July 2026 Roundup

Summer heat and festivals are in full swing in Japan. A few items that caught my eye in July:

How to become a TRPG Publisher

Frog Games posts a lot about the business of TRPG publishing, and extended this to an event at CCFolia Ikebukuro on July 26th.

I unfortunately wasn’t able to attend, but Frog Games’ Watanabe and Adventure Planning Service’s Kondo discussed the challenges of being a small publisher, such as distribution vs direct sales, in addition to TRPG specific topics. Really nice to see this type of industry support.

Ghost in the Shell TTRPG

The cyberpunk classic Ghost in the Shell is getting another TTRPG, this time from Mantic Games! I’m really digging what I’ve seen so far. Crowdfunding ends August 14th.

Sword World

The new date for the Sword World English edition crowdfunding is set for October 20th. It will apparently be divided into three books: Player, GM, and Bestiary.

HacKClaD TRPG

Cover of HackCLAD TRPG showing a group of witches facing down a dragon.A TRPG adaptation of the deck builder game HacKCLaD by Susabi Games came out from Kadokawa on July, 17th. I’m not familiar with game or setting, but the author caught my attention: Tōichirō Kawashima. I’m at a bit of loss how to keep it brief, but he created the Saikoro Fiction system, Insane, Meikyuu Kingdom, Magicalogia, among many, many, more. Very cool artwork based on the few sample pages available.

June 2026 Roundup

Releases are a bit calmer the month after Tokyo Game Market, but some particularly big releases in June!

Rulebook App Released

Screenshot of the Rulebook App Home Screen.

The CCfolia Rulebook App released with access to a fair number of books! It costs ¥550 a month, but there’s a coupon code “start_trpg” that makes the first month free. I’ll write more about it after I’ve had a chance to check it out.

Shin Megami Tensei III Nocturne TRPG

Continue reading June 2026 Roundup

May 2026 Roundup

With Tokyo Game Market in May, this post would be exceptionally long if I somehow managed to cover everything. So with that being said, here are a few highlights from May!

A New Solo Game by NS Miniatures

Cover of 灰と剣の迷宮 (Hai to Tsurugi no Meikyuu; Labyrinth of Ash and Sword) showing an armored adventurer about to climb down a rope into a labyrinth.NS Miniatures, the makers of Dungeon Origami, among other miniature products, released 灰と剣の迷宮 (Hai to Tsurugi no Meikyuu; Labyrinth of Ash and Sword) that was been quite the hit. It sold out once, but preorders for the second run are open again. I’ll do a post about this once my copy arrives.

Continue reading May 2026 Roundup

April ’26 Roundup

The first of what I hope becomes a regular thing: a monthly look at Japanese TRPG news. Far from comprehensive, it’s just what caught my eye. Now, onto April!

Vampire the Masquerade

Vampire the Masquerade fifth edition was just localized to Japanese by Frog Games, who also localized RuneQuest and Last Sabbath. I absolutely love the new cover artwork.

Vampire the Masquerade Japanese localized cover

Continue reading April ’26 Roundup

CCFolio Books

I wanted to visit CCFolia books since I first heard about them, and finally made the trip with a friend. Located in Ikebukuro, it could be mistaken for just another bookstore. Entering, though, I was greeted by shelves of TRPG and adjacent books, as well as some murder mysteries and card games. CCFolia books is a TRPG-focused store that could be mistaken for a trendy Tsutaya books.

Kamigakari and Yuuyake Koyake, among others displayed on shelves. A pine colored floor leads further back to a seating area.

Continue reading CCFolio Books

Another Edinburgh Delve

We’ll linger a bit longer in Edinburgh before heading back to Japan. I previously wrote about visiting Ancient Robot Games, but I was hoping to peruse more. Where to, though?

Gathering Information

Proprietor of Rogue Trading at a local market

An unlikely guide to games of Edinburgh appeared. We stopped by a local market and by chance encountered a rogue purveying the finest meads. While I first thought the shop Rogue Trading was named after a certain game, chatting with the proprietor I learned it was actually inspired by his favorite class in D&D, the rogue! I shared that mine is cleric, and a neighboring vendor was curious about what we were talking about. I received some great advice about shops to visit in Edinburgh to go along with my Cask Reserve Mead. All the meads I tasted were delicious, and highly recommended.

Ancient Robot, which I wrote about previously, was high on his list, but he also mentioned the following, which I tasked myself with visiting… Continue reading Another Edinburgh Delve

Welcoming 2026

Hope the new year is treating everyone well! I’m mostly back into the swing of things, and already putting my resolution of reading more into action.

Looking back at 2025, I didn’t manage to post monthly as I originally wanted to, but did post more than I did in 2024, a positive trend. As always, I hope to post more in this year, but I’m really happy to have finally written about Wares Blade.

Speaking of Wares Blade, 2025 was an exciting year for English release announcements. Both Wares Blade and Sword World will be getting English editions!

Next post will be another look at Edinburgh, but we’ll then be returning to Japan with a quick look at the CCFolia Bookstore. As for what comes after that? I’m still trying to figure out where to strike next in my backlog… so many things I’d like to share. Stay tuned!

Ancient Robot Games

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.
Exterior side of Ancient Robot Games. Large glass windows with shelves of games.

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.

Photo of the store from a gaming table. Games for sale on the left and a game being played in the center. Store shirts are hanging above. Continue reading Ancient Robot Games

Alice in Cybertales

Box contains blonde cybernetic female

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