• So You Want To Be a Game Master

    I. Dear Reader, I was reading Justin Alexander’s book So You Want To Be a Game Master this week and something very obvious sneaked up on me. When someone says a book is for “new GMs”, they’re going to have to imagine some kind of person when they say that. When you say “new GMs”,…

    Thomas Manuel

  • Jarring Combat

    I. Dear Reader, The recent Quinns Quest reminded me of one of my least favourite traits of modern RPGs. It’s there in lots of games. It’s when a game which is predominantly very narrative, very loose suddenly tries to become more granular and tactical in combat. There’s nothing wrong with granular, tactical combat. It’s just…

    Thomas Manuel

  • New Itch Games from Feb and March 2024

    I. Dear Reader It’s been a pretty great month for new games. All of these games came from people letting me know through this form. Yours curatorially, Thomas II. Media of the Week III. Links of the Week Articles, Reviews News Misc From the archive: IV. Small Ads All links in the newsletter are completely…

    Thomas Manuel

  • Last Ditch Consequences

    I. Dear Reader, Feeling ill so this newsletter is coming out a little late – but I wanted to highlight a key piece of “GM-friendly design”. I call it “last ditch consequences” which isn’t super clear but is easier to say than “the consequence that the GM can always dish out, even when it’s late…

    Thomas Manuel