This 24 page booklet brought back some excellent memories of playing Paranoia with Buddy running the game. While the game system has changed a bit from what I remember it (though not much) the style, flavor and theme of the game has remained true to what the original creators envisioned 25 years ago. I laughed on every page, and laughed hard enough to almost hurt myself on most pages. This primer book really made me want to dust off my Paranoia collection and run a game or three. I’ll see what my gaming group has to say about that.

Free RPG Day 2009 - Paranoia Cover

The booklet consisted of 7 pages of player material which covered the basics of the environment and what to expect on a character sheet. Most of this material was game world information as seen from the players’ eyes. It also includes a sample character, which is well laid out and easy to make sense of despite the small page size.

The remainder of the book is for Ultraviolet clearance only (e.g.: The GM for you non-Paranoia citizens.)

The next three pages cover the history of Alpha Complex, the current state of affairs in Alpha Complex, Service Groups, Mutations and Secret Societies. All things the game is built on. After this, the book delves into the very simple rules of the game. This is one thing I like about this system. It’s simple, straight-forward and does not get in the way of the role playing involved with the game. I wish more game systems were like this one.

The rest of the book contains Tube Jam which is a well thought out and great introductory mission for new GM’s to the Paranoia system. It covers almost every aspect of the game from briefing to debriefing and all of the fun that ensues between the two. There are even some great R&D items in the booklet that had me crying with laughter.

The book ended with five troubleshooters (characters for you non-Paranoia citizens) that can be used in the mini adventure published in the book.

All told, the booklet is a great introduction to the game, and if I didn’t already own the classic Paranoia, I’d run out and buy the most recent incarnation. I just love the classic version too much to see myself shelling out what few bucks I have on the new stuff. Someday, I may do just that, but not anytime soon. Maybe I’ll talk my group into letting run a night or three of class Paranoia and see how it floats.

Grade: A+. It contains everything needed to run the game, and is a great enticement for players to run out and spend money on the full version.