Orbit War

Orbit War was a magazine game published by Steve Jackson Games in Space Gamer (Issue 66 - Nov 1983). This release was followed by an expansion published in Space Gamer (Issue 67 - Jan 1984) and later by the boxed edition.

It is a simulation of satellite warfare in low Earth orbit. The players are the USA and the APU (Asian-Polish Union). The object is of course to destroy your opponent's satellites and such...

The author wrote: "I had planned a Strategic Orbit War game where the goal is for players to explore, colonize, and mine the solar system. So I envisioned one big map showing the planets orbiting around, then a bunch of little maps showing the players' satellites orbiting the different planets, trying to blow the other guy's satellites out of orbit so they can claim the natural resources of that planet for themselves. Alas, with Orbit War failing, Strategic Orbit War never came to pass either."