Errrrr....I hate to break the news, but.... It's amusing that my undergrad students who only had to do a three week bloc on the historiography of American imperialism know more about the subject than this clown.

Brace yourselves, new game mechanics incoming!

Just imagine me doing my shocked face as more money is shovelled at RG unis to the detriment of everyone else.

If a decision was reached to cease funding all research except the stuff awarded 4*, it would, within this cycle, end the point of doing the REF exercise and it would become more efficient to simply bin UKRI, direct all QR funding to 'R-intensives' instead, and then say "this is fine" over and over.

Not actually a thread about postal charges, but in reality a thread about RPGs, pricing, sales, and the artisan class. Good stuff from someone who has thought about this an awful lot.

Apparently I'm now an engineer working for a 1930s arms manufacturer, dragged into the mysterious world of espionage.

@rdonoghue.bsky.social's thread is worth your time. It also struck me how much of what he says applies to studying RPGs as historical objects. You can't simply look at the text & say "job done!", you must also analyse the process and cultures of play. Hence, the value of oral history in this field.

OK, this will likely take a bit of a ramble, but here is the story of why I *didn't* become a published game designer... 🧵

Bus Ticket to Pimlico The Man in the White Shorts Kind Hearts and Cornettos #makeafilmcheaper - Ealing comedy edition

Some of the Presidents Men Three Days of the Sparrow Invasion of the Body Snatcher

If you're interested in longue durée RPG history, this from @guyintheblackhat.bsky.social is worth your time.

If you enroll in a history course you don’t get to decide that, I don’t know, the Battle of Hastings took place last Tuesday or something. Students are taught how to think within a context of agreed fact, knowledge of which can and should be tested.

PhD Funding! University of Leeds The School of History invites applicants from Black, Asian and other minoritised ethnic groups who wish to study for a PhD commencing in the academic year 2026/27 to apply for the School of History Access to Research Scholarship. phd.leeds.ac.uk/funding/387-...

Zak Sabbath/Smith/whatever is scumbag who has polluted the RPG scene for far too long.

So one of things I love about the setting for Hot War - dire, post-apocalyptic awfulness with a fascistic government at the helm - is that those in charge are still able to churn out propaganda posters by the thousands. It's my own little "ok, you can have faster than light travel!".

Forget the tension around Whamageddon, it's this that is the real festive stress test.

Seldom have I hit the block button so fast. I think I might have given myself whiplash, to be honest.

I once spent a week at Kew and managed to find three useful documents. That's about it really. Nothing crazy has ever happened to me in an archive. Unless you count seeing the ghost of Gerald Ford, but I put that down to food poisoning from the Panda Express on the UMich North Campus.

So the story is that freedom of speech was upheld on both sides? Prof. Sullivan got to deliver her talk, and the protesters got to protest outside. Or does she want legitimate protest against her beliefs banned? Oh...

Hot War is nominated as one of the most anticipated RPG releases of 2026! Nice. You can vote over this way: www.enworld.org/threads/its-... And find out more about Cold City and Hot War over here: handiwork.games/cold-city-ho...

Well, it’s lovely to be recognised by the university for my flailing attempts to take my research out beyond our ivory towers and into the wider RPG community.

@handiworkgames.bsky.social gift cards! For the discerning roleplayer/wargamer/miniatures painter in your life. Ho ho ho!

It's the last ever episode of Brainwaves. We coincidentally wrap up some of the biggest stories of the last little while on top of new ones of course. giantbrain.co.uk/2025/12/15/b...

What if - and bear with me here - the creative process is a crucial, fundamental, and also worthwhile part of creating something? A radical suggestion, I know. I'll be here all week with further Big Thoughts and "hot aches" (as I believe "the kids" call them).

I'll stick to my totally analogue, 32 year old Mazda MX5 thanks.

I can't help but feel that @floaker.bsky.social gives me far too much credit, but I'll take it!

1) This week was my last teaching week for nine months, as I now have a research sabbatical. Where I need to knuckle down and actually get this book on TTRPGs, the Cold War, and nuclear fear written. I want the book to be accessible to a general audience, both in terms of content and price.

Yay! Naturally I’m biased, but I didn’t write it, so I think it’s fair to say I think that FiveEvil is very good.

