Only one more to come after this, don't worry

Ok, same as before, state your top five and state why, the why matters more than the actual entry as that's what's interesting.

Here's mine:

Classic Traveller, the little black books, simple, evocative, great feel for golden age 1950s/1960s style SF and does Firefly better than the licenced rpg.

Transhuman Space.  Proper grown up sf, the system fits it really badly IMO but the setting is golden and one of the few genuinely current hard sf games.

Blue Planet, all the joy of THS, but more playable.  Less hard as sf though also which may be linked to the more playable.

Ringworld, BRP in one of its best iterations, great skill system, personally I'd probably use it in another setting though.

Space 1889.  Just more fun than a bath full of absinthe and Parisian doxies, a wonderful game emphasising fun, player focussed play (it's assumed the players are the ones who make the great discoveries of the setting) and one of the best chargen methods out there.  One of my top five rpgs overall, not just in sf.

Over to you.

I don't really have a top 5 for sf, but these are the ones I've enjoyed:

Classic Traveller.  As per above.

Star Frontiers.  Big, goofy Buck Rogers-esque action with interesting PC races...a neat, shiny future.

2300AD.  Haven't played it, but I own a lot of the material.  Best aliens ever; I've pinched plenty of stuff from this game and ported it over to others.

Gamma World.  It's not hard sf, but it's big, gonzo and goofy.  Absolutely love this game.  Haven't played it nearly enough.  I especially enjoy 2nd edition, but have a fondness for 3rd's color chart.

Classic Traveller - You want to go out into space and have adventures, without a lot of fuss?  Original Trav is still the best for that.

Space Master - For when Classic Traveller isn't crunchy enough.

Star Frontiers - Pulpy zap-bang fun with little brainwork to keep the system going.  I'm not a fan of the Zebulon's Guide expansion.

Spaceship Zero - Quirky, retro, creepy, cool.  The mechanics are somewhat dubious.

Mekton Zeta - Is giant robots okay in this category?  I usually think of 'giant robots' and 'spacships' as two distinct genres.  Anyway, Mekton Zeta plus its mech construction book is as close to perfect as I've ever seen for giant robot slugfests.

Classic Traveller(GDW) - "What do you mean my character died during chargen?". Good times.  Probably the game I made the most characters in, but never actually played them....Character/starship/star-system generation is just fun....period...

Star Trek (FASA) - Running a starship is not as easy as it looks, especially when your crew consists of "kill them and take their stuff" players.  Good times.

Star Wars(WEG) -  You know you're in trouble when you are GM'ing and the power gamer (playing a wannabe Jedi) states in the first session: "I go off to look for a Jedi master.".  Good times.

Star Frontiers(TSR) -  Shmoo's, Gliding Monkeys, Insectoids and crazy "Fed-ex" modules....good times.

Gamma World(TSR) - "What do you mean I killed myself trying to start the car?"...Ahhh, good times.

Star Frontiers and 2300AD, both excellent.

In fact, Star Frontiers for me would probably replace Ringworld now I recall it.

STAR WARS: The Role-Playing Game (West End Games)
Is Star Wars really SF?  I'm not gettng into that.  But, listen -- it's fast, it's furious, and it's built for speed and malleability.  The Expanded Universe stuff encouraged you to monkey with the setting and showed you how it's done.  

Traveller (GDW)
The best Little Black Books I ever had.  Said it before, sayin' it again: a speedboat for the lake of your imagination.

Hard Nova II (Politically Incorrect Games)
Only what you need to get busy dashing across space, getting into trouble and blowin' stuff up...and no more.  Lean, trim, fast and light.  Setting's generic enough to welcome anything because, frankly, it doesn't say you can't.

Cyberspace (Iron Crown Enterprises)
This game caught what its cousin Cyberpunk didn't -- the source material's satirical and literary roots.  It felt more like Neuromancer and RoboCop with a side of critical hit charts, and that's a tasty -if unexpected- combo meal.

Transhuman Space (Steve Jackson Games)
The most thoughtful, thought-out and thought-provoking SFRPG setting I can think of.

I only really played Star Frontiers, and that was a while ago.  

I remember enjoying reading both Traveller and Space Opera, but I never actually played them.

Hmmm ... not much experience with SF games overall, which is surprising since I like science fiction novels quite a bit.

Perhaps this has something to do with the fact that I hate both 'Star Wars' and 'Star Trek'?  

Guys, if it helps, if it has robots or starships or rayguns then it's probably sf.

If it has wizards or swords or epic quests it's probably fantasy.

