Games
Any tabletop roleplaying game. You want to play it, bring it along and run it. It doesn't matter whether it's a mainstream system like Dungeons & Dragons, an indie game such as Apocalypse World, or something entirely of your own design. We welcome published and unpublished one-shot scenarios, free-form role-playing, and everything in between.
Game Submission
Games can be submitted in advance via the submission form and will be added to this page. But you can just pitch up with a game on the day and offer it then too!
If you're offering a game, please note that you're still responsible for writing your own sign-up sheet; we don't create them for you. You can download a blank sign-up sheet or create your own custom sheet.
Player Sign-up
Player sign-up will take place on the day, before each game slot. You may want to learn more about our signup system.
Game Schedule
Game submission for Concrete Cow 26 will open nearer the time, and games will be added below as the submissions arrive. Additional games will be offered on the day.
In the mean time, here's some of what was on offer at Concrete Cow 25.5.
Morning Games (10am-1.30pm)
Year of the Rat
The casino spaceship Year of the Rat went missing a month ago, resulting in a 10mcr insurance claim. You have been sent to retrieve the ship’s black box so Flysafe Insurance mega-corporation can deny this claim, and as payment you have been granted salvage rights. If you fail, you will be on the hook for the insurance policy. You wake up from cryo-sleep as your shuttle approaches the station...
System: Mothership
GM: John Hutchinson
Number of players: 5
Notes: For adults; likely to include violence and other horror
Rumblebugs
A group of four wrestlers and their manager, who travel the world staging shows for the entertainment of the masses. After arriving at the bug village of Covered Hollow to put on a display of martial skill & strength though, the unexpected occurs and the PCs must use all their wits, deftness and heart to save the day!
Pico is the new game of wholesome bug adventures, set in a world after the disappearance of humanity, it uses a simple, d6 dice pool system to resolve all tasks. It's a fun, colourful, player lead narrative, where your decisions alwasy lead to something exciting, for good or ill.
System: Pico
GM: James Mullen
Number of players: 5
Notes: Safety Tools: Open Table, Lines & Veils, Pause Button
K-Pop Demon Hunters: Hoobaes
Huntr/x have got both the music business and the demon hunting business sewn up in Seoul, but not even Huntr/x can be everywhere at once. That's where you come in: the junior band, or hoobaes, keeping the city of Busan safe from demons while inspiring people with your music.
But there’s been a real uptick in supernatural activity recently, and when things suddenly get a lot closer to home, both human lives and your band’s reputation could be at stake.
No K-Pop knowledge required.
System: Monster of the Week
GM: Sue Savage
Number of players: 4
Notes: Safety Tools: Open Table, Lines & Veils, Pause Button. PG rating but we'll be dealing with some adult themes like grief, shame and insecurity.
Constantinople
A player driven narrative game about hunting monsters in Constantinople in late antiquity Roman Empire. Play as a ghost possessed bounty hunter, a Ghassanid alchemist, a Viking werewolf hunter, a hulking Persian brute, a (semi)dead grave robber.
Your character is a carnifex- a outcaste from society with a supernatural gift and an unfortunate stigmata.
System: Unique
GM: Theo
Number of players: 4
Notes: You will have to examine dead bodies killed by monsters sometimes in relatively gruesome ways. They may be passing mention of death in infancy, death in childbirth, racism but these can be avoided easily.
The scramble in Africa
1889. The Royal Martian Society has offered a prize for the best new vehicle design for travel on the plains of Mars, and has elected to test them by organising a rally from Cairo to Khartoum, simulating the Martian surface by crossing some of the harshest and most varied terrain available.
As the crew of the Carstairs Conveyance, a revolutionary new form of transportation, you’ll be competing against cutting-edge designs from across the world in a 1300-mile race that will pit you against some of the harshest terrain on earth, not to mention rival inventors, hostile natives and the political machinations of the great powers. Grab your pith helmet and keep your service revolver handy!
