Last year I did this interview with the intention of it being part of a longer reported piece in LARP and politics, but that fell through as things got...really intense after November. Thanks still a fascinating exploration into what games can explore against a backdrop of history

So excited to see this piece about a larp that's very close to my heart (and a lovely mention of my Eurogamer article)

"It's not a tomb. It's a town. And it will always be." Czech larp group, Rolling, are based out of a former Nazi concentration camp hospital. Their performances embrace the complications and pain of that history.

If companies must tell €2 million fibs, under guidance by platforms, to make crowdfunding work. Well, then crowdfunding doesn't work.

License to Kill is a new column from @newmadras.bsky.social diving into the whys and wherefores of licensed tabletop RPGs. In the first entry, he sets some ground rules and discusses Godzilla.

UK Games Expo promoted a tabletop RPG on Instagram that claimed to use "fully ethical and transparent" generative AI. Everything went downhill once the publisher began responding to criticism.

UK Games Expo promoted a tabletop RPG on Instagram that claimed to use "fully ethical and transparent" generative AI. Everything went downhill once the publisher began responding to criticism.

I want to highlight that this is I think one of the most genuinely interesting TTRPGs I've read in years, in ways that are hard to articulate in a bsky post. @liz-shrikestudio.bsky.social has made something very special here, and if you love TTRPG design you owe it to yourself to read this game.

If you're a bookseller or tabletop designer with thoughts about DriveThruRPG's Partner Shipping Program -- specifically its cut from sales -- I want to hear from you for a followup article! Email: [email protected] Signal: ChaseTC.24 Or DM me here.

"There’s a lot of me in this project. Even if I’m often hiding behind the voices of Charlotte and Samantha." @liz-shrikestudio.bsky.social tells Rascal about the process of creating her pseudo-autobiographical horror RPG about finding meaning before death, but also accepting the unknowable.

A letter article between Chase and Thomas wonders how The Dice Tower mistook punching down on small games as having professional standards.

DriveThruRPG has launched a new program to sell publishers' offset books and other physical products. It's a boon to smaller creators, but also further consolidation for the one of the hobby's largest digital platforms.

Tariffs killed Magpie Games' trio of unconventional, card-based games, showing early hints of a long and cruel effect on the tabletop RPG side of the industry.

Project Sigil's slow death will continue until its servers shut down in 2026, after which the only ironic reminders of its ignominious existence will be the "add on preorder" digital dice and gilded character sheets on D&DBeyond.

PODCAST: @ckunzelman.bsky.social joined us to discuss Magic: The Gathering, reality television, and his new book - Everything is Permitted: On Assassin's Creed!

Really looking forward to the new version of Apocalypse World.

"The time for a softer, gentler Apocalypse World was gone." Apocalypse World: Burned Over represents the complicated ways that both the Bakers and reality have changed since the original RPG's release.

Where are all the bloodthirsty, pelt-adorned women, James Workshop?

Almost a year ago, @caelyn.bsky.social pontificated about starter sets on Rascal for the first time. Now she's at it again!

When I spoke with Rascal News about Designers & Dragons Origins, we discussed the famous, recalled B3: Palace of the Silver Princess. They asked if they could publish the history portion of the product entry from Origins, and now they have (paywalled, but Rascal is a great news source to support!).

An excerpt from @shannonappelcline.bsky.social's upcoming book, Designers & Dragons: Origins, tells the story of an infamous TSR module and its swift recall.

Fellow tabletop journalist Rob Wieland passed away earlier this week at the age of 48. We collected fond remembrances and tributes from friends, peers and industry figures.

Fellow tabletop journalist Rob Wieland passed away earlier this week at the age of 48. We collected fond remembrances and tributes from friends, peers and industry figures.

@newmadras.bsky.social goes down the folk horror rabbit hole, comes out with a bunch of movie references and his Game of the Year.

Here's a fun one for @rascal.news about how jubensha is slowly gaining momentum outside China. I chat with three studios on how they're bringing jubensha to the west www.rascal.news/jubensha-is-...

