I loved Space 1889 when it first came out, and it is still fun to read decades later. Great concept. John Carter meets Extraordinary League of Gentlemen meets Flash Gordon. And relatively simple system trying g to Lee it moving along and fun. What’s not to like?!

Great for background theme and atmosphere. Free, so the price is right! This PDF booklet doesn't give you any actual details for playing any games, though.

Once I read it, I then paid a few bucks for the 'Sky Galleons of Mars' PDF. That ruleset looks great though I have yet to try playing it: essentially sailing ships vs primitive steam-driven gunships - only they are flying in the skies over a Barsoomian-style Mars.

If you're interested in learning about Space 1889, this is the product for you. It contains the relevant setting history along with some of the equipment found in the rule books. Give this to your players regardless of which flavor Space:1889 you plan to play - Original, Savage Worlds, or Ubiquity.

Note: This product is a scan from the original text.

You can find a review of Space:1889 Red Sands at http://rptroll.blogspot.com/2010/09/review-space-1889-red-sands.html

It's been nearly 20 years since I played this game, and now my gaming buddies and I are getting back into it, full bore! Thanks to Heliograph for reprinting the original rules, which I just happened to see this last GenCon Indy (2010). Great steampunk game!

My boxed set of Sky Galleons of Mars has been one of the quirkier parts of my gaming library since I won it at a Demo game in 1989. It contained this intro to Space: 1889 and I also had an opportunity to play in a Demo game for the RPG.

Space: 1889 was about 20 years ahead of it's time. Back in the 80s nobody had heard of "Steampunk" and the idea of alternate history Victorian Science Fiction seemed pretty weird to a lot of gamers. Today it's a very different story, so it's nice to see this being made available again.

If Steampunk, Pith Helmets and/or Flying Ships are your thing, this is a great game and worth checking out.