--INITIALIZING PROGRAM... >>OVERCLOCK THE DUNGEON

The Bloggies 2026 submissions are now open! Submit your favorite posts, series, and debut blogs via the official Bloggies page between now and Jan 31st! Please share this around. I'll be making regular Bloggies-themed announcements throughout the month. www.explorersdesign.com/bloggies-2026/

It's an honor to receive bronze in Best Roleplaying Game for Chain×Link! Thank you so much to @idlecartulary.itch.io for reviewing the game! Be sure to also check out @backwardsttrpg.bsky.social's Spine and @aethercorp.games's Field Agent's Handbooks.

It’s 2026, the problems are still here, but so are we. Wishing fortitude, connection, and defiant joy for your year ahead.

I'm proud of the Golden Age video, but I much prefer video essay style pieces. If you are interested in my other work, here's my 5 best videos from this year: Arguably my best writing of the year is my video on Titanomachy's "NIGHTHAWKS," where I talk about how its relationship to Edward Hopper

I don't want to hear about your reflections for this year or resolutions for next year. I want to hear about your CHARACTER's reflections for this year and resolutions for next year.

Shout-out to the person who bought all my itch games last night. I hope you enjoy them!

tune in thursday afternoon to watch some of the best to do it play The Locked Room Murder Mystery Game. i'm excited to see it!

In case you missed it, I released a semi-cooperative dungeon-defying RPG this year. Your successes depend on each other. glyphtide.games/chainxlink/

Been enjoying sitting in the coffeeshop reading indie TTRPGs. First, it was TORQ by @willjobst.bsky.social. Now, it's Greenhorns by @spicytunarpg.bsky.social.

The Endtimes Trilogy is coming to #zinetopia & #zinemonth in February! Follow the page now! I'm bringing three interesting new tabletop rpgs about the end of the world. They play great standalone, or pair nicely as a three part apocalyptic anthology. www.backerkit.com/call_to_acti...

Join us at 3pm ET on the 1st of January for a New Year's LIVE AT THE TABLE - @notquitereal.bsky.social, @carberry.deals, and @sylvibullet.bsky.social will be playing the ashcan edition of @adambell.games's Locked Room Murder Mystery lockedroomgame.com twitch.tv/friendsatthetable

In case you missed it, I released a semi-cooperative dungeon-defying RPG this year. Your successes depend on each other. glyphtide.games/chainxlink/

My End of Year video is on the "Golden Age of Indie RPGs," from roughly 2010 to 2025. I start with Apocalypse World's release, work through the Google+ Era, and follow design lineages and historical events that have impacted the hobby up through 2025.

I think people would be genuinely surprised by how bad I am at chess given how much time I play it. System mastery is not my kind of fun apparently 😅

Introducing the faces behind Whole New World 🐻 Hey it’s me! I’m happy to announce officially that I’m one of the co-producers of our next upcoming project: Whole New World! It’s been such fun bringing this project to life and I can’t wait to share more with you 👀 Art by: @4threset.bsky.social

New Chain×Link magic system idea: Orizite Circle Magic Instead of targeting >= Previous Contribution Score, target getting the FIRST Contribution Score of the Trial (thus, "closing the circle"). Then add +N to the Total Contribution where N is the number of contributions in the circle.

Only Murders in the Building Starring: Steve Martin Martin Short And Short Steve

Does anyone have examples of anime-esque sci-fi GUIs that aren't against a black background? Preferably a white or lighter colored background? Less dark cyberpunk, more shounen?

Tell the story of a community that overcomes its government's failures by putting together its own mechs to help defend itself from a variety of threats in Neighborhood Robots by Navaar Seik-Jackson, one of the amazing TTRPGs included in the Griot Anthology! #ttrpg thoughtcrimegames.it...

A thought on RPG location design ... I am so so tired of tombs and ruined castles. The real world in infinitely more inventive. Consider instead the first "modern" observatory in Europe - Uraniborg - a pre-telescope astronomy island, including the "underground observatory" Stjerneborg ...

Regular reminder that I am trying to build a corps of new Youtubers to cover indie RPGs. If you have any desire to do this, please let me know and I will give you what little knowledge I posses.

Just wanted to put it out there : I'm open for work! Notably, if it is a project that uplifts marginalized voices, I'm very willing to work within their budget if it means making it possible! For me, I find the most value in contributing to BIPOC, Queer, or Disabled stories. 💜 Shares Appreciated 💜

Surprise! 100 community copies are now available for ARC, Magus, Marvelous Children of Inang-Uri, and What Dust Remains! 🔥 Download these games for free—for a limited time only. momatoes.itch.io/arc momatoes.itch.io/the-magus-or... momatoes.itch.io/inang-uri momatoes.itch.io/what-dust-re...

