Tag / review

by guyeatsfood

Coin, Blood, and Words Pt. 3 – Dialect

I’ve just returned from the Prignitz in Germany, where a few days playing games in a Schloss have left me full of ideas for the hobby. The Kraken is a boutique gaming retreat – if you’re at all interested in a diverse set of games with international players, join the mailing list and come and join us.

And I got to play three new (to me) games – all facilitated by other GMs, and all great. This is, I guess, a sort-of review – but full disclosure, I haven’t read these games, only played them – which is the opposite to how most RPG reviews work, but no less (more?) valid. This is a three-part post; I’ll take each game in turn, tell you about it, what I really liked (and was less keen on, if anything) – and crucially, would I play it again.

While you’re reading this, I should tell you about my Patreon. Patrons get access to content 7 days before they hit this site, and the chance to request articles or content, for a very reasonable backer level of £2 per month. If you like what you read, want to support the blog, and have the funds for it, please consider supporting here. Telling people about the blog, and sharing links/retweeting is much appreciated also – thanks!

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by guyeatsfood

Coin, Blood, and Words Pt. 2 – Royal Blood

I’ve just returned from the Prignitz in Germany, where a few days playing games in a Schloss have left me full of ideas for the hobby. The Kraken is a boutique gaming retreat – if you’re at all interested in a diverse set of games with international players, join the mailing list and come and join us.

And I got to play three new (to me) games – all facilitated by other GMs, and all great. This is, I guess, a sort-of review – but full disclosure, I haven’t read these games, only played them – which is the opposite to how most RPG reviews work, but no less (more?) valid. This is a three-part post; I’ll take each game in turn, tell you about it, what I really liked (and was less keen on, if anything) – and crucially, would I play it again.

While you’re reading this, I should tell you about my Patreon. Patrons get access to content 7 days before they hit this site, and the chance to request articles or content, for a very reasonable backer level of £2 per month. If you like what you read, want to support the blog, and have the funds for it, please consider supporting here. Telling people about the blog, and sharing links/retweeting is much appreciated also – thanks!

Continue reading →
by guyeatsfood

Coin, Blood, and Words Pt. 1 – Two Sides To The Coin

I’ve just returned from the Prignitz wilderness in Germany, where a few days playing games in a Schloss have left me full of ideas for the hobby. The Kraken is a boutique gaming retreat – if you’re at all interested in a diverse set of games with international players, join the mailing list and come and join us.

And I got to play three new (to me) games – all facilitated by other GMs, and all great. This is, I guess, a sort-of review – but full disclosure, I haven’t read these games, only played them – which is the opposite to how most RPG reviews work, but no less (more?) valid. This is a three-part post; I’ll take each game in turn, tell you about it, what I really liked (and was less keen on, if anything) – and crucially, would I play it again.

While you’re reading this, I should tell you about my Patreon. Patrons get access to content 7 days before they hit this site, and the chance to request articles or content, for a very reasonable backer level of £2 per month. If you like what you read, want to support the blog, and have the funds for it, please consider supporting here. Telling people about the blog, and sharing links/retweeting is much appreciated also – thanks!

Continue reading →
by guyeatsfood

Everything But the Bottle Of Rum – Review: Pirate Borg Starter Set

I’ve had a lot of fun running Pirate Borg, and similar games, on Unconventional GMs and elsewhere. So I’ve taken a look at the Pirate Borg Starter Set. Like all of my reviews, I’ve played it before reviewing – there’s too many reviews just based on a read through. I did one 3-hour one-shot session online, in which my players just got off the first island – which is what’s suggested in the set for a one-shot aim. I’ll be running it again at a convention later this year, face to face – which will let me use the copious bling in the set. I was sent a comp copy to review by Free League; to be honest if I hadn’t I might have bought it myself.

While you’re reading this, I should tell you about my Patreon. Patrons get access to content 7 days before they hit this site, and the chance to request articles or content, for a very reasonable backer level of £2 per month. If you like what you read, want to support the blog, and have the funds for it, please consider supporting here. Telling people about the blog, and sharing links/retweeting is much appreciated also – thanks!

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by guyeatsfood

To Boldly Go Further: Star Trek Adventures Supplements Review

Modiphius’ Star Trek Adventures (STA) has to be one of those rare licensed TTRPG success stories; a whole raft of supplements for 1st edition, including sourcebooks for Quadrants, Divisions, and Discovery – and now a 2nd edition, which tidies up some of the rules (getting rid of the fiddly d6 variants) and gives, in my experience, a more streamlined gaming experience.

I’ve had a lot of fun with STA. I ran one of my longest-running TTRPG campaigns ever with 1st edition, and the rules held up well then. I’ve only scratched the surface with 2e (check out our one-shot on Unconventional GMs here) and I like what I see. 2nd edition loosens up the scope a little, rather than trying to fit campaigns into specific Trek eras, and brings a more mature, considered rules system. I don’t mind 2d20 for any game, but in Star Trek it shines – you’ll mostly have skills and extended tasks, with only the occasional ship or personal combat where you can bring out the crunch.

