Learning from small publishers

In addition to playtesting Ratsail and Epsilon, I was on the Small Publisher Diaries Q&A Panel at Unpub Festival, hosted by Tony Tran. I’ve done a lot of public speaking and teaching in my life, but I think this might be one of the first panels I’ve done.1

Here’s the description from the Unpub schedule:

“Tony will invite publishers to answer Q&A questions about what made their previous games successful and how others can learn from their mistakes. Come listen to publishers at the indie, mid size, and mass market level share their experiences.”

I was on the panel along with Xoe Allred (Lunarpunk Games) and Heather O’Neill (9th Level Games). Compared to the others, I was definitely the smallest publisher.2

Based on the feedback I received, people seemed to really enjoy the panel. So here are my responses to the first five questions:

Q1. What is the most important investment your company continues to make? AKA what consistently delivers the best ROI?

The time spent writing Skeleton Code Machine (SCM) and Exeunt Omnes (EO).

Those two newsletters now have a combined total subscriber count of over 8,500 subscribers and growing.3 They don’t generate any direct revenue, but I consider them to be the core engine that drives the rest of the business.

SCM is one of the largest sources of traffic to both the EP digital games page and the EP shop. EO continues to grow and ensures that EP fans know when a new game is released. I don’t have much of a presence on social media (Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok), so I rely heavily on the newsletters.4

Also, they’ve created new opportunities for me as well — free library classes, presenting at colleges and universities, and publishing design guides. Most notably, SCM has spawned Tumulus, a print-only quarterly design zine.

Is it work and a significant investment of time? Absolutely. But every year in the SCM annual survey, it is the consistency that people appreciate. I’ve never missed an issue. Vacations, holidays, and sickness happen, but I always make sure the newsletter goes out Tuesday morning.

Plus, it has the added bonus that I actually enjoy writing the newsletters! I know it sounds weird, but I look forward to picking SCM topics and digging into them. I always end up learning something new and picking up some inspiration. The reader comments frequently change my opinions and expand my knowledge of games.

Q2. What has surprised you most as a publisher?

The constant struggle for attention.

For example, I launched Tumulus in late 2024 and felt like I was talking about it non-stop. And yet the annual survey showed that 26% of readers had never heard of it.

I knew it was hard and potentially costly to advertise your business, but I didn’t realize that it is just as hard to reach people who actively enjoy and want your products! Social media is ephemeral and unreliable. Newsletters have a 30-40% open rate in most cases. YouTube videos get missed and buried in the mass of older videos.

Learning that it takes seven touches before someone makes a purchase and about the purchase funnel have been new territory for me. It’s all a lot harder, more complex, and more challenging than I had expected.

Q3. What was the best advice you received before or as a publisher?

Know your costs and charge enough for shipping.

While I think I’ve been pretty good at knowing my costs from the start, I was regularly losing money on shipping. I used to dread large orders from California because the cost would be considerably more than I was charging, but I was afraid to increase the shipping fee. This was exacerbated when I’d include stickers, bookmarks, and other items in with the order.

Eyrk from Peregrine Coast Press finally (after many attempts) got through to me that it is unreasonable to try to do free, flat-rate, or low-cost shipping like Amazon. I’m one person, and I need to cover that cost. So I increased shipping prices to no longer lose money, expecting complaints and a drop in sales — and nothing bad happened.

Now I no longer groan when shipping across the country because I know it’s covered.5 I’m extremely glad I took this advice early before order volume significantly increased in 2025! It would have been a mess.

Q4. What advice do you wish you had taken or wished you learned earlier?

Don’t write in layout.

I use Affinity for almost all design and publishing work at Exeunt Press. When I started, I was making one-page games — games that fit on a single A4 sheet of paper. By their very nature, they don’t have a lot of words. So I’d do layout and writing all in Affinity at the same time.

While that works for tiny projects, it’s not sustainable or smart for large projects. I’ve had some projects where I was writing in layout, only to find I need major changes later. That meant trashing not only the words but the layout work too, causing a huge amount of rework.6

At some point, projects are too big to write in layout. I learned this the hard way and wasted a lot of time.

Remember: Affinity is not a word processor.

Q5. If you could have a “redo,” what would you do differently?

Structure my week and use time blocking.

In 2025, direct to customer (D2C) sales really picked up. I was spending a lot of time packing and shipping orders. Everyone told me, “It’s a good problem to have! Ha ha!”

And then by the end of 2025, I realized that I was working full time as a newsletter writer, social media manager, instructor, and order fulfillment worker who happened to do some game design in the evenings. While I did release a 50+ page Tumulus issue every quarter (no small task), Exeunt Press didn’t have a large stand-alone game release for the year.

This year, I’ve developed a priority system for game projects (Tier I = Epsilon) and started using time blocking. I have specific times when I work on game projects, write newsletters, prep for classes, and other times when I pack orders.

This is one of those things that I’ve read about 100 times, but I guess sometimes I just have to bump my own head before you learn.

Share what you know

From the start, I’ve tried to share how I run Exeunt Press and what I think is working well (and what’s not). This includes lessons learned, year-end reviews, advertising mistakes, and the annual reader survey.

The indie gaming space is so small that I feel like I know (and have met) many of the people trying to do similar things. I’m happy to help in any way I can. If nothing else, I can at least be a cautionary tale. 😅

What do you think? Is this type of information helpful or interesting? Which of the questions was the most helpful? Let me know in the comments.

- E.P. 💀

P.S. If you love tabletop games, you should check out Tumulus. It’s a print-only, quarterly zine packed with Skeleton Code Machine game design content.

Play some weird and wonderful games at shop.exeunt.press.

Written, augmented, purged, and published by Exeunt Press. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without permission. Exeunt Omnes is Copyright 2025 Exeunt Press. For comments, questions, reports from the EZ, or pro tips: games@exeunt.press

As the launch of Exclusion Zone Botanist: Epsilon approaches, I’ll be posting regular updates with a behind-the-scenes look at the design decisions going into the game:

• Epsilon Update 01: Epsilon overview and launch dates

• Epsilon Update 02: Plant features

• Epsilon Update 03: Plant morphology

• Epsilon Update 04: Exclusion Zone map

• Epsilon Update 05: Character creation

Note that everything here is in development and subject to change. These updates are a snapshot of how things looked when they were written.

Follow the Kickstarter pre-launch page to be notified when it goes live!

Public playtesting

As I mentioned last week, I recently attended the Unpub Festival in Baltimore. I was on the Publisher Diaries Panel, ran playtests of Ratsail (“Turtchester”), and did the first public tests of Exclusion Zone Botanist: Epsilon.

The Epsilon testing was done as part of the TTRPG Speed Dating event hosted by 9th Level Games. There were 10 different designers in one of the convention rooms, each one set up at a table with a different game. Attendees came in and cycled through each of the games (1 player per table), spending about 15-20 minutes before moving onto the next table.1

This meant that we only had time for character creation, objectives, and exploring just one or two locations (nodes) on the map. Document one plant and maybe try out a challenge. Just enough to get a taste of the game.

The short version is that the testing went really well. The core game concept and game loop are solid. That was great to hear and confirms that the finish line (i.e. launching the Kickstarter) is in sight.