System: Space 1889
GM: Mike McCahon
Number of players: 4
Notes: X-card present
The South Bridge Enigma
It is 1786, and Dr Erasmus Darwin of Lichfield receives a letter from an old friend at Edinburgh University. Something strange and perhaps uncanny seems to be emerging as work progresses on the the recreation of that city, and the old friend would appreciate new eyes on the problem.
As servants of the Lunar Society, you are despatched to investigate, and to carry Enlightenment into darkness. Dr Darwin trusts that your skills will overcome any wild and superstitious nonsense, after all.
System: Trail of Cthulhu
GM: Phil Masters
Number of players: 5
Alien Archaeology
A robot you knew has disappeared, searching for their freedom. As you look for them, you'll explore pirate moons, ancient ruins and discover who you are.
Alien Archaeology is a slow-burn game about deciphering ancient languages and unearthing the history that shaped who you are today. It's diceless, there's a puzzle element to it and there's lots of roleplay. And it's a playtest, so be ready for things to feel a bit rough.
System: Alien Archaeology
GM: Graham Walmsley
Number of players: 4
28 Pints Later
Players, among the revellers, uncover chilling signs: frenzied drinkers, eerie brewery whispers, and grotesque accidents.
Does a sinister force taint the beer? Or is this just a typical Birmingham Night Out?
Frenzied horror.
A playtest of The Code of Cthulhu 2d6 rules.
System: The Code of Cthulhu
GM: Simon Burley
Number of players: 5
Notes: X-card in play, horror can be adjusted to Goosebumps level but- let’s face it - will probably be more at “The Evil Dead” level, pregenerated characters available but so is character generation at the table. There are issues table will decide.
Afternoon Games (2.30pm-6.30pm)
Roman Holiday
Rome, 1606. Michaelangelo Merisi de Caravaggio is a painter at the height of his talents, his astonishing work eagerly sought by wealthy patrons all across Rome. He is also a roistering, brawling, one-man crime wave and this time he’s gone too far; Caravaggio has killed a man and the courts have sentenced him to death!
Cardinal del Monte, his patron, has employed you to save him; comb the Eternal City’s stews and alleys for Caravaggio, grab him, then sneak him out of the city and get him safely away to somewhere he can lie low - preferably before one of his many enemies catches up to him.
Swashbuckler! is a TTRPG set in a semi-fictional past, in which players take on the roles of daring, swaggering, chandelier-swinging heroes and rogues, quick of blade and agile of body, and where style and swordplay matter far more than the odds of success. It seeks to emulate the world of Hollywood films and classic adventure novels with daredevil escapes, desperate duels and fast-paced action, emphasising ingenuity, style and comedy over brute
force and serious plot.
System: Swashbuckler!
GM: Mike McCahon
Number of players: 6
Notes: This scenario contains references to (but not explicit descriptions of) alcohol abuse and prostitution.
Akigara
A casual stopover in space at a refuelling station turns into the discovery of a lifetime when one of the first-ever J9 (long distance hyperspace jump-capable) ships jumps into hailing distance; the Akigara. Equipped with the first-ever J9 engine core and a prototype Stimpack system, the Akigara is an expedition ship that was launched over two centuries ago. However, contact with the Akigara had been lost during its first jump and was presumed lost from this universe-- until now. Floating nearby the now rundown vessel is a rusty dropship emitting a distress signal, beckoning for an investigation of its fate. As a curious crew, you can't help but investigate.
System: Mothership
GM: John Hutchinson
Number of players: 5
Notes: For adults; likely to include violence and other horror
Pirate Borg: Into the Maelstrom
The Dark Caribbean. A haunted version of the Caribbean, where undead horrors lurk - their bones a potent drug, and the seas hold antediluvian terrors that have existed since time immemorial.
Your small band of cutthroats and scallywags has been hired to do a straightforward but deadly task: sneak aboard the demonic warship The Maelstrom and slay as many of its vampyre crew as you can. The coin is good, but will the risk be worth the prize?
