Overviews, explanations, and opinions about games I haven’t actually played yet. If you read the blog a while you’ll understand my biases.
Second of three reviews from the latest convention I’ve got a fraught relationship with Westerns. Specifically, it’s hard to keep the Western genre in my head separate from the history of the American West. It’s a long-standing thing going back to when I worked professionally in game design. It’s evolved into both “this is gross… Continue reading Inevitable: The Deep Dive
Per usual, I overprepared stuff for RinCon this year. I set myself up to run six things! But what I did get to play all turned out terrific for different reasons. I’ll talk about one each week. Let’s get into it. First up is Through the Hedgerow by Jonathan Rowe, out of Osprey Publishing. Through the Hedgerow… Continue reading Through the Hedgerow: a Deep Dive
Readers may remember our terrific run with Handiwork Games’ a|state earlier this year. Just a great, smart game all around. Designer Morgan Davie took an old Forge-era indie fave and reframed it with Forged in the Dark tech, then went on to add several sharp quality of life improvements to the FitD framework as well.… Continue reading FiveEvil: An Unlikely Winner
Let me say up front that I love everything Magpie Games has ever put out. I go out of my way to play their stuff, and I’ve run nearly everything they’ve ever put out. Starting with Epyllion way back in the day, through Urban Shadows, Bluebeard’s Bride, Cartel, Zombie World, Pasión de las Pasiones, all… Continue reading Masks: A Late, Deepish Dive
Broke a 3-week-long RPG fast with The Facility last night. Felt good to touch dice again! The Facility is a zine-sized game by Galen Pejeau built on Breathless, a game framework I've been digging into since starting through a solo game called Substratum Protocol. It's a very basic push-your-luck kind of game, where each time… Continue reading A Short Deep Dive into The Facility
