Playus Maximus

Game Frequently Asked Questions

This is the page you will be able to come to with any questions about Playus Maximus games you've purchased. While we will make every effort to be as complete and easy to understand as we can in our products, we assume there will always be the possibility of unexpected questions and situations, as with any dynamic game. Therefore, in the pursuit of good customer service, we plan to place common questions about rules interpretations on this page, as well as any other game-related questions.

Smugglers of the Galaxy

1) Where else is Smugglers of the Galaxy available?

Several major distributors are currently carrying Smugglers of the Galaxy. This means that a large number of retailers (game shops) will likely be carrying the game. If you don't see it at your local game shop, simply ask them to order it for you.

2) How many players can play?

Officially the game is for 2-6 players, although more could play if they wanted to use a coin as their spaceship counter. In addition, although Smugglers is not designed for solo-play, some rules adjustments for solo-play have been published on our Forums.

3) What age range?

Officially we're saying 12 and up because there is some basic money counting and math involved (but no more than many mainstream games). We play tested with a bright nine year old and he did fine.

4) How long does it take to play?

We've found in play testing that the game usually took around 2 hours to play. You should expect your first few games to go a little longer since you'll be learning the rules, but we've also included time-saving tips in the rulebook, as well as alternate playing rules for shorter and longer games.

5) Can I continue my movement after coming out of a Wormhole?

Yes, you may actually move into a sector with a wormhole, declare you are entering that wormhole, then roll the die, move your piece to the new wormhole, and then continue your movement as normal (the move from wormhole to wormhole does not take up one of your movements). However, a player may only enter a wormhole once per turn.

6) Can either player attack the other once they have finished trading with one another?

Yes, but only if the player whose turn it is hasn't passed their turn to the next player yet. In other words, once a player declares that s/he is encountering another, then BOTH players have the option to attack and/or trade in any order or combination.

7) If I get into a combat is my turn over? Even if I win?

Yes. That is, unless you are able and willing to flee in the Maneuver stage of combat. If you cannot flee, choose not to flee, or are fled from, then your turn is over after the combat is resolved.

To learn more about Smugglers of the Galaxy, click here!

Rocket League: The Thrilling Roleplaying Game

What is the status of this game?

Rocket League is currently in the works. Most of the book has been written, some final art has been completed, and the battle system has been play tested. More to follow on this project, which will most likely be our second production. Although a release date has not been set, you can still pre-order Rocket League to show your interest in the product!

Is Rocket League confined to the solar system or does it allow for travel outside of the solar system?

No, the game is not confined to the solar system. However, we encourage a lot of adventuring on Venus, Mars, the Moon, etc. We will provide some examples of characters and events that take place on these planets. Even for Rocket League, going to these planets is still a big deal and there is a lot that is unexplored on them, leaving GMs able to make up all sorts of unknown and interesting things to encounter, such as evil empires, space monsters, alien ruins, or diabolical fortresses for example.

In addition, some Rocket League missions can travel to planets beyond the solar system, but these are seen as deep space expeditions. In other words, you're not cruising from system to system. Instead, you're given a mission to a specific planet and you've got just enough fuel and supplies to get there and return to earth. This makes Rocket League missions very episodic, although GMs always have the option of having return expeditions that connect to previous ones.

Lastly, there can also be earth-based missions. Sometimes, when something from the cosmos falls to earth, or some other threat from unknown areas of the earth comes up, rocket league is called in to deal with the problem (perhaps to a small town where an ominous meteor fell nearby, or the amazon jungles where natives have reported something strange, etc.).

When is the release?

Actually the number of people interested in "Smugglers of the Galaxy" has made us move the expansion up, which has delayed some of the final points yet to be done on Rocket League. In addition, our largest distributor needs at least 3 months to solicit to stores. So, we're hoping to have it by October 1st now. Sorry for the delay but we want it to be as good as possible. We do plan on releasing some artwork and "teaser" material as we get closer though.

I myself am looking very forward to running some Rocket League sessions at conventions once the product is out (maybe a little before if the timing on the cons is right).

What dice does the game use?

It uses six-siders, although not anything like the WEG d6 system. The system will be a very rules-lite one, which we felt is fitting to the feel of the lighthearted "toungue-in-cheek" adventure of Rocket League.

Is there any old Heinlein or Bradbury influences to the upcoming game?

Actually, the main focus of the look of the graphics and content will be in the spirit of 1950's science fiction television & movies. However, many novels and even comic books were highly connected and inspired those films so certainly many of their plots and themes would be something you could make great use of for Rocket League.

