Before the hugely successful RTS games, like Starcraft & Command and Conquer, we had turn based strategy games, UFO: Enemy Unknown and X-Com: Terror from the Deep… but there were even games that came before, and the OG for me is Julian Gollop’s Laser Squad

Laser Squad is a turn-based tactics war game where the player completes objectives such as rescue or retrieval operations, or simply eliminating all of the enemy by taking advantage of cover, squad level military tactics, and careful use of weaponry. The squad’s team members are maneuvered around a map one at a time, taking actions such as move, turn, shoot, pick up and so on that use up the unit’s action points. More heavily laden units may tire more easily, and may have to rest to avoid running out of action points more quickly in subsequent turns. Morale also plays a factor; a unit witnessing the deaths of his teammates can panic and run out of the player’s control.

Motivated by this old school classic I today had an attempt at knocking together my own home made version, using Python & Pygame, and my son gave me great feedback from the beta play-test ;p

LaserSquad: Tactical Turn-Based Game

LaserSquad is a turn-based tactical squad game built with Python and Pygame. Command a 4-person squad through procedurally generated levels, engage in strategic combat, and lead your team to victory against hostile forces.

Features

• Turn-Based Tactical Combat: Carefully plan your moves and actions. Each unit has a limited number of Action Points (AP) per turn.
• Squad Management: Control a 4-person squad, each with unique names, numbers, and persistent stats.
• Procedurally Generated Maps: Every mission features a unique, randomly generated map with rooms and corridors.
• Fog of War & Line of Sight: The map is hidden until explored. Enemies are only visible if a squad member has a direct line of sight, which is blocked by walls and other units.
• D20 Skill-Based Combat: Every attack, whether ranged or melee, is decided by a D20 roll plus the unit’s skill modifier.
• Ranged & Melee Attacks: Engage enemies from a distance with powerful laser weapons or get up close for a deadly one-hit-kill melee attack.
• Overwatch System: Set your units to automatically fire on the first enemy that moves into their line of sight during the opponent’s turn.
• Healing Mechanic: Use your squad’s action points to heal injured teammates who are in an adjacent tile.
• Intelligent Enemy AI: Face off against multiple enemy squads that actively search the map for your team and work together to attack.

• Post-Mission Stats & Awards: After each game, review detailed statistics for each squad member and see who earns awards for top performance in categories like “Commando,” “Marksman,” and “Medic.”

Here’s the repo, with all the code to run, or branch and make your own: Github: LaserSquad

It’s still a work in progress, but I’ll upload some screenshots and animation, it’s far from Pixar, but still a fun challenge 🙂

Enjoy, and let me know what you think!