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href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/4530/it-doesnt-feel-like-my-game-it-feels-like-our-game/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: It Doesn’t Feel Like My Game, It Feels Like Our Game">It Doesn’t Feel Like My Game, It Feels Like Our Game</a></h2> <p>This may sound kind of weird, but once one of my games is done and released, I don’t really think of it as something *I* made.</p> <p>I mean, of course I know I made it. I spent ages on it. But I also see it as an independent thing that has a life of its own without me. When someone talks about how much they love one of my games, I don’t exactly swell with pride. It’s more like I’m happy for it? I give the game a little pat on the back and say “good job!” I pass the compliment on to the right recipient.</p> <p>It’s not an attitude I’ve cultivated or constructed. It’s just how I think. It works well for me, because it keeps ego and pride far away from my work.… <a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/4530/it-doesnt-feel-like-my-game-it-feels-like-our-game/" class="read-more">[read more] </a></p> <postmetadata> Ben Robbins | <span class="timr">Mar 27th, 2025</span> | <span class="catr"><a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/tag/game-design/" rel="tag">game design</a></span> <span class="commr"><a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/4530/it-doesnt-feel-like-my-game-it-feels-like-our-game/"></a></span> </postmetadata> <div class="endspacer"></div> </div> <div class="post" id="post-4525"> <h2><a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/4525/a-matter-microscope/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: A Matte’r Microscope">A Matte’r Microscope</a></h2> <p>Microscope books are getting a production upgrade. Say hello to the new and stylish matte covers.</p> <p><img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" src="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/microscope-matte.jpeg" alt="Microscope matte cover" width="2000" height="1500" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-4526" srcset="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/microscope-matte.jpeg 2000w, https://arsludi.lamemage.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/microscope-matte-300x225.jpeg 300w, https://arsludi.lamemage.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/microscope-matte-1024x768.jpeg 1024w, https://arsludi.lamemage.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/microscope-matte-768x576.jpeg 768w, https://arsludi.lamemage.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/microscope-matte-1536x1152.jpeg 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px" /></p> <p>It might not come across in the picture but it looks verrry nice in person. And yeah, this is totally cosmetic. It’s the exact same book, with the exact same cover, just with a different printing treatment. But I think it looks pretty sweet.</p> <p>When I started printing books back in the dawn of time, I used glossy covers, but over the years my new games have used matte. Matte covers look nice and seem to hold up better to the constant handling that our beloved game books endure. My only titles that still had glossy covers were Microscope and Microscope Explorer, the old school veterans.… <a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/4525/a-matter-microscope/" class="read-more">[read more] </a></p> <postmetadata> Ben Robbins | <span class="timr">Mar 23rd, 2025</span> | <span class="catr"><a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/tag/microscope/" rel="tag">Microscope</a></span> <span class="commr"><a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/4525/a-matter-microscope/"></a></span> </postmetadata> <div class="endspacer"></div> </div> <div class="post" id="post-4519"> <h2><a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/4519/retroactive-playtesting-or-the-ghost-of-versions-past/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: Retroactive Playtesting, or the Ghost of Versions Past">Retroactive Playtesting, or the Ghost of Versions Past</a></h2> <p>A while back I was talking with Tom Kemp, designer of <a href="https://tomkkemp.itch.io/dead-minutes">Dead Minutes</a>, about a new game he’s working on. We were discussing some possible rule changes, but bumped into a very familiar question:</p> <p class="ars-indent"><b>If you made this change to the rules, would that cool thing that happened in a previous playtest still have happened?</b></p> <p>This is the Ghost of Versions Past, a spectre who comes to stand at the elbow of game designers in the dark hours of the night. It is the fear that by making a change we are losing some essence from our game that we saw in a previous session. That we are ruining the magic.</p> <p>It can feel like making a change is somehow betraying your past playtesters.