What impresses me the most about Solar Echoes are the alien races. Aliens in science fiction games usually suffer from one extreme or the other: either they are stereotypical “animal men” or they are creatures too bizarre to play. Solar Echoes does a phenomenal job in creating aliens which are both unique and playable, with complex and believable cultures that contribute to a character’s personality without dominating it. As a player, I had a difficult time choosing which one I wanted to play because I found all of them intriguing. As a GM, I could see an entire series of adventures focusing on the societal relationships between the different alien cultures.”

-Gregg, Player and GM

I like the fact that all these race designs for aliens seem to be quite unique, like, you’ve got, in other sci-fi games you have like a grey alien, you have a wookie, you have a cat-person, whatever, but in this, you’ve got, like, a Cthulhu monster with two beam-sabers, a blob-thing with a gun, insect-person, a black…sort of panther-type guy? A flower, a lizard-folk, and a human.

Each character has unique skills, and they really pushed group, kind-of tactics, if you like, and working as a group…you sit and plan your maneuver, together, and then it’s moved out, and then there’s rolls for combat and stuff. It’s left quite open, so there’s rules for hacking, rules for chases, and all sorts of stuff. It really pushes to kind of create your stories around them.”

-Tabletop Twats, UK Podcast

“The world of Solar Echoes is well-rounded for me. It is neither overdeveloped, which lets the GMs add their own flair to sessions, nor too short. This is a pro for me, because I enjoy flexibility. Certainly the major pro of Solar Echoes, which other competitive products lack in my humble opinion, is the focus on professions usually overlooked by GMs – thus people who, on a smaller scale than the armies, let’s say, work in all kinds of third-level situations, for instance espionage and diplomacy. I admit I have a soft spot for “protect the Balance” thing. It is really refreshing! The focus on this is shown perfectly by the rules for hacking, persuasion and diplomacy, which I value highly.

It is a well-rounded game in a highly SF setting. I admit I usually use fantasy settings, but Solar Echoes was a great choice to start doing something more SF. I am glad I took the plunge to try it.”

-Cecilia, Polish Researcher of Role-playing Games

I came across this game at a con and decided to give it a try. The alien races and setting are intriguing yet grounded. The game play is smooth and fast (though it took me a bit to get used to the d6 system, having been fully indoctrinated in the d20 system). The focus is clearly on role-playing instead of roll-playing, which is just where I like it. If you are looking for a new science-fiction role-playing game with streamlined rules and interesting alien races to explore, then Solar Echoes is sure to satisfy!”

-Mollie, Johns Hopkins grad student

The game is fun, fast paced, original concept with varying environments, creative, and imaginative races with an easy to learn system. It feels like you are a part of the crew of your favorite scifi space craft with endless possibilities. We ended up having a great time and we are cycling sessions in for once or twice a month. This game is fun and keeps you interested. It feels like you are on the crew of Firefly or Cowboy Bebop. LOVED THIS GAME.”

Nick, Gamestop manager

I got a chance to play this at a con. The game advertises itself as a “tactical RPG.” Usually games that try to be “tactical” result in a complicated mass of rules and slow combat, but to my surprise the rules were quite streamlined and combat moved quickly. It’s a d6 system, so no need for a large selection of dice. Two things to note about Solar Echoes’ combat style is that 1) the action phase for all characters take place at the same time and 2) characters have very few hit points. Don’t get hit!

The seven playable races break away from the stereotype of all intelligent aliens being humanoid, which is refreshing. While perusing through the handbook, the idea I found most interesting was the VoidSea: an area of the galaxy where the rules of physics have been altered thanks to a war that took place between two ancient, absurdly advanced races.

If you’re looking for a fun, easy-to-learn, combat-focused RPG with a sci-fi setting, this is a good pick.”

-David, Johns Hopkins student

A game that seduced the players of our RPG club, with a simple and smooth rules system, that in my opinion needs to be used with miniatures and maps to experience the full potential of it’s strategic gameplay.”

-Fabrice, Gamer in France

I was about 10 when I started role playing, my first game being Dungeons and Dragons back in 1979, but I also discovered Traveler back then and after that always preferred science fiction role playing games. I had taught my kids some games in the past, both D&D and a few RPGs designed specifically for children. My kids, 10 year old daughter and 12 year old son, discovered Solar Echos at Balticon this last year and after playing a few sessions encouraged me to buy them a copy of the game. The rules are simple enough to allow playing with minimum set up time for the players and were easy for my children to read and understand. My ten year old has run a few adventures for us since buying the game. The real depth of the system though, I discovered when my son started to try to create his own content. In order to understand the information provided for each of the alien races, he read up on astronomy and star types, and he noticed how the spectrum of the parent stars impacted the creature’s vision. I saw how much thought was put into the science in this science fiction game, things that can be left as just background if someone is looking for just a fast-paced game, but that are also inspiring my kids to research astronomy and biology as they try to follow the examples in the book and create both realistic and interesting aliens of their own. It is encouraging both creativity and learning and I’m glad my kids discovered the game.”

-Tim, father of gamer children

Solar Echoes puts the emphasis squarely on fun. In a market filled with so many role-playing games bogged down by bloated mechanics that sacrifice imagination and initiative for convoluted and constraining rule sets, Solar Echoes is a refreshing change of pace. It offers an efficient, common sense approach to game play that ensures the action never slackens. Set in a believable, sci-fi universe with an engaging back story, its unique character races offer intriguing skills and abilities that draw the player in and keep them involved. If you’ve grown tired of playing yet another elf ranger/mage combination in one more fantasy hack-and-slash, or gotten fed up spending more time arguing arcane rule references than actually playing the game, try Solar Echoes. You’ll be glad you did.”

-Charley, Naval Engineer