PCs are usually more competent than NPCs, better outfitted with gadgets (from Q branch), have more Hero Points (see System, below) to perform cinematic feats, and generally have influence over their surroundings.

In keeping with the setting, the game focuses on a few leading roles, not large groups, and plays well with just one gamemaster and one player.

The function of Fame points is to encourage players to keep their characters' actions as covert as possible, including minimizing acts of deadly violence.

Killing any opponent results in a Fame Point penalty, bringing the agent closer to becoming too well known for operations in the field.

The inevitable combat and chase sequences in the James Bond theme are handled by Action Rounds, each of which represents 3–5 seconds of time.

All characters involved in a chase or combat declare their actions in reverse order of Speed (1–3, based on the sum of Perception and Dexterity).

Characters earn a Hero Point every time they get a Quality 1 result on a skill other than combat and when the GM chooses to award one for a clever or dramatic action.

But Avalon Hill had trouble renewing the license from Danjaq in 1987, with each side blaming the other for unwillingness to continue, and the game ceased publication.

Note: In 2003, Victory Games produced and released a "playtest-only" Adventure Module based on the book & film From Russia With Love.

Originally sold in the United States in box format, the Spanish version was published in a single hardcover book entitled James Bond 007, El Juego de Rol, just as Jeux Descartes had done two years earlier in the French edition.

The French replaced James Talbot's original black-and-white drawings with stills from the Bond films (also in black and white).

Joc Internacional also translated and published the Spanish editions of the adventures Panorama Para Matar (A View to a Kill) and Goldfinger.

The game was presented in Madrid at the Book Fair of the Retiro Park in May 1990 by its Spanish translator into Spanish, Karl Klobuznik and enjoyed great acceptance in the public, only that the illustrations of the basic book and the lack of continuity in the publication of various sequels and adventures caused that the interest by the game decayed with the time.

The Spanish version of the game was listed in the "recommended literature" database for kids, of Spain's Education Ministry.

"[2] Nick Davison reviewed James Bond 007 for Imagine magazine, calling it "An excellent game for those primarily interested in role-playing rather than combat.

"[3] In Issue 83 of Dragon (March 1984), Tracy Hickman praised the game "because it captured, for me, the essence of James Bond."

"[5] In Issue 137 of Dragon (September 1988), Jim Bambra said the skills resolution system "while allowing for a wide variety of factors, relies on a lot of table checking."

Arcane's's editor Paul Pettengale commented: "Because of the subject matter, and because the rules are easy to get to grips with, this proved to be an instant hit.

It has also been backed up with a couple of cracking supplements – Thrilling Locations and the Q Manual - which makes creating all manner of interesting scenarios an absolute breeze.

"[9] In his 2023 book Monsters, Aliens, and Holes in the Ground, RPG historian Stu Horvath noted, "Owing to its embrace of the effortless heroism of Mary Sues and Marty Stus, Bond is designed for small group; it never says so explicitly, but the rules are well-suited for duet play — one player and a GM.

That arrangement shouldn't be that surprising coming from a company that specialized in two-player wargames, but the game does shine a spotlight on individual characters (and puts more pressure on the player) in a way that most RPGs do not.