I’m generally not inclined to recognize silly internet holidays, but as May first, aka “may day” comes to a close, I did want to reflect on one of my favorite games, one that influenced me enough that I reviewed the core rules in depth and am doing so with one of its successors.
Why “mayday”?
Because on the box cover of the original edition - which I have never had - was the quote “This is the Free Trader Beowulf, calling anyone. Mayday, Mayday.”
The quote evokes almost perfectly what Marc Miller was aiming at - the kind of adventures you can have, and , in a game that famously kills of characters in generation, what kind of trouble you can get into.
Say, being stranded in space after a misjump, or getting attacked by a pirate.
I picked up my first copy in middle school in a hobby shop. The book amazed me, and I spent far too many hours designing starships instead of paying attention in english class. The rules had truly sucked me in, and in high school, several friends shared that affliction, along with Car Wars, Battletech, and the like.
So here’s to over 40 years of a ruleset that has kept me occupied, spawned a number of different genres other than the original space milieu, and has proven its worth.
I still get goosebumps every time I read that snippet of text!
Ha! I still love designing starships in Traveller; every once in a while I get a hankering to sit down and figure out the ultimate carrier design! And let's not even get into the High Guard rules....😂