The latter star summons better demons.

"Wait, Ben Robbins is posting GMing advice? What year is this???" arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/48...

It is genuinely so nice to hear people who really loved the game they played. They had a special experience all their own, which is really the best any of our games can do.

We're live with Pt 2 of our Microscope Chronicle 2e short shot! Join @billoftheforest.bsky.social, @pbplaysinside.bsky.social, @praxthebard.bsky.social, and me as we explore the chronicle of the mysterious Horizon's Seat! And look at this amazing art by @voidsmoker.bsky.social! twitch.tv/TrooperSJP

Dracharium, game 5: Our unexpectedly good Kingdom of merchants is going strong. In our first Crossroad we veered into questionable business practices, and our second Crossroad leans hard into that: Drought has made a valuable dye rare. Do we sell a cheap counterfeit to our clients..? #gmless

Friday means more Chronicle of Horizon's Seat, our #Microscope short shot on @troopersjp.bsky.social. As promised here is my Playlist for this game, so far. Join @billoftheforest.bsky.social @pbplaysinside.bsky.social @troopersjp.bsky.social &me Friday open.spotify.com/playlist/4Oy...

This is coming right up in like… an hour?

A: "Here's a cool character mechanic I came up with for a very specific situation" B: "Looks to me like you came up with a cool character mechanic that could work for *lots* of situations" A: *galaxy-brain unfolds* #summerlab game design chats being as fruitful as an orchard

"Did you know Ben Robbins has a second edition of Microscope Chronicle in open playtest?" Wait, I did know that! Check this out, tomorrow night…

The truth is, I only created In This World so I could talk about pets. Everything else I said about it was a ruse. pets pets pets pets pets arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/47...

Not a single one of my games requires or is based on violence. So I figured I better fix that.

I love the smell of consequences in the morning. Thank you, @dragoncon.org

Conservatives don't realize this is how we've been spreading the indie/GMless/story game virus all along: MARRIAGE

"I got a fix for that!" "No, I've got a fix for that!" #summerlab

Fresh comment on my blog after the @criticalrole.bsky.social announcement. "Ben Robbins did not create West Marches.  What is this stupidity?" Awesome. Never change, 2025

*Apparently* I've been publishing gaming stuff for 20 years, which simultaneously feels like a long time but also like no time at all… arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/47...

Microscope + Kingdom?? I believe we refer to that as "the holy grail" campaign…

Thank god. Can you imagine if you waited ten years and it was a disappointment??? This is my relieved-designer face.

I'll admit, this was not on my bingo card…

When I see anything someone ran through AI: If you didn't bother to write it, why should I bother to read it?

"Microscope. The most fucking wild game I got on here." No notes

Microscope: "Where killing someone doesn’t matter" This is why context is so important 😂

"doin some God Damn Space Opera" Microscope player confirmed

"Never hand @chobbs.bsky.social a loaded Polaris" I tried to warn them…

People teaching games are heroes. Support them!

Work continues on my current project, a versatile archaeology world-building game currently titled “More to Explore”. Got an awesome session in at Go Play NW and now it’s back to the workbench for tinkering! 🔧 ⚙️ #trrpg #gamedesign

I cannot disagree. I've played Kingdom soooo much, with so many different vibes. I could not be happier that I did a 2nd edition to clean up all the text and let it be the game that was always hidden inside.

I've got a big ask. I need a TTRPG that 1. Is fairly easy to play out of the box, or with just a little prep/learning 2. Is good for three players 3. is GM-less

A couple things about it. We're using the Cypher System, not D&D. The story is about witches vs. Pirates and it's in space >.< We came up with the world ourselves using Microscope RPG. Uhm I'm not sure what else to say without giving too much away!

I represented Groundtable (GMless) all the way: Follow, The Final Girl, In This World, Kingdom, and my newest project More To Explore.

I played Going for Broke, Microscope: Chronicle, The Final Girl, Inheritance, and Kingdom! Every game was awesome!

Talking to folks in civil service about how they can use collaborative creative games to find new approaches to real problems arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/47...

Bob Ross x game design theory: We don't make worlds together, we make illusions of worlds arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/47...

The latest episode of The Game Design Roundtable is about Serious Games. Come listen as @jmstar.bsky.social, Kathryn Hymes, and I discuss how we approach making games that are designed for education, training, and social impact: thegamedesignroundtable.com/episode/seas...

I saw The Color of Money (1986) ages ago, never thought about the title, but thinking about something unrelated I just realized what it meant

Very exciting mail day! It's the Italian edition of Fedora Noir! Yay yay yay! Thank you so much @nessundovelab.bsky.social - it looks so fantastic!

Open Hearth Video Roundup - July 3, 2025 Collected videos from recent Open Hearth Gaming Community games. This roundup includes sessions of great games like Microscope Chronicle, The Between, Star Trek Adventures 2E, and more. Check the full post for details on how to join in the fun! #ttrpg

"hmm, making a Kingdom of a bunch of merchants and bankers probably won't be very interesting" Me, totally underestimating the magic power of GMless games

Thoughts on incorporating Microscope (Lazy Mage) to establish a chronology? Not a traditional game system, but works really well with just about any other one. One crucial outcome is your players knowing major historical events of the setting and the people who were present when it happened.

I think collaborative creative games help you become a better human, so I want everyone to play them. And that goes double for the terrible people messing up society, because the world would be a better place for everyone if they expanded their brains. arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/47...

My solution to climate change: all civic leaders should be required to spend an hour outside, once a month. At noon, on a hot day. Forget the numbers, viscerally taste what these heat waves feel like. The office AC shields you from reality. Stage some sweat-ins.

laying out the factions in full detail, introducing our cast of characters. this week is the session 0 for our campaign of kingdom, also by @lamemage.com (he makes really good games ok).

5e was the first game that I played, but Microscope was the game that expanded my brain.

Here’s my theory: the more a game lets you contribute — the more it asks of you — the more rewarding play can be. But also, satisfaction is not the same as fun arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/46...

It’s not that AI is taking over, it’s that some people are using AI to take over. Every time I see a headline that says "AI is doing X" I stare steely-eyed to the horizon… arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/46...

Someone asked me if Microscope is a good game. I told them it’s good but it takes time to line up a narrative.

Whole crossroad of Kingdom introduced and wrapped up in two hours, with four rockin players Boop boop and boop

*the crowd roars as heroes bring games to the classroom* Simply love to hear it

I made a mobile version of In This World, so you can carry around a bunch of worlds in your pocket Feel the tiny power. Do GMless crime arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/46...

if we're going to build a bunch of factions, we should probably know who they are to each other. episode one is out TODAY wherever you get your podcasts! come listen to us create a political history of our world @lamemage.com 's microscope. #actualplay #indiettrpg