The Lantern’s Sweep follows the season’s turn, gathering reviews that trace a feeling and follow a thread. This autumn, the light falls on horror: small-press RPGs, misfit adventures, and strange things that gather at the edge of play. The rest of the series can be found here. Reivdene-Upon-The-Moss is a folk horror sandbox adventure, written […]| Taskerland
Very few police officers will ever receive all the live-fire range time they need. Even fewer will have the time they need to engage with another person in training to develop and solidify their skills in areas such as human interaction, judgment, and decision-making. Range work and scenario training in both areas require specialized facilities (each very different) and support staff, including instructors, role players, and safety personnel. How can “we” – those in the profession taske...| American Cop
Time for another entry in my regular series of articles on game supplements which have caught my eye and inspired some brief thoughts. This time around, it’s a Basic Roleplaying special; with…| Refereeing and Reflection
“In times of uncertainty, what we can imagine ahead of us matters.” I write on Kaliane Bradley’s wonderful novel The Ministry of Time for the British Science Fiction Association&#…| matt finch / mechanical dolphin
Time for another entry in my occasional series of mini-reviews on game supplements I have thoughts substantial enough to write about, but lean enough that I don’t want to dedicate a whole art…| Refereeing and Reflection
Though Star Trek Adventures, particularly in its tightened-up second edition, is my current gold standard when it comes to Trek-based tabletop RPGs, it’s hardly the first game in that sphere. As I outlined in my review of Star Trek Adventures‘ first edition, there were a fair few officially licensed Trek RPGs that preceded it – … Continue reading Star Trek: The FASA Frontier (and Philosophical Theories On Spiritual Successors)| Refereeing and Reflection
NB: This piece is part of a series of reviews based upon the shortlist for the 2025 Ennies Award for Best Adventure – Short Form. For the rest of the series, please look here. Sweet Revenge is a sh…| Taskerland
NB: This piece is part of a series of reviews based upon the shortlist for the 2025 Ennies Award for Best Adventure – Short Form. For the rest of the series, please look here. Tides of Rot is an ad…| Taskerland
I’m speaking at the UCL Languages of the Future conference on 6th June, presenting a paper titled “Are we even talking about tomorrow? Uncertainty, agency, and the encounter with the su…| matt finch / mechanical dolphin
The editorial team at Issues in Science and Technology invited me to submit a response to Ed Finn’s excellent recent article on using science fiction to stage conversations about science and technology policy. You can read my letter, “Looking Beyond the Ghost Scenario”, at the Issues website.| matt finch / mechanical dolphin
I’m pleased to be delivering two sessions as part of the University of Oxford’s contribution to the Right Here Right Now Global Youth Climate Summit, a 24-hour virtual event presented b…| matt finch / mechanical dolphin
The Gardens of Ynn and The Stygian Library are a pair of scenarios for old-school D&D and its close relatives, designed by Emmy Allen, who I previously interviewed to showcase her Esoteric Ente…| Refereeing and Reflection
In fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons, characters and monsters calculate the difficulty class (DC) number needed to save against their spells and powers using the same formula: 8 + proficiency bo…| DMDavid
Christina B. Class, Carsten Trinitis, & Nikolas Becker Lisa and Martin met in college and have been inseparable ever since. Both majored in computer science in teacher education programs. Martin’s minor was biology, and Lisa’s was physics. Now, five years later, they work together for the start-up SchoolWithFun. The company was founded by [...]| Gewissensbits
Gudrun Schiedermeier, Carsten Trinitis, & Franziska Gräfe Ben’s a kid who likes attending school. It’s where he gets to see most of his friends—especially Chris, Lisa, and Emma. He hangs out with them outside of school, too. In their free time, they get into sports: jogging, swimming, biking, and skiing—depending on the season. [...]| Gewissensbits
Debora Weber-Wulff & Christina B. Class Michaela works at the local police station in Neustatt. Due to decreasing tax revenues and cuts in federal subsidies, significantly less funding will be available for police work in the coming years. They probably won’t be able to fill positions lost to organic developments, like retirement. A [...]| Gewissensbits
It’s been a couple of years or so since Free League released their new edition of The One Ring. The pace of releasing new products seems a little slower than when the line was under Cubicle 7…| Refereeing and Reflection
It seems genuinely difficult for a 100% new tabletop RPG to take off these days, especially one with a brand new system and an original setting. New editions, hacks of existing games, new applicati…| Refereeing and Reflection
