Miniatures Rules of Mars

[Finarvyn]

This is somewhat overdue, and I apologize for its lateness. When I acquired the John Carter, Warlord of Mars rules set I said I would post tables of contents so the various Barsoom games could be compared.

Here is what I have at the moment:
Warriors of Mars (TSR, 1974)
Barsoomian Battle Manual (Heritage, 1978)
John Carter, Warlord of Mars (Heritage, 1978)
John Carter, Warlord of Mars (SPI, 1979)

I will add to the thread if I acquire additional Barsoom stuff, but I don’t think that there are too many other games out there on the topic. (I almost included the “Dragon Tree Monster File Number One”, which has D&D stats for Plant Men, Calot, Banth, Thark, Ulsio, Apt, Orluk, and Martian Ape, but I wasn’t sure it that was enough for an actual ranking.)

[Finarvyn]

Warriors of Mars
TSR; Gygax & Blume (1974) 56 pages, 4.25x5.5”
Forward
Introduction
Part I: land Warfare
* Turn Sequence
* Movement Trays & Organization
* Formations
* Terrain Effects Upon Movement
* Missiles
* Terrain Effects Upon Missiles
* Melee
* Morale
* Sieges
* Individual Combat
* Individual Adventures
* Individual Combat Tables
* Campaigns
Part II: Aerial Warfare
* Fliers
* Fire
* Elevation & Depression of Guns
* Damage
* Ramming & Collision
* Grappling
* Brawling
* Boarding Melee Table
* Bombing Fliers
* Air-to-Ground Combat
* Ground-to-Air Fire
Part III: Notes on Personality Figures, Barsoomiam Races & Animals
* Missile Fire Table
* Melee Table
* Morale Table
* Boarding Melee Table
* Boarding Table, Aerial Targets
* Boarding table, Ground Targets
* Individual Combat, Animals vs. Animals and/or Men
* Fliers, Aerial Combat Tables
* Range
* Damage
* To Hit
* Hit Location
* Critical Hits
* Target Size
* Target Facing
* Individual Combat, Men vs. Men, Combat and Initiative Table

[Finarvyn]

Barsomian Battle Manual
Heritage Models, Inc (1978) 50 pages, 8.5x11”
Introduction
Basic Organization Scale
Base Size
Formations
Movement
Possible Orders
Terrain Effects on Movement
Sequence of Play
Small Arms Fire
Melee
Commanders and Named Heroes or Rulers
Breakthroughs
Morale
Break-Throughs and Morale Failure
Personality/Command Figures with Failing Units
Army Morale Checks
Sieges
Air Combat
Air to Air Combat
Campaign
Racial Types and Creatures of Barsoom
National Characteristics
Green Martian Hordes
Red Martian Nations
Minor Powers
The Point System
Designers Notes
Miniature Figure Listing
Introduction (Naval Rules)
Ship Types
Sequence of Play
Gunfire Sequence Example
Optional Guides
Basic Guides Stage Two
Optional Guides
Basic Stage Three
Combat Chart
Attacker Status
Gunfire Results Table
Rapid Fire Guns and (H) and (I) Class Ships
Crew Quality Rating

[Finarvyn]

John Carter, Warlord of Mars
Heritage Models, Inc (1978) 62 pages, 8.5x11”
Introduction
National Characteristics
* Red Men
* First Born
* Therns
* Yellow Men
* Panthans
* Assassins
* Kaldanes
* Green Men
* Synthetic Men
Creatures
* Great White Apes
* Apts
* Banths
* Calots
* Malagars
* Masena
* Toonalian Marsupials
* Thoats
* Plant Men
Barsoomian Environment
Weapons of Barsoom
* Flyers
Cities
Game Rules
* Introduction
* Sequence of Play
* Movement and Action
* Hand-to-Hand Combat
* Missile Combat
* Fearsome Beast
* Scenarios
* Judges Roll
* Small Flyer Combat
* National Colors
* Charts and Tables

[Finarvyn]

John Carter, Warlord of Mars (Wargame)
SPI (1979) 2 booklets, 44 total pages, 8.5x11”

RULES OF PLAY (28 pages)
Introduction
General Course of Play
Game Equipment
The Dueling Game
* Introduction to the Dueling Game
* Movement and Facing of Characters
* Discovery of Attacking Characters
* Melee Between Characters
The Strategic Game
* Sequence of Play
* Overland Movement of Characters
* Control of Villains by Players
* Adventurous Encounters
* Befriendment, Treachery, and Remorse
* Love and Romance
* Acquisition of Weapons, Fliers, or Thoats
The City Sub-Game
* In-City Hero Movement
* Information on Princess and Villain Location
* Imprisonment and Arena Duel
* Random Events
* Special Rules
* Strategic Game Set-Up and Evaluating Player’s Performances
The Military Game
* Sequence of Play
* Fleet Movement
* Reinforcements and Neutrals
* Playing the Military Game

THE WORLD OF BARSOOM (16 pages)
Personages
The Barsoomian Code of Honor
Barsoomian Cities
Barsoomian Weapons
Cast of Characters
Barsoomian Races
Barsoomian Military Organization
Navigation on Barsoom
Barsoomian Beasts
Barsoomian Aircraft
Barsoomian Religion
The Legacy of John Carter

[Finarvyn]

So How Do They Compare?
If you care, here are my rankings...

#1
My favorite of the four is Warriors of Mars by Gygax and Blume. I think that the writing style is the most clear and there is a nice blend of miniatures rules with individual character rules. The character rules are not that unlike OD&D and with some minor tweaks could be run under those rules. Also, there are those quirky line-art illustrations kind of what you see in the LBB.

#2
My second favorite is the SPI wargame John Carter, Warlord of Mars. It has the best map and does a decent job of dealing with characters or armies. Written like all of SPI’s games, which to me is a drawback as the writing is kind of textbook-like and stuffy. Nice cover on the box, as well.

#3
The Heritage John Carter, Warlord of Mars. Yes, I checked again and they both have the same name. Nice cover but basically no interior illustrations at all. Okay attempt at dealing with characters and creatures on the Red Planet. Well written overall.

#4
The Heritage Barsoomian Battle Manual. This book is most like a miniatures rules set with the least amount of RPG type material.