Feedback summary

I’d like to go over some of the key takeaways from the testing — not in verbatim detail, but focused on the high level concepts. These are the things that were either reported by multiple playtesters or stood out to me as important things to capture.2

In no particular order including strength (+), opportunity (-), and unsure (?) feedback:

Character creation

• (+) Players enjoyed the enhanced character creation and felt that it was the right amount of detail. It was easy to perform but provided a lot of narrative hooks that could be used when journaling. Although I didn’t have it fully implemented, they liked the idea of having a quirk (bad habit) in addition to the other skills.

• (+) People felt attached to the character backgrounds and were able to immediately use them to guide how their character would respond to the environment. The mixture of Field Ecologist, Lab Tech, Tactical Response, Academic, Bureau Station Supervisor, and Medic seem to cover a wide enough range.

• (+) The four skill system seemed to work well, even though I had accidentally used inconsistent terms in the playtest materials. The skills are currently called Wilderness, Precision, Exertion, and Threat but that is after many changes. Precision was Presence and Exertion and Endurance previously. I’ll need to finalize those and make sure no mistakes make it into the final copy.

• (+) I was curious how players would feel about the specialty (e.g. mycologist, ethnobotanist, phytotoxicologist) not having any mechanical impact in the game, but it was appreciated.

Objectives

• (+) The addition of primary, secondary, and tertiary objectives was a hit. Selecting an entry portal, planning a route, and moving around the map was reported as being one of the best parts of the game. I’m thrilled to hear this because it’s one of the most significant changes from the original Exclusion Zone Botanist.

• (+) The secondary objective list feels right. It’s Bureau tasks (e.g. check the status of an environmental sensor array) and personal missions (e.g. find your lost partner). I feel good about the mix.

• (-) Currently, when a secondary objective location is reached, the player is presented with a description and a series of journaling questions. We talked about how the objective should result in a challenge (i.e. dice roll), something discovered, and something gained. I agree with this and plan to implement it.

Equipment and inventory

• (-) The inventory and equipment system needs to be trimmed. Too many ways to gain items and no way to lose items. Players didn’t love having to search through a long list of items to see if they applied to the current challenge. I’ll probably reduce it to just 3-5 items.

• (-) Based on watching how players interacted with each part of the game, the equipment wasn’t as engaging as the exploration and drawing. Makes sense.

Plant discovery

• (+) The new plant discovery system worked well, and players said they appreciated the high-level classification that now begins the process. That works and will remain part of game.

• (-) While players we OK with the dice rolling, a few did report that they felt it was at the maximum amount they’d prefer — meaning it’s good, but don’t add anything else. I appreciate that feedback and it remains one of my concerns about the design. I’m hoping to figure out a way to streamline the discovery process if possible. Nothing major, but some small tweaks would go a long way.

• (-) I didn’t have the plant reference drawings in the playtest materials (e.g. leaf shapes, leaf arrangements, etc.) and that was a miss on my part. I underestimated how much players rely on those when drawing the plants. I now realize how critical those are for effective gameplay.

• (?) To make the drawing easier for the playtest, I made little stickers that could be filled out like a form and attached to the drawings. While it was just for the test, players really liked those. Perhaps having a “form” to fill out for plants might be worthwhile.

Extended play

• (+) I already had plans to add a light “campaign system” to the game, meaning you could run the same character through the EZ multiple times. Players asked for this, so it will definitely be included.

• (+) Rules for dropping equipment and leaving a mark on the game when a character dies are in the works. Players want to be able to do a corpse run.

• (-) Some players want explicit “How did I do?” guidelines when completing an incursion: Is hitting the Primary Objective enough? Do I still get a good rating if I missed the Tertiary Objectives? This makes sense, but I need to ponder how to implement it in an engaging way.

General feedback and thoughts

• (+) People loved the theme and setting — especially the new backstory of the Western Exclusion Zone!

• (+) The core game loop was easy to understand. I only had to explain it once and people were up and running.

• (+) The challenge system works well and probably won’t see any significant changes. I’ll do a full post on how that works, but it’s a simple 2d6 system vs. a target number. I’m tentatively calling it SHX and plan to use it in other Exeunt Press games too, not just Epsilon.

• (?) The test manuscript was a dump of everything into US Letter 8.5x11” with minimal formatting, zero layout, and no art. Even so, it was 88 pages. I’m concerned about the page count when converted to A5 5.83x8.27” with art and layout. The goal is to keep it under 200 pages.

• (?) The manuscript was spiral bound because it was a cheap way to print it, but people loved it. Got a lot of feedback that they’d like the final to be thematic and look like a field manual. While I’m committed to the book being perfect-bound (i.e. a book with a normal, printed spine), it is an interesting idea. Could the top reward tier include a small spiral-bound reference?

What to keep and what to change?

One thing came through loud and clear: Don’t change the setting, tone, drawing, map navigation, or challenge system. Those seemed like the strongest parts of the design that need the least amount of revision.

Instead the inventory will get a tweak and the plant discovery may be tightened up. I’ll make sure the objectives have enough cognitive closure and that rules exist for extended play.3

Again, I’m thrilled that the core game is solid, the content is engaging, and the remaining work merely tweaks the existing structure!

Follow the Epsilon project

I am posting an Epsilon update on the third Friday of every month through development, launch, and fulfillment. You can read previous updates in the Exeunt Omnes archive.

- E.P. 💀

🌿 Join 900+ other field agents and follow the pre-launch page on Kickstarter to be notified when it goes live. Get in. Discover and document. Get out. 🌿

Play some weird and wonderful games at shop.exeunt.press.

Written, augmented, purged, and published by Exeunt Press. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without permission. Exeunt Omnes is Copyright 2025 Exeunt Press. For comments, questions, reports from the EZ, or pro tips: games@exeunt.press

Although Murphdog and I won’t be there, Exeunt Press solo games and design guides are available at PAX East in Boston this week. Stop by Indie Press Revolution (IPR) Booth 12109 and ask for games about dark forests, selling cursed items, and being a muffin in a coffee shop.

Here’s the full list of what’s available:

• Adventure! Make Your Own TTRPG Adventure

• Caveat Emptor

• Eleventh Beast

• Exclusion Zone Botanist

• Make Your Own One-Page Roleplaying Game

• Tollund

• You are a Muffin

If you are there, have fun and play lots of games! I’m hoping to attend next year.

- E.P. 💀

P.S. If you love tabletop games, you should check out Tumulus. It’s a print-only, quarterly zine packed with Skeleton Code Machine game design content.

Play some weird and wonderful games at shop.exeunt.press.

Written, augmented, purged, and published by Exeunt Press. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without permission. Exeunt Omnes is Copyright 2025 Exeunt Press. For comments, questions, reports from the EZ, or pro tips: games@exeunt.press

I’ve survived one of the busiest week’s I’ve had in quite a while: frantically trying to get two games ready for testing, four days at Unpub Festival 2026, and then rolling right into teaching a 2-3 hour workshop at Harrisburg University. And yet I’m also creatively energized, full of new ideas, and eager to get back to game design work.

For today, I want to give a quick update. Each of these topics will be covered in detail in the future. Expect to hear more about the Epsilon playtest on the next update on the third Friday of each month. My learnings from Unpub and the HU workshop will eventually turn into Skeleton Code Machine articles.

But for now, here’s the short version.

Playtest: Epsilon

I was invited by 9th Level Games to be part of their TTRPG Speed Dating event on Thursday evening. They had about 10 different designers set up at tables in one of the event rooms, of which I was one of them.1 As attendees came in, they were distributed to open tables (1 player per table) to give the games a try for 10-15 minutes before rotating to the next table.

