First of all, a call out for the cover of a game that gives me shivers of anticipation every time I see it. That’s the new, blue, cover of *Wordplay*. Designed by Stephanie McAlea, this is an absolutely beautiful piece of design. However, I’m ruling this out as I was closely involved in commissioning and approving it. Absolutely gorgeous though, and you’ll see more of its ilk when we finally get the *Utopia* sourcebook out too.
Honourable mentions go to the following games:
1. *Conspiracy of Shadows*, which has an evocative red cover with a symbol that could be an eye on it. Whatever it is, it kept drawing me back until I bought it.
2. *Dead of Night*, Andrew Kendrick’s horror RPG. This screams out horror and delivers on what it promises. Captures the genre very well.
3. *Tremulus* RPG. Sean Preston’s Apocalypse-World engined Lovecraftian horror game. Stark, simply designed and (in the hardcover) with a matt cover that is strangely soft to the touch.
4. *Saga of the Icelanders* RPG. Another Apocalypse-World engined game, this time set in Icelandic history. The landscape format is novel, and the images and faces used on the cover make it feel grounded in history and myth.
My runner up has one of the most simple and stark images used in a game for a long time, a style that was carried across the whole line very successfully. This is Contested Ground Studios’ *A|State* RPG. Very different in presentation to its competitors. This just topped their *Cold City* RPG for this position, another simple and visually effective cover.
1. *Conspiracy of Shadows*, which has an evocative red cover with a symbol that could be an eye on it. Whatever it is, it kept drawing me back until I bought it.
2. *Dead of Night*, Andrew Kendrick’s horror RPG. This screams out horror and delivers on what it promises. Captures the genre very well.
3. *Tremulus* RPG. Sean Preston’s Apocalypse-World engined Lovecraftian horror game. Stark, simply designed and (in the hardcover) with a matt cover that is strangely soft to the touch.
4. *Saga of the Icelanders* RPG. Another Apocalypse-World engined game, this time set in Icelandic history. The landscape format is novel, and the images and faces used on the cover make it feel grounded in history and myth.
My runner up has one of the most simple and stark images used in a game for a long time, a style that was carried across the whole line very successfully. This is Contested Ground Studios’ *A|State* RPG. Very different in presentation to its competitors. This just topped their *Cold City* RPG for this position, another simple and visually effective cover.
My winner? It’s another from Contested Ground. *Hot War*. Set in London, during the winter of 1963, post apocalypse from atomic and occult warfare. It combines photographs with design and typography that grabs my attention really strongly. Both cover sets - the one used for the normal softcover and for the hardcover limited edition - are superb. The game is excellent too; dark, and supporting of a variety of play styles. It is one of my favourite games and deserves the title of ‘coolest game’.
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