News archive
17-04-2017: Mars to Stay was nominated for Best Story at Fastaval 2017.
Nine mission teams were launched and I got great feedback for revising the game - mainly that it is a mini campaign, not a one shot :).
Looking forward to continue developing the game - get in touch if you want to run a playtest.
02-04-2017:
Montsegur 1244 Boxed Edition is now sold out and out of print.
10-02-2017:
Sign up for Fastaval 2017, April 12-17 in Hobro, Denmark, is now open. Get your ticket to Mars to Stay today!
28-01-2017:
Countdown for Fastaval 2017: The deadline for sending the games to the Otto Jury is approaching fast. Looking forward to present Mars to Stay to the world.
Low stocks of Montsegur 1244, I will be selling out of the boxed edition soon. Grab your copy while it's there!
05-11-2016:
The Death of Rapacus ran successfully at Grand Tribunal UK in August and
Viking Con in October. It's a GM less oneshot set in the world of Ars Magica.
I'm now working on a game to premiere at Fastaval 2017 called Mars to Stay about survival in
humanity's first colony on Mars.
01-01-2016:
In 2015 I had great fun in doing a remake of the Fastaval game 'Dyst' (Joust) - a historical sportsdrama in a medieval jousting tournament. I got to play it four times with different groups and saw great drama and players engaging in the dice mechanic to influence the outcome of each joust.
The game is a GM less story game with dice for 5 or 6 players and is available here: The Tournament.
30-08-2015:
This Autumn I will attend Viking Con and Forum:
30-10-2014:
Free shipping during November 2014. Surprise a friend with a Montsegur 1244 Boxed Edition for Christmas.
20-09-2014:
Convention appearances this fall:
If you have the chance, drop by and say hello. I will be running Montsegur 1244 at both conventions.
27-05-2014:
Montsegur 1244 Boxed Edition is now available for sale in these fine local game stores in Copenhagen and Malmö:
Copenhagen:
Malmö:
01-05-2014:
The Montsegur 1244 Boxed Edition is now shipping.
Place your orders at Thoughtful Games (ships from Europe) or Indie Press Revolution (ships from US).
Looking forward to receive your order.
21-04-2014:
Ladies and gentlemen:
The English Montsegur 1244 Boxed Edition will be available for sale from May 2014.
Months of preparation have resulted in the production of 200 exclusive English boxed editions.
This limited, boxed edition of Montsegur 1244 contains all the material from the original edition of the game as well as the expansion in the same high quality as the Italian edition by Narrattiva.
In addition to the rules, the 56 page booklet contains a 20 page essay on the history and legends of Montsegur 1244 by Ezio Melega.
Purchase of the boxed edition also gives exclusive access to online content so you can access the reference material during play e.g. from an iPad.
The games will be offered for sale on a first come first served basis through Indie Press Revolution and thoughtfulgames.com.
11-04-2014:
Ulisses Spiele which offers a German edition of Montsegur 1244 has made this
preview of the German edition available.
The German edition is also available in a unique collector's set together with German editions of Dogs in the Vineyard and My Life With Master.
19-01-2014:
I am proud to announce that there will be an English boxed edition of Montsegur 1244 available this year.
In cooperation with the Italian publisher Narrattiva, Thoughtful Games will do a limited print run of an
English boxed edition based on the beautiful Italian edition. In addition to the core game, the boxed game will include the characters and cards
from the expansion and the appendixes from the Italian edition. Whether you are new to Montsegur 1244 or a long time fan, this
will be a unique opportunity to invite your friends to a beautiful and tragic siege of Montsegur.
More information about pre-ordering, release date, and price will follow.
For further information, please write to mail@thoughtfulgames.com.
30-07-2013:On 20 August 2013, the English edition of Montsegur 1244 will go out of print due to a change in formats available from Lulu. If you want a printed edition of Montsegur 1244, please order it by then here. As from today, there is a 40% discount on the paperback.
Thank you all who have played and enjoyed the game - it has been wonderful to hear the feedback from all of you. The English edition of Montsegur 1244 was published February 2009 and has sold around 400 copies. Maybe one day there will be a revised deluxe edition but currently I have no plans for this.
17-07-2013:
Want to play Montsegur 1244 but has never gotten around to making a set of cards? Here is a solution: Jim Pinto has made a set of character cards, story cards and scene cards that are available at a print on demand service. Get them at DriveThruRPG.
