Traveller Core Rulebook Update 2022 (MGP40058) Hardcover – February 7, 2022

Finally got around to getting a new version of this very old SciFi game system that gave us lots of good times long, long ago…Book quality is fine and overall very nicely done and enjoyable to read. Artwork and other graphics are great. The game system itself is excellent and doesn’t appear to have changed much over the decades which is a testament to it. Mongoose has volumes of supplements and there are very interesting things on the Web for it. You can play with just this book and roll your own universe (literally), or adopt the rich background of “known” space and all its intrigue, aliens, and technologies.Some things could be written a little clearer for me. For example, the 2 pages dedicated to a flow chart for character generation left me wondering about mustering out benefits when tossed out due to a failed survival event. The answer, I am sure, is elsewhere in the text, but it would be nice to not flip around for it if you are provided a dedicated flowchart.The only other negative is that they already had to publish errata which is now a printed page that I had to download and stuff in the book. This bopped off a rating star as it should have been caught in editing for such a mature game and high quality publisher.If you purchase direct from Mongoose, you also get a PDF version, but shipping charges and top price on an already expensive book kept me at Amazon. Would be nice if there was a way to register the book with Mongoose for a PDF download, especially if they have to edit it after it’s been published. (Someone mentioned in a previous review that they still got the PDF from Mongoose, but I don’t see where to get it on their website… I reached out to Mongoose about it.). (Edit: Mongoose got back to me the next day with a PDF. Upping them to five stars for their exceptional support.)Note that there is currently—as of Jan 2023—a simplified PDF basic rules version available for a buck out there if you want a good starter sample. If you are at all interested in this game, that is a great way to be introduced to it and decide if you want to start investing in the rest of it.Overall, it’s a great purchase and fun to read—and hopefully play again soon! I am looking forward to getting more of their products.

To start, I do not own the original book from ten years ago, but I do own the GDW black book from 1982, as well as the GURPS version. So, this will mostly be a review not of a reprint but of this incarnation of the game system.Overall:I liked this product very much. The system and setting are well done, and book provides everything you need to play (other than dice, pencil paper and friends) for a pretty reasonable cost. With that said, the rules are pretty densely packed with few examples, which may make this a difficult game for newer gamers.The Pros:1. The Traveller setting is great. The lack of faster-than-travel communications is what enables a future universe with spaces for adventure. It's brilliant. There is a reason the setting has been around since the 70s.2. This has the entire game in a playable fashion in one book. Sure, if you want a new alien race or to play with the big superheavy battleships, you will need supplements, but do you really need rules to know that the 15k ton assault cruiser is going to reduce your 200 ton cargo ship to space dust?3. They did a really good job incorporating the actions of individual players into space combat. This is very well done.The middle:1. The rules are dense. They are (relatively) complete and do a pretty good job at explaining how to play, but there are few examples of play. If you are experienced at gaming, this is not really an issue. If you are new to gaming, this might be tough... One example I would have loved to see is, after randomly rolling up a planet, how do I take that information and make an adventure hook out of it? I know how, but the rules don't spell it out.The cons:1. The art is really bland, and it's used to convey information rather than tone. Where it really doesn't work is in the armors, where they are all just standing upright without a background. (and they all kinda look the same) It would be really nice to have art that had them in context, especially if it showed action or adventure -- what does it "feel" like to be in that armor? The worst is those like the medkit -- with an illustration of a two-toned box with a plus on it. I conveys neither information nor tone.2. The chart on pages 14-15. Holy Smokes! Couldn't they have just done a standard flowchart? We are taught how to read those in school. The chart they have with weird graphic arrows (and no decision boxes) was two complete pages of confused mess.3. I found it really difficult to make a character that was interesting. The lifepath system is OK, but my imagination beats random rolls any day.

I'll start with an FYI. The book I received had the older, original 2022 Update cover design. The contents of both versions are the same. This just had the older cover with the woman character in the middle pointing instead of the newer cover with the man holding a sword up. Not a big deal to me. In fact, I prefer the older cover, but I thought I'd let everyone know that the older cover must still be hanging around on warehouse shelves.Other than that, this is Traveller, one of the oldest, and some say best, sci-fi TTRPG. This new Mongoose version is a throwback to the old original with the 2D6 mechanics restored and cleaned up for modern readers. You can't die during character creation (at least not with the core default rules) like you could back in the original, but the lifepath system still generates the most lived-in feeling starting toons of any TTRPG. It's great!

A much needed update for the Traveller RPG system. A definite upgrade and easier to use than the 2008 Mongoose version.

Love the rules format and love the game itself. however, although I paid a top price, the book arrived like it came right off someones bookshelf!!! Of course, that is the seller's fault. Otherwise, this is an awesome book.

Traveller is a classic for a reason. Really enjoying the rules and building a campaign. Plus side is that mongoose will still give you the pdf even if you buy it here, at the end stage capitalist hellscape.

Iordered the Traveller 2023 Core Rulebook. It came right on time and was in excellent condition upon arrival.

If your new to Traveller I highly recommend you pick up this book. It is the revised and clearer reprint of 2nd edition Mongoose Traveller.