The Other Side of the Coin – Doctor Who: Adventures in Time and Space

I shared with you why the Dresden Files RPG is not my game of choice. Now I want to focus on another licensed RPG that comes in at a similar price point that I am really impressed with: Cubicle 7 Entertainment’s Doctor Who: Adventures in Time and Space. How come one of these products makes me want to game and the other does not despite their apparent similarities on the surface?

Because one feels like a collection of books while the other feels like a game.

Doctor Who: Adventures in Time and Space comes in a boxed set for about $60. You get a Player’s Guide that is 86 pages, a Gamemaster’s Guide that is 140 pages, a 32 page Adventures Book, and even a 4 page quick start rules. You also get plenty of full color character sheets with pretty much all of the important protagonists from the television series during the reign of the 9th and 10th Doctors (as well as blanks for the creation of your own). The are several sheets of Gadget Cards with interesting items from the series, and more than enough cardboard counters to use for keeping track of Story Points which is the game’s currency. They even include 6 pipped d6s (you only need to roll 2 though). In other words, you really do get everything that you would need to run the game with and it is all in brilliant full color glory in a nice one piece box that you can proudly display on your bookshelf. On top of it all you have an incredibly simple game system that also captures the spirit of the inspiring work in great detail (in this case the BBC television series).

I also bought the companion set Aliens and Creatures as well as the gamemaster’s screen for this RPG. With that set you get a 134 page rule book, another 32 page Adventures Book, more gadget cards, and a set of full color 3.5″ x 5.5″ cards that appear to have the monsters, villains, aliens, and any other character of significance to have appeared on the show up to the time of the game’s release. At $40 you get a lot of stuff, and it all looks fabulous! This companion set also comes in a nice one piece box perfect for keeping the set on a bookshelf. The GM’s screen is pretty much your standard 4 panel screen and I think it cost me $15, so if you like using screens pick it up but it is not essential to run the game with.

There is something magical about a well made boxed set that makes you want to run the game that it contains. Doctor Who: Adventures in Time and Space has that magic for me. The cards, the counters, the quick start rules, and the wonderful books themselves all make me want to run and play this game!

Granted my comparison to the DFRPG is not a fair one. I have not read all of the Dresden Files books, but I have watched all of the 9th and 10th Doctor Who television series (Torchwood too). My fan boy love is a factor here, and that is why I bought the game and its companion products. My bias is obvious, and you should consider that a big grain of salt as you digest my words here.

Yet what really won me over with this product is that it is a game! Yes, you have books, but you also have all of this terrific stuff that accompanies the books as well and it is all boxed up into a great package ready for you to take home and start gaming with. I found myself reliving the joy I had as a kid when I bought the Top Secret/S.I. and Villains & Vigilantes boxed sets. Those games also came with tons of stuff for a gamer to dig into, and Cubicle 7 Entertainment delivers that experience to me once again when I was certain that it would be gone forever in an age of RPGs in PDF format quickly becoming the standard.

So what else can I say? If you are a fan of Doctor Who and RPGs go buy this game! I am sure that you will not be disappointed.

Agree? Disagree? Leave a comment below and let everyone know how you feel.