Secret Passages 2: This Time It's Personal

James Hoare's Secret Passages is back on Kickstarter with Issue 2, continuing his mission to excavate the cultural DNA of classic RPGs and Oldhammer gaming.

This second instalment adds another 64 pages of deep-dive journalism exploring "the RPGs and wargames that raised us," building on the success of Issue 1's remarkable debut that we covered in-depth earlier this year. Editor Hoare, bringing nearly two decades of magazine experience from Terrorizer and SciFiNow, created a publication that treats classic gaming with the same cultural seriousness you'd expect from RetroGamer or Classic Rock - thoughtful analysis, gorgeous production values, and just the right amount of knowing nostalgia without tipping into maudlin sentimentality.

Hoare's editorial philosophy remains unchanged: "depth rather than breadth" - diving deep into specific releases not regurgitating the same tired details. It's cultural archaeology for what he calls "the graph paper generation" - those of us who cut our teeth on Fighting Fantasy, Advanced HeroQuest, and the gloriously overwrought lore of early Warhammer. The first issue delivered exactly that with articles on everything from the 1990 secret service raid on Steve Jackson Games to, memorably, "the horniness of the first Warhammer novel". There's still room for thoughtful journalism that doesn't chase algorithms or cater to the attention economy.

The Kickstarter for Issue 2 is in its final week - Death Star trench run stylee - with just seven days left to lock in your copy. You don’t want to miss "cursed content, baffling tangents, and that same old-school, slightly-feral energy" including personal stories from the trenches:

• Jeff Butler's inside account of making Marvel Super Heroes his own and stepping into Frazetta's boots for Conan

• Bill Slavicsek discussing The Star Wars Roleplaying Game that set an ambitious new standard for licensed games at the feverish height of Phantom Menace hype (bringing Jedi to D&D whilst navigating the shadow of the Lucasfilm empire)

• Warhammer Ahoy! plus WFRP legend Graeme Davis sharing his formative gaming experiences

• Sculptor Trish Carden's behind-the-scenes tale of creating Citadel's first plastic dragon.

With just 24 hours to save the Earth (wrong franchise - Ed.), Get yourself over to Kickstarter before this particular exhaust port closes.

Images and text courtesy of Secret Passages/James Hoare.