Quick to learn, easy to play, and gets the job done very well. This is a great game to have on your shelf and an easy one to use for a last minute game or something you've planned out well in advance. Very slick design.

Do we really need another rules-lite universal system. If that system is BURN 2d6 by Saltheart RPG and written by Kevin Borrup, then the answer is a resounding yes.

The game is designed around a unique BURN mechanic that is designed to keep games moving with pace and thrills, and to allow for a complete adventure to be run in a short session. Its also intended to be universal – indeed, the rulebook comes with four complete mini-settings: Pulp (an art deco setting right out of 1930s serial), space opera (think Flash Gordon or Star Wars), Myth and Magic (classic fantasy), and Supers (four-colour comic book super heroics).I was skeptical that a simplified system could pull if off. That’s a lot to ask of a game. It’s shouldn’t work, and yet BURN 2d6 works beautifully, living up to its promise and more.

The system is as simple as advertised. You have four stats: Move, Heart, Eyes, Soul. These range from 4-12. You also have up to four pieces of equipment or powers that can enhance Stats. Performing an action is just a matter of rolling under the relevant Stat with 2d6.

For more difficult tasks you may be asked to roll 3d6, 4d6 or even, for something truly heroic, 6d6. This is where the fun and innovative BURN mechanic enters the fore. Let’s say you have a big challenge ahead that requires you to roll 5d6 but you really need to succeed. You can elect to BURN a stat, reducing it by whatever amount you choose and, in the process, taking away a corresponding number of d6s from the roll (for example, reducing a Stat by 2 takes 2d6s away from the roll). The trick is, if two Stats reach zero the character is dead or incapacitated. This system keeps the game going at a brisk pace and grants players have a lot of agency over adventure and its outcome.

Stats, therefore, represent not only ability scores but also a life and a will to push through and succeed in true heroic fashion. Great stuff.

As mentioned, there are four mini-settings/genres in the core rulebook. Each one comes with genre-specific rules. Though they are only a dozen or so pages apiece, author Kevin Borrup manages to squeeze so much into them that they feel alive and exciting, ready to play. Its masterwork in concise writing. I’ve play tested all four genres and am pleased (and not a bit surprised) to say that the system runs equally well in each.

The book is put together beautifully, with as much care evidently put towards appearances as to game design. The B+W interior art by Craig Brasco has a classic rpg feel and is universally excellent. Each genre has its own unique character sheet so evocative that it instantly puts you in the right headspace. Kris McClanahan, who designed them, is a genius of his craft. And There are also maps to help the GM bring the four settings to life.

Many rules-lite systems are difficult to hate but equally difficult to truly love. BURN 2d6 is an outlier. You’ll instantly fall in love with its unique mechanics and flexibility.

This game does everything it says it does!

And what a unique game! Want a game GUARANTEED to be over in about 90 minutes? Are you a GM who can run with 0-prep--just a few randomly generated Story Seeds? This game does it!

And it does it in any genre, with a very innovative "pacing" mechanic. As the scenario progesses, players BURN abilities to leverage the odds, until they no longer have anything left to BURN, and somehow this always seems to come down to the climax of the tale, at which point the players must ask themselves: Are they ready to "give it all" to succeed at the challenge? If the game experience in this scenario is just a one-shot--the format for which the game specifically is designed--then the answer is: "Of course we are!"

The game also is inspiring in its presentation. What a cool layout! And, as one pages through the book, the look and feel--while remaining clearly branded BURN2d6!--subtly and ingeniously changes with the genre. It's a beautiful product.

Backed it! Loved it! It's simple, but it has everything you need for a complete RPG experience. And has many settings! And one map for each setting! And individual character sheet design per setting! And character examples and adventure seeds!

I was fortunate to have participated in a demo session before reading the book. We used the rules to play as four-color comic book superheroes. Character creation was super quick and we were able to jump into the action within 10 minutes of getting started. Gauging difficulty and chance of success took a little getting used to in the beginning but it made sense by the time we were finished with the session.

This is a great new take on a d6 dice system. The 90 pages is full of ideas and suggestions for genres Pulp check, Space Opera check, Supers check, and Swords and Sorcery. It includes pregens and rules for making your own genres, baddies and vehicles. I do believe I have found my new go-to for one-shots. If you are looking for crunch, it is really not here, but if you are looking for a game where you can just pick it up and play this is it. Character creation and the rules can be learned in minutes. I found it well worth the price.