In this all-homework episode, we each bring an initial sketch of the cards that could drive each of our card-based game concepts. Nathan's "Big Lore" game explores using card decks to reveal things about the game world and guide character progression, while Eppy's "Exploration Legacy" game uses cards to map out geography as well as encounter types for a game that becomes more unique the more its played. This is early-stage concept stuff, so listen in to hear how the vegan sausage is made!
Check out our Patreon for a post that includes the images of the cards we describe in this episode (no subscription required!)
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We're moving into the next season of our podcast! In this one, Nathan and Eppy talk about how we're turning from the scholarly side of our project to the instructional side, and how our show homework is changing to match. What this means for our listeners is that you'll be hearing more about new game designs and works in progress, and less research and hunting out arcane gems from other games. Thanks for listening, Scholars!
Remember to sign up for the Swords Without Master fixup campaign, coming early 2026.
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The Season of Swords is upon us! Nathan and Eppy talk about Eppy's sword & sorcery classic Swords Without Master, how it came to be, how it works, and what's next for the game: a full standalone release, coming early 2026!
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In this episode we tackle our to-be-read piles of recent game acquisitions for our homework, highlighting more recent work that we've both been digging and finding some common themes across different genres and types of game. We then talk about "instructional" and "non-instructional" text in games, what that divide even means, and pursue some questions that that brings up for our own work.
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In this episode Eppy leads off with a hot take about playtesting, leading us to a discussion of the multiple purposes of playtests, playstorming, techniques for effective playtests, and an introduction of a new feature of the Unwritten Earths Symposium Discord: Playtest Tuesdays!
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In this episode we do our game design homework of looking through game ludographies to chase down a chain of influence. It's a fun journey and we end up in very different places for our arcane gems! We also give an update on the Adventurer & Hobbyist Annual 2025, coming out soon!
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In this episode we talk about handling multiple ongoing projects as full-time working creative people, and then Nathan brings a game idea for discussion: a game that creates or invokes the simultaneous closed-in-ness and open-ness of sailing. We have some fun ideas for creating slow-burn drama with constrained resources. Have we.... made a game yet?
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In this episode we go to the copyshop to dig up spiralbound games for our game discovery homework, and get deep into the weeds on both format and substance of our picks.
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Tunnels & Trolls, and specifically 7th-7.5 Edition
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In this laid-back episode we chat about greeting cards and inspiration from non-games for game formats, follow a train of thought about using Valentine's Day exchange as a game mechanic, and check in with each other about how ideas and inspiration from previous episodes are coming together for new game projects.
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In this episode, we welcome Dread co-creator Nat Barmore to the show, try to surprise each other with Arcane Gems from deep cuts in our collections, and talk about Nat's current projects. We talk about Dread, keeping horror campaigns going in long-term play, and approaching real-world cultural conflicts in game design. Thanks for joining us, Nat!
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In this episode we talk about our "white whale" game design projects, both those we're currently in pursuit of and those we managed, at long last, to catch.
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In this episode we give a production update on the Annual 2025 before measuring our shelves for game discovery. Our homework happened to have a shared theme of hidden information, and we end up discussing the idea of "sleight of hand" to create moments of magic in play.
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In this episode we come back from game discovery sabbatical to talk about some esoteric picks from our itch.io libraries, and then discuss how we approach and interact with trends in the larger ttrpg industry, in game design, and in how those intersect for us.
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In this episode we talk about building rituals in and for play, follow a train of thought about building in "blessings" for each other into gameplay, discuss the joy of dice, and come back from sabbatical to assign game discovery homework.
Reminder: The Adventurer & Hobbyist Annual 2025 Kickstarter is live through the end of April!
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Welcome to the Adventurer & Hobbyist Annual 2025! In this episode, we discuss the scenarios in our inaugural Unwritten Earths Symposium publication, design considerations for making these "system-adventurous" scenarios, and the origins of the project. Check out the show notes for a link to the Kickstarter, and thanks for all your support so far!
Back the Annual on Kickstarter (live through the end of April, 2025)
Check out the preview scenario One Night Only at the Veteran's Lodge.
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Oops, all Game Discovery! In this episode we do a brief overview of the history of TTRPGS (truly-true roleplaying games), each picking a game to highlight from our birth years in each decade from the 1970s to the 2020s. We delve into some 2010s highlights for Arcane Gems, but this is a good framework for us to talk about our personal game histories as well as chart high-level changes in game design since the beginning.
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No, it's not a 4-hour episode! After talking about our game discovery homework guided by games we'd be excited to play at a convention (or elsewhere), we dive into how our experiences going to conventions and playing games in specific time slots has shaped our game design.
Out inaugural project, the Adventurer & Hobbyist Annual 2025 set of time-spanning game scenarios, is coming to Kickstarter soon. Click here to get notified on launch!
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In this Plus Expenses we talk about:Articulating the Unwritten Earths Symposium and how it gives us productive constraints, repetition is the brevity of the soul, Voyagers!, The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch, King Con by Stephen J. Cannell, Scarecrow and Mrs. King, Samurai Champloo, coming full circle on physical media, preserving obscure media, pulp fiction literally pulping, the Rockford Files is a good show, we’re trying out Ellipsus, setting up stuff outside of free tools and avoiding AI, game publishing is a lot of skills, a thought on another WWWRPG Promotion, some thoughts on a Swords/WWW mashup, shout out to Zine Month, and stay strong out there!.
Plus Expenses is a second biweekly show that is normally for our patrons.
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In this episode we discuss the arcane gems found within games we would play with our moms, give some updates on what's happening in the discord, and field a great question about productive constraints in design and play.
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In this episode we talk about a Groundhog Day-inspired convention concept, some thoughts on setting design, where we're at with tricking each other into designing a game, and we field some listener questions about where to stay on top of TTRPG happenings and constraints on the design process (more of which we'll be talking about next time).
Listeners, where do you find games? Get in touch and let us know!
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