Malcolm Craig
@malcolmcraig.bsky.social
Senior Lecturer in US History @ljmuofficial.bsky.social, historian of games, the Cold War, nuclear stuff, researching #ColdWar era post-apocalypse roleplaying games. #TTRPG designer. You may remember me from such games as #astaterpg, #ColdCity, and #HotWar
It's always wise to remain indoors...
January 28, 2026 at 6:03 PM
It's always wise to remain indoors...
The second edition of Hot War is very much a collective effort. The text would be nothing without the art and design from @paulbourne.bsky.social and @handiworkgames.bsky.social. A few silly lines of mine are transformed into something really cool. I love this stuff.
January 28, 2026 at 5:20 PM
The second edition of Hot War is very much a collective effort. The text would be nothing without the art and design from @paulbourne.bsky.social and @handiworkgames.bsky.social. A few silly lines of mine are transformed into something really cool. I love this stuff.
I think - per the interior maps - that the weird little safe haven is the northern part of the Pennines (the dark splodge). I only say that because the maps show all the towns and cities in that area rubbled. Huddersfield sadly does not appear on the map. Maybe it was ultra-rubbled?
January 27, 2026 at 5:00 PM
I think - per the interior maps - that the weird little safe haven is the northern part of the Pennines (the dark splodge). I only say that because the maps show all the towns and cities in that area rubbled. Huddersfield sadly does not appear on the map. Maybe it was ultra-rubbled?
6) And then we have the cathedral, a site of power, surrounded by war machines. Pretty grim stuff for an author who wrote and illustrated the Church Mice series! Then again, he had done his national service with the British Army of the Rhine, so had been in the Cold War's front lines.
January 27, 2026 at 1:24 PM
6) And then we have the cathedral, a site of power, surrounded by war machines. Pretty grim stuff for an author who wrote and illustrated the Church Mice series! Then again, he had done his national service with the British Army of the Rhine, so had been in the Cold War's front lines.
5) As Henry continues his quest, he ends up in places where a degree of industrialisation still holds sway. The imagery becomes much, much darker. A great example is the page below - slag heaps, smoke, fire, the death of the natural world.
January 27, 2026 at 1:24 PM
5) As Henry continues his quest, he ends up in places where a degree of industrialisation still holds sway. The imagery becomes much, much darker. A great example is the page below - slag heaps, smoke, fire, the death of the natural world.
4) This is one of my favourite pages - the layers of detail are brilliant. The obvious British suburban homes, the electricity pylon turned into a stockade, the petrol station used as a cattle pen.
January 27, 2026 at 1:24 PM
4) This is one of my favourite pages - the layers of detail are brilliant. The obvious British suburban homes, the electricity pylon turned into a stockade, the petrol station used as a cattle pen.
3) King Arthur II - who sends Henry off on the quest (in order - naturally - to gain the princess's hand in marriage) is clearly an obsessive about automotive technology, his 'palace' a car showroom from before what ever apocalyptic disaster befell Britain took place.
January 27, 2026 at 1:24 PM
3) King Arthur II - who sends Henry off on the quest (in order - naturally - to gain the princess's hand in marriage) is clearly an obsessive about automotive technology, his 'palace' a car showroom from before what ever apocalyptic disaster befell Britain took place.
2) A great detail early on is the repurposing of a branch of Boots the chemist (a nationwide chain of pharmacies) as Tom Boot's Herbalist. The book is full of these touches that anchor the imaginary world in a Britain that even a child will recognise.
January 27, 2026 at 1:24 PM
2) A great detail early on is the repurposing of a branch of Boots the chemist (a nationwide chain of pharmacies) as Tom Boot's Herbalist. The book is full of these touches that anchor the imaginary world in a Britain that even a child will recognise.
1) Delightfully, I now have my own copy of Henry's Quest, Graham Oakley's 1986 post-apocalypse story for children. And It is quite the thing - some of the imagery is just incredible in its depictions of a Britain overgrown.
January 27, 2026 at 1:24 PM
1) Delightfully, I now have my own copy of Henry's Quest, Graham Oakley's 1986 post-apocalypse story for children. And It is quite the thing - some of the imagery is just incredible in its depictions of a Britain overgrown.
My main task today is not thinking about 1970s economic wargames, but to gird my loins and finally write up my analysis of that most maligned of 1st ed Twilight 2000 supplements.
Yes, it's finally time for me to think deeply about the Survivors' Guide to the United Kingdom. Good wishes appreciated
Yes, it's finally time for me to think deeply about the Survivors' Guide to the United Kingdom. Good wishes appreciated
January 26, 2026 at 1:09 PM
My main task today is not thinking about 1970s economic wargames, but to gird my loins and finally write up my analysis of that most maligned of 1st ed Twilight 2000 supplements.
Yes, it's finally time for me to think deeply about the Survivors' Guide to the United Kingdom. Good wishes appreciated
Yes, it's finally time for me to think deeply about the Survivors' Guide to the United Kingdom. Good wishes appreciated
8) long term questions around what happens after the apocalypse. I guess the absolute classic of the genre is Walter M. Miller's A Canticle for Leibowitz (run, do not walk, to your local bookshop and get a copy if you have never read it).
