Asteroid Zero-Four

American and Soviet mining asteroids are about to be cut off from Earth by massive flares, so both bases become engaged in a war for dominance in the asteroid belt.[1] Task Force Games continued the same storyline in their follow-up game Cerberus, in which the combined U.S.-Russia forces from Asteroid Zero-Four invade another planet.[2]

In the September 1979 edition of Dragon, Tim Kask compared Asteroid Zero-Four to Starfire, also published at the same time by Task Force Games, and found that Asteroid Zero-Four was "slightly more involved than Starfire" but promised to be excellent because both were designed by Stephen Cole.

In Ares Magazine #1 (March 1980), Steve List rated Asteroid Zero-Four at 6 out of 9, saying, "the key to the game is the static defenses; missiles to pick off the incoming ships at long range and lasers to swallow up those who close. Massed attacks are necessary to saturate these defenses. While this game is not particularly good science fiction, it is fun to play."[3]

In the September 1980 issue of The Space Gamer (Issue No. 31), Steve Winter found "Asteroid Zero-Four to be "an intelligent, challenging game. It takes nerves and strategy to play well. If you can handle the bookkeeping, this one will make you sweat."[1]

Alestair Brown in White Dwarf #22 (December 1980 – January 1981) gave it a 6, and said "verdicts ranged from almost total bewilderment ... to enthusiastic enjoyment".[4]