by govmiller

Banned for using foil.

by Miriable

[heading]ALONe: A Solo Game Engine[/heading]
I told you that story so I could tell you this one

ALONe (an acronym for A Lonesome October Night … um … e) is a solo RPG engine built directly on top of the Gamemaster’s Apprentice Deck, both by Nathan Rockwood of Larcenous Designs. The original beta version of ALONe came out around the same time as the original GMA deck in 2016. Nathan finally decided to call ALONe “complete” in 2023, just in time for the second edition of GMA to come out and partially invalidate (or at least complicate) it.

ALONe can either be played by itself or as a GM emulator mixin for another game system. When played by itself, all the themes, power levels, technology, magic, equipment, etc. come straight out of the player’s brain. Want to play a starving orphan child in steampunk Paris? Go for it. Want to be Ultimate King of the Universe, capable of destroying galaxies with your mighty butterfly kisses? Have fun, bud. The system expects you occasionally to be in some sort of peril, physical, emotional, or otherwise, to keep the story engaging. But hey, if you’re satisfied creating a narrative where you shout “And I win again!” a lot, nobody’s gonna yuck your yum.

At last, a system that lets you play as the most dangerous and terrifying man in the world

ALONe-on-its-own is designed for one player only. You could use it for GM-less group games, but the lack of power scaling can easily bite a group in the butt unless everyone thoroughly agrees what level they’re on. Using ALONe to run a separate system works somewhat more fairly since it engages that system’s checks and balances. There’s also no built-in method to ensure everybody gets their time in the sun, so you’d also have to import a spotlight mechanic from elsewhere.

[heading]Setting up[/heading]
Describe me like one of your French girls

Preparing an ALONe campaign is a multi-stage process.

Step 1: Decide whether you want to do just ALONe, ALONe as a narrative engine combined with another system for its crunchy tactical morsels, or use another system for everything but the story. In the third case, the rules suggest skipping ALONe entirely and using one of the Gamemaster’s Apprentice Deck adventure guides instead.

Using another game requires the player to do some lateral thinking. ALONe’s narrative engine relies heavily on Descriptors, like SPELLCASTING STUDENT, MASTER SWORDSMAN, DASHING ROGUE, etc. Using a different system requires the player to translate their character’s stats and abilities into these Descriptors so ALONe can play with them. The rules suggest things like translating a level 1 thief into ROGUE’S GUILD INITIATE and a high Stealth skill into BLENDS INTO SHADOWS. The player can also bring in character elements that the other system doesn’t cover, like BASTARD SON OF THE EVIL DUKE or MASTER OF THE KAZOO. It’s all the same to ALONe.

If you’re not using another system, never mind. Move along.

Step 2: Figure out your theme and your character. It’s all basic “Where am I? Who am I? Why am I here?” type stuff. This section includes a Mad Lib-like character motivation generator to get you started. If you can’t think of anything or don’t care so much, the back of the book has an appendix full of random character background/motivation tables.

Step 3: Gather your resources. This includes in-game resources like gold, weapons, and rations, and also Revision Points, which are ALONe’s meta-narrative currency. The player can spend Revision Points during setup to get more Descriptors, or use them in-game to re-draw a card, temporarily gain or edit a Descriptor, or trigger a story-altering Vignette, about which more later.

Step 4: Choose three initial Descriptors for your character. This might be disappointing for players who got all excited in phase 1 and came up with a dozen ways to describe their special unicorn OC. If three’s not enough, the player can buy extra Descriptors with Revision Points.

There’s plenty of advice on creating Descriptors in this section. One thing that stood out to me was how they interact with the campaign’s concept. The example given is a vampire character in a campaign about hunting other vampires; in this case, “vampire” doesn’t really need to be a Descriptor, since that’s the campaign’s baseline. They still have the powers and everything, they just don’t stand out from the norm. If everyone they’re likely to meet is a normal human, however, VAMPIRE is definitely a valid Descriptor.

Once your course is set and the main character is built, we can finally learn how to

[heading]Play the Game[/heading]
Open up your mind and let me step inside

Unlike those fools up Washington way, ALONe has some basic principles: ask leading questions for the cards to answer, seek inspiration from the cards rather than instruction, and don’t assume that what the cards tell you has the same ineffable weight as a GM. It’s a deck of prompts, not the Oracle at Delphi.

Well now you tell me

This bit, I think, is mostly here to help players who aren’t used to solo games get into a more active mindset. The cards may push your story like the wind, but it’s up to you to steer the ship. They report, you decide.

The rules then describe a Stability/Tension system to help determine when random events occur. The player sets a Tension score from 1 to 10, with higher numbers indicating more hectic situations. Whenever they draw a GMA card for anything, they also look at the Difficulty Generator score on that card. If that number is equal to or less than the current Tension score, a random event occurs. Draw two or three cards and look at the Random Event Generator part to get a noun, a verb, and potentially an adjective. Then inject whatever you just drew into the story.

