Cubicle 7 Entertainment Ltd is an Irish games company that creates and publishes

tabletop game Tabletop games or tabletops are games that are normally played on a table or other flat surface, such as board games, card games, dice games, miniature wargames, or tile-based games. Classification according to equipment used Tabletop game ...

s. Best known for its ''Doctor Who'' and ''Lord of the Rings'' games, Cubicle 7 offers titles covering a range of licensed and self-developed properties.

History

Angus Abranson and

Dave Allsop Dave Allsop is a Scottish game designer and artist for role-playing games and video games. Career Dave Allsop developed the role-playing game '' SLA Industries'' (1993); the Scottish company Nightfall Games was founded solely to publish the game. ...

formed the role-playing game company Cubicle 7 with the aim of publishing new material for Allsop's role-playing game '' SLA Industries''. Abranson brought on his friend, Dominic McDowall-Thomas, in January 2004 to edit the books, but later in 2004 production was halted and Allsop left Cubicle 7 for other opportunities. In late 2006, Abranson and McDowall-Thomas formed Cubicle 7 Entertainment Limited, as its partners. In 2006, Cubicle 7 purchased the British small-press publisher Heresy Games and published a new edition of their 2003 role-playing game ''

Victoriana Victoriana is a term used to refer to material culture related to the Victorian period (1837–1901). It often refers to decorative objects, but can also describe a variety of artifacts from the era including graphic design, publications, phot ...

'' in 2009. The company's first licensed game was obtained in 2006, with '' Starblazer Adventures'' published in 2008. Cubicle 7 then licensed the French game '' Qin: The Warring States'' in 2007 and also got the license to produce their 2009 ''

Doctor Who Roleplaying Game The ''Doctor Who Roleplaying Game'', formerly ''Doctor Who: Adventures in Time And Space'' is a role-playing game published by UK-based Cubicle 7 Entertainment. It is based on the BBC science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who'', and all ...

''. In 2008, Cubicle 7 began partnering with small-press publishers to do the publishing and distribution for them, including Adamant Entertainment, Alephtar Games, Arc Dream Publishing,

Cakebread & Walton Cakebread & Walton is a British games company that creates and publishes tabletop games. Best known for its ''Clockwork & Chivalry'', ''Renaissance System'' and '' Abney Park's Airship Pirates'' games, they also offer titles covering a range of l ...

, Arion Games, John Wick Presents, Khepera Publishing, Monkey House Games, Postmortem Studios, Savage Mojo, and Triple Ace Games. Cubicle 7 relocated from

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the Un ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Stamullen Stamullen () is a village in County Meath, Ireland on the border with County Dublin. It lies just off the M1 motorway some 35 km north of Dublin City and beside the Delvin River. In the late 1990s and early 21st century, it expanded signi ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

in 2018.

Games

Role-playing games

Cubicle 7 designs, develops and publishes the following role-playing games: * ''Doctor Who Roleplaying Game'' (role-playing game based on the TV series) *: Won an

Origins Award The Origins Awards are American awards for outstanding work in the game industry. They are presented by the Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts and Design at the Origins Game Fair on an annual basis for the previous year, so (for example) the 1979 a ...

for Best Card Game in 2013. * ''Primeval'' (role-playing game based on the TV series) * '' The Laundry'' (role-playing game based on the ''Laundry Files'' series of novels) * '' Cthulhu Britannica'' (a series of supplements and adventures set in historical England, for the '' Call of Cthulhu'' role-playing game) * ''

'' (roleplay in an fantasy alternative

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edward ...

). The game published by Heresy Games in 2003, with second and third editions by Cubicle 7 in 2009 and 2013. It was reviewed by '' Black Gate'' #15 (Spring 2011) * ''World War Cthulhu'' (a fantasy

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

and Cold War setting for the ''Call of Cthulhu'' RPG - it requires the ''Call of Cthulhu'' rulebook to play) * ''Rocket Age'' (a

retro Retro style is imitative or consciously derivative of lifestyles, trends, or art forms from history, including in music, modes, fashions, or attitudes. In popular culture, the " nostalgia cycle" is typically for the two decades that begin 20–30 ...

- pulp

space opera Space opera is a subgenre of science fiction that emphasizes space warfare, with use of melodramatic, risk-taking space adventures, relationships, and chivalric romance. Set mainly or entirely in outer space, it features technological and soc ...

role-playing game, set in an alternative 20th century where Einstein, Tesla and Ray Armstrong rode the first rocket ship to Mars, entering in a new space opera era) * '' Warhammer Fantasy Role-Play'' - the 4th edition of the venerable fantasy rpg * '' Soulbound: Warhammer Age of Sigmar Role-Play'' - a separate game from ''Fantasy Role-Play'' * ''Wrath & Glory - A Warhammer 40,000 role-playing game'', transferred from Ulisses Spiele. Cubicle 7 published an updated version of the core rulebook in April 2020.

