Malcolm Craig
@malcolmcraig.bsky.social
Senior Lecturer in US History @ljmuofficial.bsky.social, historian of the nuclear age, researching #ColdWar era post-apocalypse roleplaying games. #TTRPG designer. You may remember me from such games as #astaterpg, #ColdCity, and #HotWar
Pinned
When You Say, “Thermonuclear War,” I Think You Mean “the Call to Adventure”! The Twilight: 2000 Tabletop Role-Playing Game and the Postapocalyptic World’s Imaginary Spaces | Journal of American Studie...
When You Say, “Thermonuclear War,” I Think You Mean “the Call to Adventure”! The Twilight: 2000 Tabletop Role-Playing Game and the Postapocalyptic World’s Imaginary Spaces
www.cambridge.org
Hurrah! My article on the Twilight 2000 RPG in the Journal of American Studies is now open access (OA), so anyone who wants to can have a read. OA is important to me, as I want my work on RPG history to go beyond the academy and reach the gaming public.
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Writing a scenario pack of @fromthemorgue.bsky.social brilliant #FiveEvil RPG from @handiworkgames.bsky.social, and was shocked to find my writing contains:
A secret bunker!
Cold War experiments!
Dodgy civil servants!
Fungal mutations!
I'm just as startled as anyone by this.
A secret bunker!
Cold War experiments!
Dodgy civil servants!
Fungal mutations!
I'm just as startled as anyone by this.
November 25, 2025 at 1:18 PM
Writing a scenario pack of @fromthemorgue.bsky.social brilliant #FiveEvil RPG from @handiworkgames.bsky.social, and was shocked to find my writing contains:
A secret bunker!
Cold War experiments!
Dodgy civil servants!
Fungal mutations!
I'm just as startled as anyone by this.
A secret bunker!
Cold War experiments!
Dodgy civil servants!
Fungal mutations!
I'm just as startled as anyone by this.
If you'd told me a while back that my piece on Twilight 2000, the Cold War, an apocalyptic imagination would rack up over 1000 reads in a short space of time, I would have laughed. I'm delighted that it's reached such a wide audience for something in a scholarly publication like the JAS.
Hurrah! My article on the Twilight 2000 RPG in the Journal of American Studies is now open access (OA), so anyone who wants to can have a read. OA is important to me, as I want my work on RPG history to go beyond the academy and reach the gaming public.
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
When You Say, “Thermonuclear War,” I Think You Mean “the Call to Adventure”! The Twilight: 2000 Tabletop Role-Playing Game and the Postapocalyptic World’s Imaginary Spaces | Journal of American Studie...
When You Say, “Thermonuclear War,” I Think You Mean “the Call to Adventure”! The Twilight: 2000 Tabletop Role-Playing Game and the Postapocalyptic World’s Imaginary Spaces
www.cambridge.org
November 24, 2025 at 4:27 PM
If you'd told me a while back that my piece on Twilight 2000, the Cold War, an apocalyptic imagination would rack up over 1000 reads in a short space of time, I would have laughed. I'm delighted that it's reached such a wide audience for something in a scholarly publication like the JAS.
I've been struggling to articulate what made me uncomfortable about this widely shared piece, but @profmikesell.bsky.social does a great job. Kindness, honesty, and trust are lacking if you're setting traps for students.
Since this article and its perspectives are generating a bit of buzz, I'd like to dig into what I find distasteful and, frankly, disingenous about it, particularly the ethical values it proclaims. 1/8
www.huffpost.com/entry/histor...
www.huffpost.com/entry/histor...
I Set A Trap To Catch My Students Cheating With AI. The Results Were Shocking.
"Students are not just undermining their ability to learn, but to someday lead."
www.huffpost.com
November 21, 2025 at 4:41 PM
I've been struggling to articulate what made me uncomfortable about this widely shared piece, but @profmikesell.bsky.social does a great job. Kindness, honesty, and trust are lacking if you're setting traps for students.
So all women - trans or not - are going to get subjectively judged on whether or not they fit someone's idea of what a woman looks like, and interrogated on that basis? Yes, that certainly appears to be a totally normal thing to be doing. I cannot foresee any issues with this at all.
FFS.
