Designed by Frank Chadwick and published by Game Designer’s Workshop in the late eighties, Space 1889 is a game of Victorian science fiction. It was later reworked by Heliograph Incorporated at the turn of the century, and Pinnacle Entertainment Group is rumored to have another in the works. All of the titles are role playing games. The name is a successful parody of the “Space: 1999” television program.
The game’s setting is an interesting alternate history which presents modern day life as it would be if old, now discredited, Victorian scientific theories were proven correct instead of false.
Imagine how different the world would actually be! The main theory of the game revolves around Thomas Edison having invented an ether propeller that could drive ships through the matter of space similar to how an actual propeller pushes a boat through water. In 1870, man will travel to Mars using this new invention. By the year of the game’s title, colonies have cropped up all through the solar system and they belong to all of the world’s major powers, including Germany, Britain, Russian, Italy, Japan, France, and America. There are various new resources available because of this colonization, depending on the age of the planet colonized and the proximity to the sun.
The goal of the game
is to locate King Tut’s treasure, but with the ability to travel through time and space, your character will soon be caught up in a wild goose chase of treasure hunting that is much larger than a simple Egyptian tour. You will travel throughout the solar system, and will even explore the lost city of Atlantis. You will meet many interesting characters, from Jules Verne to Rasputin the Mad Monk to the lizard men of Venus. You will begin seeking more interesting treasures, such as liftwood, which defies gravity and will partake in many miniquests that set you off track from your original goal.
This is a wonderfully detailed game and contains many interesting speculations about the flora, fauna and sentient species of each planet. It contains some very interesting ideas in technology, as well. Probably one of the greatest assets this game presents is the well-written dialogue that is both descriptive and entertaining. It does a nice job of advancing the plot as the user continues his quest for treasure. Overall, the RPG elements are somewhat overshadowed by the story, but the user will still have to become a bigger and better explore and learn/discover new technologies to continue on his quests. It is an interesting game in premise and should be given a fair chance.