22-06-2013:
Here is a tip for a cool game: Dulce et Decorum by Troels Ken Pedersen. Four young people volunteer for the West Front - through play we find out how their meeting with the Great War changes them.
Two reasons why you should check out this game:
- The use of authentic war poems to take us from a journey of joy and patriotism to utter meaninglessness.
- Being very explicit in the way it instructs the GM for how to run the game.
And the best thing? The game can be downloaded for free in English. As an additional treat, here are jpg-files for making awesome cards for the game, e.g. from a custom card printing service such as Printer's Studio. Enjoy.
05-08-2012:
Looking for games similar to Montsegur 1244? Check out Witch - The Road to Lindisfarne and The Daughters of Verona.
28-12-2011:
Another work inspired by the fall of Montsegur is the song Montségur by Iron Maiden, here in a fan video on YouTube. Your average game of Montsegur 1244 will probably have slightly fewer cardinals and nazis...
28-12-2011:
Going to Vintersol 2012? Then you can join in a game of Montsegur 1244. The theme is Heaven and Hell and they promise you a chance to find out if you are a saint, a sinner, or just a poor lost soul.
27-08-2011:
Is the expansion just fluff that's best ignored? Pete answers this question in this detailed review of the Montsegur 1244 Expansion.
06-08-2011:
A Danish version of the game components for Montsegur 1244 is now available for download. Please email Thoughtful Games if you have bought the English edition and would like a pdf with the game text in Danish.
20-05-2011:
A review by MJ Harnish recommends Montsegur 1244 "if your group likes drama and tragedy, isn’t scared by games without dice, and is willing to spend an evening playing a great game and then days afterwards talking about it."
12-01-2011:
Thanks to Wilhelm Persson and Anders Bohlin, the components for Montsegur 1244 are now available in Swedish. Meet Wilhelm and Anders in Indierummet nordnordost.
10-01-2011:
Several sessions of Montsegur 1244 were played at SävCon X, Sävar, Umeå, Sweden. One of the organisers, Wilhelm Person, writes about running Montsegur 1244 at a convention on his blog.
25-12-2010:
Thoughtful Games proudly presents Montsegur 1244: The Expansion for free download.
Explore friendship relations. See the Cathars through the eyes of an outsider. Encounter true love, endless rain, and a ghost from the past. The expansion will inspire you and your friends to create new stories about the siege of Montsegur and new answers to that final question: Will you burn for your beliefs?
Thoughtful Games wishes you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
09-11-2010:
Two great sessions of Montsegur 1244 at IndieCon 2010, Dorset, UK this weekend. See my pictures from the convention.
31-10-2010:
Montsegur 1244 was nominated for the Best Role Play Game 2010 Award at Lucca Comics & Games.
Also, if you are on Facebook, you can join the Montsegur 1244 Facebook group.
24-10-2010:
The Montsegur 1244 expansion has now seen four playtests - and I have lots of good feedback.
It looks like it can be a Christmas present for the Montsegur 1244 fans out there.
The French edition will be delayed until early 2011, however.
07-10-2010:
Finally: News about the expansion: It is ready for playtest. The two first playtests were a success so I am now
looking for external playtesters to try out the new characters, scene cards and story cards. Send me an email if you are interested.
07-10-2010:
Looks like I will be able to attend IndieCon in Dorset, UK, in November.
If you are there, stop by and say hello.
20-07-2010:
Montsegur 1244 has been nominated for the 2010 Diana Jones Award.
"Montsegur 1244, by Frederik Jensen, uses actual history to frame a tightly focused game that explores faith, loyalty, and the bonds of kinship. Using the final, brutal siege in the Catholic crusade against the Cathar heresy as a backdrop, players take the roles of true believers trapped in the fortress of Montsegur. As the inevitable endgame draws closer, each player must decide—will their character abandon their faith and recant, or will they burn for what they believe? This single, simple choice drives the entire game.
Montsegur 1244 succeeds brilliantly in evoking the horror and pathos of the doomed Cathars, and combines the best of Nordic and North American roleplaying traditions. The game is carefully structured where it needs to be and completely freeform where it doesn’t. Elegant, simple mechanics support play that is often surprisingly emotional. The choices players are presented with are impossible to reconcile. The tangled web of family, love, duty and belief only amplify the difficulty of the decision each must eventually make."
For more information, see www.dianajonesaward.org.
16-07-2010:
I am happy to announce that a French edition of Montsegur 1244 is now under way.
It will be produced by the French company Ecuries d'Augias.
Expected release is Fall 2010.