FFS.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... I need to get out of this fucking country, holy shit. This is beyond gross.
Trans people could be barred from services based on appearance
The new code of practice on access to single-sex services cannot gain legal force until it gets sign-off from ministers.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 21, 2025 at 8:51 AM
So all women - trans or not - are going to get subjectively judged on whether or not they fit someone's idea of what a woman looks like, and interrogated on that basis? Yes, that certainly appears to be a totally normal thing to be doing. I cannot foresee any issues with this at all.
FFS.
FFS.
I'm putting together a short presentation on how RPG designers use historical primary sources for @luciejones83.bsky.social, and I'm swithering about including the fake documents from #ColdCity 2nd ed. I mean, they do look great.
November 20, 2025 at 9:00 AM
I'm putting together a short presentation on how RPG designers use historical primary sources for @luciejones83.bsky.social, and I'm swithering about including the fake documents from #ColdCity 2nd ed. I mean, they do look great.
Reposted by Malcolm Craig
I find these cash-grab pastiches particularly pointless in the case of Wodehouse. He wrote 71 novels and 200+ short stories! There's almost certainly some Wodehouse you haven't read yet!
Jeeves Again review – new Jeeves and Wooster stories by celebrity fans
Jeeves Again review – new Jeeves and Wooster stories by celebrity fans
This collection of new short stories about Bertie and his valet pays homage to the genius of PG Wodehouse – just in time for Christmas
www.theguardian.com
November 20, 2025 at 8:36 AM
I find these cash-grab pastiches particularly pointless in the case of Wodehouse. He wrote 71 novels and 200+ short stories! There's almost certainly some Wodehouse you haven't read yet!
FiveEvil is such a good game. The playtest of it was so much fun. @fromthemorgue.bsky.social ideas and radical interpretations of 5e worked straight out of the box.
A thread on rpgnet asks: FiveEvil - has anyone picked this up?
forum.rpg.net/index.php?th...
"it's a really engaging premise and clearly a labour of love from its creators." TRUE STORY
forum.rpg.net/index.php?th...
"it's a really engaging premise and clearly a labour of love from its creators." TRUE STORY
November 19, 2025 at 6:46 PM
FiveEvil is such a good game. The playtest of it was so much fun. @fromthemorgue.bsky.social ideas and radical interpretations of 5e worked straight out of the box.
Oh, this also applies if you read my article on games and the Cold war in issue 7 of @wyrdscience.bsky.social - the survey is open to anyone who has read my stuff, heard one of my talks, watched a video I've been involved it, etc.
2) What also important to me is archiving and analysing the responses to my work. That's why I've asking if readers would kindly take the time to complete this short survey about my work. This is super helpful for the project as a whole.
forms.gle/VKhMCyS2uBGp...
forms.gle/VKhMCyS2uBGp...
Role-playing games and the Cold War research by Malcolm Craig
Hello, and thanks for taking the time to complete this survey! If you're reading this you'll have attended one of my talks at a convention, watched one of my YouTube videos, or read an article (in mag...
forms.gle
November 19, 2025 at 5:53 PM
Oh, this also applies if you read my article on games and the Cold war in issue 7 of @wyrdscience.bsky.social - the survey is open to anyone who has read my stuff, heard one of my talks, watched a video I've been involved it, etc.
Finally got round to watching @sskorkowsky.bsky.social's video on the Satanic Panics - really good stuff, and illuminating on key issues and themes. Well worth your time.
Behold! The massive RPG Moral Panic video I've been researching and assembling for years, and why people who call the whole affair the Satanic Panic are wrong.
I'm so damned happy to finally have this beast out of my system.
youtu.be/OpjV-melB-c
I'm so damned happy to finally have this beast out of my system.
youtu.be/OpjV-melB-c
The 3 Waves of the RPG Moral Panic - RPG History
YouTube video by Seth Skorkowsky
youtu.be
November 19, 2025 at 5:47 PM
Finally got round to watching @sskorkowsky.bsky.social's video on the Satanic Panics - really good stuff, and illuminating on key issues and themes. Well worth your time.
1) The hugely uplifting response to my Twilight 2000 piece over the past couple of weeks clearly demonstrates the appetite in the RPG community for engaging with critical histories of the hobby. Open access is clearly key to this, as availability is everything.
doi.org/10.1017/S002...
doi.org/10.1017/S002...
