On purple blue background, on the left the word Games. On the right hand side, on the top the Creative Scotland logo, underneath the hashtag #Cymera2024
The Cymera Games Strand is back in its very own games space for 2024!
Find us in the Highland Room (Games Space), on the top floor in the building right across from the main entrance, above the Festival Bookshop.
We are open on Saturday and Sunday from 10.00 am until late.
The games space is a free, drop in, safe place for folks to play tabletop games of all descriptions. Some games will be provided by us with experienced and friendly hosts to guide you through them and take you on an adventure. Or feel free to bring your own games, both board and rpg or whatever you fancy and make use of our space - bring some friends or make some there.
We will be asking everyone to use safety tools, at the very minimum the X-card at games played in our space and ask all who join us to familiarise themselves with our code of conduct and other policies to ensure a diverse, accessible and safe space for all.
Please note spaces are capped for everyone’s safety in the Games Space, we will do our best to accommodate you at all times but please be aware of these restrictions.
Schedule
There will always be tables for free play. If you are interested in any of the RPGs and Board Games, we recommend reserving a slot so we can gauge interest.
Saturday 1st June 2024
10am to 6pm: Free play - bring your own games or grab one from our Board Game Library, sponsored by Blackwell’s Bookshop
10am to 1:30pm: RPG - A Gentle Lamb Led
with ABS
Folk Horror/Urban Fantasy
Snow lies cauld on the hills around Auld Reekie. The slopes are stained red. Imbolc arrives along with other things unseen... Howls drift across the night along with the snow... As your crew gathers so does seasonal storms.
A group of new recruits are assembling ready to act; against whom or what they don’t know yet…
Don't get caught out!
Help playtest 'A Gentle Lamb Led' the opening scenario of the Seasons of the Sun campaign as our intrepid, arcane adventurers investigate mysterious goings on in the Pentland hills on the outskirts of Edinburgh.
Game- System: Liminal - https://modiphius.net/products/liminal-quickstart has a free copy of the Quickstart Guide
Content Warnings: Folk Horror, Eldritch happenings, Modern Life Ages 12+
2 to 5 players
10am to 1:30pm: RPG - Elvis has Left the Building
with Tobi
Buffy The Vampire Slayeresque - RPG style!
You, a group of investigative Journalists need to find out why Elvis and Richard Nixon have appeared in a small café in an american town.
Monster of the Week is a very beginner friendly System which also allows you to create characters on the fly (10-15 minutes tops) Not much experience needed. The tone will be somewhat pythonesque. Maybe a bit on the gory side.
Game- System: Monster of the Week (Powered by the Apocaplypse)
Content Warnings: Gore, Urban Horror, Nixon
3 to 5 players
10am to 1.30pm: Board Games - Players’ Choice
with Kate Wirfler
Join our experienced, board game loving host and choose together a game you want to play.
They will guide you through the setup and play ensuring a good time had by all!
We suggest asking them about Dune Imperium, Terraforming Mars or Wildlands if you fancy a genre themed game but feel free to browse and select together from our extensive Board Game Library courtesy of Blackwells Books
Game- TBC - Your choice!
Content Warnings: Game Choice Dependent - Players will have the opportunity to select games to suit
2 to 6 Players (game choice dependent)
2:30pm to 6pm: RPG - A Gentle Lamb Led
with ABS
Folk Horror/Urban Fantasy
Snow lies cauld on the hills around Auld Reekie. The slopes are stained red. Imbolc arrives along with other things unseen... Howls drift across the night along with the snow... As your crew gathers so does seasonal storms.
A group of new recruits are assembling ready to act; against whom or what they don’t know yet…
Don't get caught out!
Help playtest 'A Gentle Lamb Led' the opening scenario of the Seasons of the Sun campaign as our intrepid, arcane adventurers investigate mysterious goings on in the Pentland hills on the outskirts of Edinburgh.
