BattleFleet Mars

BattleFleet Mars, subtitled "Space Combat in the 21st Century", is a science fiction board wargame published by Simulations Publications, Inc. (SPI) in 1977 that simulates combat in the inner Solar System.

BattleFleet Mars is a two-player game in which one player controls spaceships owned by rich Earth corporations that have made vast amounts of money from mining in the asteroid belt, and the other player controls spaceships used by miners on Mars and on asteroids who are seeking independence from Terran control. The planets and asteroids on the map change position as they orbit around the Sun, resulting in different distances between planets at various points during the game.

The game box or ziplock bag comes with:

The map does not have a standard hex grid. Instead, distances are measured and a time for arrival (in turns) is applied.

Combat can either be resolved through a standard tactical resolution, or via a much simplified table.

Victory is not achieved through military victories, but via morale. If one player, through gaining geographical objectives, winning battles and through the use of agents and propaganda, can push their opponent's morale to the point where the opponent's forces no longer have the will to fight, then the war is over.

BattleFleet Mars was designed by Brad Hessel and Redmond A. Simonsen, and Simonsen also supplied the graphics and cover art. SPI published in it March 1977, and the game stayed on SPI's Top Ten Bestseller list for six months.

Reception was mixed, with some reviewers not in favor, and others liking it.