Category: Roleplaying Games

Cold City and Hot War are coming to Kickstarter in early March (we want to let the Zinequest folks do their thing first!) In preparation for that we bring you the first in a short series of compact videos unpacking the basics of what these two tabletop RPGs are all about!

If you prefer to read rather than watch and listen, here’s the transcript:
Hello. My name is Jon Hodgson from Handiwork Games,
and we thought it would be a nice idea to make some little short videos explaining, to start off with, just the basics of Cold City and Hot War.
I am joined today by Malcolm Craig, the creator and designer of Cold City and Hot War, whose name I always get the wrong way round, and I’m trying really hard to not do that.

Malcolm, could you give us a bit of an introduction on who you are?

So I’m, Malcolm Craig in my day job, which I’m currently in, as you can probably tell, I am a senior lecturer in American history at Liverpool John Moore’s University, Liverpool in the UK. Remarkably enough. And by night. I am a games designer. A Has-been games designer of yesteryear! But now back, you know, like
a greying superhero with limited powers.

So. You say you’re back. This is the second edition of Cold City and Hot War.

Yes.

Some folks I know who will have already signed up at the campaign. There’ll probably be a link somewhere to do that. They will be well aware of these games. Could you give us kind of the elevator
pitch for what this is? It’s two games, right? What’s the elevator pitch for both games?

Well, they’re thematically linked games. Cold City is a game of, hidden agendas, trust, and monster hunting in Berlin in 1950, as the Cold War is really taking off. And Hot War is a game of friends, enemies, relationships, and the breakdown of society in the aftermath of nuclear war in London in the winter of 1963. So, they are both thematically linked by the history that they portray, but also by the fact that the they take a slightly alternative history, science fictional approach to the Cold War and that technologies were developed in 1939 and 1945 that still linger on in the present day.

I was going to say it’s really strongly inspired, obviously, by your professional-level
now knowledge of the history of the Cold War. But also there is a sort of that that element we might expect in games of a little bit of a more fantastical edge to things. If people are looking for that, it’s there.

Yeah. And, and otherwise it becomes unrelentingly bleak. Yes. I think the, the, your science fictional or cultish horror weirdly takes away from the bleakness slightly.

Yeah. It just cheers it up a bit.

You can now sign up to play test Cold City Hot War, and be notified of the campaign launch.
head to this link:

About Cold City and Hot War

Cold City and Hot War second editions are twin RPGs that explore hidden agendas, trust, and relationships during an alternative Cold War and its terrifying ultimate conclusion.

Cold City

In the divided city of post-World War II Berlin, terrors hide in the darkness. The legacies of war, suffering, and fringe science lurk beneath the surface, feared and desired by former allies and defeated enemies. Those that seek out these horrors are riven by suspicion, mistrust and political ambition. The four occupying powers of Britain, France, the USA and the USSR all have their own agendas.  In Cold City, characters are defined not just by who they are and what they are like, but by the views of the other characters and the trust that they have in them.

Hot War

London. Winter. 1963. It is a year since the Cold War went hot. This was not just a nuclear war, as darker weapons with their roots in World War II’s suffering and fringe science were deployed.  Survival and re-building are all that matter now. But human nature and the breakdown of society mean that everyone has their own ambitions.  Into this maelstrom steps a motley band of women and men tasked with the jobs too dirty or dangerous for anyone else. They have to deal with relationships, loves, hatred, and hidden agendas in a collapsing, ravaged, horror-strewn Britain.

A new edition

Revised and reimagined from their first editions that appeared in 2006 and 2008 respectively, Cold City and Hot War keep all that was great about these critically-acclaimed RPGs while bringing fresh ideas to the texts and the mechanics. Both books hold up a mirror to – and reflect upon – the Cold War era’s real history to help readers and players better understand the games and their settings.

Designed and written by Malcolm Craig, now a senior lecturer in Cold War history at Liverpool John Moore’s University, with art and graphic design by Paul Bourne of Handiwork Games, Cold City and Hot War will be presented as two books in a beautiful slipcase. 

Previews

Grab 31 pages of insights and inspirations free on DrivethruRPG in the Cold City Hot War Reports.