The Babylon 5 Component Game is remarkable chiefly for its unique game system: you buy a box containing not just a deck of semi-random cards, but semi-random counters and map pieces as well. There's a Core Set with cards and components for all four races (Human, Centauri, Minbari and Narn) and sets for each individual race as well.

You start by placing your Homeworld map tile (seven hexes in a hexagon shape) at one edge of the playing surface and putting the Babylon 5 tile in the middle. Then you and your opponent (or opponents) take turns placing tiles face down until the map is filled up. You know which tiles you placed, but not what anyone else placed, so no one has "explored" the whole map when the game begins.

You also pick a hand of cards (yes, you choose them) and buy a few spaceships to equip your race. After that, future card draws will be at random from a deck you bring with you, so it's about as predictable as a collectible card game.

The object of the game is to control resources: some are out there for the taking, but most of the good ones are in the hands of other players, so a certain amount of combat is inevitable. The combat rules are pretty detailed, therefore; each ship has two sets of weapons, lasers (with a range of one hex) and heavy weapons with a range of two hexes. The counters are marked to show the firing arcs of each weapon, so you know where your various beams and missiles can strike. The counters also have various color-coded values on them which aren't too hard to keep sorted out, so you get some fairly detailed ship designs without having to consult any tables or charts, the way you do in Star Fleet Battles, for example.

Each race's ships have strengths and weaknesses, as do the supporting economies and cultures. For example, although many cards are available to all races, only the Centauri can use the really sneaky ones. And the Minbari ships, while they cost a bit more than the Earth Alliance ships, are much more powerful.

If you get the Core Set, then you're ready to play an involved, exciting wargame set in the Babylon 5 universe. But if you collect the individual race sets, and mix and match more than one, and especially if you trade with your friends to work up the ultimate combination of cards, counters and maps ...

THEN, you're into a whole new kind of collectible wargaming.