While I had some worries about how I would playtest a solo game, it all worked out fine. We were able to complete three tests during the speed dating event and one extra test the following day, all of which provided extremely valuable feedback. It’s all currently scribbled in the book I had printed for the test, but will soon be organized and moved to my actual notebooks.

At a high level, the feedback was extremely positive and confirmed that Exclusion Zone Botanist: Epsilon is nearing completion. I don’t expect any major system changes or rewrites. There are smaller issues of balance and streamlining that I’ll handle over the coming weeks. Overall, I’m really encouraged and feel like I can finally see the finish line on this project!

I’ll continue to post Epsilon updates on the third Friday of each month.

Playtest: Ratsail / Turtchester

I’m happy to report that my first public playtest of my first board game design was a success. I was able to get two plays in during my single registered Unpub playtesting block, and then two other plays outside of that — for a total of four plays.2

Absolutely wild to see people playing the game without me!

As with Epsilon above, I have mountains of notes and scribbles to go through and formally process into feedback and actions. That said, I have a few gut reaction takeaways:

• The core game is solid: Across the board, players reported that they enjoyed the game and felt the core gameplay was good. Almost all feedback focused on what they called minor revisions: how many cards should be hidden at a time, how much a ship should cost, the coin to VP ratio, and so on.

• The teach was easy: People picked up the game without a problem. The first round was a little slower, but by the second round people were taking fast turns: move a ship, play a card, take a card. Keeping the complexity at about a BGG 2.50 or less is a key design criteria for this one.

• The theme was good: Although I’m not personally tied to the theme, the last minute theme switch from “generic fantasy city with nobles” to “anthropomorphic rats who sail ships” was well received. The theme might change again, but I’m happy with this latest switch.

• It still needs some work: We hit a problematic game state (for a single player) during the first playtest. Luckily it was easily solved and I could apply a “hotfix” in all subsequent games without reprinting anything. The market was clogged with ships at least twice, but not in a game-breaking way. These are all solvable issues and I have more than enough ideas on what to try next.

Again, it’s really exciting to know I made a working board game that people have fun playing. I think the next step is to figure out how to get it on a platform like Screentop to allow for online testing.

Workshop: Maps as data structures

Greg Loring-Albright, Ph.D. (Ahoy, Keep the Faith) invited me to run a map workshop for his game design class at Harrisburg University (HU). The topic was “Making better maps by thinking about them as graphs and data” which was based on the Everything is Pointcrawl post at Skeleton Code Machine.

I tried to make it very hands-on, with each of the four sections including some exercises that involved drawing or modifying maps. We started with making maps of our neighborhoods from memory, practiced converting maps to graphs, learned ways to improve game maps (e.g. loops), and ended with making five room dungeons with a boss monster.

The students were highly engaged, knowledgeable about game design, and asked really good questions. Some of their examples were better than the ones I had given, so I’ll be revising the slides based on what they shared. Made for a really fun and inspiring day.

I’ll either have one long post about the workshop contents here at Exeunt Omnes or perhaps turn it into a more technical multi-part series at Skeleton Code Machine. I’m curious which would you prefer?

Exhausted but inspired

If you’ve ever been to a game convention, you know the feeling. You come home exhausted and ready to collapse, but at the same time your head is spinning with new ideas. That’s where I’m at right now — and it’s wonderful.

Thanks for reading. I might go take a nap.

- E.P. 💀

P.S. If you love tabletop games, you should check out Tumulus. It’s a print-only, quarterly zine packed with Skeleton Code Machine game design content.

Play some weird and wonderful games at shop.exeunt.press.

Written, augmented, purged, and published by Exeunt Press. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without permission. Exeunt Omnes is Copyright 2025 Exeunt Press. For comments, questions, reports from the EZ, or pro tips: games@exeunt.press

I will be at Unpub Festival 2026 this week, so Exeunt Press Shop shipping will be paused from March 12 through March 16, 2026.1 Any orders placed during that time will ship when I return.

In addition to being on a Small Publisher Diaries Q&A panel and running “speed dating” playtests of Exclusion Zone Botanist: Epsilon, I’ll be running playtests of Ratsail (formerly known as Turtchester).2

The game has been through a lot of changes, both mechanically and visually, over the last year. I thought it might be fun to take a look at it as I do final preparations for testing it next week.3

The original Turtchester

I’ve been intermittently working on a game called Turtchester for well over a year now. It started as a competitive worldbuilding game that was sort of a hack of Beak, Feather, & Bone by Possible World Games. Players would draw cards and create buildings on a map, but at the same time each would be a member of a faction vying for control. There would be mechanisms to support this, making it like a competitive board game but with the narrative arc of a roleplaying game.

As I worked on the mechanisms, I fell in love with the idea of the strength of a card restricting its use to certain areas within the city. Even using a standard poker deck, when combined with open drafting, it created some tough decisions. Do I take a strong card for a region I don’t want or a weak card for a region that I do want? Do I go all in on one region or try to spread my influence across multiple regions?

After a few playtests with friends, I realized this was actually a fun game. It had some problems, but all of which were solvable. I dropped the narrative components and decided to make it a board game.

With a little more work, I released it on BEEP BEEP DANGER for public playtesting. If you were one of the testers who submitted feedback, thank you!

Clogged markets and Dutch auctions

Playtesting revealed a few issues with the game. One issue was that the cards would get clogged up — both player hands and the market.

If you were dealt a bad card at the start of the game, you were sort of stuck with it. With just three rounds and five cards played per round, there was no time for a “wasted turn” just to ditch that card. With the original hand size of 2, you were basically just stuck for the rest of the game.

Similarly, the original market size was too small and prone to clogging. With a market size of 2-3 cards, if 1 or 2 of the cards were undesirable, it just meant there were less choices. Players often ran into false choice of three cards when only one card made sense to choose.

The solution was to increase the market size to 4 cards and implement a Dutch auction system to provide incentives to take less desirable cards.4 This meant adding a currency (i.e. coins) to the game, but it loosened up the market and effectively eliminated the clogging.5

Making adjacency matter with islands

The other issue noted in playtesting was that adjacency should matter. Although the city showed various districts (e.g. Pigbank and Ratchurch), their position didn’t matter. Nobles (face cards in the original) could move anywhere regardless if a district was next door or not. This had always bothered me about the design.

With a theme switch to rats competing for control of islands, now it mattered if an island was adjacent or not. Ships (formerly Nobles) could move between islands and some islands had more connections than others.

Also, with the newly added coins, a cost to sail between islands could be implemented. And now that I had ships in the game, I could split them into two different types: large and small. Each with its own strength and movement abilities.

An entirely different game (sort of)

It’s really interesting to look at the first Turtchester version and compare it to the latest Ratsail iteration.

The mechanical bones are still there and largely the same — play cards with strength to areas to win control each round. Some important changes have been made: a more dynamic market, custom cards, new currency, more hidden information, more flexibility in playing cards, and travel between areas. Most of those are just iterative changes on existing mechanisms.

Visually, however, the change is dramatic. They certainly don’t look like the same game anymore and the obvious connections to Beak, Feather, & Bone are effectively gone.

It’s a different game now, but it got there by small, incremental steps over time.

Upcoming playtesting at Unpub

This week, I’ll be at Unpub Festival 2026. I signed up for a public playtesting table on Friday night so people can give Ratsail a try. I’m excited and nervous to watch others play the game. This will be the first time I’m not one of the players, and instead will simply be an observer.6

If you’ll be there, please stop by and give it a try! I’ll try hard to follow my own advice on how to keep you and the other playtesters happy.

