1982 Dwarfstar Heritage Micro-Games Advertisement

Back in the early eighties (well, also the late seventies, but we’re not talking about that decade right now), game makers explored the concept of micro-games, small and inexpensive games that kids could buy without saving their allowance for weeks. My own introduction to micro-games was the Steve Jackson Games series of “pocket box” games, small cases with a lot of fun for a very low price. Those pocket boxes were a blast, and we had so many hours of fun with just a single pocket box . . . more game for your buck than you get out of most games these days.

Another company producing micro-games at the time, Heritage, released a series of micros in a line known as Dwarfstar, and the above 1982 ad from Space Gamer magazine leaves me asking: How much fun were these games? I never played any of them, but I am interested in the idea of micro-games and Star Smuggler, presented as a solitaire game, most appeals to me; I should chase this down!

Fortunately, the Dwarfstar series has been released as legal PDF downloads. I can take a look at Star Smuggler without spending the $70+ the game demands on eBay these days. Hurray!