Character generation is a breeze, play is fun and fast, and the rules not only don't get in the way, they actually help with telling the story. 3:16 Carnage Among The Stars is great for a pickup game, because it's so fast to get ready to run. If new people join the table (as happened at our game) you just take 5 minutes to roll up some new characters, and you're on your way. No need to worry about them not being up to power level because the real difference is the weapons available and the rank they have. Both of which change at the end of each mission (we played 3 missions to a session on a 3 hour session).

At the end of each mission three things can happen: You can get a promotion (and increase in power), you can get demoted (and decrease in power), or you can stay at your current rank. Promotion depends on what happened during the mission, and demotion happens if another player puts you on the chopping block.

This is a great game for exploring the consequences of total war and genocide on the psyche's of soldiers far from home, if you choose to play it that way, and for just tossing the players in the middle of a firefight and letting loose, if you don't.