Ratsail isn’t done — far from it. In fact, I’m not even tied to this theme and it might change again. The core concept of cards, influence, victory points, and area control will remain. There’s a solid game in there, and I can’t wait to figure out what the final version looks like.

- E.P. 💀

P.S. If you love tabletop games, you should check out Tumulus. It’s a print-only, quarterly zine packed with Skeleton Code Machine game design content.

Play some weird and wonderful games at shop.exeunt.press.

Written, augmented, purged, and published by Exeunt Press. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without permission. Exeunt Omnes is Copyright 2025 Exeunt Press. For comments, questions, reports from the EZ, or pro tips: games@exeunt.press

Game jams are good for the soul

I’m a huge fan of game jams — development sprints that are limited by a (usually short) time period and are (usually) centered around a specific theme or technology. The time limit could be hours, days, or months. Some are for video games, but tabletop game jams are becoming increasingly popular.1

Game jams allow designers to break out of creative ruts by enforcing restrictions. The One Page RPG Jam is a perfect example. By limiting the scope to a single sheet of paper, we naturally come up with innovative ways of packing a lot of game into a little space. And there’s nothing like making a weird little game to renew your spirit.

It is with that in mind that I wanted to share Junk Food Games’ Lean Green Zine Jam that is running from February 23 to April 20, 2026.2

The theme is simple: make it lean (small format, few pages), make it green (colorful or on colored paper), and make it a zine (something easily printed and assembled).

The inherent joy and simplicity of this jam caught my attention, so I reached out to Chris of Junk Food Games. I asked if he wanted to do a little interview, and he graciously said yes!

What follows are a few questions from me and answers from Chris.

D6 Lean Green Zine Questions with Chris

Q1. What particular moment or project inspired you to create Lean Green Zine Jam?

As AI garbage seems to pop up around every corner, I wanted something that puts the human-made aspect at the forefront. Zines really embody that feeling to me.

Also, I previously made a couple games that fit the theme of this jam. I selfishly wanted an excuse to make another.

Q2. You’ve run a tabletop game jam before called the Tiny Keepsake Jam about making tiny games and with artifacts. What did you learn from running that jam?

I learned that I probably had a pretty narrow vision of what a keepsake game could be! There was a very wide spectrum of submissions and it was incredibly inspiring.

Q3. What kinds of zines would you hope people submit to the jam and what does your ideal submission look like?

I hope folks submit something that might be a little out of their comfort zone. I want to see things that blur the line between games and other art forms.

I’m hoping to actually submit something and do my own hand-drawn illustrations.

Q4. What makes a zine game really feel like a zine game to you other than page count?

There’s a certain quality that really grabs me with zine games. I think it’s a raw, almost stream-of-consciousness, vibe that is unconcerned with polish and feels really honest.

Q5. What advice would you give someone who has never made a physical game before and who wants to get involved?

Don’t overthink it! Put together a mini-zine, or foldie, and just start writing and drawing! Check out the how-to video on the jam page.

Q6. What would make you feel like the jam was a success after submissions close?

It has to get more submissions than the Tiny Keepsake Jam. ;) Honestly, if this jam inspires someone to make something, I’ve succeeded.

Where can people find Junk Food Games online and which game should they try first?

Folks can find me at junkfoodgames.itch.io. I recommend trying Wither & Grow! It’s a game that fits the jam theme perfectly.

Resources to get started

Never made a game or entered a jam before? No problem.

I’ve got a ton of resources to help get you started. You’ll easily make a playable game before the jam deadline on April 20, 2026.

• 📘 The first and best place to start is Make Your Own One-Page RPG. I know it says it’s for one-page games, but the principles work for any type of game. It will help you with theme, mechanisms, writing, layout, and publishing. Complete the exercises at the end of each chapter and you’ll make a fully playable game.

• 📘 If you want to make an adventure for your favorite system, ADVENTURE! is a great resource. Each chapter covers a topic like hooks, rumors, encounters, maps, and so on with hands-on exercises at the end of each one.

• If you want to print and fold your own zine, Shouting Crow’s Make Your Own Foldie guide has you covered.

• Now that Affinity is free, it’s a very good tool for doing layout. If you ever want to have your zine professionally printed, the EP CMYK Color Palette can help. And don’t forget to stay out of the gutter.

• Need free art? Use public domain art or check out Rabbits & Demons.

Most importantly, have fun with it. Game jams are a way to express your creativity in new ways. It doesn’t need to be a masterpiece. It’s the act of creation that is the reward.

Make weird games.

- E.P. 💀

P.S. If you love tabletop games, you should check out Tumulus. It’s a print-only, quarterly zine packed with Skeleton Code Machine game design content.

Play some weird and wonderful games at shop.exeunt.press.

Written, augmented, purged, and published by Exeunt Press. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without permission. Exeunt Omnes is Copyright 2025 Exeunt Press. For comments, questions, reports from the EZ, or pro tips: games@exeunt.press

As the launch of Exclusion Zone Botanist: Epsilon approaches, I’ll be posting regular updates with a behind-the-scenes look at the design decisions going into the game:

• Epsilon Update 01: Epsilon overview and launch dates

• Epsilon Update 02: Plant features

• Epsilon Update 03: Plant morphology

• Epsilon Update 04: Exclusion Zone map

Note that everything here is in development and subject to change. These updates are a snapshot of how things looked when they were written.

Follow the Kickstarter pre-launch page to be notified when it goes live!

Character creation

I like that Exclusion Zone Botanist is intentionally vague in its details. The Bureau is never explicitly named. The origin of the first Exclusion Zone is never explained. You are dropped into the forest with a mission and a notebook. Get to work.

One thing I did want to expand with more details in Epsilon was character creation. While the Bureau and its soul-crushing bureaucracy is only hinted at, I didn’t want the player’s character to be nameless. They need a background, a life before the Bureau, or at least a life before they stepped into the EZ.

After briefly toying with the Year Zero Engine (YZE), I decided it was too much.1 I didn’t want players to get bogged down in endless skills, abilities, and mechanical bits.

The Epsilon character creation process has a number of steps, but should be quick and easy to follow.

Character backgrounds

To keep the focus on exploration and drawing, Epsilon uses just six backgrounds.

Player will roll 1d6 or choose from the following:

1. Field Ecologist: Seasoned and experienced in the harsh conditions of the wilderness, but not used to the existential threats of the EZ.

2. Lab Technician: Careful, procedure-driven, and more at home in a structured lab environment than a dark forest.

3. Tactical Response: Trained to detect and eliminate threats, but not one for details.

4. Academic: A lifetime of studying strange phenomena and esoteric histories. Loves the action, but feels the Bureau’s methods are crude.

5. Bureau Station Supervisor: Knows how the Bureau works, but tired of the grind and riding a desk. Took a demotion to get back in the field.

6. Medic: No stranger to stress and trauma, but couldn’t take the emotional toll. Quit to study plants and work alone.

While these backgrounds aren’t necessarily final, they cover a good range of options. Everyone entering the EZ is a botanist, but they all took different paths to get there, and those paths left enduring marks.

Character skills

Each background comes with a few pieces of specialized equipment and skills. I haven’t covered how the challenge system works yet, but it is a d6-based system.

There are four skills that act as advantages or disadvantages depending on the task:

1. Wilderness: natural hazards, mud, slopes, environmental threats, terrain

2. Precision: slow and careful work, contamination control, machinery, details

3. Exertion: physical strength, sustained effort, breath control, resisting fatigue

4. Threat: reaction time, physical aggression, situational awareness, defensive tactics

The skills act as plus or minus modifiers when performing a challenge. Each background has one positive skill (advantage) and one negative skill (disadvantage).