''Cthulhu Britannica''

''Cthulhu Britannica'' is a series of

role-playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within ...

supplements produced by the British game company Cubicle 7 Entertainment for use in the '' Call of Cthulhu'' role-playing game produced by

Chaosium Chaosium Inc. is a publisher of tabletop role-playing games established by Greg Stafford in 1975. Chaosium's major titles include ''Call of Cthulhu (role-playing game), Call of Cthulhu'', based on the horror fiction stories of H. P. Lovecraft'', R ...

. The series allows for games to be set in the United Kingdom. Cubicle 7's '' Call of Cthulhu'' license resulted in the ''Cthulhu Britannica'' (2009) core book, which included five scenarios. Additional books were then released every year until 2012, including ''Shadows over Scotland''. In 2013 a

Kickstarter Kickstarter is an American public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative projects to life". As of July 2021, K ...

campaign was run in order to produce a boxed set and series of supplements set in London, with the ''London Boxed Set'' set being released in the following year.

Former licenses

* ''

Adventures in Middle-earth ''Adventures in Middle-Earth'' is a tabletop role-playing game originally published by Cubicle 7 in 2016 that uses the milieu of J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy trilogy '' The Lord of the Rings''. Description ''Adventures in Middle-Earth'' is set in ...

'' (a licensed OGL compatible

Middle-earth Middle-earth is the fictional setting of much of the English writer J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy. The term is equivalent to the '' Miðgarðr'' of Norse mythology and ''Middangeard'' in Old English works, including ''Beowulf''. Middle-earth i ...

setting for 5th Edition) * ''

The One Ring Roleplaying Game ''The One Ring Roleplaying Game'' is a tabletop role-playing game set in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth, set at the time between '' The Hobbit'' and '' The Lord of the Rings''. Designed by Francesco Nepitello and Marco Maggi, the game was init ...

'' (the current

licensed official role-playing game) Cubicle 7 announced on 27 November 2019 that they would cease publishing ''The One Ring'' and ''Adventures in Middle-earth'' properties. Cubicle 7 had published The One Ring for eight years at that time. * ''Lone Wolf Adventure Game'' (based on Joe Dever's '' Lone Wolf'' gamebook series) Cubicle 7 announced on 2 July 2021 that they would cease publishing the ''Lone Wolf Adventure Game'' property.

Card, dice and board Games

Cubicle 7 designs, develops and publishes the following card, dice and board games: * '' Doctor Who: The Card Game'' (based on the TV series) * ''Hobbit Tales'' (story telling card game set in

) * Dalek Dice (A Doctor Who push your luck dice rolling game)

Translations from French into English

Cubicle 7 translates and publishes the following role-playing games from the French publisher "Le Septième Cercle": * '' Qin'' (a ''

wuxia ( ), which literally means "martial heroes", is a genre of Chinese fiction concerning the adventures of martial artists in ancient China. Although is traditionally a form of historical fiction, its popularity has caused it to be adapted f ...

'' role-playing game, set in China during the

Warring States period The Warring States period () was an era in ancient Chinese history characterized by warfare, as well as bureaucratic and military reforms and consolidation. It followed the Spring and Autumn period and concluded with the Qin wars of conquest ...

) * ''Yggdrasill'' (roleplay in the

Viking Age The Viking Age () was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonizing, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. It followed the Migration Period The ...

) * ''Kuro'' (a horror-

cyberpunk Cyberpunk is a subgenre of science fiction in a dystopian Futurism, futuristic setting that tends to focus on a "combination of low-life, lowlife and high tech", featuring futuristic technological and scientific achievements, such as artificial in ...

role-playing game, set in Japan in the year 2046) * ''Keltia'' (roleplay in the post-Roman Britain, during the 5th century)

Publishing partners

Cubicle 7 also works with a select group of publishing partners to bring their games to a wider market: * ''Hot War'' (Contested Ground) * ''Cold City'' (Contested Ground) * ''3:16 - Carnage Amongst the Stars'' (Box Ninja Games)

Awards

Cubicle 7 has won 12 ENnie Awards, 2 Origins Awards, Best in Show, Lucca 2012 and a Golden Geek.

Notable events

In June 2009, Cubicle 7 announced that it had joined the

Rebellion Developments Rebellion Developments Limited is a British video game developer based in Oxford, England. Founded by Jason and Chris Kingsley in December 1992, the company is best known for its '' Sniper Elite'' series and multiple games in the '' Alien vs. P ...

group of companies. In November 2011, Angus Abranson left Cubicle 7 to form Chronicle City. In December 2014, Cubicle 7 announced that it had left the

group of companies, following a successful management buy out led by CEO Dominic McDowall. In December 2017, Dominic McDowall and Cubicle 7 announced that they would be producing a new RPG in the ''Warhammer'' universe, ''Warhammer: Age of Sigmar''. This game has been part of a personal quest of McDowall to bring back the style of play with ''Warhammer'' he had played in his youth.

References

External links

* {{Official website, https://www.cubicle7games.com
Old official website
Publishing companies established in 2006 Role-playing game publishing companies 2006 establishments in England Publishing companies of Ireland