One of the criticisms of Star Smuggler and many other games is a specific type of flaw in the system: a single die roll ending. In playing this one game for many decades, (yes, decades) and other solo games, I have noticed that the great ones have a very strong amount of user agency baked right in. This means that single die roll endings are relatively uncommon despite perceptions otherwise.
Over the years, I have noticed a rhythm and tempo to solo games. They are intended to be completed in an afternoon, however, since I have run through 86 days of play on this one game, this can be extended for an arbitrarily length of time. It doesn't even take practice, all games ending in failure or success can be replayed, on whim.
Since the coronavirus outbreak, I have had enough time on my hands to map this entire game using pen and paper.In doing this sort of analysis, I have noted that there are 5 basic structures to the story. There are events based on planetary locations, events based which system you enter, events which lead to other events in a story format, electable or avoidable combat and standard events which are singular.
Working backwards, the standard events are usually options to purchase a mundane item such as hypercharges or weapons. There is no way to end the game in these events. Combat is often elected and therefore avoidable, so only the player is responsible for endings in combat. There is no way to quantify how many ends are a result of combat.
The next 3 items require some explanation and numeration. There are 230 events described in the whole game and one of those is for setting up game play. I have counted that in all of my calculations even though it is not "really" a step or event, it merely describes assumptions for the rest of the game.
Duke starts on the planet Regari, at the spaceport. The mechanics of the game are slightly altered in this one scenario. Duke doesn't have to move and therefore is only subject to a contact roll which may or may not result in a specific entry from the booklet. If he moves to another system, he is subject to an entry roll and a contact roll when landing, which are random events based on one or more die rolls.
System events and contact rolls are largely thematic to wherever Duke is. Each system has a specific set of themes and these are reflected in the list of possible events. All of them assume Duke is in his spaceship, although events may force him away from the ship. Contact rolls are also thematic, so events in the City are different than events on a Spacestation. Typically, Duke is not in his ship, although if the player decides he is, he generally is. This ruling is ambiguous.
The third and last type of entry is one entry that leads to another entry, as the story line progresses. They also tend to be thematic to wherever they occur.
| Type of Event | Number of Entries | Number of Endings | Percentage of endings |
|---|---|---|---|
All
|
230
|
21
|
9%
|
Contact
|
53
|
1
|
1.8%
|
System
|
27
|
4
|
14.8%
|
Story Entries
|
135
|
3
|
2%
|
Mundane Purchase
|
41
|
0
|
0%
|
As you can see the most game endings, outside of combat, occur when they player changes systems and is forced to roll an entry event. Since the player doesn't really have to change systems, owing to the fact that many systems either have Ruins or gambling which generate free money and equipment or have two planets where a trade route can be established, game play can continue in a repetitive fashion for a long time.
When in comes to endings, there are very few that simply stop the game with or without a die roll. I didn't bother to count, because these are a standard trope of choose your own adventure style products. They complete a particular story in a special way.
Star Smuggler does have a trope all it's own, called "Going to Prison". Escaping prison is ludicrously easy, but it strips your player of all resources. It's an end without a solid ending because unless your bank account is higher than the price of a ship, it's all over. Every single game that ends this way lands on e023. Modification of this one entry would remove these limbo like endings.
| Events | Number of Entries | Number Limbo Endings | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|
All
|
230
|
7
|
3%
|
Contact
|
53
|
0
|
0%
|
System
|
27
|
1
|
3.7%
|
Story Entries
|
135
|
3
|
2.2%
|
Mundane Purchase
|
41
|
0
|
0%
|
When looking at the game structure from the perspective of limbo endings, other details become apparent. The events booklet has 230 entries divided in to two groups, events numbered 1-199 and 31 events numbered over 400. Judging by this fact, I suspect that either two people were working on entries and widely spaced the numbers for speed or a lot of information was cut to reduce the printing cost. There is no telling which.
Armed with both this structural knowledge and a sense of how game mechanics work, a player can keep this game going for a good long time. So why don't they? Well, it is meant to be played in a single afternoon AND some players have expectations which are not aligned with the possible outcomes. For example, the rules booklet does not deal with psionics or extreme technology like time machines, ECM, power armor and forcefields. The player literally doesn't see these events coming unless they played enough to know that they are possible. Once that happens, the player can guide him or herself to or away from these entries.
In producing this series, I have noticed one other style of play that results in a quick ending. When polling my children on what I should do next, given a lack of background, they tend to select options that have a specific goal in mind, no matter how improbable that goal is. And they have a tendency to make that choice consistently over long periods of time to the exact same end. Their expectations are unrealistic given the limited options in the game.
By using foresight, I have been keeping this series on Star Smuggler live for a very long time. Probably longer than most players would.
One other item is briefly mentioned in the rules booklet, which is easily overlooked. The author intended the reader to repurpose Star Smuggler to other rule systems without naming a system. Traveller comes to mind, but with the resurgence of all manner of old school games, it could be anyone of hundreds of systems. Keep that in mind when you download this great game.
I hope you have been enjoying this blog series on Star Smuggler.
