For most of this year, my evenings have gone into a side project that got a lot bigger than I planned.
I’ve always loved old-school tabletop fantasy – the kind where you roll your hit points, count your torches and hope the thief finds the trap before the fighter does. The Basic Fantasy Role-Playing Game keeps that style alive, and it is free and openly licensed. One of its classic adventures, Morgansfort: The Western Lands Campaign, felt like it was begging to be a computer game.
So I built it. CoolRPG: Volume I is a turn-based RPG that follows the Basic Fantasy rules as closely as I could manage while keeping it fun on a screen. It runs on Android phones, tablets and Google TV (with a controller or the TV remote), on Windows, and now – as a free play test – right in the browser.
A few things I’m proud of:
- The rules come straight from the book – saving throws, spell levels, XP for treasure, even encumbrance.
- It plays well on a TV with a controller, not just on a phone.
- The whole build pipeline runs on my own homelab: every change is tested automatically before a new version is built and published – the same habits I’ve used for 20 years in IT, pointed at something fun for once.
It’s in a closed test on Google Play right now, and I’d love more players. If you want to try it, email support@coolrpg.us with your Gmail address and I’ll add you – or register for free at coolrpg.us and play the free edition in your browser.