November game – Gladiators 2050

Gladiators 2050 was our November release. It has now been taken down, but will be available soon on our itch store.

Over the last few months Becky and I have been re-watching the classic 90s TV show Gladiators. This is the UK version – the US version came first, but the UK one will always be closest to our hearts. The show still stands up, and the cheesy 90s attitude remains much preferable to the serious, grumpy noughties reboot. (We’re also very excited about another possible reboot happening later this year – even if there’s no sign of it actually being aired!)

One thing we noticed watching it from fresh is that we had become connoisseurs of the events in the show. We took to critiquing events and imagining how they could be redesigned. It wasn’t long before I started thinking about writing a TTRPG version. Gladiators 2050 is that game.

In Gladiators 2050 you’re playing the latest reboot of the show, an ultraviolent hybrid of Gladiators and The Running Man. You will each get a Contender who is trying to win that sweet holiday in Barbados, but also one or more Gladiators working to end their run – and perhaps, end their life. 

You’ll take turns to procedurally generate an event for your Contenders to try and beat. You’ll then run your Contenders through it and, if they survive, interview them at the end. Once you’ve played through a few events, you’ll each create one chunk of the dreaded Eliminator, and find out who has won the competition.

I had a blast writing and playtesting Gladiators 2050 – hope you enjoy it!

Cheers

Josh

October game: Cyrano In Love

Cyrano In Love was our October release. Its now been taken down, but will be available soon on our itch store.

Hi folks

Before I start: did you know that Lovecraftesque second edition is crowdfunding at the moment? If you don’t know it, Lovecraftesque is a storytelling game of creeping eldritch horror, focusing on a lone witness who is rotated around the group, and where the mystery emerges from clues the players create. We’ve created a fully updated game, driven by creative prompts on cards, and supported by updated rules and the most accessible rules and reference materials yet. It’s also the most gorgeous edition yet with brand new illustrations, including hidden art you can reveal using the (included) UV flashlight. And there are 18 scenarios written by diverse authors, bringing fresh new perspectives and settings to cosmic horror. Check it out! 

With that out of the way: It has been a busy old time for Black Armada. I’ve been nose to the grindstone preparing the above crowdfunding campaign, and Becky is juggling several recruitment campaigns at her work while preparing for COP (the biggest global event for climate change policymakers). It’s wonderful to get to work on these things, but also exhausting.

Anyway, this hasn’t stopped us from working on making lovely little games for you! This month’s game is by Becky, and it’s called Cyrano In Love. As the title suggests, it’s based on the famous Cyrano De Bergerac story and in it you play through that story, with each of you adopting the role of one of the three main characters. If you haven’t encountered Cyrano De Bergerac, it’s a romantic play telling the tale of the eponymous Cyrano, who is secretly in love with Roxanne, his friend from childhood, and expresses this through giving advice to the young and brash Christian, who seeks to woo Roxanne. It’s a brilliant story and very fun to play with at the table. You can use the game to play it more or less as it appeared in the play, or expand the story into new settings such as the included Space Station Gascony 2040.

I hope you enjoy playing it as much as we did!

Josh

August game – Ghost Hunt Live!

Ghost Hunt was our August release. It has now been taken down but it will be released soon on our Itch store.

Hey folks!

August’s game is Ghost Hunt Live! – a hack of Lovecraftesque where you play TV ghosthunters.

You are a fearless and seasoned team of TV ghosthunters. A blend of investigators, psychics, parapsychologists, camera crew, sceptics, a cool presenter and maybe even the occasional exorcist. This is a haunted location and it doesn’t know what is about to hit it!

Ghost Hunt Live! is a game about a TV show hunting for ghosts and finding the stories of the people they once were. You will play one main character, The Psychic, and rotate this and other roles around the play group until the full story of the haunting is revealed.

It’s a super fun game and we hope you enjoy it.

While we’re on the subject (kind of) of Lovecraftesque, you might be interested to know that we are not far off launching the crowdfunding campaign for the second edition of the game. The new edition takes everything that was good about the first and improves it, providing a slicker, more inspiring and even more accessible experience. You can sign up to be notified when the campaign launches here:

https://www.backerkit.com/call_to_action/7d5c14b9-1a73-4aa3-bd55-ad7c3afc43fe/landing?ref=patreon

Cheers

Josh and Becky

July game: Familiar Friends

Familiar friends was July’s Patreon release. It has now been taken down, but will soon be available on the Black Armada itch store.

This month’s game seemed to leap into my head fully-formed. It’s a cozy journaling game about the lives of witches’ familiars, and the silly adventures they get up to. It’s solo-first but it also works as a light GMless game for a gang of familiars.

I had a lot of fun playtesting it and I hope you enjoy playing it too!

Josh