Ad Astra (play-by-mail game)

Ad Astra was a computer-moderated science fiction play-by-mail game, with a fixed deadline and a strategic focus.[2]

New players received a 30-page rulebook which, in 1987, cost $2.[3] Players operated on a hex grid of 225 stars, manipulating various elements of gameplay to include various types of starships, ground defense units, and starbases.[4] Conquest and expansion as well as diplomacy among players played key roles in Ad Astra.[5] Players also had to manage the costs of new elements of gameplay, as overspending affected remaining points at the end of the game, with the player with the highest number of points being victorious.[6]

Ad Astra was reviewed in Space Gamer/Fantasy Gamer No. 77, and the reviewer commented that "For those people who like this type of game, I don't think that there is a better one of its type on the PBM market today. It is a well-oiled machine. But then so is a fork lift. I can respect the efficient design of a fort lift, but I sure can't get excited about one. So, if you are the type of player who revels in objective and detached exercised of logic, look no father. Ad Astra is well worth your money and time."[2]

In the Sep/Oct 1992 issue of Paper Mayhem magazine, Ad Astra was ranked #68 of 84 play-by-mail games by its readers.[7]