iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Malcolm Craig @malcolmcraig.bsky.social · 5h

The Burn was such a great thing to develop, blending together hazy memories of childhood, much loved novels, and Jon's fantastic model work and photography.

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Malcolm Craig @malcolmcraig.bsky.social · 9h

By heavens, there's some great stuff in a|state 2e. The best and most innovative implementation of Forged in the Dark? I think so. (all thanks to @fromthemorgue.bsky.social)

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Reposted by Malcolm Craig

LJMU History @ljmuhistory.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Another exciting event happening in our department! Senior Lecturer in American History @malcolmcraig.bsky.social launches his two Cold War themed tabletop roleplaying games with a talk, Q&A, and interactive game-based activities!

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Malcolm Craig @malcolmcraig.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Did I mention the wine type substance and sandwich-approximate consumables? No. Then there will be both! PLUS me talking briefly about history, play, and aesthetics in both games AND an interactive game situation creation session!

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Malcolm Craig @malcolmcraig.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

On October 13th at 5pm, @ljmuhistory.bsky.social are having a little launch event for the 2nd editions of Cold City & Hot War. If you're in the area & fancy coming along, you can register here (primarily so that our security people will let you in the door!) www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/cold-cityh...

eventbrite.co.uk

Cold City/Hot War Launch Event

It's a launch event. For the Cold City and Hot War second edition TTRPGs.

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Malcolm Craig @malcolmcraig.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

It's very exciting the the system(s) from Cold City and Hot War 2e are being used for the TTRPG adaptation for @aptshadow.bsky.social's fantastic Tyrant Philosophers books. @fromthemorgue.bsky.social is doing splendid work on nuancing the mechanics.

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Malcolm Craig @malcolmcraig.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Because it's along thread, one things that might not be clear is: ask! The worst that can happen is no response or a polite "Sorry, I'm really busy right now."

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Alex Wellerstein @wellerstein.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

For DOOMSDAY MACHINES this week, I take a trip down memory lane, revisiting one of the first books I can remember reading that had anything about nuclear weapons in it: David Macaulay’s 1988 classic, "The Way Things Work."

doomsdaymachines.net

The Way Nukes Work (*Sort of)

Nuclear weapons and war in David Macaulay’s “The Way Things Work” (1988)

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Malcolm Craig @malcolmcraig.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

On those rare times that I run games at cons, I am very much engaged in expectation management. Just because it's a game I designed it doesn't mean that it's going to be Best Game Evar!

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Malcolm Craig @malcolmcraig.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

1) So You're A Game Designer Who Needs Advice From a Historian? Games with historical/historically inspired settings/themes are great. Occasionally an email pops into my university inbox from someone seeking advice, feedback, consultancy, and so on. As the advice-seeker, what's the best approach?

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Malcolm Craig @malcolmcraig.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

It's always delightful when this kind of thing actually lands.

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Malcolm Craig @malcolmcraig.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

I have so, so many questions about that advert. I also have questions about the picture with the horse in it. Kaboom, tiiiisshhh! Thank you, I'd be here all night. Please enjoy the complimentary olive bar.

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Malcolm Craig @malcolmcraig.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

These five reason are all excellent reasons why you should get #FiveEvil

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Leeman Kessler @leemankessler.com · 15/09/2026

My copy of @malcolmcraig.bsky.social 's 2nd edition of Cold City arrived! I have cherished my 1st edition for over a decade and am excited to try this one out!

Your mayor holding a copy of the Cold City RPG

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Malcolm Craig @malcolmcraig.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Futher down the thread, @fromthemorgue.bsky.social describes excatly how I feel about the physical books.

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Malcolm Craig @malcolmcraig.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Hooting bigots having a go at the RNLI (the RNLI!) for assisting small boats in distress in the Channel should consider the Penlee disaster and then take a long, hard look at themselves. I'm proud to be a regular donor to the RNLI, because they selflessly do great work rnli.org/about-us/our...

‘The greatest act of courage that I have ever seen, and am ever likely to see, was the penultimate courage and dedication shown by the Penlee [crew] …

‘They were truly the bravest eight men I've ever seen, who were also totally dedicated to upholding the highest standards of the RNLI.’

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Malcolm Craig @malcolmcraig.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

The first film I was ever taken to see at the cinema - at the age of 4 - was the 1978 version of Superman. I recently re-watched it for the first time in decades and by heavens, it's a pretty bloody good movie. I had totally forgotten how genuinely brilliant Christopher Reeve was in it.

Christopher Reeve, as Superman, in classic pose, arms outstreched, speeding through the air no doubt on the way to do heroic works or possibly to make it to his local pub before closing time. Apparently a half of mild is Superman's tipple of choice. Who knew?

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Malcolm Craig @malcolmcraig.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Lovely to see so many of these out in the wild!

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Malcolm Craig @malcolmcraig.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

As a 17 year old would-be movie geek at Video Vogue, my taste-making efforts were misguided, often resulting in customer anger. Recommending Jacob's Ladder to the bloke who wanted "Something like Hellraiser" did not end well. Also repeated customer misunderstandings of Betty Blue, based on the title

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Malcolm Craig @malcolmcraig.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

And here's me, spraffing on about The Price of Freedom with @thegrognardfiles.bsky.social!

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Malcolm Craig @malcolmcraig.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

It's not often you have a meeting about a major collaborative research funding bid where you wang on about the radiation sickness rules in 1st edition Twilight: 2000. But there we are.