This here and that there

The Tension level can be set once for the whole game, decided per scene, or have a rising level that increases per draw until it triggers, then resets.

The actual decision-making process is quite straightforward. Essentially, you couch what you want to know as a Yes/No question, decide your odds (bad, even, or good), draw a card for the answer, check the Tension level for a random event, and apply the results to the story. If you’ve ever used an oracle-based system before, this should be very familiar territory.

Descriptors come into play when determining odds. Having a Descriptor which is advantageous to the current action (NIMBLE FINGERS while picking a lock, maybe) bumps the odds in your favor. A situationally negative Descriptor (HUGE DUMPY while squeezing through a small passage, perhaps) knocks them down. If various conflicting Descriptors apply, the player can either choose which one seems most important at the moment, or count up and down as they cancel each other out.

A more complex point-based system exists for players that want more crunch, especially for mechanical questions like “did I hit the goblin” or, more importantly, “did the goblin hit me.” The player starts at zero, adds one point per each relevant positive Descriptor, subtracts one point per negative Descriptor, and adds or subtracts up to two points for situational bonuses/penalties. They then do that same calculation for their opponent. If both totals are equal or one point off, it’s Even Odds. Above that is Good Odds, and below that is Bad Odds. Flip the card and take your lumps.

If this is the system you’re going with, the rules suggest adding a number to your Descriptors so you’re not, for example, trying to figure out how NOVICE SWORDSMAN, EXCELLENT SWORDSMAN, and LEGENDARY SWORDSMAN stack up against each other. Instead, just do SWORDSMAN (1), (2), or (3) and use that in your calculations.

If you’re using a different system alongside ALONe, never mind all that mechanical stuff and use whatever they got.

[heading]The Consequences of Your Actions[/heading]
Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal

While co-playing a different system, you most likely have HP/MP/Sanity/whatever to keep up with your current condition. By itself, ALONe doesn’t track any of that. Instead, failures impose either temporary conditions or negative Descriptors.

On a failure, the player draws a card and looks at the Difficulty Generator. A low number indicates something brief and easily fixable, like dropping your weapon. A median number might impose a temporary Descriptor, like BLINDED BY VENOM, which requires special effort to mitigate during the scene but goes away once the combat is done. High numbers impose more grave, long-lasting Descriptors, like LOST A HAND or LEARNED DARTH VADER IS MY FATHER.

Sometimes you may have trouble deciding what kind of consequence to take. There’s a handy random chart of effect types to help you figure that out, from confusion to incarceration to loss of motivation to good ol’ broken bones.

Here we run into a minor snag: this random table, and many others later in the document, rely on the Tag Symbols from the GMA 1e decks. Thing is, GMA 2e does away with Tag Symbols in favor of a different random generator. Admittedly there are ten of these symbols and you could just use the d10 from the Dice Wheel for the same purpose, though not all tables have numerical indices. So you have to count rows. Like a commoner.

Why I never

An optional rule is the grandiosely named Doom of Damocles. This adds between three and five checkboxes to the adventure sheet. For every negative Descriptor the character acquires in-game, even a temporary one, check a box. If a Descriptor is cleared or mitigated, erase a box. When all the boxes are filled, your adventure reaches its bad end. Getting hit in the head with a sword is optional.

The rules continue with tips on how to adjudicate combat, from brawls to mass battles, and a fairly long section on how to run social encounters without feeling schizophrenic by using random motivation tables for your NPCs. At times the social section gets a little overly specific, expecting the player to create unique reaction tables for particular genres or even for important NPCs. That all feels like work to me, frankly, but I know some of you sickos out there would get a kick out of it.

Now that we’ve absorbed all that, here, on page 43, it’s time to discover

[heading]How Everything Actually Works[/heading]
Our story is only just beginning

So you thought reading all those rules meant you knew how to play? Ha! Think again! This section goes in-depth into concepts which so far we’ve only touched on: Revisions, Descriptors, Beats, Vignettes, and Downtime. Used together, these will hopefully help a player organize their random story into something coherent.

We’ve already talked about Revisions and Descriptors. The rules go a little deeper here, like how to gain more Revision Points and add/change Descriptors as the story goes on, but nothing earth-shattering.

Beats are units of story that start with a stake of some sort (e.g., you want or need something) and end when that stake is resolved (e.g., you get or permanently lose that something). There’s yet another random chart here to help spur the player’s imagination if it fails them. Beats are different from scenes, in that multiple scenes can occur within a Beat and/or a stake can be resolved in the middle of a scene and then either changed or doubled down on.

