Our Experiences in the Third World War

It’s Threads Day!

So what better excuse to have Dr Malcom Craig back in Derry & Toms to talk about NUCLEAR WAR, and particularly General Sir John Hackett’s The Third World War: August 1985 (1978) and its sequel The Third World War: The Untold Story (1982).

As we’re both gamers, and Malcolm has an academic interest in it too, we also get into it with GDW’s Twilight 2000 RPG, arguably the ultimate expression of the speculative World War Three RPG genre. A game that transformed our Cold War fears into the participatory storytelling of the RPG format, and allowed players to wander the ruins of post-nuclear Europe while tracking ammunition, diesel fuel, rads, rations, and the collapse of NATO command structures in all the meticulous detail a teenage nerd could delight in.

You can pre-order Cold City and Hot War 2e in print, or get the PDFs instantly, here, and read Malcolm’s paper on Twilight 2000 by clicking below:

When You Say, “Thermonuclear War,” I Think You Mean “the Call to Adventure”! The Twilight: 2000 Tabletop Role-Playing Game and the Postapocalyptic World’s Imaginary Spaces