Editing Triplanetary (board game) (section)

==Reception==
In the December 1974 issue of ''[[Airfix Magazine]]'', [[Bruce Quarrie]] gave a positive review of the game and its mechanics, concluding, "Since it is our experience that the majority of wargamers enjoy science fiction and vice-versa, we can see this game catching on in quite a big way. Great fun!"<ref name=airfix>{{cite magazine | last= Quarrie| first= Bruce | date=December 1974 |title=News for the Wargamer   | magazine=[[Airfix Magazine]] | volume=16 | number=4| pages=255}}</ref>

Two reviews of the original game and its variant appeared in 1976 issues of ''[[The Space Gamer]]''. In Issue 4, Scott Rusch gave the original version of ''Triplanetary'' a very positive review, saying, "It's quite a flexible game, and it's fun. It's even fairly accurate, which is something most tactical space games can't claim. I heartily recommend it."<ref name="SG4"/> Several months later, in Issue 9, Kelly Moorman gave a strong recommendation to the ''Triplanetary Variant V/2'', saying, ""I would recommend this variant to anyone interested in a very realistic space-economic-tactical game."<ref name="SG9">{{cite journal|last=Moorman|first=Kelly |date=December 1976 – January 1977 |title=Reviews|journal=[[The Space Gamer]]|publisher=[[Metagaming Concepts|Metagaming]]|issue=9|pages=29}}</ref>

In his 1977 book ''[[The Comprehensive Guide to Board Wargaming]]'', [[Nick Palmer|Nicholas Palmer]] thought the game had "a relatively realistic scope [...] the system is not difficult, though it takes a little getting used to." He noted that the scenarios provided "a long and intricate game."<ref name=palmer>{{cite book | last =Palmer  | first =Nicholas | authorlink =Nick Palmer | title =The Comprehensive Guide to Board Wargaming | publisher =Sphere Books | date =1977 | location =London | pages =180}}</ref>

In the July 1981 edition of ''[[Dragon (magazine)|Dragon]]'', Tony Watson welcomed the return of ''Triplanetary'' as one of the best SF games on the market. He admitted that the game wasn't perfect, especially the messy map caused by continuously adding grease pencil trails during a long scenario. And although the vector movement system was accurate, Watson pointed out that the planets never move, although they should be orbiting around the Sun. "The designer has apparently decided to sacrifice this bit of realism for the sake of playability, and it seems to make a great deal of sense." He concluded, "''Triplanetary'' is a marvelously well conceived game that plays well and is a lot of fun. It is varied and interesting, and fairly dripping with the feel of the old-style SF novels many of us grew up with. Even eight years after its initial appearance, [it] compares favorably with the plethora of other SF titles on the market."<ref name=dragon />

In the July 1981 edition of ''[[The Space Gamer]]'' (Issue No. 41), William A. Barton reviewed the 1981 edition of ''Triplanetary'', and noted the disappearance of two scenarios from the original list, "Invasion" and "Piracy". Barton felt the editing of the new rules in was not clean, stating, "GDW should release an errata sheet."<ref name="SG41">{{cite journal|last=Barton |first=William A. |date=July 1981 |title=Featured Review: Triplanetary|journal=[[The Space Gamer]]|publisher=[[Steve Jackson Games]]|issue=41|pages=26}}</ref>