So that was pretty entertaining! I had no idea Ruby could open packaging so well. She’s so multifaceted. I’m now really excited to give Gamma World a try this coming week.

I’m old enough to remember both the original Gamma World and the 1980s reboot, which I actually thought was pretty good. This one seems more of a beer’n'pretzel version, which isn’t necessarily bad, but I think it will be hard for my roleplayers and storytellers to get into a game where you suffer random mutations every session.

Nonetheless, worth picking up.

I must say while there are some good bits in this new box, like D&D 4E compatibility and the Rat Swarm origin (cranium rats), I was not very impressed. The theme seems all over the place, and the cards – just make me cringe. Don’t get me wrong! The phase cape sounds cool and all. I was just expecting that mutations were mostly permanent changes to a character’s base DNA, and that quills, for example, were always bristling about the body of a given character, and simply absent from others. I am not crazy about the idea of random encounter-only mutations, though I loved the old system of rolling up random mutations during CHARACTER CREATION, and OCCASIONALLY receiving a new, permanent mutation from radiation sources and other mutagens as the campaign evolved.

I won’t even go into how immature the whole concept of boosters and “rares, commons, uncommons blind purchase collectible” is. That’s why I play Heroscape. I might buy this for the good stuff, but right now it just looks like a pretty box with some mish-mash ideas thrown together. Maybe I’ll think differently when I see it in person.

Ed, could you bring at least the rulebook tonight just so I can take a look at it?