Space Battles

Space Battles card back

Release Date: 2017
Set Size: 24 Buttons
Designers: Aproximo, Sedi_Vella

Button Men: Space Battles is a fanset designed by Aproximo and Sedi_Vella in 2017. It is based on notable science fiction ships. It is available in card form as a print-and-play on BoardGameGeek.com.^[1]

It features multiple different dice skills intended to represent the abilities and strength of the ships in question.

The set includes ships from Doctor Who, Star Trek, Firefly, Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica, Stargate, Babylon 5, The Last Starfighter, and Farscape.

To quote Aproximo:

A little over a year ago, 2 years? Well at least not a long long time ago in a galaxy far far away... A very good friend of mine who loves dice and dice games, well really I think she just loves dice. We were talking about her love of dice. I suggested Button Men since it's really all about the dice. We talked quite a bit about custom cards and using art by another friend and member of PnP Gaming. This was a really long conversation, meaning measured in hours. After all that time (possibly the result of sleep deprivation as well) I had a few light bulbs go off over my head. The first was that Button Men isn't a game at all, it's a combat system. It could be manipulated into being combat resolution for any number of games of various types. The second was that if it's really a combat system, any two things that compete could face off using this system.
A little more discussion and we decided it would be pretty cool to set this up so the great match up of Star Destroyer vs USS Enterprise could be fought out. That of course leads to "What about all the other great ships in Science Fiction?" There was literally close to 100 ships we considered but ultimately decided it was just too much to try to set up and stat. Also there are lots of great ships in Sci-Fi that aren't really combat ships. Trust me, figuring out playable stats for Serenity and the T.A.R.D.I.S. took no small effort. So we chose what we felt was a popular set out of what we thought were well loved sources and that we felt had aspects that went well with the dice types. The whole thing was put together as a "gift" for the members of PnP Gaming at the 5000 member milestone.
As far as playtesting, it's really all on me. I like to think I have a pretty good sense of game balance. I've been involved in this "modern" boardgaming since the 70's, spent decades playing miniature wargames, and I've been involved in playtesting no small number of games (some pretty well known and others so obscure probably only I remember them at all anymore.) But all that aside, this isn't supposed to be balanced. Yes I worked for a bit of playability so some things are over powered and underpowered deliberately but Serenity isn't supposed to be able to beat the Battlestar Galactica and a T.I.E. Fighter shouldn't take out the Enterprise. Well at least not without some magical rolls.
The choices in dice mean things. Certain dice represent actual abilities the ships have. I was far less interested in the name a die type had been given as I was how it behaved in play. Projectiles vs beams, cloaking devices, FTL travel, etc. And I'm not joking when I say that those non combat ships were a pain to make competitive. I'll leave it up to the players to figure out just what is what. The fact is they will likely come up with better explanations that I planned anyway.
For me, I just hope the set inspires even more creativity with the game. There are still hundreds of ships out there needing cards made. We are kicking around an expansion with a few more ourselves. But beyond that, there's dinosaurs, marine life battling in the food chain, lego movie characters, disney princesses, transformers, WWII tanks and artillery, even NASCAR racers (beating an opponent might not mean blowing them up, it might just mean finishing the race first). There is so much out there that could be adapted. "Somebody should make that.."