Science fiction TTRPGs cover very different table experiences. Choose Mothership for blue-collar sci-fi horror, Alien for cinematic survival, Death in Space for rules-lite scavenging, and Cyberpunk RED for urban technological pressure.
If the future is corporate, street-level, and body-modified, browse cyberpunk. If scarcity and hostile environments matter most, use survival. The broader shortlist is in the Best TTRPGs guide.
Traveller earns this tag by making science-fiction premise matter during play. Traveller RPG is a science fiction tabletop role-playing game known for its detailed universe and deep system mechanics that support a wide range of sci-fi adventures.
Star Wars belongs here when the table wants speculative ideas that matter in play, not just the label on the cover. Star Wars RPG immerses players in the expansive Star Wars universe, allowing them to create their own stories within the iconic setting.
Battletech earns this tag by making science-fiction premise matter during play. BattleTech RPG (also known as MechWarrior: A Time of War) plunges players into the far-future universe of the 31st century, a time of endless battles across interstellar...
Alien belongs here when the table wants speculative ideas that matter in play, not just the label on the cover. Alien RPG immerses players in the foreboding universe of the Alien franchise, blending survival horror with science fiction in a game of fear, power, and survival.
Scum and Villainy belongs here when the table wants speculative ideas that matter in play, not just the label on the cover. Set in a universe inspired by classic sci-fi franchises like Star Wars and Firefly, Scum and Villainy is a tabletop RPG where players take on the roles of daring...
Star Trek Adventures earns this tag by making science-fiction premise matter during play. Boldly go where no one has gone before in Star Trek Adventures, a tabletop RPG that puts players in the shoes of Starfleet officers exploring the final frontier.
Coriolis fits science fiction because it uses technology, future society, space, or speculation to change the table's choices. Embark on a spacefaring adventure in Coriolis, a sci-fi tabletop RPG set in a universe of ancient mysteries and interstellar conflict.
Dune: Adventures in the Imperium belongs here when the table wants speculative ideas that matter in play, not just the label on the cover. Embark on a thrilling journey through the epic universe of Frank Herbert's Dune in this tabletop RPG filled with political intrigue, powerful factions, and dangerous...
Choose Eclipse Phase for science fiction play when you want speculative ideas that matter in play. In Eclipse Phase, players explore a post-apocalyptic future where humanity has splintered across the solar system, facing existential threats from rogue AI, alien...
Blue Planet: Recontact belongs here when the table wants speculative ideas that matter in play, not just the label on the cover. Dive into the depths of a water-covered world in Blue Planet: Recontact, a tabletop RPG where players explore the mysteries of an alien planet while facing environmental...
Savage Worlds earns this tag by making science-fiction premise matter during play. A fast-paced, versatile tabletop RPG that simplifies complex mechanics to accommodate any genre, from fantasy to sci-fi to horror.
GURPS fits science fiction because it uses technology, future society, space, or speculation to change the table's choices. GURPS (Generic Universal RolePlaying System) is renowned for its flexibility and depth, allowing players to create characters and adventures in any setting imaginable.
Mothership fits science fiction because it uses technology, future society, space, or speculation to change the table's choices. Step aboard the desolate, dark confines of space in Mothership, a sci-fi horror RPG where players navigate treacherous alien worlds and face off against cosmic terrors.
Choose Stars Without Number RPG for science fiction play when you want speculative ideas that matter in play. Stars Without Number is a sandbox science-fiction RPG built for sector exploration, faction play, and player-driven campaigns.
Starfinder fits science fiction because it uses technology, future society, space, or speculation to change the table's choices. Starfinder takes players on a thrilling space opera adventure set in a futuristic universe filled with aliens, starships, and ancient mysteries.
Degenesis: Rebirth earns this tag by making science-fiction premise matter during play. A 'Primal Punk' post-apocalyptic RPG set 500 years after the Eschaton meteor fall.
24XX earns this tag by making science-fiction premise matter during play. A rules‑lite sci‑fi toolkit SRD: pick a die, roll high, keep play fast, and favor clear fictional positioning over build math.
Alone Among the Stars fits science fiction because it uses technology, future society, space, or speculation to change the table's choices. A rules‑lite solo journaling game about exploring strange worlds.
