DYING OF THE LIGHT Asks You to Linger Just a Little Longer

Dying of the Light is a collaborative mapmaking game for 1-4 players, written by Arthur Wells with layout design and art by Luna P, inspired by the quiet but rich works of Kate DiCamillo, Alice Hoffman, and Armistead Maupin. While a mapmaking game, of sorts, Dying of the Light is primarily focused on connections between people and the city they inhabit.

The setting of Dying of the Light is a city, any city, one that you and your companions will choose to tell your story in, real or fictional; the only rule is the city must be ready for a night filled with wonder and melancholy. To explore the city, players will take on the role of custodians of the city who describe it by answering prompts. These prompts give players tokens which can be spent describing the people, places, and ephemeral moments that make up a single night in that city. 

Dying of the Light was originally released in 2022 as a part of the second Caltrop Corps Game Jam and was solely a digital release through itch.io. With the help of Plus One Exp, the game was able to receive a second edition that provides clearer rulings throughout, play examples from a recent playtest of the new rules, stunning art and layout from Luna P, and a brand new cover designed by Eliasdrid for the game’s very first print run. The game was June’s Plus One EXP Zine Club release and is now available for purchase as a physical zine and/or digital PDF through Plus One Exp’s website.

Dying of the Light takes inspiration from The Quiet Year and The Deep Forest by Avery Alder and Mark Diaz Truman, respectively, while building the system's core mechanics out with the use of the Caltrop Core SRD by Lex Kim Bobrow. 

What are people saying about Dying of the Light?

Dying of the Light 2e lets you watch over an aching city; one you might have wandered through in your youth or your dreams. Dusk gives way to evening gives way to the witching hour, which falls as dawn breaks. Each phase of the night, your city shows you a different face. If you’ve ever seen a painting or photograph of a city at night and felt homesick, play this game.

-Lex Kim Bobrow, designer of the Caltrop Core, EMERGE8, and DODECA SRDs and host of the #tittyrpg Game Jam

A mesmerizing tapestry of quiet wonder, restless magic, and profound humanity. Every prompt takes your hand and draws you further into the City, introducing you to people and places that ask you to linger, just a while longer, before the night is over. I want to get lost in this game and be changed by it. Once you start exploring it, I think you will too.

- Gabriel Robinson, designer of The Silt Verses RPG and Token

Dying of the Light brings an eerily comforting melancholy to a town of your own devices. Be lulled by what the night brings or squeeze out moments of brevity and kindness in the darkness. It’s honest, sobering, and breathtaking work from Arthur Wells.

- Vyn Vox, voice actor with work in Genshin Impact; Upwards, Rain; Nightmare Kart and more.