… <a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/4519/retroactive-playtesting-or-the-ghost-of-versions-past/" class="read-more">[read more] </a></p> <postmetadata> Ben Robbins | <span class="timr">Mar 18th, 2025</span> | <span class="catr"><a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/tag/chronicle/" rel="tag">Chronicle</a>, <a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/tag/game-design/" rel="tag">game design</a>, <a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/tag/microscope/" rel="tag">Microscope</a></span> <span class="commr"><a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/4519/retroactive-playtesting-or-the-ghost-of-versions-past/">| 5 comments</a></span> </postmetadata> <div class="endspacer"></div> </div> <div class="post" id="post-4504"> <h2><a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/4504/principles-of-ground-table-a-first-draft/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: Principles of Ground Table, A First Draft">Principles of Ground Table, A First Draft</a></h2> <p><i>“Our <b>ground</b> is level and our <b>table</b> is round”</i></p> <p>What do we want out of role-playing games? What do we think they should do? What do we value?</p> <p>Our crew has been talking about this stuff for ages, in person, in posts, and through the games we design. But I realized we never put all the pieces together in one place so you could see how it all fits together. And just how we want to build on each others’ ideas when we play games, I want people to be able to build on the lessons we’ve learned.</p> <p>But big ideas need the big brains, so I have called in the A-team. This document is the fruit of discussions with Caroline Hobbs, Marc Hobbs, Joe Wandyez, and Ace Hamilton, as well as years of experiences in countless games with countless people, a lot of them at Story Games Seattle.… <a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/4504/principles-of-ground-table-a-first-draft/" class="read-more">[read more] </a></p> <postmetadata> Ben Robbins | <span class="timr">Feb 23rd, 2025</span> | <span class="catr"><a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/tag/classic/" rel="tag">classic</a>, <a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/tag/game-design/" rel="tag">game design</a>, <a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/tag/story-games/" rel="tag">story games</a>, <a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/tag/storygamesseattle/" rel="tag">Story Games Seattle</a>, <a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/tag/theory/" rel="tag">theory</a></span> <span class="commr"><a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/4504/principles-of-ground-table-a-first-draft/">| 7 comments</a></span> </postmetadata> <div class="endspacer"></div> </div> <div class="post" id="post-4499"> <h2><a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/4499/whats-that-burning-smell-is-that-a-manifesto/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: What’s that burning smell? Is that a manifesto?">What’s that burning smell? Is that a manifesto?</a></h2> <p>It occurred to me that even though our crew has all these ideas about how we think games should be — all these principles and conclusions from years and years of play, including eight years of Story Games Seattle — they are not all together in one nice, neat, easy-to-read place.</p> <p>So we decided to fix that and write a manifesto.</p> <p>We’re making a document that says, “these are the kinds of games we make and also the kinds of games we want”. The principles that we think are essential for the specific kind of games we play, story games where people make stuff up together instead of having a game master. GMless, co-creative, etc. Our ground is level and our table is round, aka ground table games.… <a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/4499/whats-that-burning-smell-is-that-a-manifesto/" class="read-more">[read more] </a></p> <postmetadata> Ben Robbins | <span class="timr">Feb 13th, 2025</span> | <span class="catr"><a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/tag/game-design/" rel="tag">game design</a>, <a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/tag/story-games/" rel="tag">story games</a>, <a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/tag/storygamesseattle/" rel="tag">Story Games Seattle</a>, <a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/tag/theory/" rel="tag">theory</a></span> <span class="commr"><a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/4499/whats-that-burning-smell-is-that-a-manifesto/">| 2 comments</a></span> </postmetadata> <div class="endspacer"></div> </div> <div class="post" id="post-4490"> <h2><a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/4490/forbidden-art-goes-to-art-jail/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: Forbidden Art Goes to Art-Jail">Forbidden Art Goes to Art-Jail</a></h2> <p>We’re rebel artists, painting portraits in a culture where depicting faces is forbidden. Our society think it’s just… wrong.</p> <p>When we want to hit back at some oppressor we graffiti a perfect picture of their face on the side of a building where everyone can see it.</p> <p>Punch a fascist? Paint a fascist.</p> <p>…</p> <p>But now one of our least subtle rebel artists has been apprehended by the authorities, and we’re playing the scene of their judgment.