That’s right game fans! The date is Oct 31, 1986 (yes, Halloween, a curious coincidence) and the news release was put out by Cuyahoga Community College in Cleveland where Tom was a professor. It is written by Leslie Resnick, manager of the News Bureau, and was picked up by several newspapers, magazines, and even a radio program.
Champions of the Galaxy was officially released in July, 1986. That’s 28 years ago and we’re still going strong! Accompanying this story is the original game logo from 1986.
PSYCH TEACHER INVENTS GALAXY GAME
When Cuyahoga Community College psychology instructor Tom Filsinger became bored with high school classes his creative mind wandered but it didn’t stop working. Ten years later, no longer bored by school, he is reaping the results of his boredom and is marketing the game he literally dreamed up in his high school classes.
His game “Champions of the Galaxy” is a return to those creative days of yesteryear when games were not controlled by joy sticks and TV screens but rather by cards and dice.
Star Warrior, Massif, and Wolf are some of the good guys who wrestle against the likes of Thantos, Conrad (sic) Terror, and the Executioner. The wrestling matches take place on Deimos, a moon of Mars, in the Galaxian Federation founded late in the 21st century.
A roll of the dice indicates the degree of arm twisting, facelocking, or karate chopping exerted against the enemy. The card belonging to each competitor tells the defensive players how badly they are hurt and how to negotiate their next move. Players alternate between defensive and offensive positions. Matches can last anywhere from three minutes to an hour, depending on the luck of the roll.
Filsinger is marketing the game by mail order this year. The characters are drawn by free-lance artist Chuck Carter, and they have all the charm and charisma of the Star Wars gang.
Filsinger says that creative minds, research shows, often don’t do well in school and feel constricted by the structure imposed. He has a few other educational games in mind and has copyrighted the ideas. One involves the process of evolution as players struggle through the Ice Age, the Paleolithic Era, through the Age of Dinosaurs and other beasts to eventually become Homo Sapiens, the eager embryo excited to emerge.
