Happy New Year, everybody! This month’s newsletter is a little different than usual because Michael is taking a well-deserved break to go on honeymoon. As such, we’ve gathered a party of adventurers (Stephen, Eleanor, Josh and Jack) to fill in. We all hope you’re ready for 2024, because TIN has some big things planned. We’re hosting an online crowdfunding seminar on January 11th (more details below), and keep your eyes peeled later in the new year for the TIN Patreon, which should help us cover our costs while remaining accessible to the people who most need our support.
Dragonmeet this year was quite the adventure! TIN's stall had a cornucopia of indie zines, art and accessories for every gamer. With twelve independent creators represented, we were able to offer even greater variety than ever before and fill a huge stall in the Upper Hall. This translated into great sales for many of our contributors, especially those for whom this was their first con collaboration with TIN. Our biggest seller was Tending: A Game of Devotion by Tori Truslow. Overall, Dragonmeet 2023 was a wild success for TIN, with the stall making more money than across all three days of UK Games Expo 2023 combined. Massive thanks to everyone who organised, managed logistics, promoted us, and ran the stall.
If you’d like to know more about TIN and what we do, find us…
Meetups & Events
Fancy a chat with some like-minded souls? Come to our London Tabletop Industry Networking Meetup on Thursday 4th January, at The Lamb in Bloomsbury from 7pm.
We are still at The Lamb for the foreseeable future, but watch this space for updates regarding the venue. The following meetups are on Thursday 1st February, Thursday 7th March, and Thursday 4th April.
Thinking of using crowdfunding in your business? Matt Sanders, Relationship Manager at Rowan, Rook and Decard, will be running an informal crowdfunding seminar on the official UK TIN Discord server covering the following topics:
Easy Kickstarter mistakes and how to avoid them
Kickstarter metrics other than the money
Making crowdfunding part of a sustainable business
The date is 11th January 2024 at 7:30PM in the events channel on the official UK TIN Discord server. Q&A will be taken during and after the event.
Throughout the month of January, W.H. Arthur is running the 24-word RPG Jam on itch.io, challenging designers to write an entire RPG in just 24 words. It follows on from the 12-word RPG Jam last year, which had over 170 entries. The jam is all about minimalist rules and creativity, which can lead to some really interesting results.
New & Recent Releases
If you're stuck for inspiration, look no further! Seed of an Idea by Eleanor Hingley is a zine designed to generate writing and worldbuilding exercises for a huge variety of genres in a matter of minutes. Initially created for writing groups, Seed of an Idea is packed with tables of genre-specific ideas to spark your creativity.
Salvage Union is an easy-to-learn RPG from Leyline Press about roaming the post-apocalyptic wasteland in mechs built from scrap. Now released in print (and still available in PDF), this stylish and atmospheric RPG is filled with gorgeous art and boasts a rich setting perfect for launching your own forays into the wilderness.
Also, check out the Kickstarter for a fully-realised Roll20 VTT module to level up your Salvage Union game (ends 11th January 2024).
Terminal, the new cyberpunk RPG by Rat Wave Game House is out now! Inspired by The Matrix, you play as digital pirates fighting against an oppressive system. We highlighted the Kickstarter back in August, and it’s great to see the finished product available to play!
You can check out this video Let’s Play of Terminal, run by the creator Kayla Dice, at the YouTube channel Plus One Exp.
Bundles, Crowdfunding, & Subscriptions
Wyrd Science #5 is out now. Wyrd Science is a digital and print magazine that looks at all areas of tabletop, board games, and wargames. This issue features interviews and articles from people across the tabletop industry, including Kieron Gillen and Chris McDowall.
PDFs of all the previous issues are available (for free!) at itch.io and DriveThruRPG.
Thanks for the mention!