Renowned author and game designer Matt Forbeck, known for his New York Times bestsellers and work on the Marvel Multiverse RPG, has teamed up with his son Marty to introduce a fresh tabletop experience rooted in the Minecraft universe. You can now pre-order their collaborative effort, titled Minecraft: Roll for Adventure: The Temple of the Charged Creeper. This tabletop game aims to merge the widespread appeal of Minecraft’s open-world creativity with a straightforward set of role-playing guidelines.
Interestingly, Penguin Random House, the publisher, has opted to keep details about the game’s mechanics under wraps—a trend not uncommon with tabletop releases tied to popular media. However, the book’s cover gives us a glimpse, showing off a pair of six-sided dice. It’s noted in the publisher’s description that the gamebook comes with “four dice.” Also included are a “removable character sheet” and a convenient “rules reference,” which players can use to monitor their epic adventures, whether playing solo or with a group where someone assumes the role of the “narrator.”
This particular adventure unfolds in a secluded village plagued by “illagers,” familiar adversaries in the Minecraft realm who also serve as the villains in Forbeck’s 2020 novel, Minecraft Dungeons: The Rise of the Arch-Illager. In classic role-playing fashion, players must help the village by tracking down and obliterating the problem’s source: the Temple of the Charged Creeper.
While there have been previous collaborations blending Minecraft with Dungeons & Dragons, like the youth-focused Lightning Keep adventure, this venture stands on its own as a creation of Matt and Marty Forbeck. Given Matt Forbeck’s extensive background in designing tabletop games and writing for esteemed franchises such as D&D, Minecraft, Halo, and Life is Strange—as well as his original works—his involvement lends considerable cachet to this project. Whether it resonates with Minecraft enthusiasts and tabletop gamers alike will become apparent when the book is released in July 2025.
For those interested in getting their hands on it, the hardcover edition of Minecraft: Roll for Adventure: The Temple of the Charged Creeper can be pre-ordered through the Penguin Random House website, priced at $20.
