OPINION

Curbing the Influence of Minefields

Planets is less a galactic combat simulator and more a space opera; it is an adventure story, flavoured with science fiction and tempered by the rules of a war game. Each sector is a mental filmstrip beaming images of Tie Fighters and X-Wings, Raiders and Vipers, and pointy-eared spies and Qapla’-shouting warriors! These exciting moments are why we toil and “turn,” but, alas, when the game we love becomes mired in purple and red circles, we lose the very soul of what makes Planets fun. Purple and red means webs and minefields, and an overabundance of these leads to long slogs and painfully-slow endings.