Chris Allnutt
@chris-allnutt.ft.com
Journalist at HTSI/FT Weekend - ft.com/chris-allnutt
Took a trip across north London to visit Folkies, a proper warren of a music shop, for @ftweekend.com
www.ft.com/content/9fd0...
www.ft.com/content/9fd0...
Folkies, the shop bringing the world’s music to Kilburn
They come to the specialist store for a bass. They leave with a bouzouki
www.ft.com
November 9, 2025 at 10:37 AM
Took a trip across north London to visit Folkies, a proper warren of a music shop, for @ftweekend.com
www.ft.com/content/9fd0...
www.ft.com/content/9fd0...
The average playtime for an active PC player on Football Manager 2024 was around 600 hours... from my interview with Sports Interactive's Miles Jacobson -
on.ft.com/3JIuczs
on.ft.com/3JIuczs
Why Football Manager just keeps winning
[FREE TO READ] Over 33 years, the series has won over frustrated fans, the football industry, even Americans — but it took three Lionesses to get women’s teams into the game
on.ft.com
November 5, 2025 at 8:15 AM
The average playtime for an active PC player on Football Manager 2024 was around 600 hours... from my interview with Sports Interactive's Miles Jacobson -
on.ft.com/3JIuczs
on.ft.com/3JIuczs
Reposted by Chris Allnutt
Jesus Christ Kinski — an offbeat riff on a blasphemous stage monologue on.ft.com/3Jjx4CW
Jesus Christ Kinski — an offbeat riff on a blasphemous stage monologue
The German actor’s notorious 1971 performance is the jumping-off point for a curious novel by Benjamin Myers
on.ft.com
October 28, 2025 at 12:01 PM
Jesus Christ Kinski — an offbeat riff on a blasphemous stage monologue on.ft.com/3Jjx4CW
Caught up with Baltimore trumpeter Brandon Woody about his debut album, featuring a wonderful shoot by Jared Soares.
www.ft.com/content/5d72...
www.ft.com/content/5d72...
Brandon Woody’s bombastic Baltimore brass
The up-and-coming trumpeter channels the energy of his beloved hometown
www.ft.com
September 29, 2025 at 8:35 AM
Caught up with Baltimore trumpeter Brandon Woody about his debut album, featuring a wonderful shoot by Jared Soares.
www.ft.com/content/5d72...
www.ft.com/content/5d72...
On penguins and postcards: eclecticletters.substack.com/p/19-chris-a...
Eclectic Letters #19 — Chris Allnutt
Myeongho Seo's penguin snaps, a French radio station, Ross Macdonald, Rimworld, conventionally unattractive postcards, and millennial lit.
eclecticletters.substack.com
September 4, 2025 at 7:23 AM
On penguins and postcards: eclecticletters.substack.com/p/19-chris-a...
For a game without dialogue or instructions, there's some really wonderful worldbuilding and storytelling in Herdling. My review: on.ft.com/45CMBpI
Herdling is a gentle game of patience and beauty — review
[FREE TO READ] Your task is to guide a herd of strange animals away from the city in this dialogue-free adventure
on.ft.com
August 28, 2025 at 6:45 PM
For a game without dialogue or instructions, there's some really wonderful worldbuilding and storytelling in Herdling. My review: on.ft.com/45CMBpI
Call me cynical, but any game that refuses to allow people to base their purchases off reviews isn't doing so in good faith.
In case you're wondering: Team Cherry told me they don't plan on sending out early codes for Silksong (they felt like it'd be unfair for critics to be playing before Kickstarter backers and other players), so don't expect to see reviews until after the game comes out
August 21, 2025 at 6:56 PM
Call me cynical, but any game that refuses to allow people to base their purchases off reviews isn't doing so in good faith.
"The believable was more important than the real, in the church of the immersive" – and Elaine Castillo's Moderation is a wonderfully immersive novel, if something of a missed opportunity. My review:
on.ft.com/3UMOxpj
on.ft.com/3UMOxpj
Moderation — real love versus the virtual world
[FREE TO READ] Elaine Castillo’s wry and witty tale of workplace romance becomes a commentary on big tech’s dark secrets
on.ft.com
August 6, 2025 at 12:09 PM
"The believable was more important than the real, in the church of the immersive" – and Elaine Castillo's Moderation is a wonderfully immersive novel, if something of a missed opportunity. My review:
on.ft.com/3UMOxpj
on.ft.com/3UMOxpj
Wheel World dangles just enough by way of plot and subtext to make you wish there were a good deal more of it. Review for @ftweekend.com -
on.ft.com/3UzDG1L
on.ft.com/3UzDG1L
Wheel World game review — a fun, whimsical cycling adventure
[FREE TO READ] This quirky biking game lets players race against pirates, chefs and robots on a picturesque island
on.ft.com
July 24, 2025 at 11:49 AM
Wheel World dangles just enough by way of plot and subtext to make you wish there were a good deal more of it. Review for @ftweekend.com -
on.ft.com/3UzDG1L
on.ft.com/3UzDG1L
Reposted by Chris Allnutt
Cricket, Christianity and the search for English identity https://on.ft.com/406wKMX
Cricket, Christianity and the search for English identity
Books by Brendan Cooper and Bijan Omrani explore two forces that once fuelled the country’s global power and now leave it pining for the past
on.ft.com
July 7, 2025 at 4:01 PM
Cricket, Christianity and the search for English identity https://on.ft.com/406wKMX
Reposted by Chris Allnutt
"three decades after the end of Bosnia’s war, European officials are frantically refocusing on the tiny, still ethnically divided state, fearing trouble is once again brewing there." www.ft.com/content/e412...
