Graham Walmsley
@grahamwalmsley.bsky.social
I design games, especially tabletop roleplaying games (Cthulhu Dark, Cosmic Dark). I also write books on storytelling (Play Unsafe) and drift into interactive fiction (39 Steps) and LARP (Will That Be All).
And I love theatre, art and history.
And I love theatre, art and history.
We played Dino Island! @savagespiel.bsky.social brought little dinosaurs.
November 15, 2025 at 5:51 PM
We played Dino Island! @savagespiel.bsky.social brought little dinosaurs.
I just backed Gravity: A Roleplaying Game on @kickstarter.com www.kickstarter.com/projects/pot...
Gravity: A Roleplaying Game
A one-shot TTRPG about powerful people in a bad situation.
www.kickstarter.com
November 15, 2025 at 11:41 AM
I just backed Gravity: A Roleplaying Game on @kickstarter.com www.kickstarter.com/projects/pot...
Reposted by Graham Walmsley
I've already fallen off the self-promotion train!
I'd just sort of assumed that £2k was a low enough goal that I could just coast over the line without much effort, and... no. 😓
I'd just sort of assumed that £2k was a low enough goal that I could just coast over the line without much effort, and... no. 😓
Gravity: A Roleplaying Game
A one-shot TTRPG about powerful people in a bad situation.
www.kickstarter.com
November 15, 2025 at 10:54 AM
I've already fallen off the self-promotion train!
I'd just sort of assumed that £2k was a low enough goal that I could just coast over the line without much effort, and... no. 😓
I'd just sort of assumed that £2k was a low enough goal that I could just coast over the line without much effort, and... no. 😓
Reposted by Graham Walmsley
DIE: Loaded's order cut off is on Monday. Talk to your retailer. It's all kicking off.
November 14, 2025 at 8:56 PM
DIE: Loaded's order cut off is on Monday. Talk to your retailer. It's all kicking off.
I'm reading the Hobbit and just got to the conversation with Smaug, which I'd totally forgotten. It's wonderful.
I want to write about dragons now. (Actually I'm writing a game about dragons, so maybe conversations with them will go into it.)
I want to write about dragons now. (Actually I'm writing a game about dragons, so maybe conversations with them will go into it.)
November 14, 2025 at 7:13 PM
I'm reading the Hobbit and just got to the conversation with Smaug, which I'd totally forgotten. It's wonderful.
I want to write about dragons now. (Actually I'm writing a game about dragons, so maybe conversations with them will go into it.)
I want to write about dragons now. (Actually I'm writing a game about dragons, so maybe conversations with them will go into it.)
I admit, I read the first paragraph thinking "This is a whole chunk of history I forgot".
And then I was delighted by the "What is a TTRPG" section.
And then I was delighted by the "What is a TTRPG" section.
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 14, 2025 at 4:21 PM
I admit, I read the first paragraph thinking "This is a whole chunk of history I forgot".
And then I was delighted by the "What is a TTRPG" section.
And then I was delighted by the "What is a TTRPG" section.
Reposted by Graham Walmsley
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 14, 2025 at 11:03 AM
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...
Reasons I like the word "trash", rather than the UK version "rubbish": you can hold up something and say "Is this trash?".
If you say "Is this rubbish?", it's unclear whether you're asking whether the thing is bad or whether it can be disposed of.
If you say "Is this rubbish?", it's unclear whether you're asking whether the thing is bad or whether it can be disposed of.
November 13, 2025 at 8:02 AM
Reasons I like the word "trash", rather than the UK version "rubbish": you can hold up something and say "Is this trash?".
If you say "Is this rubbish?", it's unclear whether you're asking whether the thing is bad or whether it can be disposed of.
If you say "Is this rubbish?", it's unclear whether you're asking whether the thing is bad or whether it can be disposed of.
Reposted by Graham Walmsley
performative reading, lack of reading skills, nobody's reading anymore -- NO!
tell me about a book that changed you
for me? the *extremely* ahistorical novel, THE AGONY AND THE ECSTASY which I read at 13 and was like, "Oh, art can be *everything* to a maker, for good and bad"
tell me about a book that changed you
for me? the *extremely* ahistorical novel, THE AGONY AND THE ECSTASY which I read at 13 and was like, "Oh, art can be *everything* to a maker, for good and bad"
November 11, 2025 at 10:39 PM
performative reading, lack of reading skills, nobody's reading anymore -- NO!
tell me about a book that changed you
for me? the *extremely* ahistorical novel, THE AGONY AND THE ECSTASY which I read at 13 and was like, "Oh, art can be *everything* to a maker, for good and bad"
tell me about a book that changed you
for me? the *extremely* ahistorical novel, THE AGONY AND THE ECSTASY which I read at 13 and was like, "Oh, art can be *everything* to a maker, for good and bad"
I'm reading The Hobbit! It must be thirty or forty years since I've read it. I'd forgotten so many scenes - the spiders, Beorn, the wood elves - and they're so much fun to read again.
