2024 Gifts for RPG Designers

Chances are a game designer made a big impact on you this year. Maybe you know them. Maybe you don't. Maybe you played their game or read their award-worthy blog and haven't stopped thinking about it for weeks. Not only that, you probably got it for less than the price of a coffee—or for free.

As most of us know, game design is a labor of love. Despite how it might look, even the successful designers are making stuff in the dark. Maybe they're seeing the sales figures go up, but most of us are keeping our heads down and hoping someone notices.

Here are five gifts ideas you can give your game designer friends that won't cost you a single dollar, real, pound, yen, or euro...

Gift #1: Run their games.

The best thing a game designer can ask for? People playing their games. This is the easiest thing you can do. Odds are you're already doing it.

• Run a game with your regular game group.
• GM the game at a local game store, coffee shop, or library.
• Host a game at a local convention or game event.
• Gift the game to your regular game master.

Gift #2: Rate their games.

Give them five stars on Itch or DriveThruRPG. Ignore the multiple stars. These platforms are like Uber, anything less than five stars tells the algorithm to bury the game. That's why your five-star rating is important. The more favorably reviewed the designer is, the more eyes their game will get.

• Walkthrough your Itch/DriveThru collection and rate everything.
• If you bought a game in-person, tell the store owner you enjoyed it.
• Press your thumb on the scale, search for mentions on social, and like them.

Gift #3: Share their work.

Word of mouth is a game changer for designers. Especially new ones. Back when Mothership was first starting, Sean McCoy and Alan Gerding were handing out printouts of proto-Mothership zines. Those zines got passed around GenCon the whole weekend. Matt Colville name-dropped it on a video. Other designers shared it on forums and social media. The rest is history.

• Show off the book at a local convention or game store.
• Handout freebies at local conventions, stores, and game nights.
• Share links from the designer's blog and projects on Discord.
• Gift your used books, modules, and adventures to other people.

Gift #4 Write about them.

Go one step further and write about the designer's work. It can be short. Every blog post, Instagram Reel, YouTube video, and social post expands their reach and gets their game out there.

• Write a review of their work on Itch, DriveThru, a forum, or your blog.
• Share a game report on your blog and tell readers what makes it special.
• Make a walkthrough of their game on social media. Show off the work.
• Share "My 5 Favorite Things About _______" online.

Gift #5 Design for them.

Make something for them or design something that's explicitly inspired by them. Matthew Morris did this for Mausritter and helped make it what it is today with over a dozen different modules and supplements. Old Dog Games famously illustrated their playthroughs of Thousand Year Old Vampire and Agon.

• Share an illustration or character portrait from your last session.
• Write, design, and share a tool like a new character sheet or reference doc.
• Publish a blog with new character options, alternative rules, or fluff.
• Design a supplement, adventure, or new setting for your designer's game.

That's it. Five gift ideas. Most of them you can get in less than an hour. The rest might take longer, but you'll probably enjoy making them. Happy holidays!

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