An unknown gem in my opinion. I've been looking for a quick bare-bones game that embodies the basics and the terminology of D&D, to run with students. There's a lot of good, modern, rules-lite games I've considered for my students (such as Tinyd6 and EZD6), and The Black Hack of course is good - but The Basic Hack exactly fulfils what I'm looking for, as an introduction to d20 gaming.

All rolls are against the six attributes, there is no skill list, but the four classes each have an advantage in a specific ability - fighter in attacks, thief in sneaking/ disarming traps, etc. Rolls are player-facing, another time-saver. Creatures have a Challenge Rating (ie HD), hit points, sometimes special abilities, thats it. Their Challenge Rating is a modifier to PC's defence rolls. All very clean and simple.

I may change the die mechanic to roll high, rather than roll under, simply to stay consistent with D&D should the players want to progress to 5e or other d20 games. But thats easy, and I could see myself running The Basic Hack as is for home pick-up games. As the previous reviewer said, its very easy to modify and customize.

The Knack Hack provides exactly what the publisher's description says - three concise methods of applying a skills system to The Black Hack. The example classes are taken from BH, and the example knacks etc are therefore fantasy-based. But the methods are applicable to any version or hack of BH. I especially like the information on backgrounds - its an extremely clear, succinct explanation of how to use them and is applicable to any game, not just BH. An very worthwhile supplement.

A simple, clean set of mass skirmish rules with some subtle tweaks on the conventional mechanics. It fulfills its stated goal, which is to be an easy, minimal-prep game, with room for future expansion. There is enough going on to make it a viable and worthwhile (and cheaper?) alternative to the many other rulesets out there. A solid 4.

"If you buy only one Pirate rpg this year!". But seriously, I'm very pleased with Pirates & Privateers. Its the first Pirate rpg I've looked at that I thought "I'd could run this straightaway without modifying anything". The mechanics are neat & quick, the background information is excellent and pertinent to actually playing games. Yes, it tends towards a 'grittier" style of play, but has the provision for Drama Points, which could easily be used to make a more cinematic game. Highly recommended.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Very Good<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br>