I was sent a copy of this book for review by Trapped Chest. Apparently, after looking around at the state of online reviews these days, I have to mention this; I did not receive any other sort of compensation for this review.

The Nullam Project by Jed Doerksen is a classic Science Fiction premise with a fairly straightforward game mechanic.  It is presented in a zine/digest, and only sixteen pages (eighteen if you count the inside covers, which have character sheets and a quick reference guide), so there’s not a lot of space for depth, but it gives you a taste of something that I think is worth checking out.

The rules make me think of Traveller, or the Cepheus System.  In spite of being in the gaming scene for the better part of 40 years, I had somehow never played Traveller in any form until joining the game I’m currently involved with, so I admit, I’m not expert on its mechanics or how they might have changed over the years.  However, this seemed similar in style if not specifics, and without the layers and layers of detailed crunch Traveller lets you heap on if you want it.  Basically, it’s a system where you add a statistic, a skill, and the roll of two dice (here eight-sided as opposed to six-sided in Traveller) and try to beat a target number.  Pretty simple.  There are a few extra bits, and combat has a few added bells and whistles, but that’s the basic idea.  There are classes, which each give a mechanical benefit.  I’m not a big believer in “game balance” but if you are, you may want to revisit these as some classes seem to benefit much more than others. Character improvement is likely slow, but impactful.

The setting is laid out in four pages.  There’s a brief history and explanation of why humans are living in a space colony above an alien world, and of the two warring alien species that live on the surface.  There is then a page of plot hooks.  It’s enough to spark some imagination in a GM used to creating their own stories, but it leaves a lot to be filled in and expanded upon.  Those four pages, however, mark a huge difference with some other zine-like games I’ve read recently, like Cairn.  I remember reading Cairn after so many had sung its praises and I felt like it was only half a game.  Part of the reason was that I had no idea what sort of game it was meant to be used for, what sort of world it should take place in.  It was, for lack of a better way of saying it, a few lifeless rules searching for some purpose.  With The Nullam Project, I at least understand what sorts of games it is meant to foster.  Even a thin setting is better than no setting, as far as I’m concerned.

As far as how I might use this, I’m not sure.  I think you could absolutely do a longer play game with it, though with the lack of depth on the setting, that would be a lot of work for a GM (or a group, if you’ve got a group that’s more into the collaborative building of setting).  I could see expanding things with existing material, especially as it has some style and tech similarities to games like Blue Planet, 2300AD, and even Mothership.  Because I’m a sucker for lore and world building, I’m always going to want more of it.

Other than the cover, there is no artwork in the book.  I’m at least as much a sucker for evocative (not necessarily “good”) art as I am for lore.  However, when it comes to a sixteen page, indie-published zine, I’ll give that a pass. But seriously, one scratchy ink drawing of a ship floating above a planet goes a long way with me.

This is definitely worth your time if you’re looking for a fairly rules-light game to use in a semi-near future game.  The more I think about it, the more I can see using some of this game’s base mechanics to run through some Mothership material.  Either unrelated to the setting, or in a twist on the setting.  Anyway, that’s just my GM tinkering tendency talking. Check this game out.

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