Warlocks of the Dark Star is a strategic space wargame pitting the eponymous Warlocks against a group called the Technoids or Techlongs (the rules use both names). The Technoids, as suggested by their name, use technology, while the Warlocks use magic.

The basic system is not especially complicated but there is a fair amount of chrome. For example, the Warlock player receives magic points which can be used to build new units and create effects (such as moving a star system). The Technoid player can't create new units but can scavenge the wrecks of old ones.

At the start of the game, the Warlock player chooses an alien race to play (some of which have special powers) and chooses a home system and colonies, along with a decoy race; all of this information is kept secret. The object of the game for the Technoid player is to find and destroy the Warlocks' systems.

This game should not be confused with Warriors of the Dark Star: The Age of the Neutron Wars.

Note that although the blurb on the sides of the box says that the game includes "7 planetary maps," this is incorrect: no such maps are included and the rulebook does not mention them.