Vignettes are chunks of narration that exist outside the rules and can change the story any way the player wants. This may sound enormously powerful, but that’s only because it is. If the player wants to take a simple snail herder and make her the God of Hamburgers, a Vignette can do it in a snap. Vignettes also cover flashbacks that explain how that latest setback was all Part of the Plan, which is why you happen to have the magic dingus that saves the day! What prevents Vignettes from turning the game into a Mary Sue fanfic is that they have a Revision Point cost, so you don’t have an unlimited number of them. If the Vignette would change the character’s Descriptors, you have to pay for those too.

Downtime is where all the boring day-to-day stuff happens. If you want to quantify it, the player gets one Downtime Point and can buy up to two more with Revision Points. The more Downtime Points you spend, the more involved your off-hour actions become, from finding a safe place to hide (1 point) to founding a small-time crime cartel (3 points).

[heading]On the Campaign Trail[/heading]
Vote early, vote often

The concluding chapter goes into how to incite a campaign with random actions, plus how to generate your own random tables for your campaign. Bookkeeping gamers may enjoy this, but it’s not my bag. Building a table in the middle of running the game feels like filling out paperwork in the back of a speeding semi full of volatile Quadrazine.


My patent papers are at a slight angle, Sam

The rest of this chapter reiterates the Adventure Guide that comes with the GMA Deck nearly word-for-word. Select a Core, ask a Big Question, choose a Doom (not of Damocles), all that. I mean, it works, so there’s no reason to reinvent the wheel.

The document ends with multiple appendices containing randomizers and examples of play. They’re fine.

[heading]Final Thoughts[/heading]
Beyond the blue horizon

I just wrote a lot. But that’s because ALONe is kind of a lot. The document is 84 pages long with the only picture being on its cover. As rules go, it’s a bit intimidating. It feels especially wordy when you compare it to the Gamemaster’s Apprentice Deck that fuels it.

I’ll get my greatest complaint out of the way now: the document is poorly organized and badly edited. You must, must, read through the whole thing, cover to cover, to get the entire picture. Things are introduced without reference on page 11 that aren’t explained until page 46. There are several instances of “see page XX” instead of actual page numbers. The table of contents (and thank heaven we even have one) doesn’t show page numbers, only links. There are no PDF bookmarks. One form, apparently designed to be printed on one sheet, spills over to the top of the next page. For something seven years in the making, this is very … enthusiastically presented, one might say. Most of those problems could be fixed in an afternoon by a decent editor.

That’s a shame, because what the document says isn’t so bad. Once you’ve put some brainpower and patience into untangling the rules, they fit together pretty well. The Tension system is essentially Mythic GME’s Chaos Factor without weirding up the odds. Personally, I also like how Vignettes let you course-correct the story (or fling it beyond Mars, if that’s your bent).

Even there, though, it’s not all roses. ALONe wants you to engage with bespoke random tables a lot. But every time they tried to guide me to another table I kept glancing at the GMA deck, chock full of random prompts, just sitting idle. Use that, I thought. You made it too, Nathan. Have some confidence in your own brainchild.

Anyway. ALONe has some good ideas poorly presented, a solid foundation that gets lost in its own weeds sometimes, and can be rewarding if you put in the effort to learn but requires more effort to learn than it should. Once you wrap your head around it, it’s a decent solo system.

One and a half thumbs up for the system, but losing most of a thumb for the presentation.

by JugglinDan

The Raven's Call: Scene 36 - Palique Outbound to Mainz, 097-1105
Last Scene: Tying up loose threads
Next Scene: -
Character Sheets & Setting: Game Info. Character sheets, game info, supplements, & solo tools.
Mythic Scene Expectation: After a tumultuous 14 days in the Palique system, the Raven's Call is ready to depart for Mainz. The passengers board, Failsafe threads the path through the planetoid field and they jump for the small world of Mainz.
Chaos Factor: 5
Scene Type: Interrupt! Ambiguous event, "fail agreement" (1)
Location & time: Palique outbound to Mainz, Spinward Marches, 097 to 105-1105
Ship Credits: 72,314 Cr
[hr]Action
"Raven's Call, clear to depart Palique 0600 local. Our thanks once again for your help with, well, everything. Safe travels and take your time threading your way through the planetoid belt. We're getting close to impact season, and some of those rocks will pound your ship to dust."

Failsafe takes her out slow and steady. It's a 36-hour trip to the jump point, a time determined more by the painstaking path through the planetoid field than by the jumpshadow of Palique or the binary star system. (2)

"Hey Monarch, the computer weave in these new uniforms is grelling fantastic! The astrogation readouts on my sleeve are just what I need when dodging the bigger potatoes out here."

A little over 13 hours into the trip through the planetoids, they receive a hail. "Civilian vessel Raven's Call, this is Palique System Patrol Boat Gladius, please respond." (3)

Failsafe sighs, wondering if this is the Ardent all over again.

