Punks and Toons

Punks and Toons

This week on TableTop Weekly… Jason and Peter ease into a quieter, holiday-season episode with a mix of indie highlights, industry shifts, and thoughtful commentary on where tabletop gaming culture is heading as the year winds down. The show opens with a spotlight on Hey Ho, Let's Go Home, a new punk-infused holiday zine from Ham and Egg Publishing. Written by John Maguire and Gio Colazzo, the short story reimagines A Christmas Carol through the lens of DIY punk, following a teenage runaway visited by the ghosts of the Ramones. The hosts praise its warmth, sincerity, and strong connection to tabletop-adjacent storytelling culture. Next, the conversation turns to New Game Master Month, an annual January initiative designed to help first-time GMs overcome anxiety and run their first sessions. With support across multiple systems, the hosts highlight its hands-on structure and argue that mentorship and encouragement matter more than endless GM advice videos. Creators take note as Meta quietly tests limits on link posting for Facebook professional accounts. Jason and Peter unpack what this means for small publishers, the creeping pay-to-be-seen model of social media, and why modern promotion feels more complex and less effective than traditional magazine advertising ever was. On a lighter note, the long-awaited second edition of Toon finally arrives. With original artist Kyle Miller returning, full-color interiors, and a renewed focus on fast, slapstick play, the hosts celebrate Toon as a perfect convention and one-shot game that understands comedy is hard and supports it with strong design tools. The episode wraps with industry news as GMT Games welcomes Candace Harris to its team. Known for her years at BoardGameGeek, Candace's move signals a push to make deep, logistics-driven wargames more accessible. The hosts close by musing about the untapped potential of wargaming as spectator media and why someone really should turn it into a sports-style broadcast. https://www.solariangames.com https://www.youtube.com/@solariangames

Just the news!

This week on TableTop Weekly… Jason and Peter open the show with a heartfelt thank-you to the community as the Top Secret: Tradecraft Manual Kickstarter continues to outperform expectations. With five days to go, strong backer numbers, and solid momentum in what is traditionally a difficult launch window, the hosts reflect on what this says about the Top Secret community and why expansions only matter if people are actually playing the game. The first news story covers Evil Hat Productions opening its annual game submission window. The discussion breaks down what Evil Hat is looking for, why 5e is explicitly excluded, and what creators should realistically expect from a traditional publisher relationship, including ownership, royalties, crowdfunding partnerships, and legal protections around unsolicited submissions. Next, the hosts tackle controversy in Magic: The Gathering, where players destroyed cards over allegations of AI-generated art. While no proof has emerged, the conversation widens into a thoughtful examination of broken trust, corporate pressure, artist reputation, and the uncomfortable reality that human-made art is now sometimes required to prove itself as human. The tone shifts with a look at the newly launched Black Company RPG playtest from Arkdream Publishing. The hosts praise the open playtest model, old-school percentile mechanics, and the grounded, military-forward tone inspired by Glen Cook's novels, calling it a promising system worth attention. Personnel news follows as Wizards of the Coast promotes Justice Ramen Armen to Game Design Director for Dungeons & Dragons. While congratulatory, the discussion also raises questions about experience, institutional knowledge, and the weight of stewarding the world's most influential RPG. The episode closes on sobering industry news as Mythic Games officially enters liquidation, leaving millions in unfulfilled Kickstarter pledges. The hosts analyze what went wrong, why scale increases responsibility, and how failures at this level damage trust in crowdfunding as a whole. To end on a positive note, they spotlight community projects, including Tomb of the Ancient Mor King from Orange Cat Games, and circle back to the ongoing success of Tradecraft Manual as an example of doing it right. https://www.solariangames.com https://www.youtube.com/@solariangames

A better way to run gaming conventions?

