• Two Theories About Vibes

    I. Dear Reader, When I hear people talk about vibes, I’m like a sardine out of a can – completely out of my natural habitat. But I overcame my bafflement. I persevered. And so here are two theories about vibes: I think there’s a subtle distinction between 1 and 2. For me, statement 2 is…

    Thomas Manuel

  • New Games In June and July 2024

    I. Dear Reader, Welcome to another itch.io round up. If this is the first post like this that you’re seeing: every two months I highlight around ten new games. Most of these games are small in scope and I usually have not played or even read them. I’m often just picking them based on whats…

    Thomas Manuel

  • Contains Scrabble, Drinking Adventures, & Fonts

    I. Dear Reader, Been an incredibly busy week so it’s short today. I wanted to highlight a post I just saw on tumblr. Designer Emmy Allen gets asked (in a slightly antagonistic way) about how games don’t seem to trust players and keeps “bribing” them and her answer is so fantastic. She says: When I’m…

    Thomas Manuel

  • Pull Strings

    I. Dear Reader, My single favourite bit in Last Fleet, the PbtA space opera from Black Armada Games, is the move, Pull Strings. Last Fleet is a big 200+ game inspired by Battlestar Galactica that yearsn for same tense, claustrophobic air of the TV show. The last of humanity is in one fleet escaping an…

    Thomas Manuel

  • Every Game I Played in 2024 (So Far)

    I. Dear Reader, It’s time for one of my favourite posts to write every year. Here is every game I’ve played in the first half of 2024: Series Fathoms Deep (as GM): Let’s get my own game out of the way first: I’ve ran about 11 playtest sessions of Fathoms Deep, a game about a…

    Thomas Manuel

  • Making Things Interesting?

    I. Dear Reader, Should the GM make things interesting? Obviously, yes. But also, no. Words are great, stay with me. I was reading an Alexandrian article that was about the – often debated – idea that when players come up with a good plan and the dice roll in their favour, their plan should just…

    Thomas Manuel

  • The Only Bad Sessions

    I. Dear Reader, I think there is only one kind of session that I would call “a bad session”. Don’t get me wrong, sometimes I don’t have great sessions! But this is usually because the table just isn’t feeling it today. Sometimes, I or my fellow players just don’t have the energy. And everyone is…

    Thomas Manuel

  • A Sociology of Tabletop Roleplaying Games

    I. Dear Reader, Every once in a while, one must embrace hubris. Let’s start with play. Play is an important part of life – mentally, spiritually, emotionally, physiologically, grammatically. It has uses. As a child, it helps with learning and growth. As an adult, it helps with not being sad all the time. But people…

    Thomas Manuel

  • New Games from April and May 2024 + 200th Issue!

    I. Dear Reader, It’s been another great couple months for new games. If this is the first post like this that you’re seeing: every two months I highlight around ten games that were newly released on itch.io. I hear about most of these games through this form. And as a bonus, a game I contributed…

    Thomas Manuel

  • Feeling Like An Insider (In The Game)

    I. Dear Reader, Back home now, happy-tired, typing out this quick post because the computer clock warns me it is very close to go-time for this week’s newsletter. The latest review on Quinns Quest is on Vaesen and highlights one of the key problems in modern RPG design. And since I’ve been talking to people…

    Thomas Manuel