Minimal Space Combat is a game of tactical space ship battle. The players design ships and then can battle to the death. It may be used with any scifi background as it has a very minimal theme. Players plot movement and then move simultaneously. Combat can occur at any time during movement when opposing ships are in range and in the weapons firing arc. The goal is simply to destroy the other player's ships.
Timothy Swenson describes the reasoning for designing this game as follows:
"The premise behind this game is this: what is the simplest playable game possible to game tactical space combat. The game must make some reasonable attempt to come close to simulating space combat and not just the simplest possible game. The emphasis in this game is fast and easy. Playability is given more consideration than realism. There is no consideration for expansion of these rules, because then it would not be minimal. Use the game for those times when you want a quick and dirty space combat game or for introducing someone new to gaming."
In addition to the basic game Timothy also has minimal rules for a campaign game, a method for playing solo and a tutorial for introducing new players to space combat games.