Bosnia, 30 years on: the looming crisis in the Balkans
Trouble is brewing again in the ethnically divided state, exactly three decades after the Srebrenica massacre
www.ft.com
July 7, 2025 at 9:46 AM
"three decades after the end of Bosnia’s war, European officials are frantically refocusing on the tiny, still ethnically divided state, fearing trouble is once again brewing there." www.ft.com/content/e412...
Reposted by Chris Allnutt
Reposted by Chris Allnutt
The Buried City — Pompeii’s director takes us behind the scenes https://on.ft.com/3ThZVJi
The Buried City — Pompeii’s director takes us behind the scenes
Gabriel Zuchtriegel’s spirited part-history, part-memoir evokes the everyday life of the ancient city, and poses some very modern questions
on.ft.com
June 30, 2025 at 11:01 AM
The Buried City — Pompeii’s director takes us behind the scenes https://on.ft.com/3ThZVJi
Reposted by Chris Allnutt
For @eurogamer.bsky.social, I offer a close-read comparison of Nevil Shute's famously depressing 1957 novel, On The Beach, and Kojima's latest.
In the face of nuclear (and nuclear-coded) extinction events, one offers cosmic despair; the other offers cosmic hope (and a Domino's brand partnership).
In the face of nuclear (and nuclear-coded) extinction events, one offers cosmic despair; the other offers cosmic hope (and a Domino's brand partnership).
June 30, 2025 at 1:59 PM
For @eurogamer.bsky.social, I offer a close-read comparison of Nevil Shute's famously depressing 1957 novel, On The Beach, and Kojima's latest.
In the face of nuclear (and nuclear-coded) extinction events, one offers cosmic despair; the other offers cosmic hope (and a Domino's brand partnership).
In the face of nuclear (and nuclear-coded) extinction events, one offers cosmic despair; the other offers cosmic hope (and a Domino's brand partnership).
Brian Wilson was a wonderfully humbling 23 years old when he wrote God Only Knows. This is the story of the song...
on.ft.com/3ZKaW9M
on.ft.com/3ZKaW9M
God Only Knows — Brian Wilson said it was the easiest song he ever wrote
[FREE TO READ] A standout track from The Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds album, it epitomised Wilson’s shift into complex, sophisticated compositions
on.ft.com
June 22, 2025 at 10:22 PM
Brian Wilson was a wonderfully humbling 23 years old when he wrote God Only Knows. This is the story of the song...
on.ft.com/3ZKaW9M
on.ft.com/3ZKaW9M
Reposted by Chris Allnutt
WeTransfer co-founder Damian Bradfield loves the macabre, Monster Munch and Cillian Murphy’s hair
https://www.ft.com/content/9cf221ce-6e6b-4cf7-bc24-c9a7effd1cc0
https://www.ft.com/content/9cf221ce-6e6b-4cf7-bc24-c9a7effd1cc0
WeTransfer co-founder Damian Bradfield loves the macabre, Monster Munch and Cillian Murphy’s hair
Life in Amsterdam hasn’t taken away the creative’s taste for beige British foods
www.ft.com
May 9, 2025 at 4:31 AM
WeTransfer co-founder Damian Bradfield loves the macabre, Monster Munch and Cillian Murphy’s hair
https://www.ft.com/content/9cf221ce-6e6b-4cf7-bc24-c9a7effd1cc0
https://www.ft.com/content/9cf221ce-6e6b-4cf7-bc24-c9a7effd1cc0
How are London's city farms adapting to meet modern challenges? I visited four for FT Globetrotter to find out -
on.ft.com/4iP6YTW
on.ft.com/4iP6YTW
Way to grow: the rise of London’s city farms
[FREE TO READ] Connect with the land and hang out with animals at these urban oases focused on community, sustainability and experimental agriculture
on.ft.com
May 7, 2025 at 9:15 PM
How are London's city farms adapting to meet modern challenges? I visited four for FT Globetrotter to find out -
on.ft.com/4iP6YTW
on.ft.com/4iP6YTW
Despelote is a wonderfully evocative and unique game. But almost equally fascinated by the existence of Hernán Darío Gómez, a man who has managed SIX South and Central American international football teams over the course of his career - two of them twice.
