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„1581: The Eastern Frontiers” is a historical tabletop RPG set in the early years of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. A non-profit project by the Games Research Association of Poland, it brings together authors from Poland, Ukraine and Belarus, working across Poland, Ukraine and Lithuania. Official partners include the Faculty of History at the University of Gdansk, the Central European Institute at Quinnipiac University, and the Magnus Ducatus Foundation. The game was funded through a grant from the Halina Konopacka LOTTO Foundation. The Player’s Handbook, released in the summer of 2025, is not the end of the story – it lays the foundation for future projects to come.
Meet our core team: experienced game designers and writers as well as historical games researchers and educators, all long engaged with the Commonwealthian history and legacy:
✍ Michał Mochocki – Video game writer at False Prophet, tabletop RPG designer (Dzikie Pola, 2nd ed.), professor at the Faculty of History, University of Gdańsk
✍ Arina Komarnitska – Video game designer and writer (New Arc Line, Hollow Home) at Whodomagick Studio
✍ Jerzy Szeja – Game studies researcher, historical RPG educator, President of the Games Research Association of Poland
✍ Yaraslau I. Kot – Game designer at Little Bit Different, chair of BelGameDev, president of the Magnus Ducatus Foundation, researcher at the European Humanities University
✍ Artemij Istuszkin – Game developer, designer and writer; Unity developer at Frozen District
👉 Grant project: „Commonwealth of Many Nations: a historical role-playing game” from H. Konopacka LOTTO Foundation.
👉 Beneficiary: Games Research Association of Poland.
👉 Partners: Faculty of History, University of Gdansk; Central European Institute, Quinnipiac University; Magnus Ducatus Foundation.
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