We’ll sneak out of Japan for this post and journey to Edinburgh, Scotland, where I had the pleasure to visit the wonderful game shop Ancient Robot Games. Opened in 2023, it’s a wonderful mix of cafe and shop.
I knew I was in for something special the minute I saw the window display, and confirmed it when I stepped into and saw the giant robot painting on the back wall. The front of the shop focuses on board games and gaming space, with wonderful natural lighting from large windows.
The center and left of the store is dedicated to board and card games for sale, with trading cards near the till at the back of the shop, along with a coffee maker. The right hand of the shop was the play space with multiple tables and a comprehensive game library. Hot drinks and pastries were available at very reasonable prices.
Alice in Cybertales (アリス イン サイバーテイル) is a svelte thirty two card TRPG-like cooperative conversation game. It puts the TRPG element of interacting with NPCs its core mechanic. Set in a Cyberpunk Alice and Wonderland inspired world where the PCs are searching for a rabbit. As part of this search, the players attempt to gather information from the city’s inhabitants.
It’s supports two to five people, including one as the GM, and estimated game time is under thirty minutes, making for a snappy game.
I still remember the first time I was at Yellow Submarine and happened upon the original Wares Blade box set, its cover instantly piquing my curiosity. I later found it again at Mandarake and picked it up. With LionWing Publishing’s English translation in the works, I thought it’d be fun to take a look at the original box.
But first, just what is Wares Blade? In its own words, Wares Blade is a “magic and machinery”, a fantasy world with mecha. And while we’ll be looking at the TRPG today, it’s a world unto itself. There is a plethora of novels, and an active movement to make them available again. Back at the 2019 Tokyo Game Market I stopped by the Wares Project booth and heard a bit about their plans, including a board game “Legion”. Six years later, with out of print books being made available as PDFs and now an English translation, Wares Blade is very much alive!
Set on the continent of Ahan (アハーン大陸) with three cultural areas, the core set focuses on the Western area. Later supplements, of which there are many, look at other areas.
To be clear, the Kickstarter is for the revised edition that came out in 1994, while we’ll be taking a peek at the original 1989 version. I’ve only skimmed the sample English rules, but have referenced it a few times for consistency with speciality terms (eg 練法師 as Word-Caster). With that said, on to the box! Continue reading Eyes on Wares Blade – Magic and Machinery – Box Set
Mugen Gaming recently announced that they’ll be translating Sword World 2.5 into English! The version making its way to English is the upcoming deluxe version, a 432 page A4 sized book that compiles the first three rulebooks into one volume. Crowdfunding starts in 2026, but a one shot PDF with basic rules will be available to those on the mailing list from the official site.
Last time we took a look at Merchants of Haniwa, where players are modern day curators assembling collections of artifacts. This time, we’ll look at “Haniwa and Gozoku. Also Dogu!” which shares the Haniwa theme, but approaches it differently. The players are Haniwa artisans that attempt to please Gozoku (powerful families, patrons in a sense). Dogu is a fun addition, and are clay figures from the Jomon period, which preceded the Kofun period Haniwa were made in. Reading “also dogu” always reminds me of “and Zoidberg” phrasing from Futurama.
A while back I was at Yellow Submarine in Shinjuku and happened upon Dungeon Origami (ダンジョン折り紙). It’s origami paper (15cmx15cm) tiles printed with a 6×6 25mm grid. It comes with 45 sheets with 14 different layouts and a small board of markers. Compact and affordable at ¥660 per pack. I picked up the brown version, but it also comes in other colors, such as grey, green, black, and blue.
I picked up Merchants of Haniwa (埴輪の商人) at Tokyo Game Market and had the chance to play with some friends. It’s a game for three to five players and plays for about 30 minutes.
