Hexanol and Furfural

"We buy books because we believe we are buying the time to read them."
- Warren Zevon

Hexanol and Furfural

For my friend Luke H.

Machin's Books has survived radio, television, Barnes & Noble and the internet. It grimes up a two-storey terrace off the main street, attracting minimal foot traffic. There is no cappuccino machine, no light jazz, no computer system. And now there is no escape...

The Premise:

Players are trapped in a labyrinthine second-hand bookshop called Machin's Books. They must work together to achieve an objective, overcome an obstacle and escape.

Features:

• Randomised goals! Find the front door key, kill the original owner, destroy cursed books or set the place alight with the monstrous furnace in the basement...
• Randomised obstacles! Avoid the Abomination, outsmart the Thin Librarian, escape the onset of the Sallow Mould, trap the Woken Thing in the attic...
• A totally-not-patented  Book Tokens system! Player luck and initiative is rewarded with a trip to a real-life bookshelf. Choose a book at random from your very own collection and discover a character or object to aid you. Don't have any books? Here's an excuse to go buy some!
• A motley cast of characters! Are you the all-browse, no-buy regular? Or the washed-up author looking for copies of her own work for validation? Choose your skills from literature expert to thrilling conversationalist, and navigate your flaws: a fear of the dark, a disdain for reading, no patience for talk or riddles.

As for the bookshop? Beyond the main floor, the storage area, the upstairs rooms and the basement, there's no limitations to how Machin's Books might appear to you. The rule set will give you some inspiration, some features and even some characters to get you started. 

But like all good book shops, the interior of this place will suck you in and keep you there...

Copyright Alexander Lee-Rekers, 2025.

Enjoy!