Beautiful and Terrible as the Cheesecake Factory

Had a really busy couple of months with a stressful and ultimately not great job situation, so I fell a bit behind on writing these. I had a huge couple of months around the end of the year.

Here's what came in the mail for me:

Ithaca in the Cards and What Should We Have Tomorrow: When I was first exploring non-D&D games, Aaron Lim's work came across my feed fairly early on in the process. I don't feel like I've followed his career with as much interest as he deserves, but everything I have from him is beautiful and thoughtful. He reprinted these two games together, and I initially was going to grab just Ithaca. But I was kinda immediately grabbed by the cozy charm of the duet, and now I'm excited to see what they have to offer together.

The Magus and Oracle Deck: Momatoes is amazing. I'm just a huge fan of everything she does. ARC is a game I wish I'd discovered before D&D, because the writing and design were so fresh and welcoming in a way not many other games are. The Magus is her take on a solo game, and the Oracle Deck (which I believe is optional) is just a beautiful object with her signature art style.

Cloud Empress Box: I love boxes that I can keep my whole game in, and this one even came with a new Zine. I also love Cloud Empress for being a game that tugs on the Studio Ghibli aesthetic, but actually gets what that means. Also part of my Weird Sci-fi kick, I've been following this game as it gets bigger, and y'all, don't sleep on it.

Desperation: This was a must-have after listening to the @partyofonepod duology that played the two games. For someone who's not really into play-to-lose games conceptually, I own a lot of them. The Desperation set are moody and beautiful, and just listening to the cards in action, they set my game design mind a-flickering. Months on, I still think about the two Party of One episodes, they were really good.

Zhenya's Wonder Tales: Picked this up because of Bully Pulpit's reputation mostly (y'know, Fiasco and Desperation, for example). It's a beautiful little box set, comes with a cloth map, and it's a genre of storytelling that I've always loved--fables and myths.

Witchbound: This was a bit of a curiosity, it's a very board game-y solo RPG in the vein of Koriko and Kiki's Delivery Service. There's a hidden object/Where's Waldo angle to some of the maps, and there are all kinds of tokens and bits that I'm really excited to see how they interact.

Down in Yongardy and an Invitation to Dinner: I haven't been able to bring Troika! to the table yet, but I was really intrigued by Chris Bissette's plan to make a solo Troika! adventure. It's got chooseable path adventure vibes and a great sense of humor. Invitation To Dinner was a campaign add-on, and one that I was happy to snag and see what it's all about.

Dragon Slayers: The original Slayers is a really fascinating book; I've always been taken with the way that each player has a different set of dice mechanics. Really fun little way to play around with making them all seem fun and new. Dragon Slayers takes the game out of the city and into the trad RPG space, and I really just need to read this thing.

The Lost and the Jammed: A friend was getting rid of this, and as a SoulMuppet publishing fan, I snagged the copy. I am curious to see if there are any thematic interplays with some other games that I own, like their Inevitable or Gun & Slinger.

Miru 3: Tactical solo RPG about fighting a god-like AI. Yeah, I was sold on Miru 1 and 2, so Miru 3 was an easy "yes". Great art, very cool feel to the games. It's a full trilogy, so hours of harmless fun!

Our Queen Crumbles: The title was so evocative that I remember reading through the game in its early version. A beautiful, weird, almost-fairy tale world, and this new printing makes it really easy to run at the table. it comes as a series of A4 sized cards in a box--shaped like a Zine, but unbound. Meaning it'd be really easy to shuffly and deal out roles and locations to players. NessunDove is really killing it lately.

Mycologist's Primer: I've gotten the rest of the series so far, and they are all gorgeous and really well laid out guides for everything. I've got the full library so far: herbs, rocks, and mushrooms. The bird one is in production now, and I'm just as excited. They are really cool guides.

Astroprisma: Picked this up mostly on vibes, which are impeccable. Sci-fi exploration solo RPG. It has a very strong visual language, which feels both dark and hopeful, and I really need to give it a run on the table (problem is, who has the time?).

Ion Heart and Remembrance: Also a solo RPG, also sci-fi, but with mechs. One question that I find interesting about mech fiction is, what do we do with these massive weapons when the war is over? And this game looks like it's got some interesting answers to it. They're also working on a multiplayer version, so I do need to bring this one to the table before then.

Infinite Revolution: Speaking of stylish sci-fi, this book oozes style. It's a beautiful take on Forged in the Dark, players are Exosuit users with turbines in their hearts. It's queer, it's pretty, and it's about hope in the face of chaos and entropy.

Every Villain is a Loser: Anything that lists The Venture Brothers as a touchstone immediately piques my interest, but I also really love Reilly Qyote's work in general. One thing that I feel like this game gets, even just from the title, but also from how Reilly's talked about it, is that the Venture Brothers is a series about failure--like, according to its creatores. It's about failing and trying again, it's about how failure changes people, and it's about adapting and overcoming those failures (or not). This game, I think, gets it.

Far Horizons Guide to Mysterious Locations: Far Horizons is a great little co-op that I always feel good supporting, but I also really love Mysteries that are About a Place. I feel like with interest in Backrooms content at an all-time high, people will be clamoring for the kinds of advice that are in this book.

Voidheart Symphony and setting zine: I've heard legends of Voidheart Symphony, and the recent reprint was an easy pick for me. I haven't played any of the Persona games, but I've always been intrigued, and I know they're a touchstone for this one. But also Minerva McJanda is a designer I feel I've been sleeping on, even if I think her work is amazing already.

Dragon Reactor: I love everything that Dinoberry Press makes. I also love Mechs, as is very much established. So, yeah, this one was an easy one to say yes to. The game's art feels very stark, and it's very focused on some of the things that keep me coming back to Gundam and Mechploitation media: People put into these impossible machines, war that never ends, trying to make good choices but being forced to fight.

Motel Spooky Nine: Another thing from Dinoberry Press, this is a book for the monsterfuckers. A solo RPG about running a motel for monsters, and maybe you sleep with a few of them. Slightly outside my usual games, but I'm willing to give 'em a shot with it.

And, Zine Club fans might recognize these guys from the last few months' worth of zines:

Heir of Swords, Bear Witness, World of Dice, New in Town, Make Hard Moves, A Lease on Art, Begin Again

I'm particularly intrigued by Bear Witness. I love everything the designer makes, and I've heard *really* good things about it. It's visceral and dark and will probably make me confront uncomfortable things.

Additionally, I got my hands on some comics:

The Murder Hobo trade paperback has some stories written by friends of mine in it. It looks like a fun take on the fantasy RPG genre, so I'm excited to dig in.