I. Spotlight Over on Rascal, I wrote about Band of Blades, which might be my favorite game, not because it’s the best but because I can basically talk about my entire relationship with games through it. While I didn’t cover my entire life, I did write what is called a ‘braided essay’, meaning there’s two…

I. Spotlight Not RPGs but I really enjoyed this essay about video games and chasing the feeling of playing them as kids. I have only the briefest overlap in the sentiments expressed — my childhood was just different. But I still was completely drawn into the words. Video games weren’t something you played alone, then.…

I. Spotlight and Media of the Week After the People Make Games video about Jerry’s map, I’ve become quite taken with the idea of making stuff that’s card-sized. This has nothing to do with RPGs but I feel like there’s a huge overlap in terms of who will enjoy this kind of activity. II. Links…

I. Spotlight I got to write a lovely story for Rascal News about the HP Lovecraft Historical Society and how the founders, as teens, developed their kind of Cthulhu game where they dressed up, made props and special effects, took them to real locations, and solved mysteries. There’s also a delightful cameo by Nick Offerman…

I. Spotlight This is probably the realest thing the newsletter will ever share: Ema Acosta, the designer of multiple charming takes on the Forged in the Dark framework, writes about immigration and awards. Acosta said that Crescent 2e being nominated for an Ennie was something they “had been part anticipating, part fearing for months.” Here’s…

I. Spotlight The nominees for the 2026 Ennies have been announced and it’s another interesting line-up, with the big news being the addition of a separate solo games category. It’s nice to see a new category and  I imagine that we’ll now see more and more. The streaming content category, for example, will probably be…

I. Spotlight II. Media of the Week III. Links of the Week Articles News IV. What am I playing? This is a day late but I wanted to get it out even though I was caught up all weekend. We’re at an interesting place for Band of Blades and Apocalypse World: Warriors of the World…

I. Spotlight One of the cool things that has come out of success of Mythic Bastionland is that people are riffing off how the handles hexcrawling. The elegance of “an escalating series of encounters that could be triggered anywhere” has led to what one blog is calling the Mythic Engine. The essential idea is to…