Hello, and welcome back aboard! Make sure the hatch is firmly shut. This week Chris is taking us swimming, while Florence looks to the stars and Keith visits the West of Ireland.

The Bathysphere crew
Christian Donlan
Florence Smith Nicholls
Keith Stuart

Contact us at bathyspherecrew@gmail.com

Delightful games

I’m really looking forward to trying out the solo TTRPG Spine, the beta version of which is now available to download for free from itch. You play as a researcher reading a strange tome, following the prompts in its endnotes. I’m very interested in the concept of “bookplay” that Spine leans into - how books can function as props or the locus of play itself FSN

I’m not official allowed to write about this yet, but I am currently reviewing Seance of Blake Manor and I can tell you already it’s a must for fans of detective games, especially those who are also interested in spritualism and colonialism. You’re an investigator looking into the strange disappearance of a guest from an isolated hotel on the west coast of Ireland. In typical Agatha Christie style all the other inhabitants have secrets to hide, and through interrogation and exploration, a vast web of intrigue builds. I am having an absolute ball. KS

Interesting things

I recently came back from a larp in Poland about being a scientist trying to communicate with an alien lifeform. Ever since, I can’t quite let go of my astronaut persona, and I’ve been reading Dr Space Junk vs The Universe: Archaeology and the Future by Alice Gorman. As someone who does archaeology in contemporary video games, I particularly like the book’s emphasis on archaeology as a field being applicable to both the deep past and the contemporary world, including human material culture beyond Earth. FSN

Essay: Backstroke

It’s the end of term at my swimming school, which means that at last night’s lesson I was the only person in the water. My teacher, who has been steadily teaching me the front crawl, felt expansive, so we tried something a bit different.