i am always a fan of getting a feel for a cool setting, and this does the trick for sure. Mark makes Curse come alive with this tale.

As other reviewers have noted, this is more like an extended blog post or forum comment than a "book" (as it calls itself). At least it's only 59 cents currently.

The sorta good: Overall, there's nothing terribly compelling, but there are a few things that are sorta good for Fate Accelerated Edition (FAE).

• Each of the usual FAE approaches gets a couple of sentences about downsides. That's a good way to view approaches. You gain something by taking one approach or another, but you also risk something. That can help you narrate failure or success at a cost. The shortcoming here is that that idea could have used a deeper treatment beyond just listing a couple of examples.
• It refers to your highest approach as your default stance, which guides the GM on what to describe to players. The most careful character picks up extra details, the most forceful character is better at sizing up threats, and so on. This too could have used a deeper treatment, given that this work calls itself a book of approaches. Adjusting the level of description might enhance the game if handled well. It can be problematic if it means you're withholding information the players need. Fate assumes that player characters are competent, so there's a case for giving them what they need just for that reason, instead of witholding information because their careful (or whichever) is only +2 instead of +3.

The not so good:

• For each FAE approach, it gives a couple of additional examples. You could easily do better with an online search or with a brainstorming session in your gaming group.
• Each FAE approach ends with "Familiar Characters of this Archetype." That misses the point of what approaches are about. Approaches aren't archetypes. Archetypes aren't approaches. A key feature of FAE is that you can use almost any approach for almost any task. If you can describe it, you can do it. No matter which approach is your highest, and no matter how you envision your character, you could be careful this time, quick the next, and forceful after that, even for the same sort of task. You can assign values to your approaches as you see fit, without being limited by your archetype or vice-versa.
• The "Attribute Approaches" section repeats three sets of character attributes from other RPG systems: d20, d6 (six attributes "which should cover most situations"), and Traveller. It gives the descriptions you can easily find elsewhere. And that's it. There's no discussion of how they change the flavor of the game or how you might adapt these alternate systems to FAE.
• The "Skill Approaches" section offers three sets of alternate approaches: a James Bond-like setting, a wizarding school, and a space knights setting. There are a few problems with these sets. First, they list six skills as approaches. If you want Fate with skills, play Fate Core (or Fate Condensed, published more recently) instead of Fate Accelerated. Second, each set of skills is tailored to one type of character. Is everyone in a superspy setting a superspy? Is everyone in the school of wizardry a wizard? Does everyone in the space knight setting have space knight skills? There's no discussion of the non-superspies, non-wizards, and non-space knights in these settings. Third, there's no discussion on how to handle these alternate sets of approaches or how they would change the flavor of a FAE game.
• The product description says "the FATE Core Rulebook provides an excellent set of approaches." The one with approaches is Fate Accelerated, not Fate Core.

Pointman Hacker Thief achieves the goal it sets out for itself: It is a lightweight system with elements tailored to the espionage genre. If it stumbles at all, it is in deciding which part of the spy genre it wants to emulate. Whilst the artwork and introduction inspires thoughts of the epic shoot outs Jack Bauer, the rules draw it into the more realistic world George Smiley but the lists of equipment and weapons would seem more suited to a overwritten spy novel.

http://6d6rpg.com/rpg/pointman-hacker-thief-reviewer/

Uh, I feel like I just lost a dollar in a vending machine.

"The book also examines the traditional approaches found in Fate Accelerated and shows how they can be used differently in the game." I don't believe that sentence holds true, after reading this. Yes, maybe it added paragraphs of pointless exposition upon what "Sneaky" means, but it in no way showed how it could be used (differently, or otherwise) in the game.

The lists of other types of approaches (d20, d6, etc) is just that; lists. List of nonsense like, in a d20 system, you'd call your approaches STR, DEX, CON... Strength is your physical might.

What? No kidding? Gimme ma dolla back.

First things first. The Accelerated Book of Approaches is a misleading title. Another reviewer likened it to a re-formatted blog post, but it's really a more of a forum post in pamphlet form, padded out with creative commons artwork- There's not nearly enough material here to warrant the word "book" in its title. There is a little bit of useful stuff in there, but most of it can already be found elsewhere on internet forums and blog posts for free, and the rest consists of a few lists of other game systems' attributes. If it were expanded out and given a full treatment and made into a full book, this could have been interesting, and as a freebie it would have been worth the download, but as a pay product (at any price, really) the Accelerated Book of Approaches is vastly wanting.

It's probably worth buying for the 99 cents since it does a good job of explaining existing approaches. However, if you're led by the description to believe that it has a large selection of alternative approaches, it doesn't really. It has lifted abilities from other game systems and done little more than list them as approaches with no real advice about how you'd implement it. For D20-like systems, the opening "You can easily take the six attributes [from d&d] and convert them over into approaches for FAE," is only followed up with a list of the attributes with a brief description and the instruction to, "rename Talents by calling them Feats." And that's about it.

I thought this book had some good ideas for a new player. However wrongly or rightly I was expecting a bit more. It felt like an extended blog post, and to be frank and honest have since found blog posts that are more imaginative and instructive on the same ideas.

Pros: easy to understand and helpful cons: not as meaty for a pay product. Feel like I am paying for art and flashy format for a book that doesn't really need it.

Buy this if 99 cents is not a big deal ( and face it who would it be). I would have given two stars if it wasn't at the sales price of 99 cents, would have preferred more real content ( and less leveraging off over games like d6 or odd) and would have paid more for a book that helped new fate players and gm's expand of FAE so of a how to companion to the base game.

This book is exactly what it says on the tin: a quick read to get you up and going with Fate Accelerated's Approaches. The author does a great job detailing the six default Approaches. Most helpful to me, he provided familiar characters that embody each of the approaches. Very useful for new roleplayers in particular. But beyond just detailing the default FAE approaches, he also provides tips for porting over attributes and skills from other classic systems as Approaches.

All in all, a great little book if you are looking to get into Fate Accelerated.

Solid product explaining approaches. I liked it for giving a clear vision of what they mean to the author and how to use them in a game.