In 1982 International Team, a famous publisher that has contributed developing the game in Italy (with - for example - the fundamental fantasy wargame ZARGO'S LORD), published a sci-fi game with… alien features.
VII LEGIO, created by Marco Donadoni and wiSilvio Cadelo, was sold in a very original plastic box (like a VHS, but bigger), where you can find the volumes with the rules and the character guide, spaceship sheets, a screen and an info sheet about Spazio Computer, a 20-faced dice (with two faces for each number from 0 to 9) and a 6-faced one. The volumes are greatly illustrated and very rich as for details of the ships, weapons and aliens of different races.
A player is the Spazio Computer (a sort of master), who has to create the unknown universe, the other players (2-6) are Official Commanders of the Space Army of the Solar Republic, who have to take suitable equipments for their ships (writing them on the given papers) and travel in the space looking for new planets, where they can live their missions against the alien races they’ll meet. They also have to avoid black holes, electromagnetic storms and other problems to be decided by the Spazio Computer.
During their missions, the Official Commanders will earn points they can use to get a triumphal comeback to the base, where they can gain a larger spaceship and buy new equipments.
The Official Commanders have to trace their movements, because the orders have to be given pointing the direction without a global vision. So you risk to get lost.
The Spazio Computer, during the missions of the Official Commanders in the space, gives more and more detailed information about the planets, the atmosphere, the possible alien presence and their attitude, possible missions. The planets and the creatures are randomly generated with a smart tree structure system designed on a sheet, easy to be studied, and with a series of dice results.
The rules, in Italian and German (sheets are in French and English, too), have a base set for beginners and an advanced one, expanding the possibilities of the game.
The following year an expansion was published: TABLIN. It is about the homonymous evolved alien race, that wants to submit the peoples of other planets. It is a supplementary volume where you can find new rules, ship papers and other information, new equipments and a detailed and greatly illustrated character guide. There is also the anatomic description of a tablin...
The presence of typical elements of Role Games (the master, the creation of characters, the detailed setting, the absence of a board) has made somebody think of VII Legio as the first Italian game of this kind. The rules tend to the features of a Role game, related with the master’s skills, as it always happens in RGs. On the other side, the presence of typical elements of boards games (some exact prepared actions, a small rule set, short games) has helped some new players to appreciate the game, without being scared of complex rules like in TRAVELLER, the most famous sci-fi RG, published few years earlier.
The great variety of possible characters makes VII LEGIO still playable today, even if a greater interaction among the characters and a better balance within the missions would have improved the game.