"Raven's Call, we just thought you should know there's a massive planetoid heading your way. If you alter course 5 degrees to starboard, you should clear it just fine. Gladius out."

Failsafe shakes her head. Frak, time for another stim, or has she had too many? What she really needs is a reserve pilot. These long runs are hell.

Fortunately, she stays awake long enough to see them clear to the jump point. Once they're through to jumpspace, she hands over the watch to Pancake and drags herself from the bridge to collapse in the hot tub. (4)

The next few days in jumpspace are uneventful. On Forday, Pancake and Failsafe have the morning watch. Cat joins them, and Pancake finally share's what's been on her mind since Palique. (5)

"Did you know that King was an android? A damn good one, almost as good as you, Cat. What the grell do you think it means?"

Cat's ears perk up. "An android masquerading as meatbag? Unusual, not unheard of. It reveals nothing of King's goal."

Ash sighs. "I know. Oh, I recorded some of our meeting on my visor. I'll show you." (6)

She brings the recording up on a monitor in the bridge. Cat stares, hissing. "C C Collector?" With a final furious spit at the monitor, Cat winks out of the bridge.

Ash stares at the space where Cat was.

"What the frak was that all about?" Failsafe asks.

Failsafe's question snaps Ash back. She stares blinking at her friend for moment before replying, gathering her thoughts. "King. And the Collector. But it's not my story to tell."

Cat and Sid avoid Ash for the remainder of the jump, and so at 2:10pm on Senday, 105-1105, they arrive at the jump point of the Mainz system with the puzzle still as tangled as it was that morning on the bridge.
[hr]Mechanics
1: I thought of a few interpretations for this interrupt, but after so many scenes spent in the Palique system, I'm going to say meh and ignore this. It's time to move on! I'll keep "fail agreement" as a hold over the game.

2: According to Behind the Claw, it's a 4+ Astrogation check to plot a safe path to the jump point, and sensors will help. I think that's too easy, so I'm upping it to 6+ due to the warning.
Failsafe makes a sensor scan: success, chain bonus 2. Astrogation: crit success, effect 6. No problems.

3: Any encounters? Yes, a military ship: the 200t system defence boat Gladius. NPC reaction: 9, friendly.

4: It's hardly worth making the jump rolls anymore. Astrogation success, & Ash makes her jump roll with an exceptional success, effect 12.

5: Is there a passenger ship event, likely? no. The jump to Mainz proceeds without drama. I'll advance a few days, to 10:45am, 102-1105, with 3 days remaining in the jump to deal with something that's bothering Ash. At the end of the last scene, Ash realised that King was an android. She had no idea what that meant, but she had the presence of mind to record the final moments of the meeting on her data visor.

6: Finally, I can reveal that King is the Collector from Cat & Sid's backstory revealed in Scene 24 - The Deathbot. How does Cat respond to the vision of King the Collector, using SOLO Second Edition personality d66 table: vengeful, furious.
[hr]Mythic Bookkeeping
- Chaos goes down to 4.
- Updated study logs. With no interruptions the crew all got another week of study completed.
- With the long arc of scenes at Palique completed, I'm awarding the PCs 1 XP for adventure experience. This can be used for skill advances in the same way as a passed exam after a study period. This XP method is based on Traveller Companion Update 2024

by Munkwunk

My old Vocational Rehabilitation counselor.
Okay. *Technically,* I never actually had a chance to sit and play a game with him. But we bumped into each other at a local game store and chit-chatted about RPGs pretty regularly.

For those who don't know, Vocational Rehabilitation is often a job within U.S. state government that helps disabled people (like me) prepare to enter or re-enter the workforce. In other words, they help people get jobs.

It's not the type of profession that screams, "Nerds welcome!" Especially since I was living in a mid-sized town in Western Oregon at the time.

But, come to think of it, maybe it's precisely *because* we were in Oregon that it shouldn't have been unusual.

At any rate, it was always good to know that he shared my interests, because it was a great way to break the ice and he was always trying to help me find RPG/board game-related work.

by sdonohue

I think I first heard of it at summer camp in 1978, but it was from a guy I didn't like very well and so I dismissed it as another one of his stupid ideas. Little did I know that the camp quartermaster he was speaking of so highly as his personal D&D hero would grow up to be Martin A. Stever (he was probably 17 at the time).

The following summer, the James Dallas Eggbert disappearance was all over the news as was the D&D connection. I didn't realize it was the same game. I asked and was forbidden to buy or play it. I got one of my buddies to drive me to the only store that had it nearby (Walt's Hobbies) and I purchased the D&D basic set probably in the fall of 1979. My brother and I played in the basement where my parents rarely visited. We were busted because we were spending too much time together without arguing. My parents decided the risks of the game were outweighed by the two of us not fighting, and a hobby was born. I had just turned 16.

by Rachel Carpenter

Happy 23rd Friday of 2026, everyone!! And as always on Friday, here are the current Friday links: 2026 Friday on Friday: Play Friday EVERY Friday of 2026 and Friday on Friday, June 2026.