Choose Ashen Stars for science fiction play when you want speculative ideas that matter in play. Ashen Stars plunges players into a vibrant, galaxy-spanning universe as they assume the roles of elite agents battling crime and intrigue among the stars.
Blade Runner fits science fiction because it uses technology, future society, space, or speculation to change the table's choices. A noir investigative RPG about identity, empathy, and moral pressure inside a rain-soaked future of replicants, corporations, and compromised authority.
Choose Carbon 2185 for science fiction play when you want speculative ideas that matter in play. A cyberpunk RPG of augmentations, corporations, guns-for-hire jobs, and neon-drenched survival in a broken future.
Choose Coyote & Crow for science fiction play when you want speculative ideas that matter in play. Native American-created sci-fi RPG in a future without colonization.
Cyberpunk Red earns this tag by making science-fiction premise matter during play. The current edition of the iconic cyberpunk RPG.
D100 Space belongs here when the table wants speculative ideas that matter in play, not just the label on the cover. A thrilling solo tabletop RPG set in a vast, uncharted galaxy teeming with alien civilizations, cosmic dangers, and ancient technologies waiting to be discovered.
Dead Belt fits science fiction because it uses technology, future society, space, or speculation to change the table's choices. A rules-lite solo/co-op survival RPG where you play as a Belter scavenging derelict starships on the Gasping Frontier.
Choose Death in Space for science fiction play when you want speculative ideas that matter in play. A rules‑lite sci‑fi survival game about scrappy crews trying to make it through a dying universe.
Dreams and Machines earns this tag by making science-fiction premise matter during play. A hopeful science-fantasy RPG about surviving the ruins of machine rule while rebuilding communities and futures worth living in.
Durance fits science fiction because it uses technology, future society, space, or speculation to change the table's choices. On a remote prison planet, convicts and guards struggle to survive in a brutal hierarchy.
Everywhen earns this tag by making science-fiction premise matter during play. Everywhen invites players to embark on an imaginative journey across a multiverse where timelines intertwine and the past, present, and future coexist.
Fearsome Wilderness belongs here when the table wants speculative ideas that matter in play, not just the label on the cover. A rules-lite survival RPG using the Year Zero Engine.
Gamma World belongs here when the table wants speculative ideas that matter in play, not just the label on the cover. A classic science-fantasy RPG of mutant survivors, ancient tech, and gonzo post-apocalyptic exploration in a world where weirdness is the baseline.
Choose HOSTILE for science fiction play when you want speculative ideas that matter in play. A near‑future, blue‑collar sci‑fi survival RPG using classic 2d6 task resolution.
In the Light of a Ghost Star earns this tag by making science-fiction premise matter during play. A rules-lite sci-fi RPG set on a frozen, abandoned Earth lit by a dead white dwarf.
Ironsworn: Starforged belongs here when the table wants speculative ideas that matter in play, not just the label on the cover. Ironsworn: Starforged combines the epic scope of science fiction with the gritty, personal storytelling of Ironsworn.
Lancer fits science fiction because it uses technology, future society, space, or speculation to change the table's choices. Lancer invites players to pilot massive mechs in a sci-fi universe where corporations and mercenaries battle for control of planets and resources.
Choose Lasers & Feelings for science fiction play when you want speculative ideas that matter in play. A one‑page, rules‑lite sci‑fi game by John Harper.
LUMEN fits science fiction because it uses technology, future society, space, or speculation to change the table's choices. A fast power-fantasy action RPG chassis built for flashy abilities, aggressive momentum, and missions that resolve with minimal downtime.
Microscope earns this tag by making science-fiction premise matter during play. Microscope invites players to collaboratively construct and explore a vast history across time and space, weaving intricate narratives that span centuries or even...
Moonbase Blues belongs here when the table wants speculative ideas that matter in play, not just the label on the cover. A rules-lite sci-fi horror scenario compatible with Mothership RPG 1e.
Choose Neurocity for science fiction play when you want speculative ideas that matter in play. A cyberpunk RPG about debt, coercive systems, and surviving a near-future city that treats human life as another consumable resource.
Numenera earns this tag by making science-fiction premise matter during play. A science-fantasy RPG of discovery, strange civilizations, and impossible technologies so old and powerful they read as magic.
