by regblank

This way to the Strategicon Gamex 2026 No-Ship Math Trade (May 23 Los Angeles)!

by regblank

This way to the Strategicon Gamex 2026 No-Ship Math Trade (May 23 Los Angeles)!

by regblank

A new GeekList has been posted Strategicon Gamex 2026 No-Ship Math Trade (May 23 Los Angeles)

by Marcus Bone

Although Space 1889 was not a massive hit for Game Designers’ Workshop (GDW), the setting and world-building are obviously subjects that intrigue. Since the line first hit the shelves in the early 90s, Space 1889 has seen a multitude of revivals and reinterpretations – ranging from Heliographs' efforts to keep the line in print, to novels written by Frank Chadwick, the game's author, and even a series of audio dramas. And that’s not to mention the game's reboots, including the most recent iteration, Space 1889: After by Strange Owl Games.

For this review, I’ll be taking a look at a 2010 edition that, disappointingly, ended up being a ‘one and done’ publication: Pinnacle Entertainment Group’s Space 1889: Red Sands for their Savage Worlds system. I say disappointingly, as in some ways Savage Worlds is the perfect pulpy system for a game in the spirit of Space 1889. While I can see the appeal of releasing everything in one book, I personally think there is just so much more that can't be covered in just 192 pages.

An Aside: I’ve intentionally skipped explaining in detail what Space 1889, GDW's steampunk-driven game of daring action and high adventure, is. What I will say, however, is that if you are into the works of Jules Verne, H. G. Wells, or Edgar Rice Burroughs (and indeed, any Victorian speculative sci-fi author), then this is the game for you. To be honest, I can't think of any other RPG that truly encompasses the ideas of Victorian steampunk and the worlds of ether ships, dinosaur-infested Venus, and ancient civilisations on Mars!

The Art & Layout
You always know what you are going to get with a Pinnacle Entertainment product, and Space 1889: Red Sands (hereafter referred to as Red Sands) is no exception. Clearly presented text with plenty of delicious art, the book has a nicely representative cover that includes British Red Coats, Ether flyers and a damsel that is anything but 'in distress'.

The interior art is also of fair quality, with a slightly ‘cartoon-ee’ look that feels quite appropriate for the era. Most of these images are half-page or individual figures, with a single full-page spread used to indicate the beginning of the Game Master’s Section. The maps are a bit of a stand-out in the book, especially those of the inner solar system, Mars and Venus, but then again, how can you go wrong with a good bit of cartography?

The Rules
For the most part, the mechanics in Red Sands are your typical Savage Worlds rules, with modifications to better represent gaming in the Victorian era. This does mean you will need a copy of the Savage Worlds core rulebook (I believe Savage Worlds Explorer's Edition was the current version at the time of this release), which may be a little bit of a hurdle to getting the game to the table, but by no means an insurmountable one (Savage Worlds rule books and PDFs are some of the cheapest on the market).

The rulebook, however, definitely puts its best foot forward in presenting a meaningful yet simple steampunk flavour. You get plenty of new or modified character Edges and Hindrances to help players build a character appropriate for a pulpy Victorian age, and it includes some quite well-thought-out period-appropriate mechanics. The Status statistic, for example, helps reflect the class structure of the time without becoming a burden to play (i.e., it provides a quick way to compare any social advantage that the GM can manage easily), and a Favors mechanic that feels really appropriate to the setting. When helping others, one gains the opportunity for future assistance, or perhaps more importantly, support against any scandal!

Of course, it wouldn’t be a Space 1889 game if it didn't include mechanics on Ether Flyers and ship combat. The liftwood-coated ships of the setting are one of the many aspects that give the game its unique flavour (and I for one have many fond memories of GDW’s Sky Galleons of Mars wargame). In Red Sands, the rules for flyers feel appropriate for a game of pulp action. We get mechanics for ship construction and management, along with unique rules for running ship-to-ship combat (including a nice selection of European and Martian weapons). Thankfully, none of these is so complex as to bog down the game at the table.

