When it comes to TTRPGs based on licensed property, there are some odd examples. Just recently, a crowdfunded book based on the original Planet of the Apes was published, the Tomb Raider RPG was announced in February, which surprised me, and going back to the early days of the hobby, there are strange games based on Dallas and Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai, as well as strange games like.

Still, the latest announcement from publisher Modiphius is arguably the most obscure I've seen this year: Space: 1999, a British science fiction series that ran for two seasons in the 1970s and was created by Jerry and Sylvia Anderson (of “Thunderbirds” fame) and based on the TV show of the same name, a British science fiction series by Jerry and Sylvia Anderson (of “Thunderbirds” fame) that uses the 2D20 system (familiar from the TTRPG in “Fallout”) to enable adventures on Moonbase Alpha in the distant future 25 years in the past.

The show follows a group of scientists and space pilots who are sent on one surreal adventure after another after a nuclear waste dump on the far side of the moon explodes and they plummet into the void. (Along the way, they encounter various aliens and strange civilizations, time travel and paranormal phenomena. )

“Players can choose to be an adventurous pilot, a brave security guard, a daring commander, a daring medic, or any of the base's 311 residents,” says Modifius. Whatever you choose, each mission puts the future of Moonbase Alpha in your hands. How will you meet the challenges of the space frontier?

Hmmm...a sci-fi tabletop campaign would have the campy, freewheeling tone of old British TV, but if you asked me to get four players who had actually seen an episode of Space: 1999, I think I'd struggle. It was a big, expensive production for its time, and it aired in the US, but in terms of enduring popularity, it's probably below “Sapphire & Steel” and “Blake's Seven” and above “The Omega Factor”. It's certainly not “Doctor Who.

Modiphius usually deals with major productions like “Dune” and “Star Trek,” so it seems an odd move to bring back such a niche film. One thing I will say is that I never expected the ITV Studios logo to be used for a role-playing book. But at least the timing is right: 2025 is the show's 50th anniversary. Anderson Entertainment has partnered with the project and even released a related book, Space: 1999 Moonbase Alpha Technical Operations Manual, which provides a comprehensive guide to the setting.

If you fall somewhere in the middle of the very specific Venn diagram of “enthusiastic tabletop role players” and “those who still carry the torch for Space: 1999,” then I offer my hearty congratulations. Please sign up for updates on the project as we prepare for its launch “later this year”. For the rest of you, feel free to line up with me in the middle of the Venn diagram of “bewilderment” and “faint bewilderment.”