Revolting Memories

In my youth, I adored the TSR minigames, especially Revolt on Antares, designed by Tom Moldvay and whose counters, depicted above, were illustrated by Jeff Dee. I can't tell you how many times I played this game with my friends while we hung around in someone's basement, waiting for the rest of our group to arrive to play D&D. 

While I enjoyed the straightforward, almost bare bones rules of the game, it was its little setting details that I found most compelling. The leaders of the warring noble houses had names like Black Dougal Mackenzie and Catherine "the Mad" Braganza, while Galactic Heroes carried monikers like Corvus Andromeda and Doctor Death. Silly? Perhaps but they struck just the right pulpy, space operatic tone with me and my young self imagined who these people were and how they related to the distant, ill-described Imperial Terran Empire [sic] that laid claim to Antares 9. 

If nothing else, it's a reminder that it's far from necessary to flesh out a setting in exhaustive detail. Sometimes, just a few evocative names and a piece of well chosen art is enough to do the job – or at least it was when I was a young man. Less can be more.