For example, the Lab Technician has +1 Precision but -1 Exertion. The Tactical Response background has +1 Threat but -1 Precision.

Specialty, equipment, and talent

In addition to a background and skills, each character also has a specialty, starting equipment, and a special talent:

• Specialty: The Bureau doesn’t just throw someone with no experience into the EZ. Players will also have a specialty within botany: mycologist, ethnobotanist, phytotoxicologist, and so on. These won’t have mechanical impacts, but can help guide journaling and narrative structure.

• Equipment: Equipment was hinted at in the original EZB, but this time it is expanded and has mechanical impacts. Taking inspiration from Tunnel Goons, if you have equipment you think would help, it provides a bonus on challenges. Some gear is tied to your background, some is stock, and some is random.

• Talent: Everyone has a talent they can use once per game — a special ability that might get them out of a jam.2 I’ve always loved systems that let you bend the rules and mitigate luck like omens in MÖRK BORG, glitches in CY_BORG, and luck tokens in Cyberpunk Red: Combat Zone. This is an easy way to build something similar into Epsilon.

• Backstory: With all of the above in mind, the player can answer some questions about their character: Why did you join the Bureau? What’s the story behind your background? Why’d they pick you for this incursion into the EZ?

My intent is to help the player make a character that feels real with wants, needs, quirks, strengths, and weaknesses. Then, when they are given their primary and secondary objectives, it will be easier to create a compelling narrative.

Follow the Epsilon project

I am posting an Epsilon update on the third Friday of every month through development, launch, and fulfillment. You can read previous updates in the Exeunt Omnes archive.

In future updates, I’ll talk more about challenges and encounters.

🌿 Join 900+ other field agents and follow the pre-launch page on Kickstarter to be notified when it goes live. 🌿

- E.P. 💀

P.S. If you love tabletop games, you should check out Tumulus. It’s a print-only, quarterly zine packed with Skeleton Code Machine game design content.

Play some weird and wonderful games at shop.exeunt.press.

Written, augmented, purged, and published by Exeunt Press. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without permission. Exeunt Omnes is Copyright 2025 Exeunt Press. For comments, questions, reports from the EZ, or pro tips: games@exeunt.press

Skip to Episode 2 if you want to jump right into the action. That’s the best part.

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Heist Trailer

Episode 1: Setup

Episode 2: The Heist

I don’t know anything about the 1000 Faces channel, but it appears relatively new — only 15 videos and just 36 subscribers.

Here’s their description:

Welcome to Thousand Faces, a space for raw, stylish, modern roleplaying. We create immersive TTRPG sessions to help popularise the genre and bring RPGs to a new audience. If you want cinematic storytelling, grounded characters, and RPGs that go deeper than dragons and dungeons, you’re home.

The GM is extremely talented and a pleasure to watch. In fact, I might rewatch and take notes.

Maybe show them some love and hit that subscribe button. 😉

— E.P. 💀

P.S. Get BLACKFLOWER (Print+PDF) for another CY_BORG heist set in the same world as A Hundred Thousand Burned Hackers, Heads Frozen in Vaults Enduring, and Prophet of Eternity. They all hook together easily to create a campaign.

I’ll be at Unpub 2026 running playtests of an upcoming game. I might also be on a panel and helping with a workshop! See below for details.

If you are near Baltimore and thinking about attending, here’s what you need to know.

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What is Unpub Festival?

Unpub Festival 2026 will be held March 12-15, 2026 at the BWI Airport Marriott just outside of Baltimore, MD. It’s four days of tabletop game playtesting, designer panels, workshops, and other events like Feedback Frenzy. Both game designers and playtesters are welcome.

I went last year for the first time and it was really great. Check out my design panel notes in What I learned from 4 panels at Unpub.

The best part for me, however, was being able to playtest some really interesting and diverse games. I love seeing mechanisms combined and remixed in novel ways. The only downside was my limited time. There were so many more games I wanted to try but wasn’t able to!

And it’s not just board games. There were TTRPGs too — both traditional multiplayer games and solo journaling games.

What’s the plan and when is playtesting?

I’ll be there for all four days and hope to attend as many of the Thursday “Designer Day” panels as possible. Last year’s Friday panels were really good too, so I hope to hit some of those. There is a draft schedule for this year available.

But the big event for me is…

I’m running playtests of a prototype board game on Friday evening 5-7 pm!

The game is a significantly revised version of the “Turtchester” card-based area control game currently available at Beep Beep Danger.1 I have a 4-seat rectangular table reserved, so I’ll be testing it at 3 or 4 players. I’ll post additional details (e.g. table location) when I have them.

There’s also a chance that I’ll be on one of the Thursday panels and helping with one of the Thursday evening workshops. Some of the specifics for those are still up in the air. I’ll announce more details on that after it is confirmed!

Other than that, my plan is to playtest as many weird little prototype games as I can in the very limited time available!

How to attend Unpub

Event Registration

Badge sales are open now and can be purchased via Tabletop.Events. You can get a Full Show ($75) or Supporting ($5) badge. If you just want to attend to playtest games, show up and it’s completely free ($0)!

Demo Blocks

If you are a designer who wants to demo your games, you’ll need to reserve a playtesting block. The cost depends on the type of table and the number of time blocks you reserve. It ranges from $35 for a 2-hour 4-seat table to $600 for an all-weekend 6-seat table.

Feedback Frenzy

If you want to pitch your game to publishers as part of Feedback Frenzy, you’ll need to submit a separate application with a deadline of February 22, 2026.

Hotel

The event is at the BWI Airport Marriott hotel. If you reserve a room there, you won’t have to worry about driving back and forth each day.2

Will you be at Unpub? If so, please leave a comment below. Even if you aren’t close enough to attend, you should check out the work that Unpub does.

- E.P. 💀

P.S. If you love tabletop games, you should check out Tumulus. It’s a print-only, quarterly zine packed with Skeleton Code Machine game design content.

Play some weird and wonderful games at shop.exeunt.press.

Written, augmented, purged, and published by Exeunt Press. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without permission. Exeunt Omnes is Copyright 2025 Exeunt Press. For comments, questions, reports from the EZ, or pro tips: games@exeunt.press

Last week I had the opportunity to teach an introduction to tabletop game design class at the Gettysburg Library in Adams County.

While I’ve taught free library classes before, this was a new format. Rather than the four-session one-page TTRPG class or the one-hour Dickinson College crash course, this one was a single, two-hour class.

Two hours is enough time to do more hands-on activities than the crash course, but not enough to go extremely in-depth like the four-session class.

Here’s how I structured the class in case you ever want to run a similar one.

My plan was to use the high-level structure of the Dickinson crash course, but expand (where possible) to include more hands-on activities. It was admittedly a lot of information to cover in a short period, but I tend to prefer fast moving classes than slow and detailed ones — new topic every 15-20 minutes and something to try for each topic.

The core framework was the four design principles I feel are most important:

1. Know who your game is for.

2. Choose a theme and zoom in.

3. Design for meaningful choices.

4. Think about your game in three acts.

These are based on the Skeleton Code Machine articles on kinds of fun, player types, layers of theme, player agency, and game arcs.

I discussed how I taught each of these four concepts in the Dickinson College crash course write-up from November 2025. If you want to learn more about the topics, check out that post.