But first, merchants of what? Haniwa are terracotta figures from the Kofun era of Japan with a distinctive shape. Once you’re familiar with the shape, you’ll spot references to them all over the place. 2023 Fall Game Market had two Haniwa related games for sale, and intrigued by the different approaches, I picked up both. We’ll be looking at Merchants of Haniwa this time, but we’ll take a look at the other one next time. Continue reading Merchants of Haniwa
New Years in Japan brings a lot of firsts. First sunrise （初日の出）, first dream （初夢）, and first visit to a shrine （初詣）are well known, but there is also first laugh（初笑い）, which is often associated with Rakugo. Thus it seemed all too appropriate to attend another TRPG Rakugo performance by Sanyutei Rakuten organized by Gurasan!
At the same venue as before, it again consisted of four stories, two traditional and the TRPG versions created from them, as well as a talk show. Previously, the original and TRPG versions were done in pairs, but this time it was split into both traditional stories, a break, and then both TRPG stories.
The first story アイテム根問 (loosely meaning Inquisitive about Items) was adapted from 千早ふる (Chihayaburu). Both are about an inquisitive person asking a know-it-all the meaning of something the know-it-all won’t admit he doesn’t know. The know-it-all then proceeds to make up the answers. The TRPG version is about items such as, “why is it called a mace?”. The traditional version is about the meaning of a Hyakunin Isshu poem.
Hope everyone’s year of the snake is off to a wonderful start! I started the year with a cute game of life, Chiikawa edition. For those not familiar with Chiikawa, it’s a very popular manga with anime. It also has a TON of goods and collaborations. One of those is a compact version of the Game of Life, which I’ve written about before.
The board is a compact folding board, and five official characters plus a blank card to draw your own are included. Like the larger version, a small spinner is used for movement. The characters have two versions, with a chance to upgrade to the higher tier partway through the course. Players are also able to collect memory cards, depicting events from the manga, to earn more money.
Game components. Glass of Manhattan not included.
Being fans, it was really fun to read out the text for each square we landed on, which really capture the spirit of Chiikawa. We were evenly matched for most of the game, but I lost most of my points one square away from the end.
Looking Forward and Back
Speaking of years, looking back at 2024, I didn’t post nearly as much as I wanted. There were several months in a row without any posts, and I hope to rectify that this year and return to at least one post a month. I already have several posts in various states of composition, and am inspired to write more. The next few will likely be board games, but I will also cover some game books and TRPGs.
In terms of gaming, a Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus game I was a player in wrapped up and I played in a Radiant Citadel one shot. I’ve restarted my Star Wars Clone Wars game after being a player in a friend’s game, and played in a Vampire 5th edition game as well. One thing I was not expecting, was to return to BattleTech after so many years away. Hoping to make more visits to the Kashiwa group and maybe find some local games.
By chance, I received a question asking where to search for BattleTech goods in Japan. While researching that, I stumbled upon a monthly BattleTech event in Chiba at hobby shop Miniature Forest and immediately jumped at the opportunity to play.
Background
But first, some personal history. As I’ve written about before, I was really into BattleTech as a teen, devouring the novels and sourcebooks. Despite having the third edition box set, Aerotech, and BattleSpace, I actually only played once or twice. When I moved to Japan, I decided to let it all go and either sold or donated it. While dormant, my interest continued to linger, so I dove right in when the HBS BattleTech game was released. It also prompted me to later back the Clan Invasion kickstarter. Its arrival was during the Covid pandemic, so there it stayed on my shelf.
Kashiwa BattleTech Workshop
Grinder game map.
Now on to the event! The shop owner created a name card for me that doubles as a point card. The cost was just the shop fee (¥1,500), with the event itself being free. Roughly fourteen people participated across three tables. The table I was at was a grinder game with the other players teaching me how to play. The other two tables escalated in complexity.
At the same venue as before, it again consisted of four stories, two traditional and the TRPG versions created from them, as well as a talk show. Previously, the original and TRPG versions were done in pairs, but this time it was split into both traditional stories, a break, and then both TRPG stories.