Hello again, Level 5! I wonder what this week holds...

That's an early Yellow Phase loss...

My final score was -64 points: 9 points from Fighting Cards, -10 points from Aging Cards, 0 points from lifepoints, 0 points for defeating neither pirate, and -63 points from Unbeaten Hazards.

And I had the time, so after a quick reset, I ventured forth once more!

It went a little better.

Just a little 😜

My final score was -32 points: 25 points from Fighting Cards, -15 points from Aging Cards, 0 points from lifepoints, 0 points for defeating neither pirate, and -42 points from Unbeaten Hazards.

🌴 Maybe next week... 🌴

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Weekly Updates:


Challenge Updates:

:d10-1: 2023 Extreme Numerology Challenge / 2024 Extreme Numerology Challenge / 2025 Extreme Numerology Challenge: Wrapping up. Microbadges for 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025 will be awarded, please stay tuned! 2026 is live: 2026 Extreme Numerology Challenge
:d10-2: Fire in the Library- Summer/Fall 2023 Solo Challenge- Extended!!: Done! Stay tuned for a new series of mini challenges that include some more Weird Giraffe-themed fan promos. COMING THIS SUMMER! (2026)
:d10-3: 2025 Challenge: 25 un(der)played in 25: is Wrapped! If you spot errors or make updates, please geekmail me!
:d10-4: 2026 Challenge: 26 un(der)played in 26: is Active!
:d10-5: A special note on the Friday on Friday challenges: ALL owed microbadges should be system-awarded THIS YEAR. ALL microbadge reimbursements complete! Update: Stay tuned for progress on microbadges!



Designer's Corner:


Published Games:
:d10-1: Charge the Circle: Post-Contest (Revised Edition) Web-published to BGG. 2nd Edition & 2nd Edition (PNP) & 2nd Edition (Altar Decks ONLY!) coming to The Game Crafter in 2026! You can follow along with the ongoing graphic development here: A new edition coming in 2026!.
:d10-2:Eight Elephants: 2nd Edition now available on The Game Crafter! 2nd Edition, Print & Play also available on The Game Crafter! Original WIP thread: here!
:d10-3: Fireworks for the 4th: Semiquincentennial Edition: Now available on The Game Crafter! Revised (Post Contest) Edition remains available here!.
:d10-4: Pumpkin Spice & Everything Nice: 2nd Edition now available on The Game Crafter! 2nd Edition, Print & Play also available on The Game Crafter! Original WIP thread: here!
:d10-5: The United Cards of America: Now available on The Game Crafter!
:d10-6: Lincoln's Cat: Now available on The Game Crafter! Print & Play edition also available on The Game Crafter!
:d10-7: Liberty, DEATH, or TAXES: Now available on The Game Crafter!


