The SciFi games I enjoy.

I cut my role playing teeth on the iconic Dungeons & Dragons around 1979 or 1980, and played it off and on for years, but soon after being introduced to the hobby of rpgs, I discovered a few cool games that let us emulate the movies and tv shows we loved; Star Trek, Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica, etc. Eventually, these SF staples got their own branded games, but to give you an idea of the games that might get discussed here, here's a few of my favorite titles.


My first foray into SF gaming was the Star Frontiers game, by TSR, publisher of D&D. Easy to learn and fast playing, it's a nice system that stands the test of time, despite being discontinued and unsupported by the publisher, now Wizards of the Coast, Inc. for nearly 30 years now.

Star Frontiers is a 'soft science', lighthearted game, evocative of classic SciFi like Buck Rogers, Space: 1999 or any number of SciFi b-movies from the 50s or 60s. The rules are fairly simple and adaptable though, so you can't go wrong.

Best of all, SF has seen a recent revival of interest via the internet community. You can download 'remastered' versions of all the manuals and adventures in pdf format, as well as the excellent Star Frontiersman eZine, via the Join The Revival website! It's all free, so check it out.


Traveller is generally considered the granddaddy of SciFi games, boasting nearly 40 years of continued support over 5 distinct editions as well as licensed support from many other publishers.

Unlike Star Frontiers, Traveller default tone much more serious and gritty, with a heavy focus on characters being retired military personnel or similarly seasoned adventurers, rather than the usual starry eyed kids fresh off the farm in most RPGs. The system includes tons of detail to make the game seem more realistic, including lots of math for space travel, world creation, combat and other aspects of the game. Thing is, you can safely ignore all that and boil the game down its basics without ruining things, so the complexity is pretty open to scaling.

The earliest incarnations of Traveller assumed the players would adventure in a universe of their own creation, or one borrowed rfom literature, film or TV, but the built in setting that crept into the game is worthy of consideration as well. A detailed history and expansive set of worlds and political and social groups provide a ton of options, not to mention a nice selection of alien races complete with their own tech and cultures.

Traveller is currently supported by a few publishers, each with their own modified game engine, but the Far Future Enterprises website I've linked to is the home of the game's creator, Marc Miller, and features the classic editions of the game that I favor, all available for purchase in various electronic and/or print form.


Star Wars needs no introduction, and the original RPG version, published at the time by the now defunct West End Games, excellently captured the tone and feel of the original trilogy. The rule set is detailed enough to create unique and fleshed out characters of any of the many alien races from the movies and expanded universe material, while remaining easy to learn and fast playing.

While other publishers, namely Wizards of the Coast and Fantasy Flight games have produced subsequent versions of Star Wars games, my preference for the original is simply a matter of "it's not broken, don't fix it". While WEG is no more and licensing for their incarnation of the game has long since lapsed, there's a decent sized fan community online, and the game system carries on with the Lucasfilm/Disney IP removed as D6 Space, part of the D6 System family of open source game family. The D6 Space and other D6 System games are available for free download via the DriveThruRPG online store, which also features many licensed D6 products for various settings and genres.


A couple honorable mentions:

Cyberpunk - A great take on the genre, capturing the gritty near-future failed utopia feel perfectly. Titles like Cyberpunk 2020, Cybergeneration (focusing on the angsty-cool teenagers of the genre) and the upcoming Cyberpunk 2070 expand the game line.

Paranoia - Paranoia, and it's later revisions, is a blast to play. The premise is that after the WWIII apocalypse, humanity is sequestered in vast underground city complexes, which are run by diabolically fun insane computers. It's hard to explain much better than that, just check it out if it sounds intriguing.


I've played a ton of other games over the last 30 plus years, but those are the ones that've held my interest. Please drop a note in the comments below if there's something you think deserves a mention!