Alice in Cybertales

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.

Made by Yuugakugei (遊学芸), a prolific group whose works include Summon Skate, it’s visuals and production are top notch. Continue reading Alice in Cybertales

Eyes on Wares Blade – Magic and Machinery – Box Set

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.

Wares blade box, front and back side by side.

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

Hani and Gozoku. Also Dogu!

Front of the box showing a Haniwa in the foreground above a kofun, and various game elements in the background.

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.

Continue reading Hani and Gozoku. Also Dogu!

Dungeon Origami

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.

Continue reading Dungeon Origami

Merchants of Haniwa

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

Kashiwa BattleTech Workshop

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

3D terrain map for the grinder game I was in. — 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.

Continue reading Kashiwa BattleTech Workshop

Goita

I first heard of the game Goita at Cafe Subbox in Nagano and picked up a copy there. Originating in the Ushitsu region of Noto Peninsula around 1900, Goita is a game played with shogi-like tiles or cards with four people split into two teams. The goal is to be the first player to play all their cards, with the last card determining points scored. There are several variant win conditions that add complexity.

In the Box

Being a traditional game, there are multiple publishers of Goita. The one I have is from Ten Days Games and consists of thirty-two cards, four reference cards, and four score cards. The rules fit on a single small two sided sheet of paper.

Goita box and its contents laid out flat on grey felt.

The cards feel nice in the hand and are well thought out. The center of the card is Continue reading Goita

Sky Knights Manga Gamebook

One of my first purchases at Role & Roll station was the Sky Knights Manga Gamebook (漫画deゲームブック第一弾). What sets this apart from other gamebooks is that it’s entirely a manga, not just book with illustrations. Written by Sugimoto John (杉本＝ヨハネ) and illustrated by Nakayama Shohei (中山将平), it tells the story of a humanoid bird Sky Knight hunting down the king’s murderer.

B5 in size, its fifty-two pages of black and white illustrations wrapped in a color cover was a fun adventure. Included is a bookmark that serves as a character sheet, one side for each character. It took me a total of four tries to successfully complete the story. Continue reading Sky Knights Manga Gamebook

Catalog of Many Indie TRPGs

I’ve been totally impressed with the Doujin TRPG Catalog 2023 (同人TRPGカタログ2023) edited by Suguru Cioya. It’s a follow up to the previous catalog (同人TRPGカタログ201X) published in 2020. That version contained 175 entries, while the new edition has expanded to 283! Well, 246 are in the main book, and another 37 are in a separate book dedicated to derivative works whose relation to copyright may be questionable. While both are available in print, the latter is also freely available on Booth.

Coming back to the main book and its 104 black and white pages, there are Continue reading Catalog of Many Indie TRPGs

Foretelling the Elements of Trade

As a kid I adored the Torneko story arc and running a shop in Dragon Quest IV, so when I saw the indie TRPG Hakke Gogyou Shou (八卦五行商) and its beautiful cover, I was immediately intrigued. A slim fourteen black and white pages with a glossy cover, it’s a game of merchants peddling their wares in an ancient China inspired fantasy.

The name itself is composed of three words: Eight Trigrams Divination (八卦), Five Elements (五行), and Merchant (商), with the shapes behind the title corresponding to the concepts. Not being very familiar with them and the book assuming some familiarity, a bit of research helped with reading. Continue reading Foretelling the Elements of Trade