PODCAST: Thomas and Chase discuss, among other things, WotC president John Hight's obsession with a singular use case for generative AI technology.

I'm not surprised by any of this story but this still got an "...oh" out of me.

“[Paizo] isn’t really interested in buying product we already paid for once back from someone that doesn’t own it." Amid adversary proceedings and delays, comic and RPG publishers settle in for a protracted legal fight against the bankrupted Diamond.

Draughts workers at both London locations will be striking every Saturday of October to further pressure ownership to accept their demands.

Zypher's designer, @araukana.bsky.social, learned illustration by painting the RPG's fantastical world one page spread at a time. They talk about colors, breathing life into a breathing world, and the power of comics.

Caelyn chats to the creators of skirmish minis game Planet Shark about their ongoing Kickstarter and future plans.

“I firmly believe that everyone should be doing everything in their power to do what we can to end the genocide in Palestine." Game designers band together again to extend critical aid to Palestinians in Gaza.

“I firmly believe that everyone should be doing everything in their power to do what we can to end the genocide in Palestine." Game designers band together again to extend critical aid to Palestinians in Gaza.

Brandon O'Brien returns with another column for Rascal that turns the old question of are-games-too-violent upside down.

Disillusioned with major crowdfunding platforms, @melsonian-arts-council.itch.io joins a small but growing bloc of tabletop creators trying literally anything else. “Everyone on crowdfunding, on both sides, are agreeing to maintain a weird kayfabe of cute creatives and benevolent patrons."

Disillusioned with major crowdfunding platforms, @melsonian-arts-council.itch.io joins a small but growing bloc of tabletop creators trying literally anything else. “Everyone on crowdfunding, on both sides, are agreeing to maintain a weird kayfabe of cute creatives and benevolent patrons."

We chat with @cyborgurl.bsky.social on the process of making bite-sized sessions out of historically significant RPGs for her classes on the History and Design of RPGs.

We chat with @cyborgurl.bsky.social on the process of making bite-sized sessions out of historically significant RPGs for her classes on the History and Design of RPGs.

Collective support network @ccuttrpg.bsky.social wants to build a more secure future for Canadian tabletop designers.

"The strength of this adventure is that it celebrates without flinching away from exploring complex questions of how religion differs from culture, how migration intersects with violence, and most importantly, how self-protection can so easily sour into virulent xenophobia."

Central Michigan University Press to release physical versions of Mountain Witch, Dog Eat Dog, and Princess With A Cursed Sword in a new series led by Tim Hutchings

For our subscribers at the Party Member tier and above, Lay it on the Table IS BACK!

Collective support network @ccuttrpg.bsky.social wants to build a more secure future for Canadian tabletop designers.

"The strength of this adventure is that it celebrates without flinching away from exploring complex questions of how religion differs from culture, how migration intersects with violence, and most importantly, how self-protection can so easily sour into virulent xenophobia."

Thanks to @rascal.news for having us on their podcast

The podcast in question:

Solving tabletop's discoverability issues proved too much for one person, but the creator of the Tiny Table Index hopes others will pick up the torch.

For Rascal, I chatted with @graycastlepress.com on the closure of Tiny Table Index, and its importance to small-scale TTRPGs

Solving tabletop's discoverability issues proved too much for one person, but the creator of the Tiny Table Index hopes others will pick up the torch.

Lay it on the Table returns with Chase's experience creating a Cosmere RPG character using The First Step. If only the rest of the game played like this clumsy, but bold and clever introductory adventure.

Rogue Signal, our weekly games podcast, is here! This week, @cassmarshall.bsky.social, @ripefly.bsky.social, and @rygilliam.bsky.social chat about launching the site, The Rogue: Prince of Persia, Helldivers 2's new update, Plan B Terraform, and more. www.rogue.site/podcasts/rog...

Glad to join the Rascal gang as a news writer!

A quick update on the state of the rascal, folks. Among other things, we'd like to welcome @crapstacular.bsky.social to the team as a part-time news writer!

Rascal has a sibling now?!? And some of my fave former Polygon writers are over there?!?! The co-op game writing revolution is growing and this gives me joy.

Long read: For around one year, indie publisher Plus One Exp operated as a business unit within a shipping and warehousing company called Brandfox. They worked with Possum Creek Games, Stockholm Kartell, among others. It was disastrous for almost everyone involved. www.rascal.news/plus-one-exp...

In a special crossover episode with Cass Marshall from @roguesite.bsky.social we learn about what's in store for the GW literary universe now that it's returning to its most popular time period.

this is something @rascal.news does and we we're really excited about bringing it to Rogue! It saves our writers time and gives small indies a place to announce things without any strings attached! We will literally give you special access to the CMS to write your post!

Also, if you're a small dev, publisher, or PR person, please check out our announcements page and learn how you can essentially build press releases through our site so we don't have to spend all day regurgitating writing into news form! www.rogue.site/announcement...

Welcome to rogue.site, an ad-free, worker owned, reader supported website about video games and much more! The core founders are @cassmarshall.bsky.social @alicejovanee.bsky.social @rygilliam.bsky.social and @ripefly.bsky.social and us podcast boys being the founding contributors!

A Rascal sister site has launched: @roguesite.bsky.social Former-Polygon writers have gotten together to launch a worker-owned video game journalism outlet (with a little rascally help). If you mourned the loss of one site, celebrate the birth of another, and support the people making it happen.

Rogue.site is now a reality! Thank you to everyone along the way who helped make it possible. If you like what you see, and want more of it. Consider pledging your support with a subscription. Your funds will go to support independent games journalism written by humans, for humans.

Long read: For around one year, indie publisher Plus One Exp operated as a business unit within a shipping and warehousing company called Brandfox. They worked with Possum Creek Games, Stockholm Kartell, among others. It was disastrous for almost everyone involved. www.rascal.news/plus-one-exp...

If any ttrpg deserves a video game, MH does. I need it now.

Even by Rascal's high standards, this was a great article

I did not have “become deeply if narrowly knowledgeable about trade taxes” on my list of “positive things to do during the authoritarian takeover of the USA” but here we are

Trump's latest tariff changes, including the loss of de minimis exemptions, take effect today. Several small press tabletop designers are trying to anticipate the impending chaos.

The Hobby Hole is evolving, purging all weakness, ahead of Caelyn's new Horus Heresy project. And she invites you along for the ride.

@lackingceremony.bsky.social's Monsterhearts is getting its own video game courtesy of Canadian design studio, Ludic Lemur. How are they going to adapt the angsty, social dynamics of the RPG into a digital format? Cards!

On this note: The general inbox is a safe bet for anything that is a tip or a wider story. But if you're looking for coverage of your own projects, it matters who you write to! There isn't a top-down editorial agenda so knowing what we're interested in as individuals helps in connecting with us.

Tariffs are actively hobbling the tabletop industry, but writing about it as if precarity is new serves nobody.

Regular reminder that Rascal News is an independent, worker-owned publication. If you've got a story you'd like covered or just feedback about our coverage, you can write to us. All staff emails are on the site, and we have a general inbox as well.

This rocks and I am spiritually the little sunning Pug in the thumbnail (unrelated)

Chase chats with Taylor Fairbank about the role of game bundles in mutual aid.

I am so glad interviews like this are on @rascal.news. Making space in this artform to think about play not only as a positive or even neutral thing, but a locus of complex dynamics of power, is important in not only confronting the ways play can be hostile, but telling complex stories through play.

I had such a wonderful chat with @rowanzeoli.bsky.social at GenCon You all aren't rid of me yet.