The introduction shows us the Technology Levels, game terminology, and an example of play.
The book is a faithful re-imagining of the original: it retains the “Classic Traveller” mechanical feel throughout, as far as I can tell. It felt pricey to me, given its heft, but I do feel the rules are complete. There are some lackluster pieces of art, but all of the artwork seems topical to the section in which it appears. Each spaceship is nicely illustrated, and deck plans are provided. The artwork is mostly uninspiring, save for the starship illustrations and some occasional pieces. Information seems easy to find, and the index is helpful. Tables are two-tone, with an old-school feel to them. Additional information is included in shaded sidebars (helpful advice, alternative rules, or summaries) or footers (fluff text). Inside, the book has a clean, two-column layout with little wasted space. The spartan feel of the cover is continued between the covers. The book is hardcover, 192 pages, including an index, character sheet, hex map, and two pages of advertisement. I personally like it for the minimalist, retro feel. The book has a plain black cover, reminiscent of the oldest versions of the game. Some familiarity with the Imperium is required to really get into Mongoose Traveller. An experienced role-player will find plenty of interesting material here, although he or she may feel that the default setting is too little to be used as-is but too much to be ignored.
I like the rules, but my sense is that the setting is presented unsystematically and incompletely. I would definitely play or run this game, but I do not think this product is suitable either for a true beginner to RPG’s or to Traveller. I had two questions when I sat down with this book: 1) Are the rules any good for a science fiction game? 2) Is this product good enough to introduce someone to Traveller as a universe? I intend to review this product as someone who is not a new player of RPG’s but a prospective player of Mongoose Traveller who has not played previous versions. I own a PDF of the Megatraveller Player’s Guide and I’ve read some material on internet fora, Wikipedia, etc. I am not entirely unfamiliar with Traveller, but I would still consider myself inexperienced in the setting.
I was excited to get the chance to see what all the talk was about. I’ve always been interested in the game, but for one reason or another, I have never really tried to get into it until I picked up the Mongoose version a few days ago. Traveller has seen a lot of different versions in its three decades of existence.
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