This is an abbreviated version of my full review which can be read on my blog.

As a fan of both roleplaying games and Doctor Who, I am naturally attracted to any attempt to blend the two together. Over the years, there have been a few attempts to make a roleplaying game based on the world's longest-running science fiction television series. The latest attempt is Doctor Who: Adventures in Time and Space from Cubicle 7 Entertainment. And without a doubt, it’s the best one so far.

The biggest obstacle to surpass when putting together a Doctor Who game is the apparent gulf in ability between Time Lords, such as the Doctor, and humans (and other species). In television, books, or movies there is no problem with having one character considerably more capable than the other characters; however, in a roleplaying game, there needs to be a certain level of balance to avoid one player gaining the spotlight at the expense of the other players. Previous Doctor Who games never really addressed this problem, but this new game finally does.

Time Lords are distinctly Time Lords, and they get the abilities they are known to have in the television series. But the game also gives reasons to play humans and other species. Character creation is handled through the use of character points, and just being a Time Lord requires the expenditure of a significant amount of those points. On top of that, Time Lords have a lower number of “story points” (points that can be used during the game to alter the outcomes of actions) available to them. Time Lords are still special characters, but humans finally have something to make them worthwhile in a game context.

The great thing about Doctor Who: Adventures in Time and Space is that the mechanics have been tailored to fit the style of the television programme. One of my favourite parts of the rules is the combat sequence. In the television show, combat is something that is generally avoided. The Doctor is a pacifist and doesn’t use weapons, even though his enemies often do. In a roleplaying game, this is a bit unusual. Many games have long, extensive rules for combat, and when PCs meet an enemy with weapons, the result is usually combat. Doctor Who: Adventures in Time and Space melds the two beautifully with a system for resolving combat in a way that both discourages combat from taking place and also makes it fun and dramatic to avoid combat. All roleplaying games have a system for determining who goes first in combat. In this Doctor Who game, the sequence is very simple: People who want to talk go first. Anyone who wants to run away goes second. Those who actually want to fight go last. Realistic? Not at all, but it perfectly emulates the tv show. After all, the Daleks forever screech, “Exterminate!” but the Doctor starts to talk and the Daleks sit there and wait for him to finish before opening fire. The system allows for the Daleks to have deadly weapons, but for the PCs to still get away safely without having to carry deadly weapons themselves.

The game is not entirely without flaws. The layout of the books is a bit odd to say the least. The Gamemaster’s Guide repeats large portions of the Player’s Guide word for word. I understand that they wanted certain rules (like character creation) to be readily available to both players and the gamemaster without the gamemaster having to switch between books; however, it seems a terrible waste of space that could have been used in a better way. The sample adventures provided are also rather lacklustre and commit a few horrendous faux pas (such as one which is designed with the assumption that players are playing the Doctor and companions, and then proceeds to dictate what the Doctor does instead of leaving it up to the player). However, the book layout doesn’t impede play much and the adventures are easily modified or just completely ignored in favour of adventures of the GM’s own design, so these flaws are minor in the end.

In short, it’s great to see a Doctor Who roleplaying game that finally encompasses the spirit and fun of the television show while still being a fun and playable game.

Childhood revisited yet thoroughly contemporary: back in 1963 a very small Megan watched from behind the sofa (the Daleks terrified me!), and now I revel in the relaunch over the past five years... here in my hands is a box which like the Tardis itself contains far more than you'd think from the outside!

Just as the subject matter takes me back to childhood, presentation harks back to early role-playing games: a boxed set, 'all you need to play' even some dice. The game itself - in both presentation and mechanics - is designed to be accessible to newcomers to role-playing as well as to those who have been playing a long time. While it will, of course, be an advantage to be familiar with the TV show, the general idea of time-travel and adventure is presented clearly enough that the odd player in your group who is not should be able to cope.

For those in a real rush to play, a 4-page Quickstart manages to explain both the concept of role-playing and the mechanics of this game; while there are character sheets for the Doctor and the Companions who've appeared since the 2005 restart of the show. If you prefer a slower approach there are Player and Gamemaster Guides which go through everything in much more detail, and blank character sheets for you to create your own characters.