What I’d like to cover here are the activities that I added to this newer class.

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Principle 1. Know who your game is for.

After briefly mentioning it in the article on pitching your game at Unpub, I added a section on knowing who your game is for to the last library class I taught. It combined learning the 8 Kinds of Fun together with various models for player types, such as Bartle’s Taxonomy and the Quantic Gamer Motivations. The goal is to give participants an improved vocabulary to use when describing both games and players.

To practice, the first exercise was an easy one. I simply put the 8 Kinds of Fun on a board to form columns.1 Participants then spent a few minutes thinking of a game or two that they really enjoy — board game, TTRPG, video game, doesn’t matter. They wrote the game name on a Post-It note and stuck it under the column that they felt best reflected the kind of fun they experience when playing it.

Every time I’ve done this exercise, a few important things show up:

• The same game is placed under different kinds of fun, illustrating that this is both complicated and subjective. Catan showed up under both Fellowship and Challenge this time.

• Although I have a pretty good knowledge of games, there are always new ones that I’ve never heard of. It gives people a chance to share a little bit about games they love and for others to learn about games they might enjoy.

• It acts like a visual bar graph of the type of games the class enjoys. You’ll notice that Fellowship and Challenge are the leaders in the photo above, with less in Fantasy and Expression.2

This exercise intentionally blurs the line between board games and TTRPGs. Both types of games are included and both can exhibit the same types of fun. This allows participants to focus on breaking games down into their parts rather than on broad categories.

The next exercise was to write their name on a Post-It and put it somewhere on the Bartle Taxonomy quadrants that best matches their own player type.

Normally I’d make some connections to the Quantic Gamer Motivations in this exercise, but we had to shorten it to stay on track.

Principle 2. Choose a theme and zoom in.

To illustrate Sarah Shipp’s concept of thematic scope and resolution, I spent some time teaching the concept and then we did some easy examples together. I’d offer something like “a game that covers global trade of all materials in the 1700s” and we’d discuss if it was a wide or narrow scope and high or low resolution.

Then we rolled some dice on the Theme-O-Matic and chose some random themes: wizard aliens, Napoleonic aviation, and nautical magic were notable ones for the night.

After picking a theme, everyone tried to narrow its scope and then zoom in.

First, everyone always has a good time rolling for absurd game themes and sharing them with the class. Then we’d work on some of the themes together to see how we could narrow the scope. In every case, just the act of narrowing the scope and zooming in created a more compelling version of the theme. In some cases, it instantly became a great hook.

Principle 3. Design for meaningful choices.

In what I’ve come to call the Worst Dungeon Crawl Ever exercise, we practiced some core concepts of player agency.3

I handed out 10 blank cards, markers, and dice to everyone. We spent some time making custom event cards that caused the player to gain/lose health, move back, or reveal cards. Everyone tried to use the themes they had picked in the previous exericse.

Then we ran through three iterations — the first of which was designed to be as bad and unfun as possible. It has no agency, forcing the player to move to the right each turn

Inevitably, a few players make it to the end, some fail, and others end up in a degenerate game state where they keep looping back to a previous card. We all agree it’s not fun and move on to revised iterations.

By the third iteration, the cards are now face down in a grid and the player is allowed to choose which direction they’d like to move. It’s still an awful game, but one that we can all agree is better than the first iteration.

The lesson is that applying the CCI model and introducing even the smallest amount of player agency can improve a game design.

Principle 4. Think about your game in three acts.

After a quick discussion of Freytag’s Pyramid and how it shows up in books and movies, we talked about how it also applies to games and interactive media. I’m increasingly convinced that ensuring a game has an arc is just as important as player agency and other design principles.

I tend to agree with Tony Farber of Two Wood for a Wheat on this subject when he argues that not only is a game arc important, it is necessary: “There is no greater insult one can deliver to a board game than to say ‘I felt like I was doing exactly the same thing in the last round as I was doing in the first round’. A board game must move in order to be fun.”

We covered five different ways a game can build an arc and spent some time discussing how we could add a game arc to the card-based dungeon crawls we had made.

Pitching your game

The final exercise was a Mad Libs style game pitch. I made worksheets that allowed participants to fill in blocks about their games: game name, hook, min/max players, and so on. Of course, in a two-hour class we didn’t have time to fully design a game so we used what we’d like our games to be in the future.

From there, it was easy enough to drop those items into a premade pitch form.

We then took turns reading out some of our pitches. Even though we hadn’t designed full games, it was still fun to hear your theme and ideas converted into a concise and coherent game pitch. There were quite a few pitches that made me really want to play their as-yet-to-be-designed game!

Support your public library

Game design workshop resources

If you are thinking about offering to teach a game design class at your local library, I have some resources that can help:

• 📘 Make Your Own One-Page RPG from Skeleton Code Machine is available in both print and PDF.4 It covers most topics mentioned above and could be used as a class curriculum. It includes hands-on exercises at the end of each chapter.

• 📘 ADVENTURE! Make Your Own TTRPG Adventure is available if you’d rather focus on adventure design. Also available in both print and PDF.

• Library Game Design Workshops Benefit Everyone is a short list of reasons why game design belongs in public libraries.

• Teaching Game Design at a Library has 14 tips for first-time instructors. If you’ve ever thought about supporting your library by offering to teach a class, this is the place to start.

• How to Run a Tabletop Game Design Workshop is a one-hour video webinar I gave, hosted by the Indiana State Library. It covers everything you need to know when running a class, including the importance of promoting it ahead of time.

• Who are you making this game for? is the first of a four-part series at Exeunt Omnes. Each part gives a detailed breakdown of what I covered when teaching a Make Your Own One-Page RPG class at a public library.

Finally, there are many ways indie designers can support public libraries beyond money. Teaching game design classes is just one way. You can also donate games, collaborate on game nights, promote library events, and more.

Thank you to Gettysburg Library

Thank you so much to both Victoria Freeny and Bob Brown for organizing, hosting, and helping to setup the class at Gettysburg Library. They made sure I had everything I needed and made me feel extremely welcome at the library.

And thank you to everyone who participated in the class! Everyone was so enthusiastic and engaged it made for a wonderful evening. Thank you!

What do you think? Would you consider offering to teach a game design workshop at your local public library? What other questions or concerns would you have before teaching one? What else would you like to know?

- E.P. 💀

P.S. If you love tabletop games, you should check out Tumulus. It’s a print-only, quarterly zine packed with Skeleton Code Machine game design content.

Play some weird and wonderful games at shop.exeunt.press.

Written, augmented, purged, and published by Exeunt Press. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without permission. Exeunt Omnes is Copyright 2025 Exeunt Press. For comments, questions, reports from the EZ, or pro tips: games@exeunt.press

As the launch of Exclusion Zone Botanist: Epsilon approaches, I will be posting regular updates. It’s a chance for you to get a behind-the-scenes look at some of the design decisions and work going into the game.

Follow the Kickstarter pre-launch page to be notified when it goes live!

If you’d like to know what Epsilon is and when it will launch, see the October update.

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Everything (including Epsilon) is pointcrawl!

Back in December, working on Epsilon got me thinking about hexcrawls, pointcrawls, and the differences between the two. That turned into a 2,519 word article called Everything is Pointcrawl that’s turned out to be quite popular and sparked quite a bit of conversation about maps.1 If you haven’t read that post yet, I recommend you do. Today’s update will make a lot more sense with that context in mind.

