Below is a translation of the background story of Starsweep. The original is on page 02 of the instruction booklet. This translation is hopefully reasonably close, but it isn't very exact.
It happened several years ago. A mysterious explosion suddenly occured in the skies. Red, blue and yellow shards of the stars were scattered in the sky. Although the sky was darkened a bit, "starpicks", creatures which float and swim in the sky, ate up the shards little by little, so people left the situation alone.
One day, some children mischievously poked at a starpick. "Pop!" It spitted out a shard through its mouth. That was fun, so the children repeated the activity many times. They found out that when the shards collide, they will vanish.
From then on, this form of entertainment has become very popular. Now, even official tournaments are being held.
The winner of the tournament is called the "Master" and is respected by everyone. Everyone is aiming at becoming the "Starsweep Master".
However, someone is not happy about this turn of events. "That explosion has led to this situation ... My plan is ruined! Okay, I'll become the Starsweep Master. You'll see!!"
The original Starsweep game story (in Japanese) is copyright 1997 Axela.
Alan Kwan / tarot@netvigator.com / created 5 Aug 99