Entropic Dreams

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

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.

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.

Continue reading Ancient Robot Games

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

Sword World RPG English Version Announced

Cover of the Deluxe Edition showing three crossed swords: red, white, and green.

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.

In the meanwhile, for those wanting to learn more about Sword World, I’ve written about it several times in the past. The first time was a look at the 2.0 starter box my friend ran for me and its gameplay. Next was a look at the 2.0 core rulebook. There’s also a look at some articles about its history and the transition between 2.0 and 2.5.

Very excited to see Sword World soon to join the list of translated Japanese TRPGs!

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

First Laugh

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.

This is a great example of how TRPG Rakugo attracts a new audience. Continue reading First Laugh