Space 1889: Roleplaying in a less time-consuming time! This game has its faults as do all. Contrary to the other complaints here, the quality is just fine. Yes, it is a mere soft cover with no color pages, but at least SOMEBODY bought the rights and reprinted it. Did you?
The game focuses more on plot than creating a rule for every possible situation. This is part of what makes it a good game. You can make characters and run a game in a reasonable period of time. It would be nice to see it updated for a universal system, like GURPS or d20, only because it would be easier to convince others to play then.
If you enjoy gaming in a setting that is not dark & evil, Space 1889 is a good choice.
FANTASTIC setting; lousy system I love old Victorian- and Edwardian-era adventure books. Give me Jules Verne, H. Rider Haggard, Arthur Conan Doyle, H.G. Wells and their ilk and I am quite the happy camper. As such Space: 1889 well fills this need. The pushing of The Great Game into outer space, replete with colonies, cloak & dagger work, army regiments, the raj-mentality (with all its pitfalls, questionable notions and nobility) are here, taken not just to Mars, but also to Mercury, Venus and the Moon. With a bit of work, who knows? Perhaps the very stars will eventually be available!
For those who love this type of adventure, a touch of the movie "Zulu" meeting John Carter with a nod to 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, you will find all sorts of ideas to mine. The Canal Martians, and then their less civilized brethren, provide exotic scenes, moral quandaries, wily enemies. How "realistic" you play all of this is up to you, anything from a "Gandhi" tone to one of Pure Heroism.
The problem, however, is the system. It is clunky, simplistic, and in the end quite broken. In attempting to keep everything to d6 rolls, you end up with either binary results or the old "bucket load o' dice" scenario. I have tried playing the system several times (at least three different GMs) and it has never felt satisfying. On the other hand I ported the setting over to other systems (Harn, Over The Edge, BRP/Runequest/Call of Cthulhu, etc.) and found it worked emminently well!
In the end, I would suggest this book as a supplement to anyone interested in roleplaying in this sort of era. Ditch the system, keep the setting, and you will have a blast!
Elegant Simplicity Back before the angst ridden tales of supernatural creatures became the rage of RPGs, there were tales of great adventure and romance and danger. Space 1889 is one of the finest of the games to have come from that "golden age" of RPGs. However, it fell by the wayside, following the dismantling of it's original producer, GDW. Now however, thanks to Heliograph, you can take up this game of bold adventure and exploration again.
I suppose there are many people who like lots of rules and methods in their games. Lots of complicated stats, in depth character creation with attributes, skills, advantages, disadvantages, etc. Space 1889 allows you to create an exciting character with a minimum of systems. This is a stripped down, streamlined, fast playing, action packed game system. Grab you saber, buckle on your pistol, load your carbine, and mount up, we're heading out into a world filled with opportunities for the greatest adventure you can have around a table!
Character creation is easy. Combat is fast paced. It's all very intuitive, easy to remember and implement. This is a classic game and it is great to see it ressurected. In a sea of d20 deluge, I am thrilled to see this classic product make a resurgence. It's biggest weakness is it's niche setting, but if you are looking for the ultimate steampunk game, look no further. If you want it simple, fast and fun, here it is.
I wish this were like the original, with a hardcover and color plates, but I am just glad to see it back. I never owned it in it's first incarnation, but I did have the pleasure of playing it. Now, I finally own it, and it is a prize in my RPG collection.
Excellent concept, fair execution Remind yourself that this book predates all the post-modern, kewl, slick, white wolf-wizards of the coast-AEG-books.
The concept is delightful. I found the layout a little weak and the information not in a consistant format. But the information was there!
However, I've got to give four stars for concept alone.
Great world, slightly awkward game mechanics I was lucky enough to find a copy of the original rulebook at a convention several years ago and have managed to aquire almost all the supplements and books that were issued. I think the game world is very creative, interesting, and adds new dimentions to the swashbuckling type RPGs, which are becoming more and more rare as D20 infects the gaming industry.
Rants aside, I found the game system in this book to be rather weak when compared to other systems. That's certinally not a problem, there's more then enough source material in this book and the others to keep a group entertained for years. Personally, I very easily adapted this world to GURPS and had a great time GMing a campaign on Mars.
Please don't think I'm making a negative review, I'm not. I love having this book. It's a very creative world and lends itself to many fun campaigns, but experienced role-players should be aware that the author concentrated more on background then on game mechanics. It's a great setting, lots to explore, just do it with a different gaming system then the one printed in the book.
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