Teaching Games

I. Dear Reader

I’ve done two episodes in my teaching games series – Apocalypse Keys and Girl by Moonlight. Even as the audio quality isn’t where I want it to be (had to essentially replace my computer to solve that), I think they’re pretty good resources. And I’m still working towards getting them on Youtube after reworking them up a bit.

If you’ve got thoughts on how I can make them better, let me know. But more importantly, what are some games you’re eager to play but have some trouble learning from just the rulebook?

I’d like to do two more episodes and am looking for suggestions. Over on Patreon, I got requests for Chuubo’s Marvelous Wish-granting Engine by Jenna Moran. But I’m still waffling on that a bit.

Yours request-fully,

Thomas

PS. I’m a stretch goal contributor on Evil Hat’s new game, Stewpot: Tales From A Fantasy Tavern by Takuma Okada. It’s a really well-loved game about retired adventurers. Check it out!

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II. Media of the Week

• Nice video essay from Rose-colored Essays about disco elysium and tabletop RPGs. It made me realize that one of its strengths is that it evokes the feeling of a tabletop game without trying to simulate a tabletop game.

• On the Yes Indie’d Podcast, I talked to Graham Walmsley about moving away from Lovecraft into scifi horror and weird fiction in a fun chat about his new game, Cosmic Dark.

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• Thanks to everyone who signed up last week to support the newsletter on patreon. We crossed 300$ per month! Which is a wonderful milestone. And talking about milestones, we’re inching towards 6000 subscribers and the 200th issue which are both exciting things that I want to celebrate. I don’t know what else to say but thanks for reading!
• If you’ve released a new game on itch.io this month, let me know through this form so I can potentially include it in the end of the month round-up.

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III. Links of the Weeks

Articles, Reviews

• In three short posts, this Monsterhearts blog dives into the very cool structure of the move Turn Someone On. Here’s part one, part two, part three.
• On the Rise Up Comus blog, a nice post about what makes a good social encounter.
• On the bastionland blog, a nice breakdown of what we want from an RPG text: we want it to inspire us to play, we want it to help us prepare to run the game, and we want it to be an easy reference at the table.
• On Cannibal Halfling Games, a review of The Facility by Galen Pejeau, a solo game of amnesiac runaways dodging murderous robots as they try to escape their inter-dimensional prison.
• On EnWorld, an interview with Gavriel Quieroga about his psychadelic new game, Black Rainbow Society.

News, Misc

• GURPS-publisher Steve Jackson Games called 2023 a “golden age for gamers” even as they announced a decrease in sales in their annual report.
• Monte Cook Games have published an online character creator for the Cypher system.
• Lumberjills is a larp about women in WW2 Britain who cut down trees, made lifelong friendships, and dated soldiers.
• The next few years are going to see lots of releases from historian Shannon Applecline, I believe. The first one out is This is Free Trader Beowulf, a history of Traveller.
• I’m pretty sure I already shared this a long time ago but Arc Dream are publishing a new Black Company RPG.

From the archive:

• Ian Yusem, probably best known for Hull Breach, outlining his prep for his first kickstarter. (Jan 2021, Issue #25)
• On Wired, a story of a rabbi using tabletop games to explore personal issues with his community. (Jan 2021, Issue #25)

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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.

• Action Potential is a Forged in the Dark game set in a transhuman, body-swapping, dystopian far-future. Create scoundrels and make your way through a hostile and unforgiving universe.
• Rediscovered Realms is celebrating reaching 1,000 subscribers with monthly giveaways for the rest of the year. Still time for this month’s Legendary D&D Giveaway!
• The Book of War – An Avatar Legends Realplay is an Australian podcast about four runaways during the 100-year war seeking The Book of War in a world without the Avatar.

This newsletter is currently sponsored by the Bundle of Holding.

• It’s all Ars Magica 5 this week with 5 different bundles: the core books, more magic, wizards and power, mythic europe, and world of magic!

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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!