Cover art from Dungeons & Dragons' upcoming Tasha's Cauldron of Everything

This week: the UK Games Expo awards are announced, Shannon Appelcline looks at Chaosium’s history of collaboration with other publishers, and Wizards of the Coast announces the next Dungeons & Dragons sourcebook. What We’ve Been Playing For the past few weeks we’ve been playing Apocalypse World second edition on Tuesday nights. James played the game’s…

Read More 18–24 August 2020: UKGE Awards; Chaosium’s Tangled History; Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything

Interior Art from Free League's upcoming Twilight: 2000

This week: a supplement featuring a combat wheelchair for 5e ignites arguments and inspires miniatures; the Dragon Awards nominate three RPGs; and Free League revisits a game from the past about a future that is now the past that never was… What We’ve Been Playing On Saturday night, friend-of-the-blog Jess ran us the Junior Braves…

Read More 11–17 August 2020: Combat Wheelchair; Twilight: 2000

Cover art from Jay Dragon's Wanderhome. Artist: Sylvia Bi

Like the rest of the UK we are slowly melting into buckets, and dreaming of a winter that we will almost certainly under-appreciate. We’re watching the global political stage with a dread so constant that it’s almost boring: a health crisis so mismanaged that it’s become ordinary to us, the white noise of white supremacy,…

Read More 4–10 August 2020: Alexa; Cortex; Wanderhome

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It’s awards season in gaming and oh boy do we have a lot to go through: the Diana Jones Award makes a gesture toward acknowledging Black creators in the industry; Free League cleans up at the ENnies, but the surprise hit is a beautiful solo journaling game about a vampire; and the Indie Groundbreaker Awards…

Read More 28 July–3 August 2020: The Diana Jones Award; The ENnie Awards; the Indie Groundbreaker Awards

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Free RPG Day has come and gone — a strange one in the middle of lockdown, but we still came away with some great swag. The UK Games Expo has announced its shortlists for the 2020 awards — Chaosium and Free League clean up, each taking 3 out of the 9 nomination slots. (Though when two…

Read More 20–27 July 2020: Free RPG Day; Expo Awards; Dragon Prince

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It’s a quiet week this week, of the kind that makes us wonder if we’re missing something. (It’s quiet…. Too quiet…) Top of the list is another case of RPGs as advertising, with a new RPG based on the upcoming film, The Green Knight. We’re, uh… well… trying to reserve judgment on the RPG.* Wizards…

Read More 13–19 July 2020: Movie Tie-In; Diversity & Inclusion

Art from Monte Cook Games' Numenera, now adapted to 5e in Beneath the Monolith

This week, Wizards responds to recent accusations of racism with a disclaimer cribbed from Looney Tunes and a public apology to a former employee. Meanwhile, Critical Role investigates accusations that it hired and never paid a sensitivity consultant. That’s the bitter corporate pill, but we also have some interesting new releases: an academic analysis of…

Read More 6–12 July 2020: Wizards & Race; Kickstarter during the Pandemic

Cover art for The Ultraviolet Grasslands and the Black City, nominated for ENnie Awards for Best Cover Art and Best Interior Art. Artist: Luka Rejec

This week, Dungeons & Dragons — as a game and as a company — comes under strong criticism for its treatment of minority groups. A former staff member talks about corporate attitudes towards minority groups that led to them leaving the company. The DM’s Guild comes under fire for its treatment of a game with…

Read More 29 June–5 July 2020: Dungeons & Dragons & Diversity

Cover Art from Paizo's Agents of Edgewatch adventure path

The past weeks have been angry ones in gaming, as they have been angry everywhere. In this update we see some of the bigger publishers in the industry respond to their complicity in racism, police brutality, & sexual harassment: Wizards promises sensitivity readers; Paizo apologises for a police-themed Adventure Path; Onyx Path suspends its Operations…

Read More 15–28 June 2020: Racism, Cops, Harassment