Last week I linked to a video review of 1st edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (AD&D). But my friends and I did not just play AD&D. Not only were we interested in different genres, but the mother of a couple of my friends (who were brothers) had been heavily influenced by the "moral panic" against Dungeons & Dragons and similar fantasy role playing games. Thus, there were times when she would not allow her sons to play TTRPGs that incorporated magic systems.
One of the alternative RPGs we played was another game from TSR called Gamma World. This was a post-apocalypse setting well in the far future. The apocalypse itself was to have taken place several centuries in the future thus assuring the opportunity to come across crazed robots, laser rifles and pistols, and other science fiction gear. It was not intended to even remotely be a realistic setting. Mutated creatures and plant life lurked everywhere, and the players could play the role of either pure strain humans or mutants with strange new powers or abilities.
I had the first edition of the game which came in a box with what I consider one of the most intriguing cover art of any post-apocalypse game, showing a small group of explorers with lasers or blasters of some sort and other high-tech gear reconnoitering the ruins of a large city. The box set included a rather thin rule book compared to modern RPGs, a poster sized map, and miscellaneous advertising material for TSR products. I do not remember it coming with any dice, but I may be wrong.
The game did not describe any particular location where it took place, but the map included in the box set was of the continental United States region, although the coastlines were different (apparently the ice caps had melted flooding many areas) and marking off mountains and some of the large cities.
The first video below is a review of the first edition Gamma World, but also mentions some aspects of the second edition which I understand was not too different from the first edition. Subsequent editions had major changes to the rules with each edition.
As the video mentions, the game is available through Drive Thru RPG in PDF, a softcover print on demand book, or a combo with both the PDF and the printed book. I unfortunately had gotten rid of my boxed set long ago, but I did pick up the print on demand copy which, to be honest, is actually better quality than the original rule book. The cover is the color art from the box and it includes the map as a two page spread in the back of the book.
The second video below is a tutorial that covers creating a character for 1st edition Gamma World thereby necessarily giving a bit more detail on some of the rules.
VIDEO: "Classic TSR Game Review: Gamma World"
captcorajus (RPG Retro Reviews) (17 min.)
VIDEO: "Let's Make A Gamma World 1st Edition Character"
zigmenthotep (21 min.)
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