The Laundry Explained

The Laundry
Subtitle:	A roleplaying game based on the "Laundry Files" novels by Charles Stross
Publisher:	Cubicle 7
System:	Basic Role-Playing
Genre:	Horror
Isbn:	978-1907204937

The Laundry is a tabletop role-playing game published by Cubicle 7 in 2010.^[1] The game is based on novelist Charles Stross's The Laundry Files series.

Description

The Laundry is a game where agents have to deal with Lovecraftian outer gods and British bureaucracy at the same time.^[2]

Publication history

Cubicle 7 used their Basic Role-Playing license to create The Laundry (2010), based on The Laundry Files series of novels by Charles Stross.^[2] The game was published in July 2010.^[3]

Cubicle 7 subsequently published a number of supplements:^[4]

• Black Bag Jobs, a compilation of scenarios.
• The Agent's Handbook which develops the agents' characters and the internal procedures of the organization.
• The Mythos Dossiers, a compilation of in-game documents to use as play-aids and scenario seeds.
• License To Summon, which give more details on the various forms of sorcery in the game universe.
• God Game Black, which provides more information on the Sleeper's Plateau and how to introduce an eschaton menace in the game.
• Cultists Under The Bed gives more information on the working of various forms of sects and cultists, with several examples of organizations.
• Unconventional Diplomacy, a compilation of scenarios.
• Targets Of Acquisition, which provides dossiers of several occult artefacts.
• As Above, So Below, introduces rules for using special forces in the game and adding a political dimension to games. It also includes two new scenarios.

A GM screen was announced but was never released. Cubicle 7's licensing agreement with Chaosium expired by mutual agreement at the end of 2017.^[5] In 2019 Cubicle 7 stated that the licensing issue would need to be resolved, or a new system introduced, before a revised edition could be published.^[6] In July 2023, Charles Stross announced that a second edition was in the works.^[7]

Awards

• 2011 ENnie for Best New Game - Silver Winner^[8]

External links

• The Laundry RPG at RPGGeek

Notes and References

1. Book: Ryder-Hanrahan . Gareth . Durall . Jason . Snead . John . The Laundry . 2010 . Cubicle 7 . Oxford, UK . 978-1907204937.
2. Book: Shannon Appelcline. Designers & Dragons. Mongoose Publishing. 2011. 978-1-907702-58-7.
3. Web site: For sale; first edition of the Necronomicon (used once) . Stross . Charlie . 10 March 2010 . Charlie's Diary . 22 June 2010.
4. Web site: Laundry Supplements list on Cubicle 7 website . 11 March 2015.
5. Web site: Call of Cthulhu and Cubicle 7.
6. Web site: Geek Native discuss Cubicle 7.
7. Web site: Announcement: 2nd edition Laundry Files RPG is coming . Stross . Charlie . 2023-07-14 . Charlie's Diary . 2023-09-27.
8. Web site: The Laundry RPG . rpggeek.com . BoardGameGeek LLC.