28-06-2010:
I had an excellent time at InterNosCon in May - thank you all I met. I wrote about my trip here (in Danish).
Also take a look at this short form scenario/game from Peter Fallesen: Remembering the Fall. It is a story game in the Warhammer 40,000 universe, written for Fastaval 2010.
09-04-2010:
It is now official: I will attend InterNosCon in Ravenna, Italy in May. Hope to see you there!
29-03-2010:
John Aegard played Montsegur 1244 at Gamestorm 12
and writes about it on Story Games.
29-03-2010:
Montsegur 1244 is the topic of this excellent podcast: Actual People, Actual Play Episode 11 Montsegur 1244.
10-03-2010:
Now available: Italian edition of Montsegur 1244.
23-02-2010:
Coming soon: Italian edition of Montsegur 1244, published by the Italian publisher Narrattiva.
15-12-2009:
Montsegur 1244 Expansion Set: Invitation to participate.
14-12-2009:
Montsegur 1244 voted as Game of the Year 2009 on Story Games.
12-12-2009:
Shannon J.E. McNamara will run a game of Montsegur 1244 at DunDraCon 34, February 12-15, 2010.
22-11-2009:
Rick Evans writes about playing Montsegur 1244 at IndieCon 2009 in southern England.
29-10-2009:
On the website Make RPG, there is a review in Russian of Montsegur 1244.
22-09-2009:
In the podcast show Narrative Control, Sean and Justin talk about Montsegur 1244 in several episodes (28, 34, and 38).
26-07-2009:
Morten Greis Petersen has written a review of Montsegur 1244 on RPGForum (in Danish).
06-07-2009:
Ryan Macklin facilitated a game of Montsegur 1244 at Go Play North West in Seattle, Washington. William Huggins, one of the players, wrote about the game in this thread on Story Games.
14-06-2009:
My story game Nordland: Returning Home is now available in English. It is part of the Empire Anthology which won the Jury's Special Prize at Fastaval 2009. It is story telling game for 5 players and plays in 1-2 hours.
28-05-2009:
Brian Rasmussen has layoutet a splendid color version of the relationship map for Montsegur 1244.
30-04-2009:
Jason Morningstar writes about playing Montsegur 1244 with his regular crew. One of Paul Tevis' players writes about his experience with Montsegur 1244. Paul also played the campfire version of Montsegur 1244.
23-04-2009:
Paul Tevis reviews Montsegur 1244 in
this podcast on Have Games, Will Travel. He explains quite well what the game is about. Jason Morningstar has made a relationship map for Montsegur 1244. This can be very helpful the first time you play Montsegur 1244.
At Fastaval 2009, I participated with a short scenario in the Empire collection which won the Special Prize. Work is currently underway to translate this and other scenarios to English, check it out on Gnavpotveksler. The Danish edition of my contribution can be found here.
08-03-2009:
Montsegur 1244 is now available from Indie Press Revolution. You can also now listen to the podcast from Dreamation 2009, where Paul and Brennan talks with me about Montsegur 1244.
25-02-2009:
Launch of Montsegur 1244 at Dreamation 2009 was a great success. Three groups played the game and their feedback was very positive. Read e.g. this thread from Jason Morningstar on Story Games. I also did an interview for The Voice of the Revolution which will be available as podcast shortly. I have also discovered that Montsegur 1244 has been reviewed and discussed in France and Brazil.
08-02-2009:
Resources for Montsegur 1244 are now available for download.
14-12-2008:
Montsegur 1244 is now available as print-on-demand or as download from Lulu. Resources for download will be available shortly.
18-11-2008:
Final proofread of Montsegur 1244 is now completed. Release is imminent. Furthermore, Montsegur 1244 will be set up at Dreamation 2009 in New Jersey.
14-10-2008:
Four groups played Montsegur 1244 at Viking Con 27. See pictures here.
27-06-2008:
Montsegur 1244 will be set up at Viking Con 27 (in Danish).
16-06-2008:
Agreed with Anna Kreider to make an add-swap between Thou Art But a Warrior and Montsegur 1244.
06-06-2008:
English website is up.
01-06-2008:
Chris Bennet set up a game of Montsegur 1244 at Go Play Northwest 2008 in Seattle. They had a fabulous session. Read what they said about the game in this thread.
31-05-2008:
My friend Flemming Lindblad has agreed to host the website for Thoughtful Games. He provides an excellent service.
21-05-2008:
My friend Brian Rasmussen has designed a front page for Montsegur 1244.
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