In a twist of fate, you each have learned of a personal reason to seek out the ghoulish vessel with blood-red flesh for sails, as its captain, Albrecht the Tideborn, holds many prisoners in its haunted holds, and one of them has great meaning to you.
After weeks at sea, your ship arrives at the tropical fishing town of Charlotte's Cove, where you will seek out your Patron. But first, the crew is restless, and several pints of grog and a few rounds of Three-Eyed Parrot are in order...
This is an OSR-style dungeon-crawl starring a band of pirates during the golden age of pirates. Expect characters to die readily if you don't have a good plan (or aren't cautious). New characters can be rolled up quickly, and the assumption is that you roll for characters.
System: Pirate Borg (Mork Borg)
GM: Alex Crossley
Number of players: 6
Notes: This game features fantasy drug use (made from ground skeleton bones), depictions of undead, mind control (mostly from the PCs), references to slavery (even if its not shown onscreen) and PCs are assumed to be... a touch unpleasant (not EVIL, but very much have... a deplorable excess of personality)
Player discretion advised, and an X card will be provided.
K-Pop Demon Hunters
For generations, demons preyed upon humans, feeding their souls to their ruler Gwi-Ma. A group of three women rose as demon hunters and sealed the demons from the human world by creating a magic barrier known as the Honmoon. Their legacy continued across generations, with each new trio using their singing voices to maintain the Honmoon.
In the present, the K-pop girl group Huntr/x are demon hunters. They are on the verge of perfecting the Honmoon when Saja Boys, a K-pop boy band composed of disguised demons, appears on the scene. The Saja Boys threaten Huntr/x's popularity, peoples' souls, and the Honmoon itself.
Can Huntr/x defeat the Saja boys, restore the Honmoon, and win the International Idol competition?
System: Girl by Moonlight
GM: Neil Smith
Number of players: 4
Notes: PG rating. X-card, open table, Lines & Veils.
Note that a key feature of the game is the connections between people (platonic, familial, romantic) and we'll be paying a lot of attention to them. We'll keep it PG-rated. And there won't be any singing!
A Tournament at Ware?
In the days when King Arthur wields supreme executive power over Britain with justice, mercy, and definitely a mandate derived through a legitimate aquatic ceremony, King Eodwar rules the tributary Kingdom of Ware as his vassal, and does a reasonable job of it. And the good news is, it’s tournament time in Ware, so the peasantry can enjoy a couple of days of their betters poking each other with long pointy sticks!
The bad news is that at least three unknown knights have turned up for the tournament in chromatically eccentric armour, and there’s at least one disturbingly eccentric stranger in a hooded robe demanding to address the court. And let's face it, this kind of thing can get very silly, very quickly.
System: Monty Python's Cocurricular Mediaeval Reenactment Programme
GM: Phil Masters
Number of players: 5
The Quest of the Red Blade
Your liege lord has sent you, one of his household knights, to the Earl of Stafford for you to earn Glory and make a name for yourself. The Earl sends you and a few other newly-minted knights into the depths of Meirionnydd on a quest that will pit your judgement as much as your sword-arm.
I'll have the pre-gens from the starter set available, but feel free to create your own knight if you have the rulebook.
System: Pendragon
GM: Paul Mazumdar
Number of players: 6
Notes: Age 12+ (military violence, evil supernatural entities)
We'll have a char before the game to cover any lines, veils, or triggers in advance.
Dice required: a d20 and a number of d6s
Alien: Earth
Based on the recent streaming TV series.
A spaceship containing Alien Specimens has crash landed in a crowded city. The corporation which owns the city has dispatched a motley assortment of Service Personnel and prototypes to investigate and collect those specimens.
A bug hunt. Post-human versus aliens. If you survive and manage to bag and tag anything then it’s back to a man-baby tech-bro’s lair - which has the worst laboratory security protocols ever…….
