Top Secret is an espionage-themed tabletop role-playing game written by Merle M. Rasmussen and first published in 1980 by TSR, Inc.[1] The original version of Top Secret was designed by Merle M. Rasmussen,[2] and allows players and gamemasters to build their own espionage story settings.

The original boxed set of the game included a 64-page rule book and a sample adventure, "Operation: Sprechenhaltestelle".

[3] The game was developed over a period of two years by Rasmussen and TSR editor Allen Hammack.

Top Secret also features Areas of Knowledge, which function similarly to skills in more modern RPGs.

[4]: 44 Top Secret characters are employed in specific bureaus—Assassination (Killing), Confiscation (Theft), or Investigation (Research)—all in the structure of an unspecified espionage agency.

An appendix in the rule book lists dozens of historical and fictional espionage organizations which could serve as employers or adversaries for missions.

introduced a more structured gaming environment in which players worked as agents for secret intelligence agency ORION against its evil adversary, WEB.

Later source books in the product line introduce both supernatural (Agent 13) and futuristic (F.R.E.E.Lancers) adventure settings.

For each projectile fired, the shooting player rolls two ten-sided dice to give a number from one to one hundred (the first die result indicates the "tens," the second the "ones").

The shooting player then rolls additional two ten-sided dice for each success to determine the target hit location.

Finally, the shooting player rolls two ten-sided dice to determine damage for each success.

Each combat type allows the player to choose from a total of up to three attacks and defenses (combined).

The gamemaster interprets the combatants' attack and defense choices, looks up the result on the attack combat types' tables, and modifies the result by any object used as a hand-to-hand weapon (e.g., purse, boot, tape recorder, bolt cutter).

resemble agent dossiers, and are intended to provide quick and easy reference to all a player's stats and skills.

In June 2017, Merle Rasmussen announced the release of a reboot entitled Top Secret: New World Order, a completely new iteration in the series.

He had been running the game at conventions and events for two years prior to the release, adjusting the rules and user experience in real-time.

[9] In Issue 29 of Space Gamer, Jerry Epperson reviewed Top Secret and commented "I liked the game, despite its faults.

game would be marvelous for anyone new to modern era role-playing and Top Secret veterans should also consider it, though not at the cost of ruining and established campaign.

and liked it even more than its predecessor, calling it "not only an improvement in every respect, it's also the best espionage RPG on the market, a masterful integration of elegant mechanics, evocative atmosphere, and sleek graphics."