I wrote a new article: it’s on the Fallout franchise, & it’s just been published in Games&Culture I’m currently trying to wrap my head around a bigger project on historical video game promotion and branding & this article is a slice (in progress) of that + it’s open access! doi.org/10.1177/1555...

And now, Writing Game Histories (2026) with cover art (courtesy of @murthynikhil.bsky.social’s Syphilisation) www.bloomsbury.com/uk/writing-g...

Oh no! I never had the pleasure of meeting Dr Burr, but his work as a scholar and archivist had a huge impact on my work. What a sad loss to the profession.

Very near a coffee-spat-over-laptop moment at the Peake reference. Bravo, @eleanormorton.bsky.social!

Oh, @kevinboniface.bsky.social - re: our chat last weekend.

I'm not sure why it's flashing like that, but the image contains the CFP for the edited collection @dianearodgers.bsky.social and I are putting together on Folk Horror on Television. We're looking for a wide range of texts, contexts, and academic approaches. Proposals by 15 January.

🚨 Call for Papers! 🚨 📣Join us @lancasteruni.bsky.social 1-3 July 2026 as we return to our original home to celebrate our 50th anniversary! We welcome proposals from historians at all career stages across 8 thematic strands. 📅 CfP deadline: 16/01/26 🔗 socialhistory.org.uk/events/confe... #CFP 🗃️

No doubt @mikedavis.bsky.social will be delighted that, yes, I am actually going to write a pastiche of these games, using the excellent, minimalist Silver Road rules from @handiworkgames.bsky.social . Behold!

When will this crisis get any attention whatsoever!? A THOUSAND ACADEMIC STAFF AT ONE INSTITUTION SERVED REDUNDANCY RISK NOTICES! And that's not counting what's surely being visited on professional services staff too. This is an economic catastrophe, to say nothing of the intellectual catastrophe!

In response to @mikedavis.bsky.social, I can exclusively reveal that the design process for Manly Men With Uzis will be started in earnest as soon as Cold City & Hot War are at the printers. Sneak Peek! MMWU Armaments Table. Roll 1D10 1-9: Your character has an Uzi 10: Your character has two Uzis

The never-ending destruction of higher education.

This game design lark is a piece of piss. Behold! Your Manly Men With Uzis character name generator table!

An under-appreciated sub-genre of 1980s RPG is the "Manly Men With Uzis" game. Do you want to play a manly man with an Uzi? Then you have choices! You can play a game designed by William Keith, or if you want to mix things up a little, you can play a game designed by his brother, Andrew Keith!

I was reminded yesterday that there is still good in the world, and of just why I love my adopted home of Scotland so much. This comment was made in response to Nnena Kalu winning the Turner Prize. Absolutely flawless response. Don’t mess with Glasgow.

"Oh no. Everything." is a pretty good summary of Glasshouse. It's inspired not only by Cold War history, but also by some of my favourite horror films, especially Session 9 and Death Line, and TV series such as the brilliant Edge of Darkness.

Not that I was planning to go to any conferences or games conventions in the US any time soon, but this really is another ridiculous, xenophobic, authoritarian barrier to entry. Will you get denied entry for saying that Stephen Miller looks like he's a Halloween costume for "Incel Gollum"?

If anyone remembers that list which said historians were second in line to be replaced by AI, I've had some thoughts about it... and how it relates to some aspects of public history and the current climate facing historians. www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

Fascinating article on games and a particular historical moment. (The 1980s, Cold War culture, and a mid-western US games company’s post-apocalyptic TTRPG, Twilight 2000).

Yes, I'm on this again! If you've read my Twilight 2000 article & would like to offer your thoughts, it would be helpful. This all forms part of my wider study, so feedback on all of my Cold War/RPGs stuff is appreciated. The survey should only take a few minutes. docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Hey, wanna support a cool* small business this Xmas? We have hundreds of excellent hand sculpted and hand cast minis, many of which are hitting nazis. www.badsquiddogames.com *my mum says I'm cool

A fantastic book by sadly departed scholar.

Such sad news. Adam was a giant of the folk scene, and significant contributor to post-war Scotland's cultural life. He & my dad were good friends, & The Iain Davidson Folk Group that my dad was part of were the first to perform/record the timeless Jeely Piece Song. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...