Game- System: Liminal - https://modiphius.net/products/liminal-quickstart has a free copy of the Quickstart Guide
Content Warnings: Folk Horror, Eldritch happenings, Modern Life Ages 12+
2 to 5 Players
2:30pm - 6pm: RPG - Shiny Happy People
with Tobi
Buffy The Vampire Slayeresque - RPG style!
You and a group of friends have arrived in the Town of Northhaverbrook where people wear weird anachronistic clothes and use weird slang. you hear an incorporeal laughter. Soon you realize: You are trapped in a 90s Sitcom. What happened here and how do you get that R.E.M. Song out of your head?
Monster of the Week is a very beginner friendly System which also allows you to create characters on the fly (10-15 minutes tops) Not much experience needed. The tone will be more on the lighthearted side. It is set in the 90s so Cosplay from that era is pretty awesome but not needed.
Optional: Knowledge of the 90s and Sitcom Tropes
Game- System: Monster of the Week (Powered by the Apocaplypse)
Content Warnings: Urban Horror, R.E.M.
3 to 5 players
2:30pm to 6pm: RPG - The Clock Stuck at One
with Phil Harris
Psychological Horror
As a group of ghosthunters, you expect to deal with all the usual bumps and scares, but this time things are different. The night has worn on, and little appreciably has happened, you started to get tired and sat round in the old living room, listening to the clock tick the hours, minutes and seconds by. However, when the clock should have struck two, it struck one. Whilst initially you felt like it was just a malfunction in the mechanics, something darker and murkier seems to be in control, and all access to the outside world has closed off.
Do you sit and wait or take action?
Game- System: Homebrew
Content Warnings: Claustrophobia/Existential Dread, 12+
2 to 5 Players
2.30pm to 6pm: RPG - The Marie-Hélène Cartier
with Alexa MacBett
Adventure/Horror
Your train, the Marie-Hélène Cartier, has crashed in the depths of the seven cedars. Nobody knows where you are and nobody is coming to save you. It's a race against time to repair and re-rail the train before the closing grasp of the forest claims you for itself.
Game- System: TRACK DOGS
Content Warnings: Fantasy supernatural horror, often of a maritime character. Age 13+
3 to 5 players
2:30pm to 6pm: Board Games - Players’ Choice
with Kate Wirfler
Join our experienced, board game loving host and choose together a game you want to play.
They will guide you through the setup and play ensuring a good time had by all!
We suggest asking them about Dune Imperium, Terraforming Mars or Wildlands if you fancy a genre themed game but feel free to browse and select together from our extensive Board Game Library courtesy of Blackwells Books
OR
You may be lucky enough to get a playtest of the unreleased Dark Deeds board game from The Rookery! https://modiphius.net/pages/dark-deeds
Game- TBC - Your choice!
Content Warnings: Game Choice Dependent - Players will have the opportunity to select games to suit
2 to 6 Players (game choice dependent)
7pm: Inside the Rookery - Live from Cymera
‘Inside the Rookery’ join us live at Cymera as The Rookery host a special of their weekly RPG shindig.
Expect some lively chat and special birds of a feather joining our flock as we take a deep dive or should that be swoop into the ways and wynds of games in the company of our experts.
Hosted by The Rookery’s feathered flock
With Special guests Justin Lee Anderson , Kate Wirfler and Trip Galey
About the event:
Running time: 60 minutes
This event is free to attend but spaces are limited. Arrive early to avoid disappointment.
This event takes place in person and is broadcasted via the Rookery live stream. We will have a QA at the end of the panel, we will take questions from the in person audience and from folks inline via the Cymera or Rookery Discords or social media feeds.
Who are The Rookery?
The Rookery are Andy Law, Andy Leask, Graeme Davis, Mark Gibbons, and Lindsay Law, five award-winning TTRPG professionals with over a century’s combined experience in the gaming industry. They not only host Inside the Rookery, but also run their own company, Rookery Publications.