Feel free to put Star Wars under both if you wish, though personally I'd classify it as sf because it has spaceships and rayguns.

Transhuman Space.
One of the best SF games ever, truly flavorful, and believable extrapolation of science, interesting options for play, without making choices that present an unplayable setting.


Star Frontiers
Even today it holds up pretty well as a simple, skill driven system with a wild world, solid enemies, of strange planets, stranger aliens. Hopeful, pulpy and fun. (Not counting the silliness of Zeb's guide)

Mekton Zeta
One of the most solid mecha games which makes a simple system at its core and yet fashions a solid, just crunchy enough mecha design system that allows one to build nigh anything from starships to transformable sentient  alien robots to biological engineered teleporting psionic dragons.

Star Wars D6, before revisionism of the prequels, this RPG had the guts and spirit of Star Wars down pat, silly, mad, often inexplicable juxtapositions. Yet I don't recall a single book of the series failing to say to me "This is Star Wars" in some way.



StarCluster 2E, A vast SF game with tons to do, see, experience, as well as both logically explained humanoid "aliens" and truly alien creatures that are still reasonably playable.

Quote from: BalbinusFeel free to put Star Wars under both [SF and fantasy] if you wish, though personally I'd classify it as sf because it has spaceships and rayguns.

Yeah, but you can split hairs and say it's space opera and not SF becuase of the themes and the blah blah blah, and you know what?   I gotta stop doin' that.

It's not really that important and just makes overthink stuff, so nuts to that.

Quote from: Dr Rotwang!Yeah, but you can split hairs and say it's space opera and not SF becuase of the themes and the blah blah blah, and you know what?   I gotta stop doin' that.

It's not really that important and just makes overthink stuff, so nuts to that.

One can carefully determine the correct genre, but alternatively one can jump in an x-wing and shoot some bad guys before smuggling Xantorian crystals and fighting a lightsaber duel under the moons of Endor.

Me, I'll go for the second option.  Genres blur at the edges, dogmatism is for clerics.

Anyway, space opera is part of sf, it has space in it after all.  It says it right there in the genre description

Oooo-kay.

Transhuman space - The only modern sci-fi game but its system makes it unplayable.

Fading Suns - Bit of fantasy in there but nonetheless a proper SF game with loads of cool ideas.

Traveller - Only played it once but went off and found a copy and it's as good in print as it is in play.  However, in many ways it's now becoming a bit like pulp... for just as pulp was sci-fi as seen by the world of 1930's America, Traveller is SF as seen by 1970's America.

Torg's Cyberpapacy - As flawed as Torg was, this was certainly a completely original setting.  It swapped mainstream cyberpunk's end of 20th century megacorp feudalism for proper medievel feudalism with the church on the top of the pile and worked really well as a setting.

Star Wars 1st Edition - Before D20, before the exploding dice and before the weird different types of skills, this was accessible, fun and completely iconic.


All in all, I actually think that SF has been quite poorly served for games.  Cyberpunk in particular has struggled for decent games... you either get reasonable settings with horrible dX rules as with Ex Machina or it's stillborn 1980's bollocks with Cyberpunk the game OR it's muddles up with fantasy.

• Nebuleon: Has tons of great stuff to build campaings many mega corps,cultures, and organizations. Humans are the dirt under everyones feet. You can do anything from traveller to starship troopers in Nebuleon.
• Treveller: what can I say it is one of the old standards, and it's still great. Huge detailed setting.
• Hard Nova: easy playing generic sci-fi game. The rules are light but still seem robust.
• Star Wars D6: I really dig the d6 system and who doesn't like star wars? no question the best version of SW
• Burning Empires: This is not only a top five Sci-fi game but a top five indie game. World, tech, and alien burning rocks. Between world and character burning a ready made adventure is created.

Quote from: BalbinusOne can carefully determine the correct genre, but alternatively one can jump in an x-wing and shoot some bad guys before smuggling Xantorian crystals and fighting a lightsaber duel under the moons of Endor.

Me, I'll go for the second option.  Genres blur at the edges, dogmatism is for clerics.

Anyway, space opera is part of sf, it has space in it after all.  It says it right there in the genre description

Just to be clear, I agree with you 100%.  There's just that latent librarian in me that has to classify everything, and I need to punch it hard in the ass.  Bastard.

Let's smuggle some crystals.

Rogue Trader.  They stuck four claws on a leech and gave it the best name in SF.  Also the Ptera Squirrel.  And wasps that lay eggs in your mind.  And the "Jones Never Liked You" table.