Race Into Space is a simulation of the US-Soviet Space Race. In it, you take charge of your country’s space program as Director (US) or Designer (USSR). You will purchase and develop space hardware, recruit and manage astronauts/cosmonauts, and plan and send missions into space. The ultimate goal is to be the first to complete a Moon landing and return your people safely to Earth.

Race Into Space (RIS) is a port to modern operating systems of Buzz Aldrin’s Race Into Space (BARIS), a DOS game originally released in 1993 on floppy disk, and a year later in an expanded CD version. BARIS was developed by Fritz Bronner based on his 1989 board game Liftoff!. Dr. Aldrin’s name and imagery have been dropped because permission to use them was limited to the old DOS game.

RIS is available for Windows, Linux, and Mac, and includes some improvements over the original game—which we feel have justified a rewrite of the game manual. Those involved in RIS are volunteer enthusiasts, and we hope you enjoy this simulation. You might even find it educational.