Zined Out
This blog was initially published February 2023
The latest goings on
I’m playing a Llama!
This month I have been playing in an actual play show: Drama LLamas on Girls Run These Worlds. Drama LLamas is a very silly game in which you play as contestants in a reality TV show and also you are all llamas. Our show is in celebration of the kickstarter launch and is being run by the designer, Yvris (who is really cool and you should read her newsletter too!)
GM’s Notebook:
Sometimes playing in person is just better
February is my birthday month and each year I add an extra day to my birthday celebrations, so that what started as a day’s celebration, then a birthday week, is now up to about a week and a half of celebrating. In true hobbit fashion I insist on good food, good fun, and good company.
Tag Urself: I’m the cute skull on the jumper.
Therefore, I had my friends over for an epic weekend-long game of Monster Hearts 2e. I can’t recommend this game enough, even more so playing it in person. If you haven’t heard of it, Monster Hearts by Avery Alder is a PBTA game where you play as teens navigating the dramas of high school and also you are a monster. Think classics like Twilight, Teen Wolf, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, and Riverdale. It can be very intense but also very silly and it really captures the fun of 20 year old actors playing angsty teens smooching and crying, sometimes at the same time.
[At this point I would normally insert a witty image but I am here to tell you that I googled ‘twilight meme’ and many of them have not aged well.]
Playing in person was a great decision for Monster Hearts. It’s highly social and also a player-led narrative game, so there was a lot of interaction between players, and via me as GM. It really helped being able to look over at people to check in, and to not have the lag and crosstalk problems of playing online. Generally I am happy to play TTRPGs online - in fact it’s the way I play most option out of necessity - but this was definitely a time when playing in person elevated the gameplay.
If you are planning a particularly intense game, such as Monster Hearts, but also perhaps a horror game, or a highly social and political session, then consider if playing in person, at least for one session, is possible. I don’t get to do it nearly enough, but every time I do, I come away energised and excited to run even more TTRPGs!
Reviews: Zine Month
February was Zine Month, a month long campaign where loads of indie creators crowdfund their TTRPG zines. I’ve been covering lots of different games that have been crowdfunding, including working with Crowdfundr to show off some games I chose to highlight for their spotlight event Tabletop Nonstop. Some campaigns are still running, so do check them out!
You can see all the videos I made for the Tabletop Nonstop event in this tweet thread:
Like last year, as the month comes to a close, I’m pretty tired out. Turns out when you get good at making videos about games, lots of people ask you to talk about their game. I love getting to see so many new projects but I’m also excited to have a week off and to recharge.
Overall, it’s been busy, exciting, and lots of new games are going to get made thanks to everyones support!
Till next time
That’s all for now folks, but keep an eye out as more exciting things are coming up in March! I’m going to be a running a webinar for Crowdfundr about using TikTok to promote your game, I have some more shows lined up, and I’m finishing up some exciting art for my mausritter adventure!
If you want to keep up to date, make sure to subscribe to the newsletter, and you can also find me all over the internet at twitter, TikTok, tumblr, and youtube!