</p> <p>As players, we hold a quick conference to decide what the legal system is like. Our society seems pretty civilized, so violence feels like too much. Imprisonment? Noooo… exile! Offenders are cast out into the barren wastes beyond the city.</p> <p>But what about the depraved art showing faces?… <a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/4490/forbidden-art-goes-to-art-jail/" class="read-more">[read more] </a></p> <postmetadata> Ben Robbins | <span class="timr">Feb 6th, 2025</span> | <span class="catr"><a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/tag/downfall/" rel="tag">Downfall</a>, <a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/tag/play-inside/" rel="tag">what we played</a></span> <span class="commr"><a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/4490/forbidden-art-goes-to-art-jail/"></a></span> </postmetadata> <div class="endspacer"></div> </div> <div class="post" id="post-4449"> <h2><a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/4449/an-ode-to-tony-dowlers-basement/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: An Ode to Tony Dowler’s Basement">An Ode to Tony Dowler’s Basement</a></h2> <p>“Tony, I’m writing an ode to your basement”</p> <p>Before there was Story Games Seattle, before I really knew what the hell I was doing with story games and GMless games, I played some truly pivotal sessions that really helped shaped my understanding and future thinking. And some of the games that influenced me the most were played in Tony Dowler’s basement. And if that name sounds familiar, it might be because Tony was one of the brains behind <a href="https://goplaynw.org">Go Play NW</a> since the dawn of time (and which has an online con coming up in a few weeks).</p> <p>Set the wayback machine for January 2008. Bush is still president and a young Barack Obama is surging in the primaries. The Iron Man movie hasn’t come out yet and people are excited for 4th Edition D&D being released in the summer.*… <a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/4449/an-ode-to-tony-dowlers-basement/" class="read-more">[read more] </a></p> <postmetadata> Ben Robbins | <span class="timr">Jan 30th, 2025</span> | <span class="catr"><a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/tag/gpnw/" rel="tag">GPNW</a>, <a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/tag/story-games/" rel="tag">story games</a>, <a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/tag/play-inside/" rel="tag">what we played</a></span> <span class="commr"><a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/4449/an-ode-to-tony-dowlers-basement/"></a></span> </postmetadata> <div class="endspacer"></div> </div> <div class="post" id="post-4452"> <h2><a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/4452/microscope-chronicle-playtest-will-be-public/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: Microscope Chronicle Playtest Will Be Public">Microscope Chronicle Playtest Will Be Public</a></h2> <p>I’ve been working on getting the playtest release of <a href="https://www.lamemage.com/microscope-chronicle/">Microscope Chronicle</a> done. 2024 was full of distractions, but I’m mostly back on track.</p> <p>But I think I’m going to try something a little bit different this time. Normally I ask people to sign up to be playtesters, then I email them the rules. Only those volunteers get to see the new material. But this time I’m going to try an open playtest. The rules for Microscope Chronicle will be available for anyone to download and play. If you play and send feedback, you’ll be included in the playtest credits, but of course you’re also welcome just to play and have fun.</p> <p>Chronicle has <a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/3449/a-microscope-for-the-people/">a bunch</a> of <a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/3747/lenses-legacies-microscope-design-journal/">improvements</a> that can apply to normal Microscope, so I suspect Microscope players will want to check out those changes, and I want to make it easy for them to do so.</p> <postmetadata> Ben Robbins | <span class="timr">Jan 26th, 2025</span> | <span class="catr"><a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/tag/chronicle/" rel="tag">Chronicle</a>, <a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/tag/dev/" rel="tag">dev journal</a>, <a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/tag/microscope/" rel="tag">Microscope</a></span> <span class="commr"><a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/4452/microscope-chronicle-playtest-will-be-public/"> | 1 comment</a></span> </postmetadata> <div class="endspacer"></div> </div> <div class="post" id="post-4445"> <h2><a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/4445/2024-a-new-personal-record/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: 2024: A New Personal Record">2024: A New Personal Record</a></h2> <p>I’ve been tracking my game sessions all the way back to high school, so I can say with scientific confidence that I played more role-playing games in 2024 than any other year in my life.