Watch their previous livestreams on YouTube Twitch and support Inside The Rookery on Patreon and find them on Twittter and Facebook
Sunday 2nd June
10am to 1:30pm: RPG - Residue Processing
with Brian Ashford
SF Horror RPG
Two types of people find themselves in Hylix-Ventross labs: those who sold themselves and those who were sold, probably to pay outstanding debt.
After weeks of brutal experimentation, an unlucky few survivors are flagged for “Anomalous Asset Testing.” Drugged, sealed in rubber suits, left to awaken in a deadly experimental trial—all in the name of science.
This is a Funnel: Each player generates and controls 3-5 characters and runs them through a deadly meat grinder scenario.
Game- System: Mothership
Content Warnings: Gruesome, gross and hilarious deaths.
2 to 5 players
10am to 1.30pm: Board Games - Players’ Choice
with Matt Noel
Join our experienced board game loving host and choose together a game you want to play.
They will guide you through the setup and play ensuring a good time had by all!
We suggest asking them about Dune Imperium, Terraforming Mars or Wildlands if you fancy a genre themed game but feel free to browse and select together from our extensive Board Game Library courtesy of Blackwells Books
Game- TBC - Your choice!
Content Warnings: Game Choice Dependent - Players will have the opportunity to select games to suit
2 to 6 Players (game choice dependent)
2:30pm to 6pm: RPG - A Gentle Lamb Led
with ABS
Folk Horror/Urban Fantasy
Snow lies cauld on the hills around Auld Reekie. The slopes are stained red. Imbolc arrives along with other things unseen... Howls drift across the night along with the snow... As your crew gathers so does seasonal storms.
A group of new recruits are assembling ready to act; against whom or what they don’t know yet… Don't get caught out! Help playtest 'A Gentle Lamb Led' the opening scenario of the Seasons of the Sun campaign as our intrepid arcane adventurers investigate mysterious goings on in the Pentland hills on the outskirts of Edinburgh.
Game- System: Liminal - https://modiphius.net/products/liminal-quickstart has a free copy of the Quickstart Guide
Content Warnings: Folk Horror, Eldritch happenings, Modern Life Ages 12+
2 to 5 Players
2.30pm to 6pm: RPG - Residue Processing
with Brian Ashford
SF Horror RPG
Two types of people find themselves in Hylix-Ventross labs: those who sold themselves and those who were sold, probably to pay outstanding debt.
After weeks of brutal experimentation, an unlucky few survivors are flagged for “Anomalous Asset Testing.” Drugged, sealed in rubber suits, left to awaken in a deadly experimental trial—all in the name of science.
This is a Funnel: Each player generates and controls 3-5 characters and runs them through a deadly meat grinder scenario.
Game- System: Mothership
Content Warnings: Gruesome, gross and hilarious deaths.
2 to 5 players
2.30pm to 6pm: RPG - The Beast of Ralvano
with Alexa MacBett
Adventure/Horror
The people of the grazian village port of Ralvano have a problem: Their rails are being haunted by Mondivora, the biggest, meanest and oldest mega-soilshark ever seen anywhere around. The beast has always been a legend, occasionally sighted by unlucky crews, but has recently taken to wrecking trains running into and out of Ralvano. Will you rise to the challenge and slay this monster of the depths where so many others have failed?
Game- System: TRACK DOGS
Content Warnings: Fantasy supernatural horror, often of a maritime character. Age 13+
3 to 5 players
2:30pm to 6pm: Board Games - Players’ Choice
with Matt Noel
Join our experienced, board game loving host and choose together a game you want to play.
They will guide you through the setup and play ensuring a good time had by all!
We suggest asking them about Dune Imperium, Terraforming Mars or Wildlands if you fancy a genre themed game but feel free to browse and select together from our extensive Board Game Library courtesy of Blackwells Books
Game- TBC - Your choice!
