#123: We're Doing It! That And Another Thing!

Results of last week's poll, a #City23 community game, and more.

Dec 18, 2022

I. Dear Reader,

First off, it seems like last week’s poll is near unanimous. Guess we’ll be doing a monthly column that showcases new games! You can expect the first issue at the end of January. I’ll have a form and some guidelines up soon. The feedback I’ve gotten is that inclusion shouldn’t be automatic - some curation should be there but I’m still figuring out what kind of curation that will be.

Secondly, as I linked in the last newsletter, there have been some interesting hashtags floating around like #City23 and #Dungeon23. If you’re not in the loop, these are basically daily writing challenges to spend 2023 making something - a city and a megadungeon, respectively. But writing every day is really, really hard. I mean, it’s a lot, right? So that's when I had an idea and I might have buried the lede:

Let's play a game (and build a city) together!

Specifically, Caro Asercion's i'm sorry did you say a street magic, a city building game that is loosely based on Microscope.

The structure of the game is relatively straightforward: each round, on your turn, you add either a neighbourhood, landmark or person to the city.

But if we’re all playing together, then there are no turns! Or rather, every week is a turn. Every issue, I’ll prompt you folks and anyone who wants to, can submit a response in the comments. Then I’ll collect the submissions and arrange them on a nice board like below (as well as a more accessible version on a website).

We’ll do this as long as people feel like contributing. And all the responses will live for free (with attribution!) on a website. I think it could be really fun, low stress, community worldbuilding game. You can respond one week and skip the next four!

Now, the one thing we won’t have is consensus. The city is going to be a jumble of contradictions - and I think that’s lovely & true to life. We just got to embrace it!

If this sounds interesting, we can start right away. The first round is set-up. Reply with one adjective to describe the city we’re going to make together. If someone else submits an adjective that you think is cool, hit like or reply to it.

II. Listen of the Week

A panel we did at Metatopia is now available on the RPG Design Panelcast: Questions as Mechanics with me, momatoes, Aaron Lim, Rae Nedjadi and Logan Timmins.
Gila RPGs does a designer commentary on Rune, a solo soulslike RPG that seems to have really captured the combat aspects of that game.
On the latest Gauntlet podcast, there’s talk of Songs for the Dusk (which I also played) as well as a broader discussion about games that let you build up a settlement or community. I’m really interested in the topic because my WIP, Depths Unfathomable, has this as one of the aspects of the game.

III. Links of the Week

Lin Codega compiles a really nice list of games for their Best of 2022 list.
Another end of year list, Polygon asks contributors to recommend the best game they played in 2022. Lots of older games, including The Quiet Year twice!
On Age of Ravens, Lowell Francis writes about the games he has shortlisted for 2023. It’s such a varied and diverse list - from Fearful Symmetries for Trail of Cthulhu to Godbound to Free From The Yoke - that I’m now inspired to make my list for next year.
Belt Magazine writes about a game raising funds for Starbucks unions: “Designed with humor and joy, Cosmic Latte asks its players to try and craft descriptions of interstellar planets in no more than 87 seconds, the average amount of time in which a barista must make a Frappuccino.”
Hex Culture blog offers of taking D&D-style items and making them more interesting (and way creepier): a powerful snake who asks for your fingernails and sorcerous foxes who will ruin your life with lies.
Prismatic Wasteland has the second part of their hexcrawl guide up. Lots of good advice here.
The Roll20 and DriveThru merger continues with Roll20 launching the ability for community content creators (think DM’s Guild) to sell directly on the Roll20 platform.
Take it with a pinch of salt but it seems like after quitting being Geralt and being fired from Superman, Henry Cavill might be making a Warhammer 40k series for Amazon. Remember, kids, failure is nothing if you’re literally the most charming man in the world!

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.

Block, Dodge, Parry is a classless levelless RPG building upon Cairn. It contains 16 careers, 97 diegetic skills, a free-form magic system, weapons, training, and more. Out now on Itch!

This newsletter is currently sponsored by the Bundle of Holding.

On the latest RIFTS megabundle, you can get the ultimate edition and 17 supplements!

Hello, dear readers. This newsletter is written by me, Thomas Manuel. I’m half-man, half-beast, half-journalist, half-game designer.

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