We’re halfway through this year’s Zine Month, and just like last year I wanted to highlight some interesting projects. It feels like ZiMo has been a bit of a slow burn for me this year; not a huge amount jumped out right away, but over the last couple of weeks more and more has piqued my interest. Maybe what I’m looking for in a zine has changed over time, maybe I’m just becoming jaded. Either way, there is a lot of projects this year, across an increasing number of platforms. Below are a few projects that have caught my eye this year.
This 44-page, A5 zine by AJ Hateley takes a historical look at the cryptolect thieves’ cant and provides system-neutral options for adding an extra level of authenticity to fantasy and historical (or historical-adjacent) games. I’ve been a fan of Hateley’s work for over a decade, and Gametee’s entry to Zine Quest last year, Thrifty Trades of Fey, is a fantastic creation - and also available as an add-on.
Check Out Catch Me If you Cant
Brazilian game designer Cezar Capacle has another gorgeous-looking zine up on Crowdfundr. This rules-lite sci-fi game can be played solo or GM-less with up to four players, with dice rolls deciding who is in control of any given scene. Gameplay is split between mission-based training simulations in randomly-generated alien worlds, and relationship-focused downtime aboard the spacecraft. The zine runs at 40+ pages, with a single pledge tier of PDF and Lulu print-on-demand code.
Quest for Zines is a collection of interviews with TTRPG creators - designers, artists, and publishers - about creating TTRPGS, and publishing zines. The interviews themselves are available to read through the campaign’s updates, and backing will get you a black-and-white half-letter size print zine (US Only) or a DriveThruRPG print-on-demand code (worldwide).
Blade in the Dark is one of my favourite TTRPGs but it’s rare to see GM support for it in the form of adventures. This introductory campaign zine by designer S.K.Dinning promises five exciting scores for your crew of scoundrels to run through, including exploring a sunken cargo ship and pulling off a train heist. The campaign is light on details, but appears to be somewhat of a passion project from a fan of the game, which is what the best zines should be!
‘Roguelike’ and ‘megadungeon’ are two words that individually are enough to get me to check out a project, and this project by designer David Jackson smashes both together. This follow-up to Jackson’s previous Roguelike Dungeon zine is a set of procedures for generating dungeons using dice, and tables for stocking them. It’s crowdfunding on Itch, with backers receiving a print-on-demand code from Lulu.
Check Out Roguelike Megadungeon
The most polished product on this list, A Perfect Rock is a 44-page A5 zine by HOME - Mech x Kaiju designer Nick Gralewicz and edited by Sam Leigh of Goblin Mixtape and Blinking Birch Games fame. This GM-less space exploration game allows for 1-4 players to travel through different solar systems in search for a new planet to live on after their home was destroyed. Using either rocks you find on the ground - or the bespoke oracle deck, available in the higher tiers - players use prompts to describe planets and build the universe their characters explore.
Play as a lonely knight wandering through the forsaken, ruined city of Burghal, inspired by the aesthetics of Dark Souls and Diabolo, in this collaborative journaling game by Swedish duo Bläckfisk Publishing. Players draw cards against tables of prompts, taking it in turns to portray the knight or craft the game world. Knight Forlorn is 40+ page, A5 zine and is playable solo or duet.
It definitely feels to me that Zine Month is building momentum this year, with some exciting projects on the horizon launching later this month. I’ll endeavour to highlight more projects before the end of the ZiMo, but in the meantime below is a link to the ZiMo website, as well as individual platforms tags.
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