Prepping heists, reimagined
Shift the focus of planning away from items. Treat information as inventory.
DRIFTING PRESS
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Latest posts
Minimal games have maximum intent
Minimalist design is often the hardest to pull off because there's nowhere to hide the flaws.
The psychology of dice mechanics
After researching various dice mechanics, I started wondering how do dice mechanics influence player psychology. This post explores that question.
The valley as a system - Part 2
Expanding on the perception of risk, how to incorporate it further into a game, and how to reflect it within the core dice mechanics.
The valley as a system - Part 1
Because most folkloric tales are passed down through oral tradition, it’s difficult to centralise these myths and fables. Yet, a common theme seems to be the valley as a liminal space.
Attrition as a growth mechanic
Attrition is perhaps another branch of "killing your darlings". Nonetheless, it is a valuable experience that can evolve characters into more complex versions of themselves.
Decluttering the table
"Pickle Herring Street" (1872), by Gustave Doré. Public domain. Those who have met me in real life know that I only wear black. More often than not, I also wear the same type of clothes (not the same actual clothes!). I could joke and say I adopted the Steve Jobs vision, but the truth is simpler: I couldn't handle the mental load of deciding what to wear every day. Clothing was only one stepping…
Reflections on scheduling - Part 2
In the previous post, which you can find here , I wrote about a recent conflict I had with the players in my offline group. My players felt rather strongly that the Game Master should be the social hub and in charge of logistics, such as scheduling. I, on the other hand, felt that the GM is just another person at the table - simply one with a different set of responsibilities. As part of that…
Reflections on scheduling - Part 1
"Father Time" (Unknown Year), Unknown Artist, Public domain. I recently had a very interesting conversation with my offline group about expectations, scheduling, and the role of a Game Master from a logistics standpoint. I thought it might be worth exploring this in a blog post because, honestly, I feel like the games we play tend to shape how we act socially - at least at the table. There…
Tomatoes not included
"Skating on the Serpentine by torchlight" (1881), in "The Illustrated London News". Public domain. Genres, traditions, movements - whenever I try to understand more about this hobby, I keep coming across one of these terms or some variation I can’t remember on the spot. It seems the tabletop community, much like any other corner of the internet, suffers from a need to label everything and then…