November 10, 2025 at 11:49 PM
I'm reading The Hobbit! It must be thirty or forty years since I've read it. I'd forgotten so many scenes - the spiders, Beorn, the wood elves - and they're so much fun to read again.
Reposted by Graham Walmsley
A brief defence of dialogue choices (286 words):
A brief defence of dialogue choices
In games, the player needs to have something to do.
medium.com
November 10, 2025 at 4:42 PM
A brief defence of dialogue choices (286 words):
This is a wonderful story.
This month on my little podcast I read a tale concerning ecumenical matters ....
podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/mr-...
podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/mr-...
The Stalls of Barchester Cathedral, by M.R. James by Mr Spike's Bedtime Stories
After he happens upon an old obituary notice our narrator unravels the mysterious and unusual circumstances surrounding the death of a clergyman a century earlier.Mr Spike's Bedtime Stories theme and ...
podcasters.spotify.com
November 9, 2025 at 11:14 PM
This is a wonderful story.
I read Andrew Michael Hurley's The Loney and wondered why it worked so well for me.
In short, there's just a hint of supernatural at the end, without much explanation. The story doesn't (say) give you distant glimpses of weird entities, and I like that.
In short, there's just a hint of supernatural at the end, without much explanation. The story doesn't (say) give you distant glimpses of weird entities, and I like that.
November 9, 2025 at 12:01 PM
I read Andrew Michael Hurley's The Loney and wondered why it worked so well for me.
In short, there's just a hint of supernatural at the end, without much explanation. The story doesn't (say) give you distant glimpses of weird entities, and I like that.
In short, there's just a hint of supernatural at the end, without much explanation. The story doesn't (say) give you distant glimpses of weird entities, and I like that.
Chris is writing interesting things about mechanics for this, so I'm really interested to see how it ends up.
Alright, think I'm going to launch the Kickstarter for Gravity on... Tuesday. I'm bored of waiting.
Will I remember to hype it up on social media, multiple times a day, every day, to build interest and maximise income? Probably not!
www.kickstarter.com/projects/pot...
Will I remember to hype it up on social media, multiple times a day, every day, to build interest and maximise income? Probably not!
www.kickstarter.com/projects/pot...
Coming soon: Gravity: A Roleplaying Game
A one-shot TTRPG about powerful people in a bad situation.
www.kickstarter.com
November 8, 2025 at 12:17 PM
Chris is writing interesting things about mechanics for this, so I'm really interested to see how it ends up.
Reposted by Graham Walmsley
Alright, think I'm going to launch the Kickstarter for Gravity on... Tuesday. I'm bored of waiting.
Will I remember to hype it up on social media, multiple times a day, every day, to build interest and maximise income? Probably not!
www.kickstarter.com/projects/pot...
Will I remember to hype it up on social media, multiple times a day, every day, to build interest and maximise income? Probably not!
www.kickstarter.com/projects/pot...
Coming soon: Gravity: A Roleplaying Game
A one-shot TTRPG about powerful people in a bad situation.
www.kickstarter.com
November 7, 2025 at 7:56 PM
Alright, think I'm going to launch the Kickstarter for Gravity on... Tuesday. I'm bored of waiting.
Will I remember to hype it up on social media, multiple times a day, every day, to build interest and maximise income? Probably not!
www.kickstarter.com/projects/pot...
Will I remember to hype it up on social media, multiple times a day, every day, to build interest and maximise income? Probably not!
www.kickstarter.com/projects/pot...
Back in the day, we all had 15-minute demos of our games ready, which we'd offer to play when we sold games at conventions.
I wonder why we stopped?
I wonder why we stopped?
It's one of the great mysteries of life: why have 15-minute demos been forgotten/memory-holed/discarded as chaff unto the pitiless winds? They worked brilliantly on multiple levels: as intros to RPG/intros to new games/as a sales tool/etc.
I would go further than that. Back in the Collective Endeavour days we very successfully used 15-min demos that distilled games to their core experience. People loved them, as they very quickly got a feel for whether or not the game was for them. Taking that into the wider world would be a winner.
November 8, 2025 at 10:35 AM
Back in the day, we all had 15-minute demos of our games ready, which we'd offer to play when we sold games at conventions.
I wonder why we stopped?
I wonder why we stopped?
I'm not usually a Traitors fan, but I really liked Celebrity Traitors, perhaps because they all treat it as a game and stay friends at the end.
November 6, 2025 at 11:50 PM
I'm not usually a Traitors fan, but I really liked Celebrity Traitors, perhaps because they all treat it as a game and stay friends at the end.
Apocalypse World is a genius game, which I keep going back to.
November 6, 2025 at 8:51 PM
Apocalypse World is a genius game, which I keep going back to.
Alex is asking the important questions here.
There's this guy walking into a blank netherworld. What is there? Is it real? What is the place behind Zoom?
There's this guy walking into a blank netherworld. What is there? Is it real? What is the place behind Zoom?
