“when it’s what now?” —Vincent Baker
In a few days, Meguey and Vincent Baker will hit Kickstarter with Apocalypse World 3rd Edition—a new version of the game that lit the fuse for a generation of conversation-first, move-driven RPGs. You remember that RPG with sex moves in it.As that launch window opens, I’m running one last campaign with the current 2E ruleset, Apocalypse World: Burned Over in a setting I’ve been musing over for too long.
🔥 From Apocalypse World to Burned Over
Back in 2010, Apocalypse World 1e cracked the hobby open.It gave us Moves, Playbooks, Clocks and the idea that failure is how the world talks back. Its descendants—Dungeon World, Monsterhearts, Blades in the Dark, Masks, and dozens more—changed how tables play RPGs.
Then, in 2020, came the Burned Over Zine: a quieter, tougher world after the end of endings. It stripped away the hyper-sexual, shock-punk edges of early AW and doubled down on conflicts, hard questions, tough moves.That zine became Burned Over 2E, the version we’ve been hacking, loving, and pushing to its limits ever since. I even made and ran an X-Men hack, eXorcists.
And now? BOHICA! The Bakers are circling back. Sarah Doom and I recently spoke with the Baker family for our upcoming Muses of Play podcast. I planned to ask, “How do you know when a project is finished. Done. End of Life.” — assuming the context would be Apocalypse World… And Vincent’s answer is Outstanding!I’m AMPED about the upcoming 3rd Edition. It’s the next evolutionary step for the most influential indie RPG of the last decade.
Be there on launch day.
And no, this isn’t a sponsored piece…but I am a big fan of the Bakers.
🪐 The Kuiper Belt Anomalies
Out past Neptune, the Kuiper Belt was humanity’s far frontier—a ring of wealth, power, and secrets and wealth.Then the Anadyomene Pulse hit. Power died. Ships went silent. The dead whisper, drones hallucinate...
Now the survivors orbit the wreckage, bound together by Barter and Debt—the only currencies left.Every deal costs something. Every secret has a price.And out there, in the dark, something ancient stirs.
If I get my druthers, this’ll run on Actual Play for four to six sessions—our farewell tour for Burned Over 2E. But I’ll prolly run it online, unstreamed for y’all too! I can’t help myself.🤷🏾♂️
⚙️ Why This Run Matters
A last field reps before the new edition arrives.
A love letter to ten years of AW hacks, crosshairs, and heartbreaks.
A bridge from the zine’s rough-and-ready ethos to whatever the Bakers unveil next.
The tools I’m using— custom-made Hard Zones like The Grave Belt and The Anadyomene Artifact, new spaceship frames thematically named after knives, and a custom Debt move that pairs Barter …cause I’m into Debt Punk Junk.
🛰 What’s Next
Over the next few posts, I’ll share:
session prep notes and play reports
early reactions to the 3E Kickstarter,
and all the other stuff that comes on a 7-9.
If you’ve ever played, hacked, or just admired Apocalypse World, this is the moment to watch the moves unfold—one last burn before the third dawn.
Time to Open Your Mind to the Malestrom.