Content Warnings: Game Choice Dependent - Players will have the opportunity to select games to suit
2 to 6 Players (game choice dependent)
Meet the Cymera Hosts
ABS is known to hunt vampires and all manner of undead…
ABS
ABS programs and produces the Cymera Festival Games strand amongst other things and he is hoping you would like to playtest the adventure he has just written called 'A Gentle Lamb Led' set in Auld Reekie, running on Liminal the excellent urban fantasy system set in present day UK and ‘The Hidden World’.
This would be the first public play of the advneture and it is the opening scneario in the 'Seasons of the Sun' campaign.
He will also bring some other games including his mystery for Brindlewood Bay – ‘a roleplaying game about a group of elderly women—members of the local Murder Mavens mystery book club—who frequently find themselves investigating (and solving!) real-life murder mysteries.’ This adventure see the players visiting Scotland in ‘The Mavens Go Stravaiging aka That’s Another Fine Loch Mess You’ve Gotten Us Into’.
He can be found at https://morefunwith.games/ or Twits @_A_B_S_ Insta @_A_B_5_ @ABS@mastodon.social or https://bsky.app/profile/ab5.bsky.social
Alexa MacBett
Alexa is the designer of TRACK DOGS
Brian Ashford
Brian is an enthusiast of all games from classic board games to tabletop roleplaying games and videogames. Basically any game which allows you to sit down while you play. He probably started roleplaying with Fighting Fantasy gamebooks or maybe with Basic Dungeons & Dragons. Or it could have been the HeroQuest board game. It was a long time ago and his memory isn’t that good. These days Brian can be found running open table RPG campaigns most Thursday evenings at Ancient Robot Games.
Cam Hall
Cam is a game maker of immersive outdoor fun games, RPGs and likes to forge swords in his spare time. He has been GMing for over 39 years! OSR, new wave, weird, D&D, Sci-fi - I love them all. I have previously run Liminal and Godlike events for Cymera both face-to-face and online; and I am currently running community role-playing sessions in the Borders of Scotland most nights of the week.
BTG - Borderlands Tabletop Gamers and cameronhall@skiff.com are ways to find him.
Kate Wirfler
Kate is a cruciverbalist and board game enthusiast from Sydney, Australia. She has a healthy obsession with dicey Euros, escape-rooms-in-a-box, and any and all word games.
Phil
Forged in the fires of the Summer of Love, Phil Harris managed to break in through the fire exit of the games industry, find a seat and no-one has managed to get rid of him since. With experience of writing, narrative, concept and systems design, production, marketing and a strong skill in drawing stick-people, Phil has worked on all types of projects from mobile to VR and AAA to Indie. With a couple of graphic novels and some TV work thrown in for good measure. Generally hired as a troubleshooter, Phil manages to dazzle everyone in a room with the glint off his bald head!
Lakeside: https://craigpaton.gumroad.com/l/lakeside
Neksus: Closed Circle: https://handiwork.games/product-category/guest-titles
Tobi
Tobi lives in Augsburg, Germany where he also attended University. In 2019 he got a Bachelor's Degree in Comparative Literature and earned his Master's Degree in 2022. His Focus is mostly american science-fiction and fantasy. He currently works at a bookshop in Augsburg as Head of Department. He loves geeking out on Authors like Brandon Sanderson, Junji Ito or Stephen King. Tobi has started his Pen and Paper Journey in 2019 with Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition. In those 5 years he also ran at least one campaign at some point. He also loves other Systems like Kult: Divinity Lost, Blades in the Dark or Vampire: The Masquerade. Currently is running a campaign at the Staatstheater in Augsburg.
Hildegard Von Bringem aka Hilde
Games Space Assistance Pup and Moral Support Mascot
Hildegard loves the magic of hugs and chasing balls
She thinks games are pawesome!
She particularly enjoys Call of Cat-thulhu
Hilde can be found on Twitter
Hildegard!