Sign in Subscribe

MFWG x PtBO2025 - Temporary Autonomous Poetry Zone - Credits

Stylised hand drawn black and white/greyscale map of Edinburgh lower old tow with folklore stylin

Thank you so much for playing our game. We hope you had fun and managed to create your own Temporary Autonomous Poetry Zone.

Please tell others if you enjoyed the experience and encourage them to play, word of mouth over the Festival will really help us or spread the word on social media tagging @ptbopoetry with @morefunwithgames #MFWG #TemporaryAutonomousPoetryZone #TAPZAFF or @UnveiledGames #UnveiledGames.

We would love to stay in touch with you, you can sign up to our mailing list at the bottom of this page or follow us on social media at the links above.

ABS our founder/the designer and writer of this game is taking part in a panel talk on Sunday at 17.00 at the Festival https://pushtheboatout.org/events/gaming-the-system/ - it has a great lineup, please come along if you can!

COMPETITION

Did you find all the clues? If so send the complete 11 word phrase in an email to mail@morefunwith.games by 23.59 on Monday 24th of November 2025 and you will be entered into the draw to win a poetry related prize... Please use the subject line 'PtBO 2025 - TAPS AFF Prize Draw'

CREDITS/THANKS

This game would not have been possible without the support (financial and otherwise) of Push the Boat Out Festival in particular Emma Collins who enthusiastically embraced the project and provided Game Design and Production Support. Annie Rutherford also provided Production Support and no less enthusiasm! A big thanks to them and all the other PtBO staff and volunteers who have assisted, they make the Festival what it is - Amazing!

Pete Roobol from https://lay3d.com/ was, as always, a superb co-conspiritor and responsible for the technology running the game.

Katrin created the amazing map, from more info check out https://katrinblackwater.com/ (all other much less wonderful art/pics coutrtesy of ABS!)

Rebecca and the team at https://www.edinburghcopyshop.co.uk/ provided advice and support for our printed maps

Our poets in order of appearance:

  1. DC from Streetreads with 'I took it to the sea' read by Kevin Gilday. Thanks also to Ricky and all the team at Streetreads for their help to find out more about them and help if you can head to https://www.simonscotland.org/programme/streetreads/ or https://www.instagram.com/streetreads_edinburgh/ or https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/streetreadsnextchapter .
  2. Hannah Lavery with 'Edinburgh is a Story'
  3. Michael Pedersen with 'Be more', read by the poet.
  4. 'What doesn't kill you' by JL Williams, read by the poet.
  5. 'IF THERE IS AN AFTERWARDS' by Anthony Capildeo, read by the poet.

A huge thanks to all the poets who graciously allowed their poems (and in some cases their voices) to be part of our Temporary Autonomous Poetry Zone.

Lyndsey Croal for Editing and Testing

Additional QA - Annie Rutherford, Grant Howarth, Jossie Ellis & Pete Roobol

The Quakers Media Team, Library Desk & Edinburgh Central Clerks for information about the Burial Ground & Meeting Hall

Hildegard & Juan for Site Inspection Moral Support

JME for all other support x

BACKGROUND/BIBLIOGRAPHY

  1. Temporary Autonomous Zone
    1. A T.A.Z. is a liberated area “of land, time or imagination” where one can be for something, not just against, and where new ways of being human together can be explored and experimented with. https://beautifultrouble.org/toolbox/tool/temporary-autonomous-zone or https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temporary_Autonomous_Zone
    2. Well we are all pushing the boat out so we started with a Piratical X marks the spot and the words from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_Man's_Chest
  2. James Hutton's house stood on the location of the Garden you found, he is a fascinating individual and, I believe, deserves to be more widely known. Given it is his tercentenary next year you may actually hear more about him soon... in the mean time https://james-hutton.org/ and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Hutton have info to whet the appetite.
  3. Streetreads are an amazing charity - more info in the Credits section above on their work and how to support them.
  4. Wellheads are found in many places on the Royal Mile and it is said the Scottish Parliment is built on an ancient site of a Spring, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valerie_Gillies poem The Wellhead on this subject is well worth seeking out https://www.valeriegillies.com/ the icon on the map for this location is a stylised Wellhead with a symbolic thistle.
  5. The wonderful poem https://www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/poem/edinburgh-is-a-story/ by Hannah Lavery is on display at thttps://cultureedinburgh.com/our-venues/museum-of-edinburgh for more information on Hannah go to https://www.hannahlavery.com/
  6. The poet https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Fergusson is widely acclaimed for his poems and writing in Scots and Scottish English. His grave is to be found in teh Canongate Kirkyard just near https://www.poetsgraves.co.uk/fergusson.html
  7. The amazing https://www.scottishstorytellingcentre.com/john-knox-house/ houses the Storytelling Center and the Edinburgh https://cityofliterature.com/ offices and is adjacent to the wonderful Netherbow Wellhead https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Knox_House#Wellhead - you can watch a full version of the wonderful poem Be more by Michael Pdersen here https://cityofliterature.com/edinburgh-makar-celebrates-edinburghs-city-of-literature-anniversary/ and info here https://www.michaelpedersen.co.uk/
  8. The old Surgeons's Hall and Square in https://ourhistory.is.ed.ac.uk/index.php/High_School_Yards was where Burke and Hare delivered bodies to. More importantly it is one of the places Elsie Inglis is celabrated, a plaque on the front notes her connection and achievemtns, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elsie_Inglis she was a 'Scottish medical doctor, surgeon, teacher, suffragist, and founder of the Scottish Women's Hospitals'. For more info on the wonderful poem and poet who read their piece for us here see https://jlwilliamspoetry.co.uk/
  9. This is one of the remaining pieces of the Flodden Wall one of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edinburgh_town_walls it is a random rubble wall and more info on this and other fascinating details (such as the quarries I list in the location description) are from the 'Building Stones of Edinburgh' book from the https://edinburghgeolsoc.org/publications/geological-excursion-guides/#toggle-id-8 - as to what the bricked up arch and barred door are I have yet to find out... but had no trouble fitting it into my Unveiled urban fantasy universe where fae and other magical forces war at the boundary between worlds.. the Veil.
  10. The beautiful https://britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/200405253-burial-ground-quaker-meeting-hall-pleasance-edinburgh-edinburgh has always intrigued me... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vahni_Capildeo provided our fitting poetry finale.. our AFTERWARDS