Active Projects:
:d10-1: Finders Keepers: No new progress.
:d10-2: Bears love bows: Very Merry Trashmas edition: now available for playtesting AND formally entered in Bad Comet's Cozy Game Design Contest here on BGG! Next up: video!
:d10-3: Really Retail: No new progress.
:d10-4: Barricade Brigade: Tentatively coming to The Game Crafter in late 2026. Still needs a lot of work and a new coat of paint :geek_grin:.
:d10-5: The Boxcats of Meowazon : No new progress.
:d10-6: Read the Runes: Check out the updated TTS! I need playtesters to help me continue refining this one. I like the current art direction, but this will need more if I decide to go The Game Crafter route... There's also the drift problem... As much as I hate to say it, this might have to stay a print-and-play for now...
:d10-7: 10 Minutes to Midnight: THIS WILL BE COMING TO THE GAME CRAFTER IN 2026! In fact, it's likely to be the main game in my 2nd batch of releases :geek_grin:. Work continues... lookin' like the play mat will be the way to go...
:d10-8: Surfboard Stealin' Sea Otters: Contest complete! #2 Best Family Game and #8 Best Overall Game! Woot! Video still on the docket. Then I do plan on pitching the otters and seeing if I can catch some waves... and ... in the meantime, yes I am now committing to a Game Crafter release in 2026! Rules revisions continue! Box almost done!
:d10-9: Tricky Treats: Game considered complete and officially Ready for Pitching! I still need a video... no progress on that project this week.
:d10-1::d10-0: Squirrelly (formerly Woodland Warriors) : Contest complete! #3 for Best Art! 2 mini expansions available! Ready for pitching! Video still on the docket...
:d10-1::d10-1: Composer's Cat: 2024 In-Hand Game Design Contest: 5th Best Multiplayer Game; 6th Best Innovative Mechanic; 7th Best Use of Theme; and 4th Best Low-Ink Printing! Major revision complete, new video live, Print & Play Assembly Guide now available, and while entered in the 2026 Cardboard Edison, it didn't place as a finalist. I got good feedback, but I'm not sure what's next for this kitty... I did take some more video footage for the Cat last month.. and I'm still seriously considering re-jigging things to at least get the original starter set on The Game Crafter...
:d10-1::d10-2: Librarian's Cat: formerly Palm Library. formerly Littlest Library. 2025 In-Hand Game Design Contest: contest is complete... but I've got plenty of unfinished business to see to and I intend to see it all through, eventually. Please stay tuned!
:d10-1::d10-3: Elements: Coming to The Game Crafter in mid-2026! New cards, done! New rules posted to the WIP thread, take a look and let me know what you think! Just waiting 'til I've got more proofs ready to order...
:d10-1::d10-4: Knick Knacks: Shaker Showdown : Contest complete! #3 Best Solo Game, #3 Best 2 Player Game, and #4 Best Family Game! Not bad, not bad at all, especially since I fell woefully behind on the comments... I do plan on addressing all of the feedback. And I do want to continue to refine and improve the game. There's a decent little game here and it's worth pursuing.
:d10-1::d10-5: Critter Calls: Ready for pitching! I'm happy with the TTS and sell sheet, but do want a video. Not a high priority for pitching, but if I see any calls for party games or icebreaker games I will 100% submit it for consideration :geek_grin:.
:d10-1::d10-6: Unlucky Spirits, Revised Edition: Uncooperative Spirits campaign in-progress. Revised Edition formally entered in 2026 Two-Player Game Design Contest, which is now complete. No wins for Unlucky Spirits , but that's okay. I'm keeping on keeping on. And that's why I need you, players to help me get this game off the ground! The PNP files are serviceable. The TTS is functional and up-to-date. I just need some players to help me put the base game through its paces while I continue to write the campaign!
:d10-1::d10-7: Abydos: Contest complete, game did not place... I'm disappointed, but I'm still committed to getting this game out there. And, yes, it is coming to The Game Crafter in mid-2026. I've figured out a way around the drift issue that works well for Abydos. There's still more work to do, but I'm actually happy with how this is going now. Work continues.
:d10-1::d10-8: Nine Tails: Ready for pitching! This one will be coming to The Game Crafter! Art for full color edition done! Now working on the coloring book version, print-and-play files, and box!
:d10-1::d10-9: Put a bow on it! The new lease on life continues! The game is getting bigger and maybe a bit too complicated for Bad Comet's Cozy Contest... we'll just have to see how this one continues to develop...
:d10-2::d10-0: Eighteen Eggs: Contest complete, game did not place. *sigh*. Rain, Rain Mini Expansion and Player Aids available. The future of this little game... I don't know. It's cute, but it's too kiddie for The Game Crafter. Period. And I haven't come across any publishers looking for solo games for kids... That said, if you see a call for submissions, please let me know! Not writing it off, but pivoting to a more-Game Crafter-friendly design... see Last Leaves below!
:d10-2::d10-1: Snow Squall: In the vein of Eight Elephants and Eighteen Eggs, but a bit bigger, no timer, and more Game Crafter-friendly art. Again, not much progress this week. In fact, I'm putting this on hold for the moment and pivoting to a new take on Last Leaves...
:d10-2::d10-2: Monk's Cat: The Book of [Pawprints]: The third game in the Cat Companion Card Game series, sequel to Composer's Cat and Librarian's Cat. Contest now complete! I'm happy! #1 Best Graphic Design for Visually Impaired Players; #8 Best Use of Theme; & #7 Best Low-Ink Printing! I've still got feedback to address and I'll get there- I promise! But, overall, I'm happy with the game, with its reception, and I'm looking forward to continue developing Monk's Cat... possibly for future publication on The Game Crafter... 😜
:d10-2::d10-3: Unnamed Puzzle Game: multi-level campaign puzzle game in the vein of Abydos, Read the Runes, and Charge the Circle. Fuzzball-inspired. Backburner. Tentative entry in this year's Solitaire Print and Play Game Design Contest...
:d10-2::d10-4: Nine Lives: I haven't heard anything, so I'm assuming this is a no-go. Still, I might revisit this idea down the road...
:d10-2::d10-5: Who's ready for the owlidays?: Might be my entry/one of my entries in this year's 54-Card Game Design Contest! No new progress this week.
:d10-2::d10-6: I sits!: Didn't make the FFF Contest, but watch this space!
:d10-2::d10-7: Caturday @ the cattery: Didn't make the FFF Contest, but will still happen. Eventually. Again, watch this space!
:d10-2::d10-8: Elements 2: Will be 1 of my entries in this year's Solitaire PNP Game Design Contest! Sequel to Elements, draws on the setting/visuals/narrative of Elements and builds on the gameplay of Pumpkin Spice & Everything Nice with an added rock-paper-scissors-like overlap mechanic. Stay tuned! WIP will go live sometime this month...
:d10-2::d10-9: Time's up! : Probably my 2nd entry in this year's 54-Card Game Design Contest. Playtesting has gone well, now I'm fine-tuning things, actually locking down the rules, and starting work on the graphics. WIP thread won't go live until July to preserve eligibility.
:d10-3::d10-0: Last Leaves: old name, new game. This is a cozy, cute, Game-Crafter-friendly solitaire matching game that builds on Eighteen Eggs. The original Last Leaves may still happen down the road, but it'll need a new name because the name fits this little game better :geek_grin:. Card done! Rules done! Box done! Now waiting with Elements for my next order of proofs.
:d10-3::d10-1: A Walk on the Beach: NEW: Watch this space! Solo-only, play-through-the-deck set collection game. Unsure if for Solo PNP Contest OR 54-Card Contest... Gotta play around some more to figure out where this game needs to go.


