Let newsletters be your guide.

People are my preferred search engine. They're educational. They're challenging. And they make discovering new games, ideas, and creators fun.

That's why I recommend curation newsletters. They're like the tabletop rpg internet's TV Guides. They've got some algorithm in them, but not without human intervention. Someone with enough passion to make one in the first place.

If you're looking to expand your tabletop rpg blogging horizons, newsletters are the way to go. The following list are my go-to guides for the rpg blogosphere.

The Indie RPG Newsletter

One of the best to ever do it. In addition to a treasure trove of insightful links, Thomas has this jealousy-inducing habit of writing compelling essays at the top of his newsletters. Sometimes (oftentimes) his essay is the best part.

Content: Essays, Video, Podcasts, and Announcements.
Genres: Indie, Storygame, and LitRPG.
Frequency: Weekly

Seed of Worlds

Who has the time to make an incredible list of adventure rpg links every week? Apparently Seed of Worlds. In addition to sharing their discoveries on Seed of Worlds, they also promote them on /r/OSR—which means they're sending hundreds of readers to creators every week.

Content: Essays and Play Reports.
Genre: Old-school Fantasy, Sci-Fi, and GLOG.
Frequency: Weekly

The Glatisant

The Questing Beast's newsletter is still one of the best for keeping up-to-date on adventure rpgs like the kind you find in the OSR, NSR, and beyond. Back in 2024 it had some questionable sponsors (to put it mildly), so I waited a year to see if it would happen again. S0 far, so good. I like the changes Ben's made to his channel and newsletter since then. If you like elf games, give this a look.

Content: Essays, Videos, Sales, and Announcements.
Genre: Old-school Fantasy, Sci-Fi, and fiction.
Frequency: Monthly

Carouse, Carouse!

Carouse is a shaggy project shared by a dozen different people. I'm one of them. We share blog posts, videos, reviews, and even gameable material. We also have the good fortune of having John, an awesome illustrator, on the team to draw party-themed illustrations every month. It's a labor of love.

Content: Essays, Videos, Reviews, Gameable, and more.
Genre: Indie, Storygame, Old-school Fantasy and Sci-Fi.
Frequency: Monthly

The Idle Digest

Idle Cartulary is prolific. Nova could fill an entire newsletter with just her reviews and essays, and yet, she keeps finding articles I haven't read. If you're an indie designer, The Idle Digest is guaranteed to boost your WIS score.

Content: Essays, Reviews, and Announcements.
Genre: Indie, Storygame, Old-school Fantasy and Sci-Fi.
Frequency: Monthly

Closing thoughts

Above is my top five from 2025. I have lots of honorable mentions—most of them curation-newsletter adjacent. If you're hungry for more sources, check out these other websites.

• Missives from the Meatcastle. If you like gameable material, Meatcastle's Missives have you covered. Every year they release a downloadable magazine full of hacks, ideas, and years-end awards.
• Wyrd Science's The Gazetteer. Unfortunately, Wyrd Science is no longer doing The Gazetteer. The editor is reinventing it for 2026. In the meantime, check out the back issues and give it a follow.
• Patchwork Newsletter. Patchwork Paladin recently started up a weekly newsletter with everything from blog posts to Discord conversations. It's still early, but I already really like it. The inclusion of Discord convos is unique.
• News from the Grid. I've been a fan of Jean's work for a few years now. If you like rpg graphic design, their monthly newsletter is a joy. There's always one or two inspiring links in every issue.

Finally, if you don't know already, I have a monthly newsletter as well.

The Explorateur

Monthly design jams, critique, theory, and inspiration for tabletop rpg designers written by rpg designers. If you want to level-up your design skills, give it a read. I try to share only the best links I can find from across the internet. You can find every issue here on Explorers Design.

Until next time. Thanks for reading!

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