Would this world involve nanotech, cybernetics, etc. or would that not fit with the theme?

It certainly could in a more rudimentary way, but at one point in the book will discuss the concept of "getting back to basics". So, nanotech, cybernetics, virtual reality, and a lot of science fiction concepts of our time are replaced by atomic rockets, ray guns, robots, etc. The idea is to get into the sense of wonder of these things at the time. One could almost view it as a simple old-time adventure where horse & carriages are replaced by rockets and pistols by ray guns. So, there's not a lot of high techno-speak or scientific realism & detail mucking up your action, fun, and adventure.

Some other mechanisms that help restore the feel of the theme...

- we're not using star charts. Instead, a mission might simply send you to the planet Antares, in the "deep nether regions of outer space". After several months of travel you arrive to find... This gives an impression of space being vast and mysterious, so you can't point to a map and say "we're here" and have a sense of where everything else is.

- Believe it or not, there are no computers in this world! There ARE highly specialized electronic devices, which are hard-wired for a specific purpose. But the idea of a generalized computer that could do almost anything based on switching out software was not present in the 50's to any significant degree. Instead, you might have the "Navitron 2000" for example, that computes your course through interstellar space. Or, you might have a "chemo-analyzer" that analyzes the chemical makeup of different materials. Even robots do not have computers, but instead are controlled by "logic circuits" or electronic brains. These things do what computers do, but they're all hard-wired and specialized for a specific purpose. Think of it as an alternate route we took with computer development in this version of the future.

- Instead of simply "scanners" you might need to decide to use a metal detector, Geiger counter, infrared camera, seismograph, or any number of more specialized sensing equipment more familiar to us, which would give only that scope of info. These would just be more advanced versions of these items.

- There's no mention of lightspeed ore relativity, etc. Instead, your atomic rockets and saucers are capable of "high speeds" which allow you get to other star systems and planets in weeks or months. It is assumed that all such challenges are dealt with in highly technical ways by the nature of how atomic rockets work, but your characters are so familiar with the technology that they don't really bother discussing it much.

And so on. We're also going to have some good illustrations in there so everyone gets a feel for the look and style of everything. Right now, I'm designing the FS-1, deck by deck, as an example. This is Rocket League's first saucer design (the smaller, simpler of the two they have). They mainly use rockets in their fleet, but having recently discovered anti-gravity, they have created two classes of saucers that players can sometimes be assigned to (you're given a different ship, equipment, and sometimes other characters for each mission, depending on the perceived needs of that mission). Once it's done, I'll put up some pics of it on our site.

Will there be rules for vehicles? What about alien planets?

Yes there will be rovers and such inside some rockets and saucers. The rule system for the game as a whole is going to be fairly basic and "rules-lite". This is to match the feel of Rocket League, which wouldn't be served well by a highly intricate rules system. So, the vehicle rules will amount to pretty much being compatible with the character movement rules, albeit faster and more damage resistant. There will be some additional notes about acceleration and turn ratio however (and perhaps a little on special maneuvers). But most of that will be adjudicated by the GM, however, making use of your Driving skill and general vehicle performance stats.

Is there an evil earth government to deal with or is mankind united?

Most of the "evil forces" will be from other worlds, although a lot of the themes of these mimick cold-war opponents. Of course, as RPG's go, GM's can always have secret evil organizations run by earthlings as well.

What date does Rocket League take place in? Given the optimistic predictions of the time, you could make it take place in the 1990's?

We're simply leaving it as "the far future". It need not be stated exactly, although individual gamemasters could certainly decide to in their campaigns (it would actually be interesting to make it take place in the year you're playing in - "at the dawn of the next century!").

The Spanish Main

What is the status of this game?

The Spanish Main is partially designed but on hold at the moment, while we work on Rocket League. Conceptual art designs have been created and the game has yet to be play tested. This project was likely to be our third production, but we are still considering other projects which may or may not come out first.

Other Games

When can I learn more about these?

The other games mentioned on our homepage are in "conceptual" phase right now. That means we have the basic design worked out, but not necessarily all of the details. We have a little of the artwork done on many of these but not all or even most. As these projects come along, we'll be offering more information on them here on this site, so check back often!

Other Questions

I've got some good game ideas - are you interested?

Actually, we appreciate the offer but we're not soliciting game ideas at the moment. We really have a lot of ideas we're still planning on getting to - it's more a matter of production time and investment money than of needing ideas right now. But thanks anyway!

Have A Question Not Here?

If you have a question not featured above, you may find it on our forums. If not, feel free to ask us there on the forums, or at questions@playusmaximus.com

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