on.ft.com/3GUDrL6
on.ft.com/3GUDrL6
Despelote gaming review — when football is all that matters
[FREE TO READ] Set in Ecuador during the country’s World Cup qualifying campaign, the game explores the loss of childhood innocence
on.ft.com
May 5, 2025 at 11:40 AM
Despelote is a wonderfully evocative and unique game. But almost equally fascinated by the existence of Hernán Darío Gómez, a man who has managed SIX South and Central American international football teams over the course of his career - two of them twice.
on.ft.com/3GUDrL6
on.ft.com/3GUDrL6
Further adventures in millennial fiction, this time with Leif Randt’s Allegro Pastel...
on.ft.com/44UQs1l
on.ft.com/44UQs1l
Allegro Pastel — Leif Randt’s brilliant distillation of millennial precarity
[FREE TO READ] The German writer’s first novel to be translated into English tackles young hopes, lives lived online — and the angst of turning 30
on.ft.com
May 2, 2025 at 11:56 AM
Further adventures in millennial fiction, this time with Leif Randt’s Allegro Pastel...
on.ft.com/44UQs1l
on.ft.com/44UQs1l
Is Lushfoil photography? Digital art? Meditation? Or just aspiration? I enlisted the help of FT photographer Charlie Bibby to find out.
on.ft.com/3Yb63G5
on.ft.com/3Yb63G5
Virtual photography game is a window on the world
[FREE TO READ] In ‘Lushfoil Photography Sim’ players snap genuine locations, recreated digitally — but how does it compare with the real thing?
on.ft.com
April 22, 2025 at 6:40 PM
Is Lushfoil photography? Digital art? Meditation? Or just aspiration? I enlisted the help of FT photographer Charlie Bibby to find out.
on.ft.com/3Yb63G5
on.ft.com/3Yb63G5
As entertaining as the flight of its protagonist is, it's The Rest of Our Lives' depiction of America - bored, scared, vast and lonely - that really stands out. My review:
on.ft.com/4j5wcOe
on.ft.com/4j5wcOe
The Rest of Our Lives by Ben Markovits — on the road to a mid-life meltdown
[FREE TO READ] A compelling portrait of a professor driving across America in a bid to rediscover his freedom
on.ft.com
March 28, 2025 at 2:21 PM
As entertaining as the flight of its protagonist is, it's The Rest of Our Lives' depiction of America - bored, scared, vast and lonely - that really stands out. My review:
on.ft.com/4j5wcOe
on.ft.com/4j5wcOe
Reposted by Chris Allnutt
The @financialtimes.com tried out Ludocene and they discovering Cobalt Core. Job done!?
"I fed the app a very motley selection of favourites – Rimworld, Age of Empires, The Witcher 3, Balatro... the neon-drenched roguelike Cobalt Core is now on my radar."
www.ft.com/content/1b3f...
"I fed the app a very motley selection of favourites – Rimworld, Age of Empires, The Witcher 3, Balatro... the neon-drenched roguelike Cobalt Core is now on my radar."
www.ft.com/content/1b3f...
Have you tried Ludocene, the ‘Tinder for gamers’?
A free new app promises to matchmake you with the games you really want to play
www.ft.com
March 5, 2025 at 6:39 PM
The @financialtimes.com tried out Ludocene and they discovering Cobalt Core. Job done!?
"I fed the app a very motley selection of favourites – Rimworld, Age of Empires, The Witcher 3, Balatro... the neon-drenched roguelike Cobalt Core is now on my radar."
www.ft.com/content/1b3f...
"I fed the app a very motley selection of favourites – Rimworld, Age of Empires, The Witcher 3, Balatro... the neon-drenched roguelike Cobalt Core is now on my radar."
www.ft.com/content/1b3f...
There aren't many books that sum up the millennial experience as well as Vincenzo Latronico's Perfection. When I say its perspective frustrated me, that's just testament to how well written it is.
on.ft.com/4hpQ3Y9
on.ft.com/4hpQ3Y9
Perfection by Vincenzo Latronico — a mirror on millennial life
[FREE TO READ] The tale of a young expat couple and their Instagram-perfect life in Berlin is a powerfully observed but frustratingly cynical portrait of a generation
on.ft.com
February 5, 2025 at 8:17 AM
There aren't many books that sum up the millennial experience as well as Vincenzo Latronico's Perfection. When I say its perspective frustrated me, that's just testament to how well written it is.
on.ft.com/4hpQ3Y9
on.ft.com/4hpQ3Y9
I loved The Stone of Madness's deranged 18th-century monastery, but it's held back by clunky gameplay and writing that serves more as an explanation than a story. My review:
enterprise-sharing.ft.com/redeem/fc211...
enterprise-sharing.ft.com/redeem/fc211...
The Stone of Madness review — stealth game with unlikely origins
[FREE TO READ] A painting by Goya was the inspiration for this intriguing — if glitchy — adventure
enterprise-sharing.ft.com
January 29, 2025 at 8:46 AM
I loved The Stone of Madness's deranged 18th-century monastery, but it's held back by clunky gameplay and writing that serves more as an explanation than a story. My review:
enterprise-sharing.ft.com/redeem/fc211...
enterprise-sharing.ft.com/redeem/fc211...