Pelgrane Press has confirmed that Page Turners, a new tabletop roleplaying game designed specifically for two participants, will arrive in retail stores on April 1st, 2026.
Designed by Robin D. Laws, the game seeks to distil the dramatic, emotional interplay of his award-winning Hillfolk system into a streamlined experience for a single player and a Game Moderator.
While the retail launch is set for April, a date Pelgrane acknowledges as “April Fool’s Day” but insists marks a genuine release, the publisher has opened pre-orders immediately. Early adopters can expect physical copies to ship in February, ahead of the general release, which will also see the title become available as a PDF-only purchase.
Scaling Down the Drama
The primary mechanical hook of Page Turners is its focus on “dramatic interaction” rather than procedural simulation. Laws, known for creating the investigation-heavy GUMSHOE system used in Trail of Cthulhu, previously explored emotional narratives with Hillfolk and its underlying DramaSystem. That game won the Diana Jones Award for its approach to group dynamics and interpersonal conflict.
Page Turners appears to be an evolution of that design philosophy, adapted for a smaller table. By limiting the cast to a single protagonist and a GM, the game aims to facilitate “intense stories” that might be difficult to manage with a larger group. The publisher describes the rules as “shockingly simple,” intended to keep the focus on the evolving fiction rather than crunch.
Genres and Scenarios
The core book does not limit itself to a single setting. Instead, it offers a set of scenarios designed to demonstrate the system’s flexibility across different use cases.
Alongside Laws, the writing team includes Sarah Saltiel, Wade Rockett, and Ruth Tillman. The eleven included scenarios cover a broad spectrum of tropes familiar to fans of fiction, from the high-society manoeuvring of Regency England in Entreaty and Entanglement to the “doomed vampire love” of Without You.
Other notable settings include The Beacon, set amidst the glamour of the Jazz Age; Loose Screws, a 1930s screwball comedy; and Inheritance, a sci-fi saga about artificial life.
Commercial Availability
The print edition is currently available for pre-order directly through the publisher. For digital-first gamers, the PDF version will likely be available via DriveThruRPG and the Pelgrane store upon the general release in April.