This week on TableTop Weekly… Special guest Kai Schaefer, creator of Gamers Online, joins Jayson and Peter to talk about a better way to organize tabletop conventions and events. Before the main segment, the crew rolls out a TableTop Weekly holiday gift guide, blending practical gaming tools, clever accessories, and a healthy dose of humor. Gift highlights include DIY gaming tokens, D&D-themed ornaments, 3D-printed dice trees and towers, compact GM screens, fidget-friendly dice spinners, gamer backpacks designed for books and minis, novelty ice molds shaped like polyhedral dice, and offbeat party favorites like Butts on Things. The discussion focuses on gifts that enhance play at the table without feeling disposable or overly gimmicky. The main interview dives into Gamers Online, a platform designed to improve how gamers find groups and how conventions manage schedules, sessions, badges, and communication. Kai walks through the system's attendee-facing and organizer-facing tools, including visual schedules, mobile-friendly badge management, session submissions, real-time updates, and messaging that instantly notifies players about changes. The emphasis is on reducing friction for players, volunteers, and organizers alike. The hosts discuss how Gamers Online compares to existing tools like Tabletop Events and Warhorn, why usability matters as much as features, and how conventions can transition without disrupting existing plans. The episode wraps with a broader conversation about community-building, accessibility, and giving gamers more control over their convention experience. https://www.solariangames.com https://www.youtube.com/@solariangames

A New Top Secret Book!

This week on TableTop Weekly… The headline story is the Top Secret: Tradecraft Manual, the first major expansion for Top Secret. Written by Scott Kongable, the book deeply expands every Tradecraft skill with narrative examples, clearer mechanics, difficulty guidance, and tables, all drawn from hundreds of campaign sessions. It also introduces new Tradecraft, streamlined chase rules, and early steps toward what will eventually become Top Secret's next edition, while remaining fully backward compatible. The discussion continues with Operation Backfill, Kongable's massive 283-page third-party mission for Top Secret, and a broader look at the growing ecosystem of licensed and community content supporting the game. Next, the hosts cover major VTT news, including Fantasy Grounds and Alchemy RPG shifting to free-to-play models, lowering barriers for online play and prompting debate over usability, cost, and the future of virtual tabletops. The episode then revisits Twilight Sword, an anime-inspired RPG drawing from JRPG traditions like Zelda and Final Fantasy, now exceeding $550,000 in funding. Its d12-based CAT system, elemental interactions, and strong visual identity spark a lively breakdown. In a surprising detour, the show highlights two major nerd collectibles heading to Christie's: J.R.R. Tolkien's writing desk and John Blanche's original Warhammer cover art, prompting discussion about nostalgia, art valuation, and generational fandom. The episode closes with a look at How to Dungeon Master Parenting, a well-reviewed book that applies tabletop RPG principles to raising kids, blending humor with practical insight. https://www.solariangames.com https://www.youtube.com/@solariangames

Selkie Shenanigans

This week on TableTop Weekly… We open with a quick Solarian update as Scott Kongable's Top Secret: Tradecraft Manual gets a sneak peek ahead of its upcoming Kickstarter. The book expands every core Tradecraft skill with real-world research, new options, and clarifications designed to deepen espionage play without changing the heart of Top Secret. Next up is Brute Fort, a micro solo dungeon crawler packed into a double cassette case, complete with an actual cassette soundtrack. Designed by Alfred Valley with music by Gus BC, the game leans hard into analog nostalgia, punk aesthetics, and clever minimalism. With only 18 cards, a fold-out board, and grimy '80s synth, it's a standout example of form and function merging beautifully. We then highlight an award-winning video essay on Kurt Vonnegut's lost board game GHQ, created by designer and historian Amabel Holland. The discussion digs into game preservation, Vonnegut's brief flirtation with game design, and why GHQ deserves to be played rather than treated as a novelty curiosity. The crew also celebrates the announcement of two new Discworld board games, including a classic remake and the intriguingly titled Kill Sam Vimes, sparking a lively discussion on Terry Pratchett's legacy, social commentary, and which actor should play Vimes in an imaginary adaptation. Our feature segment welcomes guests from Seal Rescue Ireland, spotlighting Angler Antics & Selkie Shenanigans, a tabletop RPG created to support real-world seal rehabilitation. Built around Irish selkie folklore, the game turns actual rescued seals into playable characters, blending mythology, conservation, and collaborative storytelling into a genuinely heartfelt fundraiser. https://www.solariangames.com https://www.youtube.com/@solariangames