Starting the Worlds by Watt Newsletter
In my effort to stay in touch with the ttrpg community and Hot Stuff on Shore Leave backers I’ve started this newsletter. What can you expect here? Things may move mid-flight, but here are some of the topics I intend to explore in these emails.
Monthly posts will focus on:
My upcoming games & books
Other cool Mothership RPG modules
Solo RPG's
Board games and tabletop roleplaying games
Game design theory
and an exploration of queer topics
If you'd like me to spend more time on a particular topic just let me know.
So let's dig in.
Mothership Highlight - The Mole on Pirad One
Last weekend I read "The Mole on Pirad One," a Mothership pamphlet by Meatcastle. It's a neat little thing. Straightforward in the best way. Players are tasked with repairing a radical commune's space station, Pirad One, while a corporate mole onboard sabotages the station and kills the crew with remote-controlled drones. I give the pamphlet high marks for its diegetic graphic design, accessible premise, and detailed crew descriptions that could easily be slotted into other Mothership sessions. Pamphlets are precious treasures to the Mothership system, and I plan on reading many more.
Game Design Project - Cryptic Explorers
The board game Cryptic Explorers is now shipping to Kickstarter backers. The hype is real and I've started working on a solo mode for the game. Cryptic Explorers, by Maher Sagrillo, is heavy metal and darkly evocative. It stands out on the table with an uncompromising kick-ass art style and sticky lore that is refreshing in an industry oversaturated in the Cthulhu mythos. Currently, Cryptic Explorers plays 2-4, in a "one versus many" format. One player takes the role of a goddess of death and the others play as intrepid cryponauts traveling into the land of the dead.
I play more solo board games since the pandemic. Even though I've gone back to regular in-person gaming, there still seems to be a number of disruptions to meeting with my gaming group. This is to say that a strong solo mode goes a long way for me. Cryptic Explorers deserves to be played on a quiet evening alone.
At this point in the solo mode design process, I have a simple working A.I. deck of cards running the Goddess player in Tabletop Simulator. I'm a long way from having a finely tuned bot to play against, but I'll be getting my reps in the month this month with more to report back next month in June.
That’s a wrap on the inaugural Worlds by Watt Newsletter! Thank you for reading and for your continued support.
IN THE NEXT NEWSLETTER EXPECT:
Details about the Cryptic Explorers solo mode design process and links to the solo rules and print and play files
A brief retrospective on my Mothership Zine Hot Stuff on Shore Leave