The creator of Brindlewood Bay, the ENnie Award-winning mystery RPG about elderly women uncovering Lovecraftian conspiracies, is back with something darker. Jason Cordova's Public Access has raised over $414,000 from more than 5,280 backers on Kickstarter, with six days still to go.
Public Access is an analog horror mystery RPG. Players are the Deep Lake Latchkeys, a group of people who met online and share a fixation with a strange public access TV show called TV Odyssey that once aired in the small town of Deep Lake, New Mexico. Now they are converging on the town to investigate. Think grainy VHS tapes, late-night local broadcasts, and the unsettling feeling that something was always off about that show. If you have ever fallen down a Local 58 or Mandela Catalogue rabbit hole on YouTube, this is that energy at your table.
The game uses Cordova's "Carved from Brindlewood" system, and its best trick is this: the GM does not know the solution to each mystery in advance. Players gather clues through play, propose their own theory, then roll to see if they are right. Every session plays out differently, with replayability baked right into the core design.
Public Access originally launched as a digital-only PDF in 2023 through DriveThruRPG. This Kickstarter brings it to print for the first time, bundled with updated rules and a new expansion called Signals From The Other Side. Pledge tiers start at $20 for the digital collection and run to $70 for both physical books. The campaign wraps up on 12 April.
The Gauntlet Gaming Community, Cordova's indie TTRPG collective, has built a strong reputation for innovative design. If your group enjoys mystery and horror, or just wants something far removed from your usual fantasy campaign, give this one a look.
Sources: Kickstarter | Brindlewood Bay (Wikipedia) | Wargamer | Bloody Disgusting
