James Nicoll Reviews

Sun Is Cold and Rain Is Hard

Tales from the Loop

By Simon Stålenhag, Nils Hintze & Tomas Härenstam

12 Oct, 2022

**Translation**

1 comment

Fria Ligan’s 2017 Tales from the Loop is an alternative history tabletop roleplaying game, set in a retro futuristic world beautifully evoked by Simon Stålenhag’s art. Nils Hintze was lead game designer and Tomas Härenstam was editor and project manager¹.

Tales from the Loop is a mystery-solving roleplaying game in which Kids aged ten to fifteen are confronted by and solve (or fail to solve, for which there are always consequences) the mysteries that the adults around them are determined to ignore.

Hear Me Scream

Vaesen: Nordic Horror Roleplaying

By Nils Hintze (Translated by Niklas Lundmark)

23 Dec, 2020

**Translation**

2 comments

Nils Hintze’s¹ 2020 Vaesen: Nordic Horror Roleplaying is based on the work of Swedish illustrator and author Johan Egerkrans. Translation is by Niklas Lundmark.

Vaesen: Nordic Horror Roleplaying, is, and I know this will come as a huge surprise to everyone who has read the title, a horror roleplaying game in a Nordic setting. It is published by the Swedish game company Fria Ligan (Free League).

Welcome to Sweden of the mid-19^th century! It is a ~~socialist utopia~~ rigidly stratified, impoverished society, where rapid industrialization brings radical change but not security, where the legions of the poor are free to starve to death and the wealthy still don’t have access to antibiotics.

Plus, there are monsters, monsters who, thanks to the changes in Swedish society, are increasingly coming into conflict with the oblivious humans.