An improved version of MGT's original Traveller rules. Plenty of colour images rather than b&w sketches.

My favourite part are the new starship construction rules, which bring back power allocation between basic systems, the drives, sensors & weapons and other bits like medical bays. I think this enhances the realism for a little extra work and is more in line with the original little black books.

Book 3 is an unexpected bonus a subsector set in a previously unmapped part of the galaxy and far from the conventional Traveller setting.

My main gripe is that the vehicle design rules and starship construction rules are in additional books, so more to pay for.

An unessential purchase if you already own the Traveller Core Rules, as two-thirds of this are essentially a reprint - albeit separated into two books (Book 1 and 2). Book 3 is a pretty good campaign, based around a hostile alien species, but is sold separately if you want to save costs.

All that said, this box is very much a deluxe edition of the game, along with extra maps and the campaign. It has an excellent, full colour presentation throughout and is, arguably, the best looking Traveller product ever. The game itself is capable of sustaining compelling and diverse storylines for years. The rules here are complete, including World design, Combat, Psionics, Encounters, Trade, Spacecraft operations and a range of off-the-shelf starships and vehicles to choose from (everything in the core rules), although the rules for designing your own ships and vehicles are sold seperately in High Guard and Vehicles respectively. If you've not experienced the Traveller RPG before, you couldn't buy a better introduction.