2025 #artvsartist 🤠 hope everyone takes care this holiday season! 🦌

Maybe 2026 is the year I expand my one-page games to zine-sized games? Imagine a Hymn for the Odd-Host as a card game...🤔

Sure, you know about Vancian Magic, but what about Jackian Magic? (Someone please finish this design.) www.explorersdesign.com/jackian-magic/

Klaxon! New on Bundle of Holding is our own DIE RPG - the award-winning core book, plus the three scenario books and the quickstart for $15. Purchasing also includes a 15% off voucher for buying the physical books from @rowanrookanddecard.bsky.social. #ttrpg #indiettrpg

Exploit tools of tyranny to support your rebellions and invoke ancient rites to escape this megadungeon with your closest rivals! Chain×Link: A semi-cooperative dungeon-defying RPG Buy it now! glyphtide.games/chainxlink/

Not me getting Glenn Close and Glen Powell mixed up. (Why yes, I did watch Wake Up, Dead Man right before binging Chad Powers, why do you ask?)

Citation is easy. It's a couple of lines on your credits page. Citation is encouragement. Every time somebody else acknowledges me this way, I feel like the work is worthwhile. Citation is introspection. You are marking your trajectory, the ports you have called at, as a maker. 1/

In 2026, I'm planning on releasing an SRD to the Chain×Link ruleset...and then a game jam! Because I think I made a pretty cool system, and I want to see what designers do with it.

Hey folks! Did you know that it's really easy to find games made by poc on itch.io? Just use the "poc made" tag! There you'll find your next fav TTRPG & support some great designers, new and old! If you're a designer, tag your games poc-made so they show up on the feed! itch.io/physical-gam...

Fomoria Quickstart is crawling out of the earth now, free to download! Includes core rules, an intro adventure and 8 pregen characters ready to be consumed by the Darkness. An epic folk horror TTRPG created by Tania Herrero, laid out and published by @nohr.se tania-herrero.itch.io/fomoria-quic...

Went to the Big Gay Market this morning and ran into @zo51m05.bsky.social and got a handmade riso-printed game! The world building is so unique, FTL travel uses letterpresses powered by blood ink teleportation.

Throwing one more post on the pile before the end of the year. Enjoy binarystar.games/posts/origin...

2025 Year in Review! glyphtide.games/blog/2025-ye...

A friend gave me this wonderful handmade gift of the Glyphtide Games logo that now adorns on our tree!

Random thought: one of my main metrics for success is having other designers make community content based on/for my games. If I can inspire others to create, that's a definite win.

IT'S TIME!

Just ordered a new print run of Fetch My Blade! Play as the dog of a retired legendary master of the sword, tasked with a quest of your own: retrieve your master’s fabled weapon in time for their final duel. Purchase the game: glyphtide.games/fetch-my-bla...

Okay, okay, so I got a URL for the blog! You can find my ramblings at pandi.page now. I have migrated over several articles for game designers too. You can find posts about: - Jumping into Shipping - Getting Started Selling Books - Writing Your Game's Pitch - Setting up Itchfunding

Dying and Campaign Building with Prequel and Ethan Yen! Ethan Yen joins us to discuss Prequel, the amazing game where you know you will fall to the big bad… but get to create a campaign before you die! Listen or watch: masteringdungeons.podbean.com www.youtube.com/watch?v=My0J... #DnD #TTRPG

Hey, that's me! Talking about PREQUEL with the amazing @shawnmerwin.bsky.social and @alphastream.bsky.social on @masteringdnd.bsky.social! It was an absolute pleasure being on the podcast! youtu.be/My0JEG7AC2w?...

PREQUEL from @glyphtide.games is a tactical storytelling game of heroic sacrifice for 3-5 players. The quest was difficult and full of sacrifice. Despite all this, victory will not meet you. tabletopbookshelf.com/blogs/news/n...

Me, @ehronlime.bsky.social, and @aaronmfking.bsky.social have stepped from the shadows to make the Council of Aarons public. We pass judgement on 3 Harvests, and evaluate the course of 2025--at least in tabletop games.

It's arrived, what a wonderful little game by @vidityavoleti.bsky.social!

99% of rpg zines and books should have page numbers. And that's just the start. There's actually a lot of technique and intentionality behind things like page numbers, running headers, etc. Let me know what you think! www.explorersdesign.com/designing-si...

I went and wrote it. Here are some things you can do as a ttrpg project manager to make freelancing fun and easy: barilleon.com/managing-ttr...

OK. Started a personal blog today for all my thoughts and ramblings that don't fit official Pandion stuff. Pandi Ponderings: pandiponderings.pika.page Just posted a nice rambling reflection on what I've done this year. (shout out to A Couple of Drakes, who always calls me Pandi)