Space Opera is a science fiction role-playing game that accepts the possibility that mankind and other races will develop the technology enabling them to reach the stars and to colonize worlds far distant from their home planets. The very title of the game suggests the type of adventures that should await the players-rip-roaring, excitment-filled journeys across the void in the great tradition of Doc Smith's Lensman series and the many other popular 'space opera' stories of SF.

Space Opera is a game which places some emphasis on science. That is, science serves as a general guide to many aspects of the game mechanics and should do so in game play as well. Science has the virtue of remaining consistent in all situations. We felt as designers that any phenomenon, being, or device should be capable of explanation in terms of what we do know about science. Thus players and referees will be able to apply their own knowledge to solve-the many problems and situations that will inevitably arise which no set of rules could cover due to space limitations. As long as scientific reasoning can be applied, a problem can be reasoned through with a minimum of arbitrary and whimsical decision making on the part of the referee.