After much consideration of the original Exclusion Zone Botanist hexcrawl map and how objectives impact routing, my conclusion was this: Given a hex map of sufficient size but with almost no pre-defined points of interest on it, a rational player with limited in-game time and resources will take the shortest path from their starting location to the goal.

For a relatively small game like Exclusion Zone Botanist, that’s not a problem. Players wander into the EZ and if they head back out the same way they came in, no big deal.

But with Epsilon, I wanted something deeper — where decisions about which way to go next really mattered.

Transforming the EZ from hexcrawl to pointcrawl

The new map of Western Exclusion Zone 701-E for Epsilon will explicitly be a pointcrawl, and I’m really excited about it! You can see the proof of concept version I’ve been using for testing in the image above. Please note that it’s not even close to final, and art/layout hasn’t even begun yet.

It solves a few key design challenges for Epsilon.

1. Multiple competing, positional objectives

The high-level objective for Epsilon is the same as Exclusion Zone Botanist: Get in. Discover and document the flora. Get out.

But now the map is arranged in six concentric circles (Rings 1 - 6) centered on the remains of the Bureau’s Verteris Research Facility (VRF) with increasing levels of corruption, mutation, and risk:

• Ring 1: Basically normal

• Ring 2: A little strange, uncanny, not dangerous

• Ring 3: Very strange, unsettling, horrific, not dangerous

• Ring 4: Extremely strange, mildly dangerous

• Ring 5: Horrifying and very dangerous

• Ring 6: Impossible, reality-breaking, potentially lethal

A network of 36 location nodes is overlaid on this map, allowing for exploration across all six rings. It’s always about 9-11 hops to get from a starting portal to the central node of Ring 6, but the paths to get there differ.

This matters because in addition to the Primary Objective (i.e. “Discover and document Ring 6”), the player will have a personal Secondary Objective with a randomized location in one of the six rings. This objective location might be the last known location of your Bureau partner before the incident or an environmental sensor array containing important records.

Additionally, the player will have three Tertiary Objectives — recovery of aerial drop probes deployed at the time of the incident and spread across the zone.2

Before the game even begins, the player will have at least five objectives marked on the map, some more important that others. The Primary Objective is the one mandated by the Bureau, but the Secondary Objective might mean more to your character. It’s unlikely that you’ll be able to complete them all and get out alive.

This immediately makes even a decision such as selecting the entry portal matter. It also means that going in and out the exact same way will rarely be the optimal path.

2. Multiple entry and exit points

In Epsilon, there are three infil/exfil portals rather than just one. Thematically, this is the Bureau’s increased knowledge of how the zones work. They can open and maintain three portals, but only one at a time… and even then they are unreliable.

Before entry into the EZ, your agent has time on their side. They can wait for the optimal portal to open up and start their incursion. Getting back out isn’t as easy.

I’ve added a system that changes the active portal every X hours spent in the EZ. This adds one more layer of unpredictability. You can’t count on getting back out the way you came in. Instead its up to the clock and a bit of luck. The key is knowing that once the portal changes, you know where it will be for a while. Make your move then — not right before it changes.

3. Paths and routes matter

Combining multiple paths on a pointcrawl map, multiple competing objectives, and variability in entry/exit points means player routes matter in Epsilon. It leans into the push-your-luck core of the game and the inability to accomplish everything in a single incursion.

Everything is a multiple of six

A while ago, I was discussing game design with and he gave me a helpful piece of advice: “Make everything a multiple of six.”

He meant that in a game where I’ve decided to only use six-sided dice (d6), there’s an inherent advantage to making everything else a multiple of six.

For example, by having three portals, I can easily have the player roll to see which one is the active portal (Alpha: 1-2, Bravo: 3-4, Charlie, 5-6). With 36 nodes arranged with six nodes in each ring, players can easily roll for a location across the entire map by treating it like a D66 random table. Or I can have rolls that are restricted to a single ring by fixing the first of the two digits. There will be six character backgrounds and six secondary objectives. Each zone will have 18 unique plant features. The plant morphology system will have 12 major classifications.

I think I’ve instinctively done this before, but I hadn’t previously thought about it as an explicit design rule.

It’s a good piece of advice, and one I’ll be following as Epsilon development continues.

Follow the Epsilon project

I am posting an Epsilon update on the third Friday of every month through development, launch, and fulfillment. You can read previous updates here:

• Epsilon Update 01: Epsilon overview and launch dates

• Epsilon Update 02: Plant features and encounters

• Epsilon Update 03: Plant morphology and classification

In future updates, I’ll talk more about character backgrounds, objectives, and encounters.

🌿 Join 800+ other field agents and follow the pre-launch page on Kickstarter.

- E.P. 💀

P.S. If you love tabletop games, you should check out Tumulus. It’s a print-only, quarterly zine packed with Skeleton Code Machine game design content.

Play some weird and wonderful games at shop.exeunt.press.

Written, augmented, purged, and published by Exeunt Press. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without permission. Exeunt Omnes is Copyright 2025 Exeunt Press. For comments, questions, reports from the EZ, or pro tips: games@exeunt.press

There are many different places and ways to purchase Exeunt Press games.

Order directly from the Exeunt Press Shop where I’ll personally pack, seal, and ship your order. Or you can order through an online retailer I’ve partnered with like Tom at Tabletop Bookshelf. If you live in the UK, ordering from Peregrine Coast Press might save you some shipping cost.

At gaming conventions like PAX Unplugged, you’ll find Exeunt Press games at the Indie Press Revolution Booth.

Exeunt Press games at FLGSs

In addition to those methods, I’ve partnered with Indie Press Revolution (IPR) to distribute Exeunt Press games to friendly local game stores around the world. Thanks to IPR, you can find Eleventh Beast, Caveat Emptor, and ADVENTURE! in stock at All The Problems In This World in Berlin, Germany and other shops around the world.

Other times I work directly with game stores, particularly local ones like FARBO Co and The Dice Goblin in Pennsylvania.

All of this means I don’t always know exactly which stores are carrying Exeunt Press games at any given time! And even when I do, I don’t often get to see what they look like on the shelves.

I’d like to feature friendly local game stores that carry Exeunt Press games. If you run a shop or see them in stock, send photos to games@exeunt.press for a chance to see them featured here. 📸

It’s always exciting to see the games on display! Here’s the newest one…

Zulu’s Board Game Cafe in Washington

Lee at Zulu’s Board Game Cafe in Washington state recently sent me some photos of my games stocked on their shelves! This includes Exclusion Zone Botanist, Caveat Emptor, You are a Muffin, and Eleventh Beast. It sounds like a fun place:

We are a community-oriented board game restaurant, opened in April 2016 and located on Main St in Bothell, Washington. We proudly serve local tap beers and ciders, along with American-style meals for hungry gamers and their families.

If you live near Bothell, WA, please stop by and check them out!

Let’s work together!

If you run a friendly local game store and want to carry some weird and wonderful games from Exeunt Press, please reach out to me at games@exeunt.press. I provide wholesale pricing and free shipping over a minimum amount.

Or if you already are working with Indie Press Revolution (IPR), feel free to order the games through them. They are a wonderful partner, and I’m happy to be working with them.

- E.P. 💀

P.S. If you love tabletop games, you should check out Tumulus. It’s a print-only, quarterly zine packed with Skeleton Code Machine game design content.

Play some weird and wonderful games at shop.exeunt.press.

