 Cover of Issue #1 (March 1980), cover art byHoward Chaykin | |
| Frequency | Quarterly |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Simulations Publications |
| First issue | 1980 |
| Final issue | 1984 |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Ares was an Americanscience fictionwargamemagazine published bySimulations Publications, Inc. (SPI), and thenTSR, Inc., between 1980 and 1984. In addition to the articles, each issue contained a small science-fiction-themedboard wargame.
Through the 1970s, SPI had specialized in military history wargames. But the 1977 publication ofMetagaming Concepts's science fictionMicroGame titledOGRE proved enormously popular, and other publishers such asTask Force Games,Operational Studies Group, andChaosium started to develop their ownmicrogames.[1] SPI also started to develop their own line of science fiction microgames, but went a step further, creating a new science-fiction magazine titledAres in 1980 as a bi-monthly science-fiction/fantasy publication to complement their military wargame magazineStrategy & Tactics.[2]: 11 Ares, likeStrategy & Tactics, included a free game with every issue, complete with a foldout stiff paper map, a set of die-cutcounters, and rules.[2]: 9
SPI published 11 issues ofAres, and had prepared Issue 12 for publication when the company was suddenly and unexpectedly taken over by TSR in 1982. TSR released the ready-for-print Issue 12, but reduced the magazine's frequency from bi-monthly to quarterly. After Issue 17, TSR stopped printing the magazine as a separate entity; instead, starting with Issue 84 of TSR's house magazineDragon, a section was titledAres, and provided support forscience fantasy andsuperhero role-playing game such asGamma World,Marvel Super Heroes andStar Frontiers. This section last from issue #84 (April 1984) to issue #111 (July 1986), and then was discontinued, bringing theAres story to an end.[3]: 51
As game historian Shannon Appelcline noted, "TSR did very little with SPI's roleplaying games.Ares Magazine #12 (1982), which was prepared by SPI and published by TSR, included a game calledStar Traders, which was for use withUniverse; it was the last support for that game system [...] As TSR turned further away from SPI's origins,Ares magazine soon became anAres section inDragon magazine. However, it didn't focus on the SPI RPGs, but instead became a place to talk about TSR's own science-fiction games, such asGamma World andStar Frontiers."[2]: 14
Michael Anderson of One Small Step Games started a Kickstarter in 2014 to remake the old magazine as a newAres.[4][5] The Kickstarter was successful in February 2014.[6] The second issue was released in December 2015.[7] The third issue was released in September 2016.[8] The fourth issue was released in January 2017.[9]
Jerry Epperson reviewed the first issue ofAres inThe Space Gamer No. 28.[10] Epperson commented that the first issue, and its gameWorldKiller "was a disappointment. It's uneven. Expect nothing but the best in serious science fiction writing here, and nothing but the worst from the games."[10]
In Issue 26 ofPhoenix, Hamish Wilson liked the professional look of the first issue, calling it "well put together." But overall, he felt the magazine "lacks form, shape and direction [...] rather than being bold, uncompromising and nailing its colours to the mast,Ares has, as it were, crept out into the open with some fiction, some fact and some game."[11]
InFantastic, game designerGreg Costikyan was unimpressed with the first issue ofAres, writing, "One would have thought that SPI would seek to make a good impression by producing a high quality game in the first issue [ofAres]. On the contrary,WorldKiller is a dog [...] The game is simple and uninteresting, with no complications introduced to hold one’s interest."[1]