</p> <p><img decoding="async" src="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/2024-games-played-chart.png" alt="games played 2024" width="2879" height="1622" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-4446" srcset="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/2024-games-played-chart.png 2879w, https://arsludi.lamemage.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/2024-games-played-chart-300x169.png 300w, https://arsludi.lamemage.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/2024-games-played-chart-1024x577.png 1024w, https://arsludi.lamemage.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/2024-games-played-chart-768x433.png 768w, https://arsludi.lamemage.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/2024-games-played-chart-1536x865.png 1536w, https://arsludi.lamemage.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/2024-games-played-chart-2048x1154.png 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 2879px) 100vw, 2879px" /></p> <p>My previous high watermark was 2021 (hello lockdown), and <a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/191/a-good-year-for-gaming/">before that was 2011</a>, which was peak Story Games Seattle and Microscope, and then a few years in college that went over 100. There are a few years before I started recording game sessions, but I don’t think there’s any chance that as an eleven year old I was playing more than two and half times a week, so 2024 is the winner.</p> <p>There’s a simple rule of thumb that, even if you have a weekly game, across a whole year there will be cancellations, holidays, scheduling conflicts, etc.… <a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/4445/2024-a-new-personal-record/" class="read-more">[read more] </a></p> <postmetadata> Ben Robbins | <span class="timr">Jan 23rd, 2025</span> | <span class="catr"><a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/tag/play-inside/" rel="tag">what we played</a></span> <span class="commr"><a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/4445/2024-a-new-personal-record/"></a></span> </postmetadata> <div class="endspacer"></div> </div> <div class="post" id="post-4442"> <h2><a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/4442/word-count/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: Word Count">Word Count</a></h2> <p>Some writers track word count to see how much work they’re getting done.</p> <p>I spend as much, if not more, time erasing things I’ve already written. And then *maybe* rewriting them.</p> <p>Maybe.</p> <postmetadata> Ben Robbins | <span class="timr">Jan 8th, 2025</span> | <span class="catr"><a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/tag/game-design/" rel="tag">game design</a></span> <span class="commr"><a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/4442/word-count/">| 4 comments</a></span> </postmetadata> <div class="endspacer"></div> </div> <div class="post" id="post-4411"> <h2><a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/4411/steal-these-quests/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: Steal These Quests">Steal These Quests</a></h2> <p>Look at <a href="https://itch.io/c/4678498/quests-for-follow-a-new-fellowship">all those Follow quests</a> people are making! Farms and Feasts and Prison Breaks and more!</p> <p>I released the <a href="https://www.lamemage.com/follow/red-and-white/">Red & White</a> system reference document so people could take whatever mechanics they liked from Follow to build their own games. But as our pool of quests keeps growing, it occurs to me that there’s also another very interesting possibility:</p> <p class="ars-indent"><b>Anyone could make games to use Follow quests, even if their rules are quite different from Follow</b></p> <p>If you take look at a Follow quest, the text is more fiction than mechanics. There’s a quest idea, a goal, questions to customize the situation, characters concepts and details to flesh out their desires and relationships, and then a bunch of possible steps to reach that goal.… <a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/4411/steal-these-quests/" class="read-more">[read more] </a></p> <postmetadata> Ben Robbins | <span class="timr">Dec 31st, 2024</span> | <span class="catr"><a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/tag/follow/" rel="tag">Follow</a>, <a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/tag/follow-quests/" rel="tag">Follow quests</a>, <a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/tag/game-design/" rel="tag">game design</a></span> <span class="commr"><a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/4411/steal-these-quests/"></a></span> </postmetadata> <div class="endspacer"></div> </div> <div class="post" id="post-4401"> <h2><a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/4401/launched-a-thousand-ships/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: Launched A Thousand Ships">Launched A Thousand Ships</a></h2> <p>When you game with <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/chobbs.bsky.social">Caroline</a> you gotta expect the puns.</p> <p>We were coming up with the name of an orbital platform that was a jumping-off point for many interplanetary explorations.</p> <p>Us: How about Heaven’s Gate?