#174: The Newsletter Needs You!

I. Dear Reader

Welcome to the 2023 newsletter pledge drive!

I’m sad to announce that every year, I’m going to be annoying for exactly 4 (or maybe 5) weeks and explain to you why you should be actively supporting my work. The upside is that I will not be annoying for the rest of the 48 (or maybe 47) weeks of the year. This is my Promise™.

2023 was a big year for the newsletter! And I’ll do a more complete retrospective of all the stuff I’ve done this year in the next couple weeks. But in this email I want to keep it simple: Help me get to 150 patrons and I’ll make the newsletter better.

Writing this newsletter (and doing the Yes Indie’d podcast) became much more complicated for me as my regular work became extremely unreliable. Even as I had more time, I was feeling more burned out. I started a Patreon at the beginning of the year and it has been a true, genuine gift because it’s predictable and stable. If I didn’t have it, I think this year would’ve looked extremely different.

I’ve got two Patreon rewards lined up for folks who sign up. Today, let me tell you about the first one: the “Best of 2023” podcast episodes. The first episode has 13 writers and designers answering the question, “What’s a game you want to recommend to my listeners?” It’s 40 minutes of excitement and enthusiasm for indie RPGs and it’s everything that I want the newsletter to be. It’s in the regular feed right now, so you can check it out for free!

There are three more “Best Of” episodes that will only be available on my Patreon, one per week. Even if you don’t listen to the podcast, maybe especially if you don’t listen to the podcast, these episodes are the good stuff, distilled.

So, head over to Patreon and pledge your support if you can. We need just shy of 90 people to sign up. If we hit that number, we’re good to go for another year! Even at the 2$ level would be fantastic.

All that said, please don’t feel pressured. I know it’s tough times for everyone out there. I’m just glad you’re here at all.

Thank you for reading,

Thomas

PS. We all thought twitter was bad but one man single-handedly found a way to make it much worse. So that’s the power of one!

And now back to your regularly scheduled newsletter…

II. Media of the Week

• RTFM point out all the flaws and silliness in the classic Keep on the Borderlands.

• Third Floor Wars speaks to Ben Robbins, designer of Microscope and the new In This World, which is a very fun quick game that I got playtest. More creative exercise than game if I’m being honest but we had a lot of fun doing it so maybe I’m just quibbling. Anyway, fun interview!

III. Links of the Week

• Dicebreaker announced their winners for the Tabletop Awards 2023 and congratulations to Cassi Mothwin, designer of the Sticker Game among others, for winning Rising Star designer.

• KNZ Arts newsletter has a quick overview of the recently released City of Red Waters, a new setting for Blades in the Dark that was pitched in the game’s original crowdfunding campaign.

• Skeleton Code Machine has a nice two part discussion for game design heads on Input and Output Randomness.

• GeekNative is a great source of news. This week, they have an interview with Free League about the new Electric State RPG based on a Simon Stalenhag art book as well as news about Shadowrun 1st Edition getting a reprint that will delight collectors even as it as, they quote, a “glorious dumpster fire”.

• As the earth revolves around the sun, the discussion around the challenges of reviewing RPGs continues. Cannibal Halfling weighs in: “reviewing a game through the lens of actually having played it does introduce its own weakness, although it comes in the form of a caveat: it is even more subjective than reviewing a game by reading it.”

• Games on Demand, an indie-focused RPG event, has got dates for an online convention in Feburary. There’s always some really cool games. I’ll try and run something too.

IV. Small Ads

All links in the newsletter are completely based on my own interest. But to help support my work, this section contains sponsored links and advertisements. If you’d like your products to appear here, read the submission form.

• Beyond the Pale is an adventure inspired by Jewish folklore and mysticism. The adventure takes places in tight-knit but divided religious community, facing its efforts to fight the march of progress.

• Perfect World is a Free Cyberpunk RPG. The setting tells how AI, once humanity’s ally, became a tool of corporate subjugation. Rules-light with unique hacking mechanics integrated into the main gameplay.

This newsletter is currently sponsored by the Bundle of Holding.

• Bundle of Blades in the Dark, heist card decks, and some forged in the dark games like Court of Blades and Mountainhome.

• Also, GURPS-powered Dungeon Fantasy from Steve Jackson Games

Hello, dear readers. This newsletter is written by me, Thomas Manuel. If you’d like to support this newsletter, share it with a friend or buy one of my games from my itch store. If you’d like to say something to me, you can reply to this email or click below!