An RPG Zine Sale, Game Design updates, Travis PhDing

Why hello there! I know it has been a while. It is good to see you.

If you don’t remember me, my name is Travis. I run Press Pot Games, a (mostly) one-person tabletop RPG and card game design studio all done in my free time. I have made a bunch of RPG zines and some train games with lovely people. Mostly, I do what I want, at the scale I want, when my time allows. I’ll be slowly returning to the game design space here shortly and am excited to reengage after some time. (You can read more about why this is happening at the end of this newsletter.)

A First-ever RPG Zine Sale

I have a bunch of games that aren’t currently moving, and I think I would like to make them move quicker. Because of that, I’m holding my first ever sale! I’m taking 50% off all RPGs and zines, including Portal, TWINY, Reunification, Meeting Memos, and the others. I’m doing this partially because I’d like to clear out some space but also I’m still trying to decide where I fit in the indie game design ecosystem. What do I do and do I do it well? Does anyone care what I do or do not make? These are questions I consider often. Regardless of my own ponderings, grab something if you’d like!

Ends at 11:59pm March 2.
Use the discount code: GETOUT

Game Design Updates

Despite my wild infrequency in the game design space, people do ask occasionally what’s going on with my games. So, I made a Press Pot Games Design Tracker.

I don’t necessarily expect people to try and keep tabs on anything due to my infrequency, but some people care. So why not?

Let me talk about some of the games on here:

• Card Rails Exchange: This one is ready to go. I’m simply holding off on opening up preorders until May rolls around.

• Card Rails Junction: Y’all. I have been struggling with this one. I feel it’s like KINDA THERE, but it’s still kinda not there. It’s a card laying/route building game that has some interesting forced decisions in it. Not deterministic decisions, just forced ones. Maybe I’m just forcing it too much? :D

• Spirits: This is a 2 player game where one person is a spirit and the other person is in the attic looking through boxes of stuff. It is a small, 18-card asymmetric game where one person can fully communicate (the person) and the spirit can only through very limited interactions. The idea is for players to match symbols correctly, demonstrating some level of communion with each other.

• The Struggle is Real is a solo 18-card game about trying to get out of bed in the morning. This is an idea that has been ruminating in my brain for years, like 2017-2018 years old. Like I play tested this at GenCon 2018 I think? I get stuck on graphic design typically. That’s kinda where this one is.

• They Come at Night is a 2 player trick-taker where one person is the killer and the other person is trying to escape. There are 3 decks of cards (1 shared time deck and 2 weapons decks). I made a PCIO room for it with all the rules and then never saved it. So it’s lost forever. Guess I’ll have to reinvent it.

• But where are the RPGs? I have 15+ half-baked RPGs that need a lot of work. I think I’d like to spend a year or so doing card games. That doesn’t mean I won’t work on them. It’s more so that I’d like to get some card games ideas out of my head.

What the Cluck? a 3-4 player micro auction game made out of stuff Travis has in his house.

I was digging through some bags of dice the other day pondering why I own so many dice and cubes. I mean, one reason is designing train games (cubes), but dice? I don’t need 300 dice in my house. So I thought, What if I designed a microgame based off stuff I have in my house? Then, I could make like 20 copies of the game for super cheap (like $6 which includes shipping) and make the PDF available for others who have access to those resources.

That’s how What the Cluck? came to be! I made 20 physical copies that are all sold out, but the PDF is available if you have access to 7 cubes, 4 dice, a printer, and 7 non-cube things (like tokens, discs, etc.). The colors of these objects don’t matter.

Travis continues PhDoing

As of last semester, I have completed all coursework for my PhD program. And I am beyond thrilled. Don’t get me wrong. I still have a giant exam in two weeks and a dissertation to write, but gone are the weekly 12-20 hours of school, classes, work, assignments, and more on top of my actual full-time job. Maybe someday soon I’ll be a doctor!

But that’s also why I’m sending out the newsletter again. I began designing games in earnest, on my own, the year before I entered this grad program, so I have only known game design in my spare time (whatever that might be). But now? Oh, my mind is ready to run and do fun things with it.

As always, thanks for supporting small, indie designers.

Talk to you all soon!
Travis