I achieved deicide in @hinokodo.com's MIRU thanks to smart information design and charming iconography. And it only took me a full calendar year!

I killed God with the power of good graphic design.

Jubensha's popularity outside of China is on the rise, prompting the script murder games to be translated for - and created by - Western audiences.

The slim, softcover journal format is the new normal for a whole swath of Games Workshop titles, but how does the latest one for Warhammer: The Horus Heresy measure up, and does it make for a bright grimdark future?

Oooooo I talked to Rascal about #iHunt and punk rock and film and stuff you should check it out.

"We’re out here doing the Black Flag and NOFX and Bad Religion of roleplaying games." @machineiv.bsky.social and the crew behind an #iHunt short film have big aspirations for the scrappy, satirical tabletop RPG all about a monster hunting gig economy.

Reshare: Rascal donned its mirrorshades, jumped on a very fuel-inefficient bike, and rode into the orientalist arcology of the retrofuture to understand why Shadowrun has its complicated reputation. www.rascal.news/why-do-peopl...

Reshare: The entire field of public health emergency preparedness is built upon the understanding that we cannot avoid bad odds for eternity. The question is how will we respond. www.rascal.news/preparing-fo...

Reshare: "Once upon a time, I was prepping for a night of adventure as leader of an infamous mercenary group in the world of Dragon Age and confronted a hard fact: I just didn't have the space to keep the Dragon Age RPG sourcebook on hand." www.rascal.news/my-must-have...

Reshare: "I am not entirely sure how I feel, and I suspect that is (a small part of) the point." www.rascal.news/i-love-horny...

Reshare: Rascal News sat down with Peter Adkison to learn what it was like to be in the room where history happened. www.rascal.news/the-man-who-...

Reshare: "This “Dungeon Card Learning Pack” is what allowed me as an eleven year-old to learn what the fuck a roleplaying game actually was, and how to play D&D." www.rascal.news/i-review-eve...

Reshare: Even as TSR and D&D’s early periods receive the gold-standard treatment, there’s much more to the hobby than one game and one company. But are those histories actually important? What is at stake if we forget them? www.rascal.news/we-cant-let-...

itch.io is more like Wikipedia than Steam www.rascal.news/itch-io-isnt...

One hundred games is a heck of a lot of games to play, or even to own, but it's a staggering number to write, even if they're only a single page long. Chase chats to Grant Howitt, designer of Honey Heist and many other one page games, about the game jam he's running to celebrate the milestone.

Reshare: This new set of RPG histories from Shannon Appelcline and Evil Hat seems like it'll be a treasure trove of facts and fun stories for fans of the first few decades of D&D. www.rascal.news/shannon-appe...

It was a real pleasure to chat with @shannonappelcline.bsky.social about his upcoming new set of books.

“Management knows that the four-day, 32-hour work week that we’ve had for the past three and a half years is the right move,” said Dannel Jurado, Kickstarter United member. www.rascal.news/kickstarter-...

“Management knows that the four-day, 32-hour work week that we’ve had for the past three and a half years is the right move,” said Dannel Jurado, Kickstarter United member. www.rascal.news/kickstarter-...

A mammoth sequel to the Designers & Dragons set of RPG histories, this new book from Shannon Appelcline and Evil Hat seems like it'll be a treasure trove of facts for fans of the first few decades of D&D.

Day one of @kickstarterunited.org's ongoing strike saw elected officials and union leaders show up in the streets of NYC to support workers.

Hot on the heels of GAMA's expansive plans, John Stacy announces his departure at the end of 2025. The trade organization has yet to name an interim executive director.

What do technofeudalism, Chinese restaurants, and struggling game platform itch.io have in common? @newmadras.bsky.social has some thoughts, especially about the "platform" part.

PODCAST: Tighten that half-Windsor and double-check the spreadsheets: it's serious business on the latest episode of the Rascal Radio Hour. Nah, just kidding. It's degenerate stuff like information design, oracles, and Thomas' One Piece fandom.

What do technofeudalism, Chinese restaurants, and struggling game platform itch.io have in common? @newmadras.bsky.social has some thoughts, especially about the "platform" part.