Something about the little guy on the leave button in zoom is ominous. where is he going
November 6, 2025 at 7:49 PM
Alex is asking the important questions here.
There's this guy walking into a blank netherworld. What is there? Is it real? What is the place behind Zoom?
There's this guy walking into a blank netherworld. What is there? Is it real? What is the place behind Zoom?
Reposted by Graham Walmsley
Lovecraftesque 2e is in the current Bundle of Tentacles 7!
We are in amazing company with @farhorizonscoop.bsky.social' guide to cults and the book that inspired Lovecraftesque... Stealing Cthuhlu by @grahamwalmsley.bsky.social.
Total bargain for those books alone
#ttrpg #cosmichorror #lovecraft
We are in amazing company with @farhorizonscoop.bsky.social' guide to cults and the book that inspired Lovecraftesque... Stealing Cthuhlu by @grahamwalmsley.bsky.social.
Total bargain for those books alone
#ttrpg #cosmichorror #lovecraft
Bundle of Tentacles 7
Investigator! This Bundle of Tentacles 7 is our seventh all-new library of Sanity-shattering tabletop roleplaying ebooks inspired by the Cthulhu Mythos. Illuminate your position in the cosmos with fiv...
bundleofholding.com
November 4, 2025 at 11:39 AM
Lovecraftesque 2e is in the current Bundle of Tentacles 7!
We are in amazing company with @farhorizonscoop.bsky.social' guide to cults and the book that inspired Lovecraftesque... Stealing Cthuhlu by @grahamwalmsley.bsky.social.
Total bargain for those books alone
#ttrpg #cosmichorror #lovecraft
We are in amazing company with @farhorizonscoop.bsky.social' guide to cults and the book that inspired Lovecraftesque... Stealing Cthuhlu by @grahamwalmsley.bsky.social.
Total bargain for those books alone
#ttrpg #cosmichorror #lovecraft
Just a reminder that, on @bundleofholding.com , you can get Stealing Cthulhu, Fairyland and Cthulhu Dark by me, plus Lovecraftesque by @armadajosh.bsky.social and other brilliant stuff.
You should do that now. It is the sensible thing to do. bundleofholding.com/presents/Ten...
You should do that now. It is the sensible thing to do. bundleofholding.com/presents/Ten...
Bundle of Tentacles 7
Investigator! This Bundle of Tentacles 7 is our seventh all-new library of Sanity-shattering tabletop roleplaying ebooks inspired by the Cthulhu Mythos. Illuminate your position in the cosmos with fiv...
bundleofholding.com
November 3, 2025 at 7:47 PM
Just a reminder that, on @bundleofholding.com , you can get Stealing Cthulhu, Fairyland and Cthulhu Dark by me, plus Lovecraftesque by @armadajosh.bsky.social and other brilliant stuff.
You should do that now. It is the sensible thing to do. bundleofholding.com/presents/Ten...
You should do that now. It is the sensible thing to do. bundleofholding.com/presents/Ten...
Reposted by Graham Walmsley
My friends at Character Creation Roleplay have joined the podcast world with @oceancitytabletop.bsky.social
Expect a future something looking at folklore in tabletop games. They have a library of over 1,000 to choose from.
And do follow their BlueSky as they start their new podcast
Expect a future something looking at folklore in tabletop games. They have a library of over 1,000 to choose from.
And do follow their BlueSky as they start their new podcast
a man in a star trek uniform looks surprised while talking to two other men
ALT: a man in a star trek uniform looks surprised while talking to two other men
media.tenor.com
November 2, 2025 at 10:25 AM
My friends at Character Creation Roleplay have joined the podcast world with @oceancitytabletop.bsky.social
Expect a future something looking at folklore in tabletop games. They have a library of over 1,000 to choose from.
And do follow their BlueSky as they start their new podcast
Expect a future something looking at folklore in tabletop games. They have a library of over 1,000 to choose from.
And do follow their BlueSky as they start their new podcast
Reposted by Graham Walmsley
Chatting to a friend about this yesterday, and realised I should re-plug it. Probably the most wholesome thing I've ever created, despite (er) everything.
My new game zine! HOW DO ALIENS DO "IT"? is a game about confused teenage aliens trying to work out what their information-scarce society isn't telling them. It's playful, but approaches big themes lightly. It's pay what you like, but do pay nowt. #ttrpg
kierongillen.itch.io/how-do-alien...
kierongillen.itch.io/how-do-alien...
How Do Aliens Do
The game of underinformed alien teenagers trying To work out what the hell is going on.
kierongillen.itch.io
November 2, 2025 at 7:25 AM
Chatting to a friend about this yesterday, and realised I should re-plug it. Probably the most wholesome thing I've ever created, despite (er) everything.
Reposted by Graham Walmsley
Strictly speaking this is the post from last time they were on sale, but it's also true now. I am posting very efficiently.
October 31, 2025 at 9:20 PM
Strictly speaking this is the post from last time they were on sale, but it's also true now. I am posting very efficiently.