The game mechanics are straightforward. Each character has Attributes (awareness, coordination, ingenuity, presence, resolve and strength) and Skills, and when a task is to be resolved a target difficulty is set which you try to exceed by rolling a couple of d6 and adding in the most appropriate Attribute and Skill. Players can 'tweak' the outcome by use of Story Points (also used in other ways to influence things to their advantage), which they earn for character achievements and good role-playing. To make life easier, some little cardboard counters are provided to help track Story Points.

Overall, this regeneration presents a game that is pretty true to the spirit of the TV show. It never quite gives a good resolution to the problem of the Doctor being such a dominant character if you choose the 'classic' Doctor and companions grouping, and there are no suggestions for how the Doctor player can work in harmony with the GM to create the right atmosphere and effect... mention is made of his 'super-genius' knowledge of much of the universe, but not of ways in which to make it happen. Neither has any use been made of the rich heritage of the show prior to the 2005 restart, and indeed only ONE Doctor (the 10th regeneration played by David Tennant) is featured. Other than that, it's a promising beginning that ought to empower all role-playing Doctor fans to come out from behind the sofa and take a trip in the Tardis for themselves!

This game has a wonderfully intuitive, pick up and play system. Characters are made with a short, reasonable list of attributes, abilities, and traits. Checks involve rolling 2d6 and adding the appropriate attribute+skill. Traits modify the die roll.

Characters also have story points, similar to fate points in the Fate system, which can do a variety of things from modify die rolls to alter the game's narrative and environment (within reason). This adds beautifully to the cinematic nature of the system and universe.

Unfortunately, the rulebooks lack organization and the consistency and quality of writing. Nearly 50% of the Gamemaster’s Guide is a repetition of the Player’s Guide, a shameful waste of time and paper that could have been better used to provide a more in-depth description of the Doctor Who universe (which is otherwise a bit lacking). Alien traits and gadgets are found in the GMG rather than the Player’s Guide, unnecessarily complicating character creation. The narrative style of the books focus on sounding relaxed and “cool”; sometimes this results in useful, uncomplicated exposition, but at other times the tone grates, and some overly lengthy text could have been replaced by simple tables. Advice to the GM is fraught with contradiction: GMs are advised in one place to be flexible, and in another, in so many words, that GM fiat surpasses everything—horrifying to see in what’s supposed to be a rules-light, novice-friendly system.

The adventure booklet is shoddily written and obviously rushed. It’s filled with grammatical errors, let alone plot holes. The second, shorter adventure suggests having the Doctor as a player character, but then dictates the Doctor’s actions as if he were an NPC. Fortunately, the loose structure of the game makes it easy to design your own adventures if you want to—but that’s not helpful to first-timers who need some guidance on that front.

The production quality of the box set is fantastic: well-bound, beautifully laid-out paperback rulebooks, sheets, and cards. The 6d6 are lovely. Sadly the box needs to be sturdier, and is only just big enough to hold everything as shipped. Once I punched out my story tokens, they didn’t fit in the box with everything else.

Tried to get a lengthy review thrice - no luck...
In Short:
Good RPG for beginners, everything included, rules covered in two books, so one Box probably is enough for a table full of players.
Adventures: one great, one a bit uninspired, many adventure seeds.
Rules remind of the Eden Cinematic Unisystem (Buffy), easy to learn and use. Interesting Damage System (different attacks=damage to different abilities), combat shouldn't be the main theme of conflict solving (hope future products/adventures back this up).
Problems: You have to know Doctor Who, some examples were hard for me to understand despite playing for more than 20 years in dozens of rpg systems, must be because I've only seen the first two new seasons of Doctor Who (stupid german television)
Adventures make certain assumptions about the Doctors behavior which might not work out that well considered the Doctor is probably a PC...
A very good game to introduce fans of Doctor Who into roleplaying.