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Reposted by Malcolm Craig

Dirk the Dice @thegrognardfiles.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Topping and tailing the GROGPOD… rolling virtual gifts, apparently at random, for new Patreons. A new episode coming very soon.

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Malcolm Craig @malcolmcraig.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

This was one of the most fun parts of a|state 2nd edition to be involved with. Academic study of a social game, redacted by the authorities, and annotated by an actual player. It's an analysis of a game played within the setting of a game, but also a functional game in and of itself. Meta!

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Morgan Davie @fromthemorgue.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

The Three Coins* is a description of a roleplaying game, which is a roleplaying game supplement, and also, a roleplaying game. This will unzip your brain and turn it around. Nothing else like it. * it needs four coins #TTRPG

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Malcolm Craig @malcolmcraig.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

That's a massive delivery of goodness!

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Jon at Handiwork Games @handiworkgames.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

We're seeing renewed interest in a|state - it's a really great adaptation of the already brilliant Forged in the Dark rules. In a|state you'll take the role of troublemakers trying to improve their corner of The City, pushing back against the Trusts, organised crime, et al.

The cover of astate showing a glowing face and some tiny trouble makers

A spread from a|state showing the Sneakthief playbook

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Malcolm Craig @malcolmcraig.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

But if you are going to buy more games, then Cold City and Hot War show taste and discernment

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Malcolm Craig @malcolmcraig.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

So I've said many times that we do not own a cat, but that neighbours cats used to come round and hang out. Well, that has changed. We now have a cat, Oscar. He was a stray living in our garage, now he sleeps on our sofa, enjoys regular meals, and very much likes chasing string around.

Oscar the tuxedo cat asleep on the sofa.

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Malcolm Craig @malcolmcraig.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

Jon offers some astute insights into Cold City and Hot War second editions

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Malcolm Craig @malcolmcraig.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

1) With 3000 reads and a whole bunch of responses since publication, I'm very grateful for each and every response to my Twilight: 2000 article. I'd say about 80% of responses from the TTRPG community have been positive. I'd like to address the negative ones - in particular some common criticisms.

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Jon at Handiwork Games @handiworkgames.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

As previously mentioned on this channel: gosh we’ve been so busy. But Cold City Hot War dispatch is nearing completion! Another massive batch was dispatched yesterday. So I’m writing about the games, since we need to tell folks about them as near general release. They’re really good. #coldcity

An image of the cold city hot war slipcase

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Malcolm Craig @malcolmcraig.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

It says something about Dolly Parton that back when I co-DJ'ed an alternative music club night you could play Head Like a Hole by Nine Inch Nails, then Enter Sandman by Metallica, and only when 9 to 5 came on would the dancefloor erupt.

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Malcolm Craig @malcolmcraig.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

It's delightful to see the new editions of Cold City and Hot War arriving with our generous backers.

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Malcolm Craig @malcolmcraig.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

Having been forced to plod through Howards End in English class at school, I was astounded about a year later when I first read 'The Machine Stops'. I could not believe it was the same author.

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Malcolm Craig @malcolmcraig.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

This speaks directly to my interests (inc. Lovejoy, which was staple viewing in our house when I was growing up).

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Reposted by Malcolm Craig

Alex Wellerstein @wellerstein.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

For Doomsday Machines this week I wrote about one of the most remarkable early-20th century “end of the world” science fiction stories I have read — E.M. Forster’s “The Machine Stops” (1909). It is impressively prescient and relevant to our present moment.

doomsdaymachines.net

Rage against the Machines

E.M. Forster’s “The Machine Stops” (1909)

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Malcolm Craig @malcolmcraig.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

When writing a non-fiction book, there's always at least one parallel book struggling to get out from contextual paragraphs and the footnotes. With my work in progress on the Cold War and RPGs, there's a story of science fiction and the Cold War. I never intended that, it's just happened.

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Malcolm Craig @malcolmcraig.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

Managed to send myself down a deep rabbit hole today. Started with writing up some stuff about The Morrow Project TTRPG and ended up on the history of suspended animation in fiction, followed by real-world transhumanism. Which has resulted in approximately no words being written.

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Malcolm Craig @malcolmcraig.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

"See you on the road, skag! See you like we saw your friend, The Nightrider!"

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Malcolm Craig @malcolmcraig.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

"My children? Do a vocational course or apprenticeship? Heaven forfend!"

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Malcolm Craig @malcolmcraig.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

Do you enjoy: 1) Externally burned but internally uncooked food? 2) The tasty tang of paraffin? 3) Destroying the natural environment? 4) Endangering other people? Then why not try a dispoable barbecue? Massive bellends only need apply.

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Alex von Tunzelmann @alexvont.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

Stop considering it. Just ban them. Do it now. Disposable barbecues are (a) useless as BBQs, take ages, food often still raw in middle, (b) environmentally horrible, (c) incredibly good at starting massive fires. There is no good argument for them. Bin them off www.theguardian.com/society/2026...

theguardian.com

Burnham to consider ban on disposable barbecues as wildfires rage in UK

PM to look at imposing restriction in public spaces, though campaigners fear it does not go far enough

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Malcolm Craig @malcolmcraig.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

Oh no. I feel I am being hoisted by own petard. I'm going to have to this now, aren't I?

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Malcolm Craig @malcolmcraig.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

Semi-seriously considering a mini-con that only features games I've been researching for my book. Twilight: 2000, Aftermath!, Paranoia, Freedom Fighters, Price of Freedom, Gamma World, Morrow Project, etc. It will likely be me, in a room, on my own, sobbing quietly about how it has all come to this.

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