It's been a while since I just straight up reported on what I'm reading, so here are four short reviews from recent arrivals. They are listed in order of personal hype for the game, from low to high. Hack the Planet: Cyberpunk Forged in the Dark Hack the Planet arrived yesterday from Samjoko Publishing. I… Continue reading Four Short Reviews From The Nightstand
We’re still playing Godbound here and I’ve noticed the most interesting table phenomenon. I think it has to do with the OSR-style framework the game is built on and the players’ relationship with it. I’m going to poke at that. This week’s session, we introduced a fifth player to the game. Five is a lot,… Continue reading Trad and the Planning Fugue vs What does that look like?
My current Godbound game has gotten me thinking about games that have taken measures to ensure they’re fun to facilitate. I mean…running games is its own reward, of course. I could speculate as to why: my frustrated creative impulses as a failed novelist are high on my own list, as is the pleasure of hosting… Continue reading Certain Values of Fun
A few weeks ago I got the coolest little surprise in the mail: a copy of Goblinville Gazette #1. It's the first of four 'zines, published as part of Kickstarter's Zine Quest promotion, and contains the complete rules for a little fantasy game called Goblinville. Michael Dunn-O'Connor has started a small press game design shop… Continue reading Goblinville is Your Next High Tech Low Tech Popcorn Game
Internalizing a game's design means breaking down its distinctive transaction. Here's how to do that.