When You Say, “Thermonuclear War,” I Think You Mean “the Call to Adventure”! The Twilight: 2000 Tabletop Role-Playing Game and the Postapocalyptic World’s Imaginary Spaces | Journal of American Studie...
When You Say, “Thermonuclear War,” I Think You Mean “the Call to Adventure”! The Twilight: 2000 Tabletop Role-Playing Game and the Postapocalyptic World’s Imaginary Spaces
doi.org
November 19, 2025 at 3:49 PM
1) The hugely uplifting response to my Twilight 2000 piece over the past couple of weeks clearly demonstrates the appetite in the RPG community for engaging with critical histories of the hobby. Open access is clearly key to this, as availability is everything.
doi.org/10.1017/S002...
doi.org/10.1017/S002...
Surprising absolutely nobody with this.
November 19, 2025 at 11:25 AM
Surprising absolutely nobody with this.
Reposted by Malcolm Craig
Cold City Second Edition is out now, with 100% 5 star ratings and some amazing reviews.
www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/5... #coldcity #ttrpg
www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/5... #coldcity #ttrpg
November 18, 2025 at 4:52 PM
Cold City Second Edition is out now, with 100% 5 star ratings and some amazing reviews.
www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/5... #coldcity #ttrpg
www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/5... #coldcity #ttrpg
Reposted by Malcolm Craig
If you've read my open access article on Twilight 2000, it would be super helpful if you could follow this link and offer some feedback. This feeds into what is known as an Impact Case Study, where I measure/analyse public engagement w/ my research. Thanks in advance!
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
November 18, 2025 at 1:21 PM
If you've read my open access article on Twilight 2000, it would be super helpful if you could follow this link and offer some feedback. This feeds into what is known as an Impact Case Study, where I measure/analyse public engagement w/ my research. Thanks in advance!
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
Yes! This is very relevant to my interests!
talking of electronica just saw the cover of the new issue of Electronic Sound, might be relevant to your interests
November 18, 2025 at 1:30 PM
Yes! This is very relevant to my interests!
If you've read my open access article on Twilight 2000, it would be super helpful if you could follow this link and offer some feedback. This feeds into what is known as an Impact Case Study, where I measure/analyse public engagement w/ my research. Thanks in advance!
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
November 18, 2025 at 1:21 PM
If you've read my open access article on Twilight 2000, it would be super helpful if you could follow this link and offer some feedback. This feeds into what is known as an Impact Case Study, where I measure/analyse public engagement w/ my research. Thanks in advance!
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
Just chucked out my original pressing Boards of Canada albums to create space for when these arrive from Discogs sellers.
Who needs Mersey Beat when you can have "2 Great Albums of Important Sermons"
November 18, 2025 at 9:46 AM
Just chucked out my original pressing Boards of Canada albums to create space for when these arrive from Discogs sellers.
This looks like a fascinating theme for discussion - my thinking cap is already on.
Hell, I know what my submission will be: The Collective Endeavour and British indie RPG design, 2005-2010
Hell, I know what my submission will be: The Collective Endeavour and British indie RPG design, 2005-2010
The Spring Seminar 2026 CfP is out now: springseminar.org/2026-call-fo... This time, the theme is “Events and Communities”.
⏰Abstract submission deadline is 14 January 2026.
📍The seminar is organised on 5-6 May 2026 in Tampere by Tampere University Game Research Lab (@ gameresearchlab.bsky.social)
⏰Abstract submission deadline is 14 January 2026.
📍The seminar is organised on 5-6 May 2026 in Tampere by Tampere University Game Research Lab (@ gameresearchlab.bsky.social)
2026 | Call for Papers
Events are at the heart of game and play cultures. They are organized for many reasons and purposes, bringing people together to play, socialize, compete, learn and teach, network, sell, perform, c…
springseminar.org
November 18, 2025 at 9:40 AM
This looks like a fascinating theme for discussion - my thinking cap is already on.
Hell, I know what my submission will be: The Collective Endeavour and British indie RPG design, 2005-2010
Hell, I know what my submission will be: The Collective Endeavour and British indie RPG design, 2005-2010
Of course, it goes without saying that all publicly funded research should be open access and that scholars should not simply be free labour for a tiny cabal of hugely profitable publishing houses who make huge profits from academic journals.
