Nick Bate

Dauphin of Noticing A Leaf Falling.

Sometimes I do galactic archaeology. Other times I write tabletop games.

An Australian living in the UK. He/him.

[Nick Bate @ickbat]

The Time War has begun.

The public beta of Against Time and Death, my duet game of war, self-discovery, and connection across the multiverse, is now live. Link below! 👇

If you loved This Is How You Lose the Time War (and why wouldn't you?!), you're going to love this game.

[Guy - Burn After Running RPG Blog @milnermaths]

You should all check this out - Nick's games are consistently innovative and fun! (And, crucially for high concept indie stuff, very playable)

[Nick Bate @ickbat]

@milnermaths Hey, thank you Guy! I appreciate this very much. It makes me immensely happy to hear you say that I've hit the trifecta of innovative, fun, and playable -- that feels like very high praise indeed! 😊

[Nick Bate @ickbat]

Head on over to the Against Time and Death pre-launch page and hit the button to be notified when the Kickstarter campaign begins.

You're a true virtuoso at manipulating the weave of the multiverse, and you're about to meet your match...

https://t.co/b6s568VDEw

[Nick Bate @ickbat]

Love This Is How You Lose the Time War?

Then you're also going to love Against Time and Death, a two-player #ttrpg about the forbidden relationship between two operatives on opposite sides of a multiversal time war.

Launching on Kickstarter in February 2025 -- link below!

[Nick Bate @ickbat]

I think you should be like @miramanga: read the excellent This Is How You Lose the Time War (seriously, you'll love it, it's brilliant), and then check out the game I wrote that aims to capture some of its fire!

(Thank you, Mira, and I'm glad you liked the book!)

[Mira Manga @miramanga]

Just finished wonderful read: the epic, epistolary This Is How You Lose the Time War by @maxgladstone & @tithenai

Thanks to @ickbat who recommended it AND is developing a game based on it too. Enjoy the beta version here: https://t.co/y0Wb6jQ3g3

See you in another strand!

[Nick Bate @ickbat]

@ink_and_stories I am green with envy!

[Nick Bate @ickbat]

@gilfer @BeckyAnnison @BlackArmada1 Oh goodness! Thank you -- I'm so glad you liked it! It was so much fun to play.

(Just quietly, I'm two exchanges into another playtest, and without wanting to jinx it, I think something great might be happening again. There might be something to this little game!)

[Nick Bate @ickbat]

This is an opportunity show what your faction believes, but it’s also an invitation to your rival to twist it, break it, remake it.

What my rival has done here is frame a scene so lovely that I don’t *want* to break it.

In other words, they’ve absolutely nailed the brief.

[Nick Bate @ickbat]

That feeling when your Against Time and Death buddy frames a scene so good you have no idea what to do in response.

🤔🕚

[Nick Bate @ickbat]

The default action in Against Time and Death — a game about two operatives on opposite sides of an epic time war — is to frame a scene in a strand of the multiverse that favours your faction’s ideology.

Your rival will then take action to subvert that strand to *their* ideology.

[Nick Bate @ickbat]

@miramanga

[Nick Bate @ickbat]

I playtest (my own designs and others) and I play on @BArmadaTales, but I also play ttrpgs with my dear friends just for the fun of doing it. We’re doing it tomorrow night, as it happens.

This has benefits for my game design, obvs, but the main reason I do it is for my heart.

[jay Dragon is no longer active here @jdragsky]

if all you do is playtest ttrpgs and/or stream playing ttrpgs, i strongly deeply passionately encourage you to take some of the people you trust most and gather together and play for the sake of playing for a bit

[Nick Bate @ickbat]

@LariAssmuth Lari! That's amazing! I can't wait to hear it!

[Nick Bate @ickbat]

@cali_keftiu Me too! And if you do, I want to hear all about it!

[Nick Bate @ickbat]

I am re-reading the very excellent A Nocturne, and once again dreaming of playing it.

In so many ways, I think it's my dream game.

[Nick Bate @ickbat]

@PaulBeakley @thysane One hundred percent what Paul said.

[Nick Bate @ickbat]

@thysane For what it's worth, I don't understand where the less-than-positive comments are coming from *at all*.

I bloody love A Nocturne's playbooks.

[Meguey-shaped bundle of bits 🔜Metatopia @NightSkyGames]

This. Every time.

[Nick Bate @ickbat]

And if a game about the relationship between two operatives on opposite sides of an epic time war sounds like your jam, Against Time and Death is currently in playtest!

You can pick the playtest draft up here, along with all future PDF updates:

https://t.co/vPSOKU84QQ

[Nick Bate @ickbat]

So @theloneamigo has launched a game of Against Time and Death with all of twitter -- feels appropriate for a game about a war for all of time and space!

Follow along to see where the strands of time take us...

[john maynard keynes gaming @theloneamigo]

At the sharp end of the multiverse, only two futures remain.

They have strangled all other competitors in their cradles, or weaved them into their webs.

Their agents climb up and down the strands of reality, seeking the final victory they both crave.

This is the Time War.