2004-02-14 Bizarre and irreverent, but fun!

Diana: Warrior Princess is a truly different game, one which I think is destined to become a classic. The premise is so devastatingly simple, yet so ripe with potential, I'm amazed it hasn't been thought of before. The set-up is this; if entertainment executives don't evolve, in a thousand years time the show they produce about the 20th Century will be Diana: Warrior Princess. Players take on the role of characters inhabiting the fractured world of the show, where different historical eras are jumbled together, where historical personages are often confused and conflated, and where the facts give way to what's exciting and entertaining. Diana: Warrior Princess treats our recent history with the same respect and concern for accuracy that shows like Hercules and Xena did for the Greek and Romans. The results are frequently hysterical, often rivalling Steve Jackson's game Toon for sheer insanity.

Though the game has appared in a truncated form in at least two gaming magazines, this edition is greatly expanded and features a new set of rules, which translate the quirky reality of Diana's world more efficiently to the gaming table, and allow GMs to run the often fast and furious action without having to consult awkward tables or spend a lot of time rolling dice.

I'd warn that those without a sense of humour, or those who think they're buying a book about Princess Diana, should probably stay away from this book. The rest of you seriously need to give it a try. You'll never look at history the same way again.