January Newsletter
Heading into 2025
Hi folx,
What a year! TIN’s Discord membership and newsletter subscriber count exploded, we turned a small profit at Dragonmeet, and I haven't managed to run it into the ground (yet). A win all round, I feel.
On a serious note, our size has prompted a re-write of our Code of Conduct, look for that soon on our Discord server. It will apply to all channels there and all physical events hosted by TIN.
There's no video summary this month, as I wasn't able to record one. Apologies to those who prefer or require it.
To support us, join our Patreon or give a one-off donation on Ko-fi.
You can also find us on Discord, on Facebook, on Bluesky, on tumblr, on Twitter, and on Instagram.
Meetups & Events
Our upcoming meetups are:
London: Thursday 2nd January, 7pm (first Thursday of the month)
@ The Arcanist’s Tavern, 87-91 Hackney Road, Shoreditch, E2 8FEGlasgow: Friday 10th January, 9am and Friday 24th January, 9am (fortnightly)
@ Beco Building, 62 Kingston StreetNorwich: TBC
Virtual Coffee Mornings: Wednesday 8th January, 10.30am (usually first Wednesday of the month) and Sunday 19th January, 11am (third Sunday of the month)
@ coffee-morning channel in the UK Tin Discord server.Creatives of Colour virtual hangout: Saturday 18th January, 8pm @ PoC-Lounge channel in the UK TIN Discord server (remember to ask a Discord mod for the “creative of colour” role for access)
There will be no Manchester meetup in January, but subsequent meetups will be on the first Saturday of the month.
Remember to keep an eye on our social media channels for any updates to these expected times or locations.
Our next TIN Talk is “How Table Top can inform design approach” by Tejas Oza, which will look at how working on tabletop games can influence and assist the process of designing video games. Join us on Thursday 9th January at 7.30pm on the Seminar Stage of the UK TIN Discord.
If you missed last month’s talk on “Advertising as an Indie”, or if you want to catch up with any of our previous TIN Talks, you can find recordings of all of our TIN Talks at the TIN Talks Archive.
If you're looking for a great read this January, check out this series of interviews by Alex of Plane Sailing Games. Alex gets inside the heads of excellent tabletop designers (many of them part of the TIN community), asking keen questions about their design process, their inspirations and their creative careers.
New & Recent Releases
From creator Rat in a Suit comes Land in the Mist: Starter Set, a horror TTRPG set in the 18th and 19th century, including events from real world history such as the Napoleonic Wars, French Revolution and founding of the USA.
Name your price to pick up the starter set, which includes the basic game rules, character creation and an introductory adventure “Of Pagans and Reindeer”, set in the icy wilderness of Northern Finland in 1811. Other adventures for the game by the same creator are also available on itch.io.
The Thunder Perfect Mind by Tanya Floaker is a game about finding out the truth behind your untimely death. You and your group play as a cult of revenants returned from the dead to find out who killed you. Featuring high intrigue and politics, this game could be a great choice for players who want to focus on roleplay and building deep characters.
The game is currently in early access, but purchasing now will get you access to all future files and updates as they come out. Pick it up here.
Nemesis Retribution is the new game from Kayla Dice of Rat Wave Game House, a pitched game of all-consuming rivalries. With dramatic gameplay, pre-written playsets of lively heroes and excellent one-shot support, Nemesis Retribution is a great pick for groups between 2 and 6 players.
Podcasts, Streams and Shows
Cybertopia is a rules-light cyberpunk TTRPG that is built around getting players into the action quickly. You can pick up the core rules for PWYW, or get the entire PDF complete with setting info, lore, and a full campaign here on Itch.
Cybertopia also has an actual play show run by the creator of the game, both as a podcast and on Youtube, so you can learn the rules and get a feel for how it runs if you’re interested in picking it up.
EUphoria is an actual play series focused on highlighting diverse voices and players from around the EU. They also film interviews with creators, and hold networking events for TTRPG creatives, so there’s something for everyone. You can check them out on Twitch.
If you’re a fan of TTRPG actual play, check out Black Armada Tales, a weekly podcast by the creators of games like Lovecraftesque and Bite Marks, featuring real roleplaying, real-time improv and rules for systems such as Evil Hat Productions’ Apocalypse Keys.
Also check out Black Armada’s Youtube channel for advice on play and creating mysteries for tabletop content.
Learning a new RPG system can be a challenge, but Fiona and the What Am I Rolling? podcast are here to make it easy and entertaining! Every month, Fiona teaches a different system to a group of players through an exciting one-shot adventure. Learn as you listen with What Am I Rolling?
Bundles, Crowdfunding, & Subscriptions
Kamala Kara Arroyo and Far Horizons are launching We Dig Giant Robots on kickstarter, a game inspired by cartoon series Megas XLR, focusing on action, comedy and oversized mechanoid automobiles.
In this rules-light, custom flame decal–decked rpg, take the role of the pilot, best friend, future warrior or reformed villain and fight villains with six simple stats: Brains, Brawn, Nerd, Pilot, Talk and Cool.
The project ends on Kickstarter on Thursday 16th January 2025.
UK Tabletop Industry Network has a Patreon! All contributions help us support up-and-coming creators in the tabletop industry without a paywall or other barrier to entry. Patreon funding is the main way we cover up-front fees for conventions and events. The more funding we get, the more events we can attend, and the more games by aspiring creatives we can put in front of excited gamers that might otherwise miss them.
If you support the Patreon at the £5 tier or above, you’ll get free access to a growing selection of great games contributed by our members, including LadyBeaste by Michael Duxbury, Drama Llamas by Yvris Burke, Biome by Black Armada Games, and Slasher by Sam Armstrong.
Contributors to this month’s edition of the TIN newsletter were Ryan Wheeldon, Jack Terry, Josh Gane, Eleanor Hingley and Stephen Morffew. If you would like to contribute to the newsletter, drop a message in the #tin-volunteering channel of the UK TIN Discord or contact Stephen Morffew via email at stepintorpgs(at)outlook(dot)com.