</p> <p>Caroline: No, Helen’s Gate. The base that launched a thousand ships…</p> <postmetadata> Ben Robbins | <span class="timr">Dec 23rd, 2024</span> | <span class="catr"><a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/tag/play-inside/" rel="tag">what we played</a></span> <span class="commr"><a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/4401/launched-a-thousand-ships/"></a></span> </postmetadata> <div class="endspacer"></div> </div> <div class="post" id="post-4382"> <h2><a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/4382/saving-xmas-well-that-went-south/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: Saving Xmas: “Well that went… South”">Saving Xmas: “Well that went… South”</a></h2> <p>We’re playing the brand new <a href="https://lessthanthreegames.itch.io/the-save-christmas-quest">Save Christmas quest</a> for <a href="https://www.lamemage.com/follow/">Follow: A New Fellowship</a>. It’s the big face-off with Slitherberg, the secret Krampus wormtongue who has been whispering in the ear of Noel, daughter of Santa Claus, Empress of the South Pole.</p> <p>We’ve freed the prisoners from the dungeons of the ice city and burst into the throne room. Harold, divorced father and true believer in the spirit of Xmas, shakes his stolen halberd at the treacherous vizier. “Your lies won’t work any more!!!”</p> <p>But his twelve-year old daughter Betty hesitantly puts her hand on his arm. Because she knows it was never just lies: Noel and her father were estranged long before the Krampus got to her. Betty’s caught in that terrible moment of seeing your parent as someone who is merely human and can be wrong, because this adventure to the South Pole has shown her that her father, just like Santa, sometimes looks at his daughter without really seeing her for who she is.… <a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/4382/saving-xmas-well-that-went-south/" class="read-more">[read more] </a></p> <postmetadata> Ben Robbins | <span class="timr">Dec 16th, 2024</span> | <span class="catr"><a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/tag/follow/" rel="tag">Follow</a>, <a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/tag/follow-quests/" rel="tag">Follow quests</a>, <a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/tag/play-inside/" rel="tag">what we played</a></span> <span class="commr"><a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/4382/saving-xmas-well-that-went-south/"></a></span> </postmetadata> <div class="endspacer"></div> </div> <div class="post" id="post-4347"> <h2><a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/4347/defining-games-but-in-a-useful-way/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: Defining Games, But In A Useful Way">Defining Games, But In A Useful Way</a></h2> <p>What is a game? What is a role-playing game? What is a story game? Buckle up because today I am tackling the big fish: definitions.</p> <p>When I talk about definitions, what I’m looking for is a *useful* definition. I want something that reflects the truth of what we actually do. A definition that sheds light on the essence of the thing and points me in the right direction going forward. I don’t need a definition that describes every detail or tackles every edge case, because everything is a continuum. But if you can get to the heart of the matter and find that platonic ideal, everything you look at makes more sense. That’s what I want. I’m not talking about ways to explain these ideas to people who have (for example) never played role-playing games.… <a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/4347/defining-games-but-in-a-useful-way/" class="read-more">[read more] </a></p> <postmetadata> Ben Robbins | <span class="timr">Dec 8th, 2024</span> | <span class="catr"><a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/tag/classic/" rel="tag">classic</a>, <a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/tag/story-games/" rel="tag">story games</a>, <a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/tag/theory/" rel="tag">theory</a></span> <span class="commr"><a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/4347/defining-games-but-in-a-useful-way/">| 8 comments</a></span> </postmetadata> <div class="endspacer"></div> </div> <div class="post" id="post-4338"> <h2><a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/4338/dawn-of-the-orcs/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: Dawn of the Orcs">Dawn of the Orcs</a></h2> <p>Would you take away some people’s humanity in the name of saving everyone else? That’s what <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/lyme/dawn-of-the-orcs">Dawn of the Orcs</a>, a new GMless game kickstarting now, wants to know.</p> <p><a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/lyme/dawn-of-the-orcs"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/dawnoforcs-white.jpeg" alt="Dawn of the Orcs" width="680" height="373" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-4343" srcset="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/dawnoforcs-white.jpeg 680w, https://arsludi.lamemage.