Early Development:
:d10-1: The 7th Seal : A bit of progress :whistle:
:d10-2: Gator Glory! Simmering.
:d10-3: So, you want to be a mage......
:d10-4: Barricade Brigade: At the postern gate: A smaller version of the original. Similar story, setting, and mechanics, but more compact.
:d10-5: Reverse the curse!: My forthcoming entry in Button Shy's No Shuffle Challenge. Provided it comes together in time... still still giving me a headache... Probably not going to make it... Never came together. Really unhappy with this little game. Putting it on the backburner and may revisit in the future.


On Hold:
:d10-1: Contagion and Calamity: The Philadelphia Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793: formerly Philly Fever 1793
:d10-2: Rolling Runes
:d10-3: Defend your Dreams: (formerly Dreamcatcher Duty)
:d10-4: Trick or Treat
:d10-5: Last Leaves Needs New Name!: This was going to be my entry in the 2026 Children and Family Game Design Contest (family category), but I'm putting this on the back burner instead to concentrate on getting my shop pages up-and-running over on The Game Crafter. Development will continue later this year and you can expect to see this game in the 2027 Children and Family Game Design Contest.
:d10-6: Unnamed design: Involves the Titanic and Jenny the ship cat...
:d10-7: Nine Nopes
:d10-8: Book it!
:d10-9: History Heist
:d10-1::d10-0: Lost in the Labyrinth
:d10-1::d10-1: Dragon's Draw
:d10-1::d10-2: Push to the Peak
:d10-1::d10-3: Cardshop Caretaker
:d10-1::d10-4: Water always wins
:d10-1::d10-5: Sniper, take the shot!
:d10-1::d10-6: Puppy Pile: (formerly Dogpile)
:d10-1::d10-7: Compound It!
:d10-1::d10-8: My Little Fish Tank
:d10-1::d10-9: Knick Knacks: Lovely Lamps : Sequel to Knick Knacks: Shaker Showdown
:d10-2::d10-0: Triskell (or maybe Triskellion): name not final
:d10-2::d10-1: Cursed Cards (Traditional Deck Game)
:d10-2::d10-2: War of the Wilds
:d10-2::d10-3: Scratch-off


Professional Projects:
:d10-1: Explosion in the Laboratory/Fire in the Library (2nd edition): Weird Giraffe Games: Campaign wrapped! Campaign fulfilled! Campaign complete!
:d10-2: Dreams of Yesterday: Weird Giraffe Games: Campaign wrapped! Campaign fulfilled! Campaign complete!
:d10-3: In the Shadows: Resistance in France 1943 - 1944: GMT Games: Complete! I still haven't managed to get this back to my table. Gah! In the meantime... see A Solo Sunday Salute - First Impressions - In the Shadows for a preview.
:d10-4: Crumbs!: The Sandwich Filler Game: Minerva Tabletop Games: Initial feedback in. First impressions and some extra crumbs: Solo Sundays- First Impressions: Crumbs!: The Sandwich Filler Game and Solo Saturdays - Continuing to make Crumbs. More formal review posted: Rachel Reviews It- Crumbs!: The Sandwich Filler Game. Campaign funded! Campaign ongoing. Fingers-crossed that Minerva Tabletop Games comes through... it looks like this is finally in the process of fulfilling...
:d10-5: Crystallo expansions and miniature edition: Light Heart Games: Initial feedback in. Previews and additional adventures shared: A crystal cavern at the garage aka mini Crystallo is here!, First Impressions: Crystallo: Untold Fortune, Solo Saturdays- First Impressions: Crystallo: Den of Dragons, and Solo Stories- Playing with all of Crystallo. More formal review posted: Rachel Reviews It- Crystallo: Untold Fortune and Crystallo: Den of Dragons. Campaign funded! Campaign ongoing... AND there's GOOD NEWS: Crystallo lives!- Crystallo's new Gamefound
:d10-6: Lost Adventures: Belltower Games: First Impressions and continuing adventures shared: Two-Player Thursdays- First Impressions: Lost Adventures, Two-Player Tuesdays- Getting Lost with Mom, and Solo Stories - Lost Adventures. More formal review posted: Rachel Reviews It: Lost Adventures. Campaign wrapped! Campaign fulfilled. Campaign complete.
:d10-7: Quirky Bird Games: The zine campaign funded! That's a wrap! Congrats Beth and Angel! Fulfillment ongoing. Keep up the great work!
------------------------------------------------------------------

