ABOUT THE STAR FLEET UNIVERSE

Welcome to the STAR FLEET UNIVERSE, where thousands of people boldly explore new worlds and new situations every day.

As is readily apparent, the STAR FLEET UNIVERSE is based on The Original Series of Star Trek, and is produced under contracts with Paramount and with Franz Joseph Designs. While not necessarily "canon trek", the STAR FLEET UNIVERSE is a rich and vast playground, and is more consistent than the literary equivalents. It has to be, since the STAR FLEET UNIVERSE is home to a number of game systems, and gamers tend to get upset if we change the rules, history, background, and technology every time a fiction writer needs a new plot device. We do, by the way, publish a lot of fiction in our CAPTAIN'S LOG series, some of which is regarded as among the best published for this genre.

The STAR FLEET UNIVERSE includes the Federation at its center, flanked by the Klingons and Kzintis to the "west" (see map), by the Tholians to the "south", and by the Romulans and Gorns to the "east" (see map) . Beyond the Romulans and Gorns is the Inter-Stellar Concordium (to be seen in a future product). Beyond the Klingons and Kzintis are the Lyrans and Hydrans (to be seen in the future product Distant Kingdoms), along with the WYN Star Cluster and the Lyran Democratic Republic. The Orion Pirates will steal from anybody, and the Andromedans (extra-galactic invaders seen in a future product) attack everybody. Want to see our position in the galaxy? Click here.

When we began publishing (back in 1979), Star Trek was a half-forgotten old television show popular as an afternoon re-run in college towns. (That's how this all started. The original game designer was playing a naval combat game while watching Star Trek re-runs between engineering school and supper time.) We produced much new material before the franchise returned to life, and have continued to be one of the two largest producers of new history, starships, characters, and technology (the other being Paramount itself). As Paramount began producing new materials, the Star Trek Universe and STAR FLEET UNIVERSE began to diverge, but remained strongly linked. We did not change our games to match their later productions, and they did not change their television series to match our games, but the driving force behind the genre continued to keep the two universes very close indeed. We have no Cardassians or Breen or Dominion (these were created after our contract was signed), but we do have Andromedans and Hydrans and Lyrans. Our Klingons have smooth foreheads, and remain based (as the original Klingons were) on the ruthless Soviets or Nazis rather than becoming mystical Ninja warriors. Romulans have cloaking devices (as do some of the Orion Pirates) but the Klingons do not. Romulans use some Klingon-built warships, but mostly build their own superbly-crafted starships. The Gorns (seen in only one original episode) have become friends with the Federation, while the Tholians remain fiercely neutral (in that they won't allow anybody) into their territory.

You can find additional information about the Federation, Klingons, Romulans, Kzintis, Gorns, Orion Pirates, Tholians, Lyrans, WYN Cluster, Hydran Kingdom, Carnivon Hordes, Paravians, Vudar, Jindarians, and Seltorians, Additional information about the STAR FLEET UNIVERSE and information about other empires (Lyran Democratic Republic, Nicozians, Xorkaelians, and others) will be added to this web site in the future.

The point of a "gaming universe"  is, obviously, the games! Here is a quick summary:

FEDERATION COMMANDER is the new full-color fast-playing game of starship combat. Click here for a detailed description of the game system. Click here to download a PDF summarizing the basic rules (with enough information to play a game or two). Click here for information about KLINGON BORDER or click here for information about ROMULAN BORDER. Or, click here to buy the game!

For a fast-playing full-color card game of starship combat, check out STAR FLEET BATTLE FORCE. The game can be taught in 10 minutes and played in an hour. Click here to buy the game, or click here for an in-depth look at the game system.

For a more detailed look at the universe, the PRIME DIRECTIVE series of Role-Playing Books provides a wealth of background (maps, governments, religions, legal systems, and everything else) about dozens of new civilizations, plus the option to actually explore the universe as an adventurer, researcher, pirate, or military officer. You can read the books for the background, or use the role-playing rules to explore strange new worlds. Click here for more information or click here to purchase these books.

No exploration of the Star Fleet Universe would be complete without starships. We offer a full range of pewter starships in 1/3788 scale (most are two or three inches long) both as individual Starline 2400 ships, in Squadron Boxes of five ships, and in Border Boxes of 24 ships. Click here for photos and information or here to purchase these ships.

Star Fleet Battles is the flagship of the Star Fleet Universe. It is a game of ship-vs-ship combat in the 23rd century. When playing Star Fleet Battles, YOU take command of a starship, squadron, or even  an entire fleet of the Federation, the Klingon Empire, or the Romulan Star Empire ... plus over a dozen other empires, each with their own unique style of combat, starships, weapons, technology, and culture.
Click here for information, or click here to buy the game.

Federation & Empire is the strategic game of the Star Fleet Universe. It is a game of empires in the 23rd century. When playing Federation & Empire, YOU take the imperial throne of the Klingon Empire, or the Romulan Star Empire, or of other empires, or even the Chairmanship of the United Federation of Planets! You have total command of your empire's economy, production, strategy, and operations.
Click here for more information, or click here to buy the game.

For those who want to fight huge battles but keep the game to one evening, we have STARMADA, a game system published by Majestic Twelve Games. Under a joint venture, we have done Star Fleet Universe versions of their game system.  
Click here for more information, or click here to buy the game.

In June 2011, we signed a Joint Venture deal with Mongoose to produce a number of new product lines, including Starline 2500, A Call to Arms Star Fleet, and Traveller Prime Directive.
For info on Traveller Prime Directive click here.
For info on A Call To Arms Star Fleet click here.
For info on Starline 2500 click here.