An absurd deal for my favorite-favorite FitD game. Honestly folks, don't sleep on this.

Inglorious Muppets

Nonsense, those are all great fruits. My worst fruits: red delicious apple (disgusting, mealy), dragon fruit (if unlined white paper was a fruit), and pomegranates (worst work:fun ratio).

Extremely cosigned.

I absolutely hit this point this year. Crowdfunding backlash, out of space on my shelves, FOMO every single time I play anything for everything I'm not playing at that moment, taste pendulum swinging away from my interests. It'll be nice to dig into what's already here.

My chest is bursting with love for you! Yes you.

Remember, if the Play Unsafe Kickstarter reaches 300 followers, it will make no practical difference but give me a moment's satisfaction! Can you help give me that moment? Or do you just like round numbers too? Am I doing this right? www.kickstarter.com/projects/gra...

It's amazing that so many people have followed the Kickstarter for Play Unsafe, my book about play, storytelling and TTRPGs, in the first 24 hours. Go and follow it if you haven't already. And please spread the word, it helps! www.kickstarter.com/projects/gra... #ttrpg #kickstarter

Every RPG of the past, oh, 15 years or so has led with "role-playing is a conversation." But is it actually true? I've got a test for you ⬇️

I just backed The Thunder Perfect Mind on @Kickstarter www.kickstarter.com/projects/flo... I mean of course, it looks great. But also @floaker.bsky.social you priced this so reasonably! Overproduced crowdfunding has poisoned my brain.

A little something-something I’ve been working on with the most awesome @scorchadoom.bsky.social Creativity in the TTRPG space. Should be going live today, it’s been a while since I did any podcast work, a brotha’s a bit rusty!

Every RPG of the past, oh, 15 years or so has led with "role-playing is a conversation." But is it actually true? I've got a test for you ⬇️

Oh my gosh. The TTA books were so formative for me. Layzell was a true giant.

I broke and rebuilt my own mind about a thing. Is roleplaying *really* a conversation?

*I'm* not saying we make one of the most consistently interesting bodies of TTRPG work out in the world today. That's for other people to say oh hi David

1. Taco Bell fry cook 2. Feature writer 3. Web guy 4. PR flack 5. Tour guide

Slightly diminish a game: Food Poison'd

Quote post with a gif that has a clue about where you’re from.

In solidarity with today's ICE OUT OF MINNESOTA blackout, MinnMax is donating $1 to the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota for every share of this Bluesky post for the next hour.

It's hard-but-good to bring a story to its conclusion. But the cost of that exquisite release is you have to start a fucking game. The worst.

Your best NPCs aren’t planned. For me, they’re often player consequences. A failed roll created Bennie. Three sessions later, he’s an emergent antagonist with ambitions. I wrote about letting the table grow your villains vs forcing them. Good Monday, Gamers!! open.substack.com/pub/playfear...

For heaven's sake this is their *job.* They need to get *paid* to *work.* That's how our accursed system works. RPG nerds, I beg you. If you're going to demand quality for free, find yourself another activity. One where you get good shit for free I guess.

Last, if you want to see Rascal survive; if you want more investigative reporting, more security for our small team, and more articles that celebrate TTRPGs, any level of support helps. Our investigative work is our pride and joy but it takes time, resources, and energy. Thank you again.

Five creators who worked on Yazeba's Bed & Breakfast have spent the past year fighting a legal battle against Possum Creek Games and Steve Jackson Games. Neither the tabletop RPG nor their working relationships survived the fallout.

I run Gregor Vuga's Sagas of the Icelanders once a year at our online con. It's always a hot ticket! It's such a beautiful, flawed gem. Few other games even come close to nailing their editorial stance so confidently. Anyway I just ran it again for the umpteenth time. Still great, 13 years later.

Weighing in on discourse that 99.9999% of you are unaware of, and you should not seek out if you're not (seriously): Even the most niche corners of art are made healthier by earnest, honest critique. To attack a critic for offering such is to imperil the integrity of the art you most care about.

2025 by the numbers. Not the games I bought or meant to play. The ones that actually hit the table — plus what readers told me they need most right now, a check-in on play, people, and what really mattered. What counted most at your table this year? open.substack.com/pub/playfear...

We are surrounded by real-life horrors, but he's a review of Stay First, my game about fighting less scary, fictional horrors.

I just backed Swords Without Master on @kickstarter.com www.kickstarter.com/projects/unw... I first played this, oh I don't know, maybe a decade ago. Honestly surprised more games aren't built off its chassis. One of the formative titles in indie RPGs! Very happy to finally have a real book.

This makes me very, very happy. I've spent a happy few days reading it, tweaking it and remembering how good it is. Yes it's been that long.

Hey @clarkvalentine.bsky.social I can't dm you! Can you hit the Slack real quick? I've got Thunder Road questions for you. 🚗💥

I still say a|state is the best FitD game out there, and that includes the OG. Check out our deep dive of a|state and read our actual play:

Cosigned

TTRPG actual play can be text based and still rock your socks off, e.g.

I still say a|state is the best FitD game out there, and that includes the OG. Check out our deep dive of a|state and read our actual play:

Our next crowdfunder! Blades '68 grabs Blades in the Dark by the lapels of its woolen jacket and launches the game 100 years into the future! New crews, new rules and subversive acts of radical revolution await you under the light of an artificial sun. Sign up here: www.backerkit.com/call_to_acti...

Just read that they're now making two 600 page books (!) of my favorite-favorite fantasy game of all time. We ran a gorgeous campaign of Stonetop here a couple years back and it was some of the best gaming of my life. How much of that is the game? Read my 10 part AP and decide for yourself:

Just read that they're now making two 600 page books (!) of my favorite-favorite fantasy game of all time. We ran a gorgeous campaign of Stonetop here a couple years back and it was some of the best gaming of my life. How much of that is the game? Read my 10 part AP and decide for yourself:

Captain Churro's mail order bug dealer sends cute stickers. The gravity of D&D really is inescapable.

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 game time!

Still on time for #TheEndies, here are mini reviews for all twenty-nine games I played in 2025:

If you’re a fan of TTRPGs and are coming from Twitter, first off congratulations for leaving this aweful platform. Second, the community here is great so here’s a nice starter pack of great TTRPG content creators to follow on Bluesky Welcome! go.bsky.app/BrCdFvX

It's EOY wrap-up season but here at IGRC World HQ that just means we'd better push out all the mini-reviews we didn't do all year long. 38 short reviews of what showed up on our doorstep in 2025. Is your favorite game in there? Looking for something new to play? Big year. Much books. Wao.

The Indie Game Reading Club includes The Balsam Lake Unmurders 🌱 in his end-of-year wrap-up.

It's EOY wrap-up season but here at IGRC World HQ that just means we'd better push out all the mini-reviews we didn't do all year long. 38 short reviews of what showed up on our doorstep in 2025. Is your favorite game in there? Looking for something new to play? Big year. Much books. Wao.

WHAT THE FUCK - dashare.zone ADMIN

You will be visited by three spirits...

I think my disapproving dragon will be the perfect shot for my EOY wrap-up at the Club. He's got all the time in the world to read! Why am I so far behind?

9 Days left. $5,444 to go to hit the final stretch goal: our "Creator's Guide to PBTA" to all backers. Check it out! www.kickstarter.com/projects/lum...