Rollfest 2026 Report

Rollfest 2026 is an amazing role-playing convention in Bracciano, Italy, July 10th, 11th, and 12th. This is it’s second year running and Black Armada Games were invited as guests of Narrativa.

Spoiler alert we had a truly fantastic time!

First let’s talk about the setting.

This is a convention spread out over a medieval town, it takes over two piazzas near each other, a couple of buildings and part of the local park, everything it in a very short walk through pretty cobbled streets and the main market sits in the shadow of a castle. It changes and charges up the whole experience. This isn’t a convention center or a hotel, the event feels like a part of the town itself and the town is stunning You can pop into an artisan gelateria on the way back from a game or walk through the LARP encampment after a late-night swim in the lake and we did both of those things and more.

Josh and I were there as guest speakers and to run games. We spoke on two panels, the first about Lovecraftesque with Narrativa’s own Michele, talking about how we wrote the game. I remember when we first saw the Italian edition of Lovecraftesque we were blown away by how beautiful it was. It is a truth universally acknowledged in UK Indie RPG circles that we design the games and the Italians make them look gorgeous!

Narrativa collaborated with Beerzerk to make a Lovecraftesque themed beer with alfalfa and absinthe. Josh even got to have a taste and proclaimed it delicious and very strong!

The second panel was an international discussion on design, getting from inspiration to a fully written game. Learning from fellow panellists Jérôme Mioso and Stefano Burchi was a delight and hearing the thoughtful passion in their design processes was a real highlight.

Want to play a game? Rollfest has you covered, but this isn’t just any roleplaying...

This was gaming in a 16^th Century church covered in frescos or late evening rpgs under the trees near the LARP encampment with twinkling lights and the sounds of a nearby light sabre duel.

Both my games were held at a Convent established in the 1400s with an open-air courtyard and incredible art on the ceiling of my gaming room.
I ran two games of Lovecraftesque at the convention, both with small groups of enthusiastic players with a real flair for improvisation.  They taught me one way to say 'Game Master' in Italian, ‘Narratore’ which I might just use as standard now.

We really only scratched the surface of the what the convention had on offer from mega-games to game jams, kid-friendly role-playing sessions and the Narrativa escape room. Anytime you turned down a corner or ducked into an alley it seemed there was another bit of the convention tucked away. It made the experience feel completely magical.

I made sure I took some photos of Lovecraftesque from the Narrativa booth and Wreck This Deck over at Grumpy Bear’s stall.

And it was hot, Europe has been in a heatwave for a long time now and the temperatures were high. Everyone drank lots of water and stayed out of the sun as much as possible but respect to the valiant cosplayers in armour and lots of layers. They must have been roasting! But seeing them wandering around the medieval streets definitely created a real sense of atmosphere – like you had stepped into another realm.

All too soon it was time to leave but now I have the goal of learning enough Italian to come back and play in a game in the Church another year.

Arrivederci!

Black Armada's Advent Adventures coming soon to Kickstarter!

A traditional Advent calendar with a gaming twist is launching on 21^st July 2026, 4pm BST.

 
Open a new door every day to discover a prompt for a solo journaling game. Carve out a little daily time, just for you. Write, draw or record something in response to the prompt and craft an entire story by Christmas Day! 
 
With two calendars to choose from, you can follow the path of an unlikely hero or find yourself at the centre of a dark Christmas horror story.

Black Armada Games

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