I was a long time fan of the Silent Death boardgame from Iron Crown Enterprises, though I long ago lost my physical versions of the game. I picked up the PDFs from DriveThruRPG again recently, and built an online version so I can play against an “AI” opponent. You’re welcome to try it out as well.
Runs in any browser — no install. Fly a one-off scenario, build your own force, or take a squadron through a procedural campaign.
Who owns Silent Death
The chain of title is genuinely confusing, so here it is in order. The system is Kevin Barrett’s, most of the books say Iron Crown Enterprises, the last two say Mythic Entertainment, the shop that sells them says Metal Express — and the company still selling the miniatures doesn’t hold the licence at all. Every line below is transcribed from the copyright page of a book in the line.
The game system itself is Kevin Barrett’s. Every Silent Death book ever printed, under every publisher, still carries the line “Original System Design: Kevin Barrett” on its credits page.
- The Next Millennium revision: Matt Forbeck.
- Ship Design System: Tim Schmidt.
ICE of Charlottesville, Virginia published Silent Death and then Silent Death: The Next Millennium, along with nearly the whole supplement line. This is the era almost every book in circulation comes from.
- Rulebook (#7201): © 1990, 1995, third printing 1998.
- Supplements #7210–#7227: © 1996 through 2000.
- Ship cards carry “Permission granted to photocopy for personal use.”
The last books printed carry a different copyright holder than the rest of the line. Mythic Entertainment owns them; Metal Express produced and distributed them from the same Charlottesville address ICE had used.
- House Falstaff (#7301P): © 2005 Mythic Entertainment, LLC.
- Operation: Drydock Volume II (#7228): © 2006 Mythic Entertainment, LLC.
- Both are stamped “Produced and distributed by Metal Express, 112 Goodman St.”
- The ICE staff block survives on both, listing Bruce Neidlinger as CEO and Heike A. Kubasch as President.
Metal Express holds Silent Death today and sells the back catalogue as PDFs. Their metal miniatures manufacturer closed down, and public word since has been limited to occasional social-media notices about 3D modelling toward an intended return in plastic.
silent-death.mx — the rights holder’s own site.
Where to buy it
The only place to buy anything new. The whole line is up as PDFs from the rights holder; everything else on the market is second-hand.
Printed boxes, books and the old metal miniatures turn up on the usual second-hand sites — Noble Knight Games, eBay and the like.
EM-4 made the original plastic Silent Death miniatures. They lost the rights to the IP but are still selling the same old plastic minis.
- Flying bases are sold separately.
- Shipping to the US is a pain.
The people who made it
Collected from the credits pages of the books. A name that appears under several roles held all of them across the line’s fifteen years.
This is an unofficial, non-commercial fan project. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or licensed by Metal Express, Mythic Entertainment or Iron Crown Enterprises. Silent Death and Silent Death: The Next Millennium are trademarks of their respective owners, and all game content remains their copyright. If you enjoy this, buy the books — they are still for sale.