Gee whizz! My article on Twilight 2000 in the Journal of American studies is now the most read piece over the last 3 months, despite it only being available for a couple of weeks. That's kind of terrifying! Thanks so much to everyone who's taken the time to engage with it!
doi.org/10.1017/S002...
doi.org/10.1017/S002...
November 17, 2025 at 5:10 PM
Of course, it goes without saying that all publicly funded research should be open access and that scholars should not simply be free labour for a tiny cabal of hugely profitable publishing houses who make huge profits from academic journals.
Gee whizz! My article on Twilight 2000 in the Journal of American studies is now the most read piece over the last 3 months, despite it only being available for a couple of weeks. That's kind of terrifying! Thanks so much to everyone who's taken the time to engage with it!
doi.org/10.1017/S002...
doi.org/10.1017/S002...
November 17, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Gee whizz! My article on Twilight 2000 in the Journal of American studies is now the most read piece over the last 3 months, despite it only being available for a couple of weeks. That's kind of terrifying! Thanks so much to everyone who's taken the time to engage with it!
doi.org/10.1017/S002...
doi.org/10.1017/S002...
November 17, 2025 at 11:55 AM
Gee whizz! My article on Twilight 2000 in the Journal of American studies is now the most read piece over the last 3 months, despite it only being available for a couple of weeks. That's kind of terrifying! Thanks so much to everyone who's taken the time to engage with it!
doi.org/10.1017/S002...
doi.org/10.1017/S002...
Reposted by Malcolm Craig
Do you know who else confiscated jewellery, just south of Denmark…
The Sun has been told Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood will on Monday propose confiscating jewellery, watches, necklaces from asylum seekers to meet asylum costs
This reflects the most controversial aspect of the Danish scheme - the Jewellery Law. The toughest Labour MPs thought this was OTT
This reflects the most controversial aspect of the Danish scheme - the Jewellery Law. The toughest Labour MPs thought this was OTT
November 17, 2025 at 12:09 AM
Do you know who else confiscated jewellery, just south of Denmark…
I very much enjoy my copy of this simply as an art piece (although it is also a fantastic game).
Some images from Pine Pitch Black, the fancy monochrome edition of Maskwitches. I really like how these came out. Totally different feel to the colour version.
November 17, 2025 at 7:56 AM
I very much enjoy my copy of this simply as an art piece (although it is also a fantastic game).
Reposted by Malcolm Craig
In addition to the strong humanitarian arguments against this policy, the amount of time Labour spends on immigration sends the signal that they have largely given up on winning the next election through improving basic conditions in the UK. Extremely depressing.
November 16, 2025 at 9:10 AM
In addition to the strong humanitarian arguments against this policy, the amount of time Labour spends on immigration sends the signal that they have largely given up on winning the next election through improving basic conditions in the UK. Extremely depressing.
It baffles me that Labour are willing to alienate huge numbers of (now former, like me) voters in order to placate the howling bigots and flag shaggers. They are pretty much guaranteeing the loss of support of so many people.
Wow this is proper John Adams stuff.
Weird that our government here in the UK is supposed to be left-leaning and has a gigantic parliamentary majority and yet spends all of its time doing Nigel Farage's bidding www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Weird that our government here in the UK is supposed to be left-leaning and has a gigantic parliamentary majority and yet spends all of its time doing Nigel Farage's bidding www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Refugees to face 20-year wait to settle permanently under asylum reforms
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood is expected to announce major reforms to the asylum system on Monday.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 16, 2025 at 8:44 AM
It baffles me that Labour are willing to alienate huge numbers of (now former, like me) voters in order to placate the howling bigots and flag shaggers. They are pretty much guaranteeing the loss of support of so many people.
OK, so a title's a start, yes? That blank white space below will just fill itself up if I go away and do something like build tiny mechs out of Lego, yes?
Yes?
Yes?
November 15, 2025 at 7:35 PM
OK, so a title's a start, yes? That blank white space below will just fill itself up if I go away and do something like build tiny mechs out of Lego, yes?
Yes?
Yes?