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/dawnoforcs-white-300x165.jpeg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /></a></p> <p>I got to play Dawn of the Orcs a few weeks ago, and I am pleased to tell you that it is a very tight and accessible design. There is zero prep, you just start following the instructions and jump right in. And the rest of the game is equally inviting. You never have to pause and read a bunch of text to figure out what to do. The designer, Lyme, clearly put in the work to make the game easy to pick up and play.</p> <p>But the thing I find the most intriguing is the structure.… <a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/4338/dawn-of-the-orcs/" class="read-more">[read more] </a></p> <postmetadata> Ben Robbins | <span class="timr">Dec 3rd, 2024</span> | <span class="catr"><a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/tag/kudos/" rel="tag">kudos</a></span> <span class="commr"><a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/4338/dawn-of-the-orcs/"> | 1 comment</a></span> </postmetadata> <div class="endspacer"></div> </div> <div class="post" id="post-4331"> <h2><a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/4331/the-feast-eating-snacks-and-making-peace/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: the Feast: Eating snacks and making peace">the Feast: Eating snacks and making peace</a></h2> <p>A new free quest by Jack Edward for <a href="https://www.lamemage.com/follow/">Follow: A New Fellowship</a>. And you might think “Oh a feast! That came out just in time for Thanksgiving!” Yes, but the theme of the Feast is much bigger than that. It’s about bringing two peoples together and trying to make peace over food…</p> <p><a href="https://jack-edward.itch.io/the-feast"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/feast-quest.jpg" alt="the Feast, a quest for Follow" width="800" height="576" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-4332" srcset="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/feast-quest.jpg 800w, https://arsludi.lamemage.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/feast-quest-300x216.jpg 300w, https://arsludi.lamemage.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/feast-quest-768x553.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /></a></p> <p><b><a href="https://jack-edward.itch.io/the-feast">the Feast, a quest for Follow</a></b></p> <p>“Warring tribes negotiate a marriage to bind two families. Two crime families meet for fusion cuisine at mafia restaurant. A remote monastery prepares to receive an invading army, hoping their people will be spared. Mice and moles prepare a feast for the visiting badger lords.”</p> <p>The quest is free and the game is free. You just need to come up with the people and the time.… <a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/4331/the-feast-eating-snacks-and-making-peace/" class="read-more">[read more] </a></p> <postmetadata> Ben Robbins | <span class="timr">Nov 29th, 2024</span> | <span class="catr"><a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/tag/follow/" rel="tag">Follow</a>, <a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/tag/follow-quests/" rel="tag">Follow quests</a></span> <span class="commr"><a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/4331/the-feast-eating-snacks-and-making-peace/"></a></span> </postmetadata> <div class="endspacer"></div> </div> <div class="post" id="post-4314"> <h2><a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/4314/union-of-earendil-the-mariner/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: Union of Earendil the Mariner">Union of Earendil the Mariner</a></h2> <p><i>“Eärendil was a mariner<br /> that tarried in Arvernien;<br /> he built a boat of timber felled<br /> in Nimbrethil to journey in”</i></p> <p>There are two stories that were big inspirations for <a href="https://www.lamemage.com/union/">Union</a>. One was Dune and the other was the Silmarillion.</p> <p>In the game you start with an end point, a singular character who did something important, and then work backwards to figure out who their ancestors are and where they came from. It’s all about exploring how each generation of people lives their own lives, but ultimately create and contribute to the next, and the complicated relationships up and down the ancestral tree. Because you wouldn’t be here at all without your grandmothers, you know that don’t you? Even if they suck.… <a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/4314/union-of-earendil-the-mariner/" class="read-more">[read more] </a></p> <postmetadata> Ben Robbins | <span class="timr">Nov 27th, 2024</span> | <span class="catr"><a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/tag/tolkien/" rel="tag">Tolkien</a>, <a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/tag/union/" rel="tag">Union</a></span> <span class="commr"><a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/4314/union-of-earendil-the-mariner/"></a></span> </postmetadata> <div class="endspacer"></div> </div> <div class="post" id="post-4308"> <h2><a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/4308/roundup-you-cant-handle-the-truth/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: Roundup: “You can’t handle the truth!!!”">Roundup: “You can’t handle the truth!!!”