January 26, 2026 at 12:53 PM
8) long term questions around what happens after the apocalypse. I guess the absolute classic of the genre is Walter M. Miller's A Canticle for Leibowitz (run, do not walk, to your local bookshop and get a copy if you have never read it).
7) What also strikes me about the game is how it fits into that genre of post-apocalyptic fiction that imagines the laboured process of rebuilding. I recently re-read Algis Budrys's 1961 novel Some Will Not Die for the first time in years. It's a prime example of science fiction dealing with the...
January 26, 2026 at 12:53 PM
7) What also strikes me about the game is how it fits into that genre of post-apocalyptic fiction that imagines the laboured process of rebuilding. I recently re-read Algis Budrys's 1961 novel Some Will Not Die for the first time in years. It's a prime example of science fiction dealing with the...
5) The real interest for me is the game's background and assumptions. Each of the four power blocs is centered around an institution that survived the nuclear devastation: Bell Telephone, the National Guard, the Bank of America, and fragments of the Lutheran church.
January 26, 2026 at 12:53 PM
5) The real interest for me is the game's background and assumptions. Each of the four power blocs is centered around an institution that survived the nuclear devastation: Bell Telephone, the National Guard, the Bank of America, and fragments of the Lutheran church.
3) or where actual recovery is taking place. For example, TSR's RPG Gamma World is post-post-apocalypse by that very vague definition. Rabbits with laser eyes and psychic, talking aspidistras notwithstanding.
January 26, 2026 at 12:53 PM
3) or where actual recovery is taking place. For example, TSR's RPG Gamma World is post-post-apocalypse by that very vague definition. Rabbits with laser eyes and psychic, talking aspidistras notwithstanding.
1) With the US facing a tangible political crisis, games history that focuses (in part) on America seems rather trivial. But, it's also illuminating/diverting/distracting. A commenter on the interview @wellerstein.bsky.social kindly did with me reminded me of SPI's 1976/77 game After the Holocaust
January 26, 2026 at 12:53 PM
1) With the US facing a tangible political crisis, games history that focuses (in part) on America seems rather trivial. But, it's also illuminating/diverting/distracting. A commenter on the interview @wellerstein.bsky.social kindly did with me reminded me of SPI's 1976/77 game After the Holocaust
Brace yourselves, new game mechanics incoming!
January 6, 2026 at 9:29 AM
Brace yourselves, new game mechanics incoming!
Well, it’s lovely to be recognised by the university for my flailing attempts to take my research out beyond our ivory towers and into the wider RPG community.
December 15, 2025 at 7:10 PM
Well, it’s lovely to be recognised by the university for my flailing attempts to take my research out beyond our ivory towers and into the wider RPG community.
No doubt @mikedavis.bsky.social will be delighted that, yes, I am actually going to write a pastiche of these games, using the excellent, minimalist Silver Road rules from @handiworkgames.bsky.social
.
Behold!
.
Behold!
December 12, 2025 at 10:15 AM
No doubt @mikedavis.bsky.social will be delighted that, yes, I am actually going to write a pastiche of these games, using the excellent, minimalist Silver Road rules from @handiworkgames.bsky.social
.
Behold!
.
Behold!
This game design lark is a piece of piss. Behold! Your Manly Men With Uzis character name generator table!
December 11, 2025 at 1:33 PM
This game design lark is a piece of piss. Behold! Your Manly Men With Uzis character name generator table!
An under-appreciated sub-genre of 1980s RPG is the "Manly Men With Uzis" game. Do you want to play a manly man with an Uzi? Then you have choices! You can play a game designed by William Keith, or if you want to mix things up a little, you can play a game designed by his brother, Andrew Keith!
December 11, 2025 at 1:04 PM
An under-appreciated sub-genre of 1980s RPG is the "Manly Men With Uzis" game. Do you want to play a manly man with an Uzi? Then you have choices! You can play a game designed by William Keith, or if you want to mix things up a little, you can play a game designed by his brother, Andrew Keith!
Dan Ashcroft In Nathan Barley Was Right
November 28, 2025 at 1:20 PM
Dan Ashcroft In Nathan Barley Was Right
1) By coincidence, I've recently finished writing my scenario pack for @fromthemorgue.bsky.social's FiveEvil. It's called Glasshouse and draws upon many of my own pet obsessions and some of my favourite horror films!
November 28, 2025 at 1:14 PM
1) By coincidence, I've recently finished writing my scenario pack for @fromthemorgue.bsky.social's FiveEvil. It's called Glasshouse and draws upon many of my own pet obsessions and some of my favourite horror films!
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.
From the tiny model shop tucked behind the steeple on Falkirk High Street. I bought them because they were cool. I never actually played D&D!
November 19, 2025 at 4:26 PM
From the tiny model shop tucked behind the steeple on Falkirk High Street. I bought them because they were cool. I never actually played D&D!
Surprising absolutely nobody with this.
November 19, 2025 at 11:25 AM
Surprising absolutely nobody with this.