The Setting and Content
So, getting to the crux of the book, what sort of stories will you get to tell with Red Sands? Probably unsurprisingly, the focus of most of the supplement (from about page 53 onwards) is on the setting and the adventures that can take place in this alternate Victorian age. Alongside the players' brief introduction to the world, which has an obvious focus on Mars, the Game Master's Section deep dives further into the state of the solar system and, more importantly, how to bring this action-packed potential to life. (This includes a simple, but in-depth, adventure generator that extends the usefulness of the book beyond the already substantial Red Sands Plot Point campaign).
And talking of the campaign (but keeping spoilers to a minimum), Red Sands is an epic steampunk-inspired plot-point story that spans 13 good- sized scenarios, in which the characters - heroes of the Explorer’s Society – will end up on Mars in a desperate attempt to stop a war to end all wars.

Like all of Pinnacle's Plot-Point campaigns, the book includes dozens of individual Savage Tales (that is, one-off adventures not directly linked to the main story) which can be interspersed between the main story beats. Reading it through a couple of times now, I believe the Red Sands campaign definitely taps into all the appropriate pulp-heavy cliches you'd expect to see in a Victorian-aged steampunk story. However, at times it can veer a little too far into the over dramatic. I'd personally tone down some of these aspects, but your mileage might vary!

The book wraps up with a comprehensive bestiary that, once again, focuses more on the Mars setting than on any of the other locations, but this is an understandable decision given the focus of the Plot-Point.

Final thoughts
For what my opinion is worth, Red Sands is a good, almost excellent, entry into what has now become quite a busy catalogue of Space 1889 rulesets. It is probably the most jammed-packed setting books I’ve read for a while, and although I’m slightly disappointed Pinnacle never returned to explore the wider Space 1889 setting further, where it does tread, it leaves few stones unturned.

Final words? Well, let's just all agree, Space 1889: Red Sands is a worthy addition to any fine gentleperson’s library!

by dragontrainer

Banned for whining about your future ban.

by AGameofNerds

Dip your hands into the soil and rediscover the roots of civilization on distant worlds🌽!

Deep Sky Ballad: For a Fistful of Seeds is a Space Farmer TTRPG where players take on the roles of colonists on a remote planet, who must work together to survive human and non-human threats and bring prosperity to their farm. In addition to the rewards, the game will include STL files to 3D print Meeples for the farm management board and, if the achievement is unlocked, 33 Space Western-themed characters, opponents, vehicles, and mounts (examples in the photos)🎯!

If you follow the campaign on Gamefound via the link below, which will begin in May 2026, you will be eligible for a 33% discount on all bundles that include the A Fistful of Seeds book (approximately 50 pages) and the Deep Sky Ballad core rulebook (167 pages), along with many other items🚂!

Please let us know in the comments if you have any questions or concerns, and we will get back to you promptly😄!

https://gamefound.com/en/projects/a-game-of-nerds/for-a-fist...

by odinsgrandson

I just saw this in another thread regarding app games:

flatlined wrote:

Asgardianphil wrote:

Elder Sign Omens was stopped being supported in 2019 - I lost the app and the addons I purchased.

The game is still available with its dlcs etc on steam. On android, it is not avail because it was not updated to use the retired apis when Google "upgraded" them. That is really Google fault imo. It would still work on an old android version/device and you can still install the apk and even buy it, if you have an older device to use it on...

I find it a bit disturbing if FFG can't keep their apps updated

by gonecase

I had a character with 18( gonecase previously rolled 1d87 = 69 ( ) ) strength.

by Brass Jester

An item RPG Item: Traveller Core Rulebook Update 2022 has been added to the geeklist Solo RPGs on Your Table - April 2026

by Brass Jester

Related Item: Fox Curio's Floating Bookshop

Dan
Didn't your wife scream something like "Don't touch that!"
And a koala with a machine gun is definitely dangerous

by DoOverAgain

An item RPG: Healer has been added to the geeklist Sentinel Comics RPG - "After Midnight" character list

by ZombieMatt01

I rolled up ZombieMatt01 previously rolled 1d415 = 87 characters during a meeting today.