#69: Australia! 🇦🇺

I. Dear Reader,

After the success of the Finland issue of the newsletter where Petri Leinonen wrote about five games from his country, I thought it was something worth doing again. So I asked on Twitter and lots of lovely people volounteered. This week, I’ve got the first of these new set of guest contributions. It’s from Logan Timmins, a game designer from Australia.

5 Aussie Tabletop Roleplaying Games you might have missed (in no particular order)

Australia. Home of lots and lots of deadly spiders and animals. Christmas by the beach. A bit of a wacky accent. And actually a lot of really good tabletop roleplaying games!

Though we’re comparatively a small scene, we’re growing and thriving with each convention and game jam. While some of us have reached international acclaim (hell yeah!), there are still many more Australian designers with awesome games to discover.

So c’mon mate, let me show you some fair dinkum Aussie games, ‘struth!

(No, we don’t really talk like that. Mostly.)

• Green Skies by SmallRedRobin13 (she/her). Play as a sentient building in a hopeful, green future. Green Skies is a solo game that has you watch over the residents of your building. Watch them interact with each other, see relationships unfold, and the neighbourhood grow. It’s a game focused around kindness and care, and the notion that we are all part of something bigger.

• This Town of Ours by Paddy Hutchinson (he/him). This one is technically a piece of TTRPG tech, rather than a game in and of itself. This Town of Ours is a system of rollable tables that help you create fascinating cultures and their taboos. It can be used in worldbuilding to create rich and layered locations, or could be played as a worldbuilding game itself! I read a playthrough by Kaden Ramstack, and what he created was truly intriguing.

• An Octogenarian Queerplatonic Polycule Plots a Jewel Heist by Luciella Scarlett (she/they). Pretty much what it says on the tin! You are a group of 80-89 year olds in a loving queerplatonic polycule planning to commit a jewel heist. I’m already excited at the idea of 80 year olds being thieves, but the added layer of genuine connection between all the characters adds a layer I’ve not seen in a heist game before.

• TOMBS:Toot On My Balls Skeleton by Cam Burke (he/they). I’m just gonna rip text from the game page here cos it’s great. Sometimes when two people meet, sparks fly. Sometimes those two people meet guarding a sorcerer’s castle, being called to arms on an ancient battlefield, or emerging from a damp and musty crypt. When you met, you were both skeletons. You’re both down to bone. Unfortunately, while you remember puns, you can’t quite remember how to do sex. TOMBS is both light-hearted and intimate, and certainly a memorable experience.

• A Modern Prometheus by Mitchell Salmon (he/him). A gothic horror roleplaying game for 2 players, where one takes on the role of the Scientist, and the other their Creation. Together, you and your partner will discover through play who is human, and who is monstrous. There are many stories you can tell with A Modern Prometheus, but they often revolve around humanity, relationships & duty, and self-exploration. Always touching to play, plus the layout is gorgeous.

(Also check out Logan’s games on itch.io especially LOGAN: An Autobiographical Tabletop Game, a game where you play through his life.)

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II. Listen of the Week

• On the Gauntlet podcast, a discussion of three intriguing games: Bed Breakfast and Beyond (a three-player hack of Brindlewood Bay), Tales from the Low Cantrefs (a game of childhood and rustic fantasy), and Vergence (a high-powered game of intrigue and action).

• The Ken And Robin Talk About Stuff podcast recently did a series of episodes where they discussed their “axes of game design”. Each episode, they dedicated one segment to discussing one of these principles and how every game probably has to fall somewhere on their spectrum. It starts with Elegance versus Ornateness and ends with Randomness versus Choice. I quite enjoyed the discussion!

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III. Links of the Week

• On Liber Ludorum, a review of my body is a cage by John Battle

• On Gnomestew, a look at Chris Spivey’s Haunted West

• Advice on organizing a gaming weekend or small con

• Yochai Gal’s recommendations of interesting RPG books on Lulu.

• Tabletop Hotdish is a new website / service that helps you do production, printing and fulfillment of RPGs.

• Mothership is the most funded non-licensed RPG of all time.

• What is post-dungeon fantasy and why it is a good idea

• A big list of patreons where you can get stock art and battle maps.

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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.

This newsletter is currently sponsored by the all-new, fan-supported Fate-SRD.com. Built to be fast, attractive, and accessible, check out the site for rules, downloads, actual plays, and community.

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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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