Choose Offworlders for science fiction play when you want speculative ideas that matter in play. A rules-lite sci-fi game using 2d6 tests in the World of Dungeons/PbtA vein.
Orbital Blues earns this tag by making science-fiction premise matter during play. Orbital Blues takes players on a spacefaring adventure where they navigate the vast expanse of the galaxy as interstellar musicians seeking fame and fortune.
Other Dust belongs here when the table wants speculative ideas that matter in play, not just the label on the cover. A rules-lite post-apocalyptic RPG set on the Tomb World of Earth, centuries after civilization's collapse.
Otherscape belongs here when the table wants speculative ideas that matter in play, not just the label on the cover. A mythic cyberpunk RPG about identity, community, and power colliding in a future where folklore and technology occupy the same streets.
Polaris RPG fits science fiction because it uses technology, future society, space, or speculation to change the table's choices. A post-apocalyptic underwater survival game where humanity fled to the seas after the surface became uninhabitable.
Choose Posthuman Saga for science fiction play when you want speculative ideas that matter in play. Posthuman Saga invites players into a post-apocalyptic world where humanity has transcended its biological limits, blending mind and machine in a quest for survival and...
Slugblaster: Kickflip Over a Quantum Centipede fits science fiction because it uses technology, future society, space, or speculation to change the table's choices. Slugblaster is a kinetic sci-fi RPG about teenage crews, dimension-hopping hoverboards, and trying to look incredible while reality keeps getting...
Choose Stay Frosty for science fiction play when you want speculative ideas that matter in play. A rules‑lite military sci‑fi game using streamlined OSR/Black Hack–style rolls.
Stoneburner fits science fiction because it uses technology, future society, space, or speculation to change the table's choices. A rules‑lite sci‑fantasy survival game using the Breathless step‑die engine.
Choose Tales from the Loop for science fiction play when you want speculative ideas that matter in play. Tales from the Loop invites players into a nostalgia-soaked 1980s world, where they step into the shoes of kids navigating the wonders and mysteries of a science...
Technoir earns this tag by making science-fiction premise matter during play. Jeremy Keller's hard-boiled cyberpunk RPG about desperate professionals pulling on threads in a dirty future until the whole city starts tugging back.
Choose The Morrow Project for science fiction play when you want speculative ideas that matter in play. A post-apocalyptic RPG about teams waking into a broken future with missions, military structure, and the burden of rebuilding after collapse.
The Mutant Epoch earns this tag by making science-fiction premise matter during play. A rules-lite post-apocalyptic RPG using the Outland System.
The Wretched belongs here when the table wants speculative ideas that matter in play, not just the label on the cover. A rules-lite solo journaling RPG played with cards, a tumbling block tower, and a microphone.
Those Dark Places fits science fiction because it uses technology, future society, space, or speculation to change the table's choices. A rules‑lite industrial sci‑fi horror game using simple dice pools and stress checks.
TimeWatch RPG earns this tag by making science-fiction premise matter during play. A time-travel adventure game about protecting the timeline, handling paradoxes, and turning history into a playground for competent agents.
Choose Tiny Frontiers for science fiction play when you want speculative ideas that matter in play. A rules‑lite sci‑fi game powered by TinyD6’s 2d6 tests.
Ultraviolet Grasslands belongs here when the table wants speculative ideas that matter in play, not just the label on the cover. A psychedelic metal RPG of heroes on a strange trip through mythic steppes.
Uncharted Worlds belongs here when the table wants speculative ideas that matter in play, not just the label on the cover. A space-opera PbtA game about crews, ships, jobs, and the trouble that follows people from world to world.
Vast Grimm fits science fiction because it uses technology, future society, space, or speculation to change the table's choices. A rules‑lite sci‑fi horror game powered by Mörk Borg’s chassis.
Vaults of Vaarn fits science fiction because it uses technology, future society, space, or speculation to change the table's choices. An NSR science-fantasy RPG of crystalline deserts, ancient vaults, and strange civilizations surviving in the shadow of forgotten technologies.
Choose Warhammer 40,000 Roleplay: Rogue Trader for science fiction play when you want speculative ideas that matter in play. Rogue Trader is a Warhammer 40k RPG about command, voidships, profit, imperial politics, and carrying the authority to make things worse on a galactic scale.