released alongside an omnibus edition of Tom Wham's Snits games. This includes the "Outside the Znutar" rules.

Eighth Edition: Steve Jackson Games, 2011. Stock Code 1335. This is the current edition, and comes in a proper green box. Early printings (maybe just the first?) included five green Munchkin dice; it is unknown if this was an error or cleverness on SJ Games's part. This includes the "Outside the Znutar" rules.

So which edition would I recommend buying? The current one. It's in-print, so the money is going to SJ Games and Mr. Wham directly. It's also the nicest edition, with heavy counters and a mounted board. If you're nostalgic, the upcoming reprint of the Pocket Box edition will also have die-cut counters and will be in an even more-portable form, but note that you'll want to add more dice. The Pocket Box games will each come with two dice, but AGTFOS plays best with 5d6.

Hope this helps answer some questions!

Last edited by ColBosch; 02-24-2019 at 09:42 AM.
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Old 02-24-2019, 08:59 AM   #2
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Default Re: A Brief History of: Awful Green Things

For completeness, do you have information as to which editions include the expansion content?

The original publication was as Outside the Znutar in Dragon #40 (August 1980).
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Old 02-24-2019, 09:38 AM   #3
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Default Re: A Brief History of: Awful Green Things

Quote:
Originally Posted by RogerBW View Post
For completeness, do you have information as to which editions include the expansion content?

The original publication was as Outside the Znutar in Dragon #40 (August 1980).
That was the issue number I was trying to remember. I'll update the list. I'm 99.5% positive that the OtZ rules were only included in the SJ Games editions from Fifth on, but I'll double-check my Pocket Box later.
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Old 02-28-2019, 10:05 PM   #4
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Default Re: A Brief History of: Awful Green Things

Great overview! My first encounter with this was the 1980 2nd ed and was instantly one of my favorites growing up :-)
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Old 03-01-2019, 01:45 PM   #5
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Default Re: A Brief History of: Awful Green Things

Side Note Question: Has anyone else ever managed to Save The Ship? (That is: Wipe out the AGTs, and not have to abandon the spaceship.) I've managed it once; but my godfathers, did it take a while....
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Old 03-01-2019, 11:33 PM   #6
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Default Re: A Brief History of: Awful Green Things

A number of times. It helps to get good effects on the more powerful weapons, and/or play newbies.
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Old 03-27-2019, 12:29 AM   #7
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Default Re: A Brief History of: Awful Green Things

Sounds like 5th Edition might be nicest if it was a full box rather than a pocket game? I wonder why not?

I have the 1980 wrap-around map and never played it on anything else. It seems to work fine. I'd like to have that expansion Outside the Znutar though.

I ran the game a couple of times recently at my FLGS / boardgame meetup. They asked me to bring it back after the first time, and it seems to be a bit of a hit. So far they've won once and lost once... well, the loss did have two survivors make it home after about 13 years in a launched craft.

Seems to me that it feels like about a 50/50 chance for the crew to win, but it all usually comes down to what effects get discovered with what weapons, and when. And some tactics, of course.
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