</a></h2> <p>I love it when people play my games, but I also love it when people build more material for others to play with, like new quests for Follow or seeds for Kingdom:</p> <ul> <li><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/gmless/comments/1gxpezf/follow_homebrew_the_trial/">The Trial</a> – Do you want to find the truth or just win the case? A new quest in development for <a href="https://www.lamemage.com/follow/">Follow: A New Fellowship</a>, and you can download both for free. I love the premise and think it could really push the fellowship in tough directions. Courtroom drama! Telling right from wrong!</li> <li><a href="https://www.ageofravensgames.com/blog/kingdoms-stations-amp-covenants">Kingdoms: Far Stations & Arcane Covenants</a> – “Psst, want some mutant superhero kingdoms? Well how space stations? No? Wizards?” Four very different free seeds for Kingdom, by Age of Ravens. These are written in the first edition style, so they include a lot more material than a K2 seed.</li></ul>… <a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/4308/roundup-you-cant-handle-the-truth/" class="read-more">[read more] </a> <postmetadata> Ben Robbins | <span class="timr">Nov 25th, 2024</span> | <span class="catr"><a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/tag/follow/" rel="tag">Follow</a>, <a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/tag/follow-quests/" rel="tag">Follow quests</a>, <a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/tag/kingdom/" rel="tag">Kingdom</a>, <a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/tag/kudos/" rel="tag">kudos</a></span> <span class="commr"><a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/4308/roundup-you-cant-handle-the-truth/"></a></span> </postmetadata> <div class="endspacer"></div> </div> <div class="post" id="post-4306"> <h2><a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/4306/in-this-photograph/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: In This Photograph">In This Photograph</a></h2> <p>In our world, every copy of a photograph is the same. But <a href="https://www.lamemage.com/inthisworld/">in this world</a>, every time you print a new photograph from a negative, the image subtly changes to show how the subject of the picture has changed in real life.</p> <p>That young oak overlooking the garden? In this new print, its branches spread even farther than when we took the original picture.</p> <p>The once peaceful garden? Faded from its former glory, petals wilted at the edges from lack of care.</p> <p>And the beautiful bride and groom, gazing at each other with love and hope? The new print shows how years of difficulty have worn lines in their young faces.</p> <p>There is no more love in their eyes.</p> <postmetadata> Ben Robbins | <span class="timr">Nov 18th, 2024</span> | <span class="catr"><a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/tag/in-this-world/" rel="tag">In This World</a>, <a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/tag/play-inside/" rel="tag">what we played</a></span> <span class="commr"><a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/4306/in-this-photograph/"></a></span> </postmetadata> <div class="endspacer"></div> </div> <div class="post" id="post-4301"> <h2><a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/4301/playing-games-in-times-of-darkness/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: Playing Games In Times of Darkness">Playing Games In Times of Darkness</a></h2> <p>When the night is dark and the future seems darker, sometimes the best thing you can do is spend time with people you care about and make beautiful things together.</p> <p>I have played not one but two games since the election. I normally have a regular Wednesday game and a less regular Thursday game, but I thought we might cancel, that people wouldn’t be in the mood for fun. And even if we did get together, I wasn’t sure we’d actually play. I thought we might just talk and try to process what was happening to our society. Because talking and trying to process is good.</p> <p>But no, not only did we play, we had actually great games. Two different games, with two different groups, and both were simply lovely.… <a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/4301/playing-games-in-times-of-darkness/" class="read-more">[read more] </a></p> <postmetadata> Ben Robbins | <span class="timr">Nov 8th, 2024</span> | <span class="catr"><a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/tag/real-life/" rel="tag">in real life</a>, <a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/tag/play-inside/" rel="tag">what we played</a></span> <span class="commr"><a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/4301/playing-games-in-times-of-darkness/">| 6 comments</a></span> </postmetadata> <div class="endspacer"></div> </div> <div class="navbar"> <div class="alignleft"><a href="https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/page/2/" >« Older Entries</a></div> <div class="alignright"></div> </div> <div id="footer">Copyright © Ben Robbins 2005-2025, All Rights Reserved<a rel="me" href="https://dice.camp/@benrobbins"></a></div> </div> </body></html>