Astral Empires: Battleshift

Big space battles are one of the coolest sights in science fiction movies and television, but there aren't many rules systems that really do it right. Most top out at running ten or so ships effectively, a few make it to twenty, but none of the other available rule sets really let you drop a couple hundred on the table and decide the fate of the galaxy!

Battleshift does....

Battleshift was born in a thread on The Miniatures Page. People were looking for a fast, enjoyable space game that would let them field real fleets. Not just a dozen ships, but scores or hundreds of ships.

That's what Battleshift is....

"Battleshift" refers to ships shifting into and out of battle through hyperspace. It allows units of ships to disappear from the table, and then re-enter the battlespace a few turns later making maneuver important, as fleet commanders can't just focus on what's on the table.

Battleshift also features a suppression system, which causes squadrons to lose accuracy as they take fire. Suppression has traditionally been critical in battle. In naval gun engagements, near misses on enemy ships were still useful as they made crews flinch, rocked the ship to spoil aim and obscured targeting. Few starship miniature games have even looked at suppression's effect on a battlefield.

Battleshift does...

—description from the publisher