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Making a 3d-Printed Solo Board Game: "ICBM Attack" [1]

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Date: 2025-01-25

Many years ago, I made up a solo board game called “ICBM Attack” that was loosely based on the “Missile Command” arcade video game that I played a lot as a kid. I made “ICBM Attack” up as a paper “print and play” game.

Now that I have a 3d printer I have made up a new nicer-looking and more durable version of the game using printed-plastic parts (though it can still be made as a paper print-and-play). I also jiggered the rules a little bit to make them less complex and more workable for the 3d game pieces.

The Game

World War III has started and nuclear warheads are falling from the sky. You are in command of the Missile Defense System, and your mission is to defend your cities from annihilation. Target and destroy the incoming enemy warheads. The fate of civilization depends upon you…

This is a one-player solo game.

To play this game, you will need:

A game board. This is a simple 6x8 grid. You can draw this on a sheet of paper or cardboard.

4 cities. These can be any small object like marbles, chess pawns, etc.

4 Targeting Markers. They need to be stackable. You can use bingo chips, poker chips, checkers, etc.

20 Warheads. These also need to be stackable and a different color than the Targeting Markers.

A 6-sided dice. I printed mine, but any ordinary cube dice will do.

6x8 Game Board, Cities, Targeting Markers, Warheads, and Dice

To start the game, place your Cities anywhere on the bottom row of the game board nearest you.

Next, place the first wave of Warheads onto the top row of the game board, filling all six spaces.

Now you may place your Targeting Markers. These indicate the places where your anti-missile weapons will detonate, so you should place them where an enemy warhead is most likely to be after it moves during the next turn (somewhere one row beneath it and either directly ahead or one space to the left or right). You may place more than one Targeting Marker into any one game space by stacking them atop each other—each Marker will give you one shot at any Warheads which enter into that space.

Targeting the first wave of Warheads

When you have placed all of your Targeting Markers for the first wave, it is time to move the Warheads. For each individual Warhead (if there is more than one Warhead in a space, each one is rolled for and moved separately), beginning with those in the row closest to the cities and moving from left to right. Roll a single d6 six-sided dice. If you roll a 1 or a 2, that particular warhead moves down one row and then one space to the left. (If the Warhead is already in the first row at the edge of the board and cannot move to the left, it simply moves down one row.) If you roll a 3 or a 4, the Warhead moves down one row without moving left or right, and if you roll a 5 or 6, the Warhead moves down one row and then one space to the right. (If the Warhead is already in the last row at the edge of the board and cannot move to the right, it simply moves down one row.)

If there is already a Warhead in the indicated space, stack the next one on top of it. There is no limit to how many Warheads can be in a space, though in subsequent turns each stacked Warhead is moved individually.

If there is a Targeting Marker in the space that a Warhead moves into, place that Marker on top to indicate the interception.

Moving the Warheads

After all the Warheads have been moved, it is time to resolve any interceptions. If a Warhead and a Targeting Marker are in the same space, that Warhead has been intercepted. Roll the d6 dice. If you roll a 4 or above, the Warhead is destroyed and is removed from the board. You may only intercept one Warhead with each Targeting Marker, so if there is more than one Warhead in this space, you can only intercept one of them (unless you have more than one Targeting Marker in that space.) Conversely, if there is one Warhead and more than one Targeting Marker, you get multiple attempts to intercept it.

When all of the interceptions have been resolved, gather up your Targeting Markers. You may now place them again to target the Warheads, making adjustments for the new situation. The sequence of placing Targeting Markers, moving Warheads, and resolving interceptions is repeated until the game is over.

The second wave of Warheads arrives

The Warheads arrive in three waves. The first wave is placed at the beginning of the game. When any of the Warheads from that wave reach the third row of the game board (or if all of the first wave is destroyed before that), the six warheads of the second wave are placed along the top row of the game board. They may now be targeted. When any of the Warheads from the second wave reach the third row of the game board, or if they are all destroyed first, the third wave is spawned in the same way.

If any Warhead makes it all the way to the end of the board and reaches the edge without hitting a City, it is considered a “miss” and is removed from the board.

You may place your Targeting Markers to intercept Warheads in any row or space, including over your cities. If a Warhead reaches one of your City spaces and is not successfully intercepted, that City is destroyed and is removed from the board.

Since “ICBM Attack” is a solo game and the dice controls all of the enemy movements, the rules and “win” conditions may be changed according to the level of difficulty that you want to have.

For the most difficult game, Warheads are destroyed only on a roll of 5 or higher, you have four cities, and you lose if any one of them is destroyed. In addition, any Warhead that reaches a City has a 1 in 6 chance (roll a d6 dice) of being a MIRV with multiple weapons. If you roll a 6 on your dice, that Warhead immediately spawns 2 additional Warheads over the city which must also be successfully intercepted by the Targeting Marker aimed at that missile (roll a 5 or higher to destroy each new Warhead).

For the easiest game, intercepted Warheads are destroyed on a dice roll of 4 or higher, drop the MIRV rules, and you have only three cities and win if any of them survive. You may also reduce the number of warheads per wave to 5 or 4.

You can also add or subtract any of these optional rules in order to adjust the game to the level of difficulty that you like.



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