Doctor Who: Battles in Time

Doctor Who: Battles in Time is a trading card game and magazine published by GE Fabbri Ltd under license from the BBC in the UK.

Doctor Who: Battles in Time (magazine)
Following a successful regional trial of a Doctor Who magazine and trading cards in the UK, the title was launched nationally in September 2006 by GE Fabbri Ltd.

Originally planned as a work in fifty-two parts issued fortnightly, the title was expanded with the launch of the 'Devastator series of two-hundred fifty new cards. These featured graphics from the recently aired Series Four, and extended the life of the magazine title.

Each issue of the magazine included the following regular features;
 * Gameplay: (Game playing suggestions and card information)
 * Card Clash: (Two cards pitched against each other in battle)
 * FAQ: (Episode guide)
 * Centre-spread Monster Foldout: (Featuring cover topic)
 * Comic Strip: (all-new Tenth Doctor adventures)
 * Brain Buster Puzzles
 * Personality Test:
 * Behind the Scenes or Dalek Wars (Search and Find): (A two-page CGI construction of a Dalek battle with narrative and things to discover activity)

DWBIT comic stories

 * The magazine included a regular fortnightly, four page, individually titled, comic strip adventure, all of which from Issue 7 were drawn by Lee Sullivan (an artist with a long-standing relationship with Doctor Who), written by Stephen Cole (former BBC Books range editor and writer), and featured the Tenth Doctor.
 * Prior to issue 7 the comic strip was drawn by John Ross and saw a reprint of the magazines regional test edition.


 * Tying in with the launch of GE Fabbri Ltd's follow-on title Doctor Who DVD Files in 2009, the supporting website offered the online archived subscription service. (for a subscription fee of £3 per month, or £25 per year) Readers were given unlimited access to more than six hundred pages of the magazine as it was released and a further 150 pages that made up the comic strips.

Doctor Who: Battles in Time (Specials)
In addition to the regular fortnightly parts, a number of Special Issues were published, mostly to promote the launch of the next expansion set of trading cards.

The Special Issues were:
 * Daleks vs Cybermen Special (Cyberman Cover) or Cybermen vs Daleks Special (Cyberman Cover) (depending on which way up the magazine is, specific cards issued for gameplay)
 * Invader Special (Series Three themed)
 * Ultimate Monsters Special (Old and new monster themed A-Z)
 * Devastator Special (Series Four themed)

Doctor Who: Battles in Time (trading cards)
These cards were issued with the magazine. They could be purchased separately from newsagent retailers or some specialist shops.

International distribution
Due to licensing restrictions, Battles in Time is one of a number of Doctor Who-related publications that has not been distributed beyond the British Isles. The availability of the BiT archive online in conjunction with Doctor Who DVD Files marks the first official international distribution of this content.

Related Articles

 * Doctor Who: Battles in Time (magazine)
 * DWBIT comic stories
 * see list

For trading card details
 * Doctor Who: Battles in Time (Exterminator)
 * Doctor Who: Battles in Time (Annihilator)
 * Doctor Who: Battles in Time (Invader)
 * Doctor Who: Battles in Time (Ultimate Monsters)
 * Doctor Who: Battles in Time (Devastator)
 * Doctor Who: Battles in Time (Adventurer The Sarah Jane Adventures)