While you’re reading this, I should tell you about my Patreon. Patrons get access to content 7 days before they hit this site, and the chance to request articles or content, for a very reasonable backer level of £2 per month. If you like what you read, want to support the blog, and have the funds for it, please consider supporting here. Telling people about the blog, and sharing links/retweeting is much appreciated also – thanks!

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by guyeatsfood

The Ultimate One-Shot Sci-Fi TTPRG? – Review: Stay Frosty (Remastered)

Stay Frosty is a sci-fi OSR-ish game of shooting aliens from Casey Garske. Originally self-published, it’s been remastered and published (through kickstarter) by Melsonian Arts Council. You can get it here from Drivethrurpg, and doubtless there are places to source print copies after the kickstarter. I backed it because I’d heard lots about it (mainly from Tom on the Fear of a Black Dragon podcast) and was intrigued. I’ve since run both scenarios in the book as one-shots; as with all my reviews, this is play-informed.

While you’re reading this, I should tell you about my Patreon. Patrons get access to content 7 days before they hit this site, the chance to request articles or content, and the chance to play in one-shot games, for a very reasonable backer level of £2 per month. If you like what you read, want to support the blog, and have the funds for it, please consider supporting here. Telling people about the blog, and sharing links/retweeting is much appreciated also – thanks!

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by guyeatsfood

A Castle, A Journal – Review: Colostle

Colostle is a solo TTRPG where you explore a vast castle, with oceans, lands, and cities within its walls. You draw cards each turn in two phases, Exploration and (optionally) Combat to see what your character encounters and resolve the challenges. You’ve got a quest you’re working towards which has inspired your journey, but you’ll also get distracted by the other inhabitants of the castle – both humans and Rooks, huge stone guardians you may need to fight.

I’ve started playing and reviewing solo games, with a particular eye to using them as sources of inspiration for group play; or at least to focus on the act of play itself. Patrons can also see my (rough and ready) play notes of the game. I played Colostle for a couple of hours, and took only brief notes as I played – but did a lot of thinking about it as I did.

While you’re reading this, I should tell you about my Patreon. Patrons get access to content 7 days before they hit this site, the chance to request articles or content, and the chance to play in one-shot games, for a very reasonable backer level of £2 per month. If you like what you read, want to support the blog, and have the funds for it, please consider supporting here. Telling people about the blog, and sharing links/retweeting is much appreciated also – thanks!

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by guyeatsfood

Two Can Play At That – Duet TTRPGs

You remember when we suddenly couldn’t move for solo RPGs? Well, quietly, that’s now happened with what I’m going to call here “Duet Games” – that’s games for two players, or sometimes (less frequently) one player and one GM. In fairness, the Player/GM split is frequently eroded by the form, so let’s just say two players. There’s a lot of them out there – check out this list of those on itch (from MintRabbit, the best TTRPG librarian).

I’ve tried over the past few months to get some of these to the table, and I’ve got some games below with capsule (still play-informed) reviews for you – but also some general advice. Just like when solo RPGs came along, and there was a general confusion over how to actually play them from some quarters, I think getting a duet game to the table needs a slightly different approach to a group TTRPG.

While you’re reading this, I should tell you about my Patreon. Patrons get access to content 7 days before they hit this site, the chance to request articles or content, and the chance to play in one-shot games, for a very reasonable backer level of £2 per month. If you like what you read, want to support the blog, and have the funds for it, please consider supporting here. Telling people about the blog, and sharing links/retweeting is much appreciated also – thanks!

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by guyeatsfood

The Ultimate Fantasy Pirate One-Shot? – Review: The Dawn Chasers

It’s been a while since I offered a review of an adventure instead of an entire game. But in truth I’m much more interested in reading and buying adventures – they offer all the usefulness of a supplement, but with everything ready to run. And this, a DMs Guild adventure by M.T. Black and Anthony Lesink for 3rd-4th level PCs designed to take 4-6 hours, is an absolute classic. Not a classic as in a huge original – the piratey tropes are laid on thick here. Just very, very good – and a great one-shot to showcase what D&D is good at, or indeed any other TTRPG you care to run it with.

While you’re reading this, I should tell you about my Patreon. Patrons get access to content 7 days before they hit this site, the chance to request articles or content, and the chance to play in one-shot games, for a very reasonable backer level of £2 per month. If you like what you read, want to support the blog, and have the funds for it, please consider supporting here. Telling people about the blog, and sharing links/retweeting is much appreciated also – thanks!

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by guyeatsfood

Mid-2025 Review

It’s not exactly the middle of the year, I know that. But in February (after my unintentional gaming break in January) I decided it would be great if I could get up to 100 game sessions in 2025, and then upped that to 104. 104 is 2 per week, and that seems to be a good number. Previous years I’ve managed 90 (in 2024), 116 (in 2023), and 86 (in 2022), so I’ll be pretty pleased if I can get the 104 with only 1 January game. Expected games total currently sits at 99.7, so I need to step it up!

While you’re reading this, I should tell you about my Patreon. Patrons get access to content 7 days before they hit this site, the chance to request articles or content, and the chance to play in one-shot games, for a very reasonable backer level of £2 per month. If you like what you read, want to support the blog, and have the funds for it, please consider supporting here. Telling people about the blog, and sharing links/retweeting is much appreciated also – thanks!

Continue reading →