Once again, no new sales BUT I'm still on top of my non-BGG socials AND mostly caught up here on BGG too. Which considering I'm hosting Solitaire Games On Your Table -- June 2026, that's no small feat 😜.

Work continues, but I got a surprising amount of plays in too, which means that I now have a bit of a backlog of session reports to write up. But that's a good problem to have and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Happy Friday and happy playing!
-Rachel

Thank you for reading my blog. If you liked it; then please click the green thumb [microbadge=23724] at the top of the page. If you really liked it; then please subscribe. And follow me across social media with my Linktree:
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by Munkwunk

I thumbed through a Rifts book that my friend had back when I was probably 10 or 11. I thought the art was incredible, but didn't know what to make of the rest. I didn't really have a lot of time with it.

But when I was 12, the same friend and his older brother invited me to play RuneQuest with them. That was my first gameplay experience.

by Forbidding

Summer Game Fest is an all-digital, multi-month global festival. It features gaming news, events, and free playable content. Each developer or publisher will announce and host their own conference as part of the event.

Feel free to share any games that I missed in the comments section below.

• Summer Game Fest 2026 | Summer Game Fest (Main)
• Summer Game Fest 2026 | Summer Game Fest, Part 1 (Indies)
• Summer Game Fest 2026 | Summer Game Fest, Part 2 (Indies)
• Summer Game Fest 2026 | Summer Game Fest, Part 3 (Indies)

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Resident Evil: Veronica (2027)
Youtube Video

Mighty Cuphead Adventure
Youtube Video

Alien: Isolation 2
Youtube Video

Gen Atlas
Youtube Video

Blood Message
Youtube Video

Stranger Than Heaven
Youtube Video

Haex
Youtube Video

Mortal Shell II
Youtube Video

SAND: Raiders of Sophie
Youtube Video

Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced
Youtube Video

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin
Youtube Video

Gundam Rogue Orbit
Youtube Video

An Eggstremely Hard Game
Youtube Video

Crossfire (2028)
Youtube Video

Guild Wars 3
Youtube Video

Star Wars: Galactic Racer
Youtube Video

End of Abyss
Youtube Video

Last Harbor
Youtube Video

Virtua Fighter Crossroads
Youtube Video

Grounded 2
Youtube Video

Mafia: The Old Country - Man of Honor
Youtube Video

1666: Amsterdam
Youtube Video

Saw: Genesis
Youtube Video

Lords of the Fallen II
Youtube Video

Star Wars Zero Company
Youtube Video

The Blood of Dawnwalker
Youtube Video

Monster Hunter Wilds: Ascendance
Youtube Video

Swords of Legends
Youtube Video

Hot Wheels Infinite Rush
Youtube Video

Attack on Titan 3
Youtube Video

Chronicles: Medieval
Youtube Video

Palworld
Youtube Video

The Wolf Among Us 2
Youtube Video

Stellar Blade: BLOOD RAIN
Youtube Video

Final Fantasy VII Revelation
Youtube Video

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Youtube Video

by lawingm

I read CYOA and What-Do-I-Do-Now books from the library as a kid. Before that, I vaguely remember my parents trying to figure out what to do with a crate of early dnd books. My dad's school friend had enlisted and my dad ended up with the books, but didn't keep them for long.

7th grade, someone shared with me the deadEarth (1st & 2nd Eds.) website. I never played, though I interacted with the site a ton. That was my first roleplaying experience, chatting in-character in a permanent chat room.

My first game was in the 2018 play-by-forum new player initiative. I ran a dnd game for friends, but I can't recall at the moment if that was right before or right after the pbf started.

by BluSapphire

Related Item: Star Wars Roleplaying Dice

I would like to buy this please can meet up at the math trade

by Ksurls

I only missed Ksurls previously rolled d4 = 2 episodes

by troacctid

An item GeekList: 2026 Challenge: 26 un(der)played in 26 has been added to the geeklist 2026 Challenge: 26 un(der)played in 26