Talk to me about 2300 AD

I've got a few RPG blind spots.  I'm probably not alone in that confession.  It happens.

A new acquaintance, +Erik Alfkin, mentioned an old school, hard science fiction RPG called 2300 AD.  Despite gaming heavily throughout the 80's, I knew almost nothing about the game, except for recalling a few of the covers.

That made me curious... why was that?  Why did I go out of my way to avoid it?  Must be the same reason I never wanted anything to do with Traveller.  Well, almost.

You see, I really don't like numbers.  For me, mathematics is the worst of all forms of communication.  The title of 2300 AD is, you guessed it, pretty much all numbers.  Additionally, it's easy to tell that the game is hard sci-fi.  Science-fantasy, space opera, sci-fi with humor?  Yes to all three.  Back then I just assumed serious science fiction was dry as unbuttered toast, and anything that looked like it might be boring was ignored.  But at least some of the art was good.

Traveller didn't have the numbers but where were the space ships, lasers, robots, and women in silver bikinis?  Yeah, it lost me as well.  And for similar reasons.  I don't have much experience with the Star Trek RPGs (owned the old Tom Baker boxed set Doctor Who RPG but never got beyond character creation), and a few others.  Man, if there weren't lightsabers, psychotic computers, or scantily clad ladies, it just never got on my radar.

Looking back, it's a shame.  I'm sure I would have had some great games and memories of those sessions to this day.  Just another case of bias, ignorance, and judging books by their covers.

To rectify the situation, I'm going to see about acquiring 2300 AD because the research I did earlier today makes it sound really cool.  I assume the 2nd edition is where it's at (even though I'm not a fan of the artwork), but I could be wrong.  Anyone want to talk about their own sci-fi RPG experiences in the 80's (or earlier/later)?  Want to make a recommendation?  Comment below!

VS