Why Combat Is a Fail State
Revisiting the old-school maxim "Combat is a fail state" and redefining what it means at my table and as a design theory for the OSR.
Latest
The Explorateur: Issue #5
Monthly design discoveries for tabletop rpg designers including jams, critique, theory, and tools. Vetted. Looted. Curated.
How Do We Design a Gaming Community?
Do we have good communities, how can we build better ones, and what role do award shows have in community-building?
The Explorateur: Issue #4
Monthly design discoveries for tabletop rpg designers including jams, critique, theory, and tools. Vetted. Looted. Curated.
Vote in the Bloggies
The Bloggies 2025 are almost over. Read my synopsis on the nominees. Mark your calendars. And celebrate rpg blogging!
The Meta-First Way
An alternative (and experimental) approach to roleplaying games that does what fiction-first systems cannot.
Stop Hiding the Apes in Your RPG
How to show the cool and important parts of your game without muddling the work, burying the lede, and creating more noise.
Explorers Design in Review
A 2024 retrospective, the best Explorers Design articles of the year, and plans for the future.
The Explorateur: Issue #3
Monthly design discoveries for tabletop rpg designers including jams, critique, theory, and tools. Vetted. Looted. Curated.
Exploring Nighthawks
In this week's design delve, we inspect how tabletop games engage with fine art.
Accessibility in Tabletop Design
What is accessible design? Why is it important? And how can we get more of it in tabletop game design?
Tabletop Accessibility Checklist
A forever-unfinished list of guidelines for making analog games more accessible.
Theory
Small Factions for Sunk Cost
Homebrew factions for the early release of Sunk Cost a game by Magnolia Keep.
Critique
Exploring Bucket of Bolts
In this week's design delve, we lift the hood on ritual mechanics, product design, and splitting your product into different pieces.
Explorateur
2024 Gifts for RPG Designers
Here are 5 gifts you can get your favorite game designers. No gold necessary.
Explorateur
The Explorateur: Issue #2
Monthly discoveries for tabletop roleplaying game designers. Vetted. Looted. Curated.
Theory
Not All That Glitters Is Gold
A mini-article of 50 roleplaying game currencies that aren't gold for Blog Friday.
Education
Typography 101: Getting Started
Beginner tips and tricks for setting up, arranging, and pairing your game's typography.
Theory
What is an RPG? Doesn't matter.
Should designers explain what rpgs are in their games? My short answer is no. My long answer is complicated.
Explorateur
The Explorateur: Issue #1
Monthly discoveries for tabletop roleplaying game designers. Vetted. Looted. Curated.
Education
Slay Word Kobolds | Copywriting
Avoid these three copywriting mistakes when promoting your game.
Education
General Design 101: The Explorers' Method
How to design games and everything else with the Explorers Design five-step method.
Theory
Hacking the Mothership
Troubleshoot. My hack for Mothership.
Theory
Playing the Corporate Baddies
Draw from real life, avoid the myths. and treat them like the antagonists they are.