System: The Code of the Spacelanes
GM: Simon Burley
Number of players: 5
Notes: X Card always in play. Pregenerated characters and character generation at the table both available. Knowledge of the TV series not required. Competing emergent character agendas but no direct PvP (the system doesn’t support it).
Evening Games (7.30pm-11pm)
Wraithound
You are a unique ghost hunter endowed with supernatural abilities as part of an ancient order. Your adventures take you through haunted properties like ancient manors, desolate castles, and abandoned mansions, each steeped in mystery and spectral phenomena.
As you step into these eerie settings, you must investigate the underlying causes of the supernatural occurrences that plague these locales. Through careful exploration, you gather clues and insights into the hauntings, confronting any horrors or threats such as ghostly apparitions, monstrosities and other unsettling entities. The heart of your task is to resolve these disturbances, struggling to banish, capture, or eliminate the spectral presence.
Wraithound is a story game with minimal rules, using a deck of cards to generate a haunted house and the horrors within.
System: Wraithound
GM: Sue Savage
Number of players: 3
Notes: Player led gameplay, may include dark themes.
The Mughal Treasure
London, 1796. Last year Henry Avery became the most successful and most wanted pirate of all time by raiding the Mughal treasure fleet and taking an unimaginably large booty. He then disappeared and only a few of his crew have ever been caught. Avery is hunted the world over, with a £1000 bounty on his head from the East India Company - if you could lay your hands on him, you’d be wealthy men - and who knows? - if you can track him down he might give up some of his loot to buy you off - either way, you can make a fortune. Set sail on an adventure to run to earth the most wanted man of the age to win the price on his head or a slice of the greatest plunder that ever filled a pirate’s hold!
Swashbuckler! is a TTRPG set in a semi-fictional past, in which players take on the roles of daring, swaggering, chandelier-swinging heroes and rogues, quick of blade and agile of body, and where style and swordplay matter far more than the odds of success. It seeks to emulate the world of Hollywood films and classic adventure novels with daredevil escapes, desperate duels and fast-paced action, emphasising ingenuity, style and comedy over brute force and serious plot.
System: Swashbuckler!
GM: Mike McCahon
Number of players: 6
Notes: X-card present
Control
A small planet, past the back of nowhere and supporting unlikely vegetation, pings an anomalous scan result.
An unregistered xeno-archaeological site?
There's a whole lot of prestige (and credits, let's not forget the credits) to be earned from the discovery and exploration (and exploitation?) of a place like that.
The star rises on the final day of the expedition. Its weak, baleful, crimson light spilling from the horizon as you awake.
You're eager, excited, to reach the site. That nasty hungover feeling? It's nothing you can't deal with.
System: Mothership
GM: John K
Number of players: 4
Notes: Themes: Age rating 16+; horror game with themes of identity, isolation, memory and probable violence.
Safety: X-card, lines and veils
The Cursed Farm
Iceland, 977AD. Hrafn Reginsson, your local goði, sends you to sort out some problems that Björg Finnsdóttir, a local small-holder, is finding on her farm. Her crops have been blasted by þor's thunderbolts, her docile bull is attacking anyone that comes near, and the rain has not stopped for two weeks, despite the rest of the valley being relatively sunny. Björg believes her farm to bu cursed, but who would take against such a well-loved and respected member of the community?
This is a demo scenario for Chaosium's new game; as such, it's not likely to fill the whole slot so you get to have an early (no not so late) night.
System: Age of Vikings
GM: Paul Mazumdar
Number of players: 6
Notes: Pregens will be provided
Age 12+ (supernatural threat)
Dice required: A standard set of polynomials
Operation FULMINATE
Sunday, Fifth of July, 1995. As agents for Cell G of The Program, you’re called to a meeting in Yosemite National Park. There has been the re-appearance of a disappeared child. But The Unnatural is suspected to be involved, because you’ve been called. Why?
System: Delta Green
GM: John Hutchinson
Number of players: 5
Notes: Beginners welcome; modern horror for adults; content warning: danger to children