Written, augmented, purged, and published by Exeunt Press. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without permission. Exeunt Omnes is Copyright 2025 Exeunt Press. For comments, questions, reports from the EZ, or pro tips: games@exeunt.press

Chances are, if you are reading Exeunt Omnes (this newsletter) you are also a reader of Skeleton Code Machine (the other newsletter).

Today’s topic is one that could almost be a Skeleton Code Machine article, but not quite. It’s more of me thinking through some design ideas rather than a targeted analysis of a game mechanism. It’s one of those topics where I’m not even really sure I know what I think about it, let alone telling others what they should think!

I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

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The upkeep phase

I play a lot of board games.

BG Stats shows that, with just one day left in the year, I’ve had 134 plays of 82 different board games in 2025. I had an additional 73 online plays of about 40 different games on Board Game Arena.1

One thing that shows up in many of these games is an upkeep phase.

It could be at the end of a players turn or at the end of the round, but the idea is the same: players take time to refresh hands of cards, refill dynamic markets, move monsters, add more fires, or otherwise update the game state. Sometimes it is simple and takes just a few seconds. Other times, the upkeep phase includes rather involved if-then statements like the Elephant’s March in John Company: Second Edition.2

The key element of an upkeep phase is that it is necessary to enable the game to continue and yet includes almost no player choice or agency.

Player boards are cleared, cards moved, elephants turned, but none of that relies on players deciding what to do next. Even if dice are involved, it is all programmatic and structured. Players simply follow the instructions step by step to complete the phase.

Examples of upkeep in solo games

The idea that players take actions and then spend a little time doing upkeep is so common, so normal in board games, that I didn’t think about it much until recently.

Here’s how upkeep shows up in three examples:

• You can see it in Exclusion Zone Botanist where after discovering and documenting plants, you roll dice vs. the risk value in Step II. Check for Corruption. It’s not quite as clear cut as some games because you move after the upkeep (vs. before), but it’s the same idea.

• Eleventh Beast has a kind of upkeep when rumors are added and the beast is moved, but it comes at the start of the player’s turn rather than the end. I’m not sure why, but this feels less like upkeep at the start vs. end of a turn.

• Ghost Beacon (one-page micro edition) has perhaps the most explicit upkeep step. After exploring the planet by taking two actions, the player rolls dice to add geologic faults and then to activate beacons. After this upkeep is complete, they start the next cycle.

They all approach upkeep in different ways, but the core idea is present. There are some low/no agency tasks that must be performed to keep the game running.

Is this upkeep a bad thing? I don’t think it is. The games above are mechanically simple enough that the upkeep takes literal seconds. It’s not a problem. In fact, I quite like the tension of checking for corruption after each hour in Exclusion Zone Botanist!

But what about games that are more complex?

The zero-upkeep game

I’ve started to wonder, “Is it possible to eliminate upkeep phases from games?”

Medusa is a solo space survival-horror game that I’ve had in the Exeunt Press pipeline for a long time.3 My original design idea notes are from March 2021. It’s been cooking for a while, but I recently began working on it again.

The game focuses on crisis management with systems failing on the ship. The original idea included a non-trivial player upkeep phase — as you’d expect in a board game.

While I’d argue the upkeep phase is not inherently bad, I do wonder if I could challenge the assumption that it needs to be there. To that end, I’ve been working to take the tasks from the upkeep phase and either (a) build them into player choices earlier in the game loop or (b) eliminate them from the game.

Especially in a solo game, I like the idea of the player being able to immerse themselves in the narrative without the need to stop the story to update things. If my guess is correct, this will create a more engaging player experience.

Question your design assumptions

An assumption I’ve carried from playing board games into my designs is that games have actions and they have upkeep. It’s a model that works extremely well in board games and works quite well in solo TTRPGs too.

But it is just as important to identify those almost-subconscious assumptions in game design, question if they make sense, and then decide how they fit into the player experience you are trying to craft.

Medusa may very well include an upkeep phase when complete. But if it does, it will be there by conscious design choice and not just by accident.

Have you discovered any design assumptions that you are using? Can you think of other ones that people hold? I’m particularly interested in ones that are not inherently bad, but just the conventional way to do things.

- E.P. 💀

P.S. If you love tabletop games, you should check out Tumulus. It’s a print-only, quarterly zine packed with Skeleton Code Machine game design content.

Play some weird and wonderful games at shop.exeunt.press.

Written, augmented, purged, and published by Exeunt Press. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without permission. Exeunt Omnes is Copyright 2025 Exeunt Press. For comments, questions, reports from the EZ, or pro tips: games@exeunt.press

As the launch of Exclusion Zone Botanist: Epsilon approaches, I will be posting regular updates. It’s a chance for you to get a behind-the-scenes look at some of the design decisions and work going into the game.

Follow the Kickstarter pre-launch page to be notified when it goes live!

If you’d like to know what Epsilon is and when it will launch, see the October update.

Subscribe now

The world of plant morphology

This month we are looking at the Epsilon plant discovery system and how it uses plant classification systems and morphology.

Plant morphology (i.e. phytomorphology) is the study of the physical form of plants.

It’s a way to classify and describe the external structures of a plant, as opposed to plant anatomy which studies (mostly) the internal structures of plants. Morphology focuses at the macro level with the things you can readily see when looking at a plant. Anatomy (again, mostly) focuses on the internal and microscopic parts you can’t see just by looking at a plant in the wild.

In the original Exclusion Zone Botanist, this morphology was determined in three steps using six-sided dice:

1. Plant size: Roll 1d6 to determine if the plant is relatively small, medium, or large in overall size.

2. Leaf shape: Roll 2d6 to determine the general leaf shape based on 11 different classifications (e.g. ovate, lanceolate, etc.) selected from the many actual types.

3. Leaf arrangement: Roll 1d6 to select one of three arrangements for the leaves such as alternate or opposite.

When combined with the “unusual features” (e.g. “Thick mucous coats the trunk, branches, and all the leaves.”), this provides enough narrative prompt for the player to be able to sketch the plant. It’s just a few dice rolls and it works rather well.

And yet I’ve had people who love Exclusion Zone Botanist tell me that they wished there were more variety in the plant prompts. Not necessarily in the unusual feature lists, but specifically in the other lists — the plant morphology prompts:

“The first time I played EZB I just wanted to roll bigger charts — leaf types were represented but I wanted more kinds of flowers in more kinds of bloom configurations (single, compound, racemes, etc.), different fruits and berries, with different seeds. As someone who loves plant taxonomy I was just thinking of soooo many combinations that were not represented, and then I wanted to doodle them in my field journal. *tips botany nerd hat*” — Wonder & Whimsy

I’d love to add more plant morphology into the game! There is a massive glossary of plant morphology just waiting to be incorporated. But I also want to be mindful that not everyone wants a ton of dice rolls for every plant. It can be a trade-off between prompts and dice.

The Cronquist classification system

One way that Exclusion Zone Botanist: Epsilon will handle this challenge is by adding a higher level classification, rather than many granular morphology details. Think of it as a broad archetype given to the newly discovered plant, and then specific details can be filled in from there.

To do this, I’m using the Cronquist system of classification for flowering plants.1

Just like libraries have classification systems for books (e.g. the Dewey Decimal System), botanists have systems for cataloging plants.2 And just like there are multiple classification systems for library books (some of which have fallen out of favor over time), there are multiple systems for plants.

The Cronquist system, originally developed in 1968, divides all flowering plants into two broad classes of dicots and monocots, and then into subclasses, orders, families, and so on. By 1981 the system had been revised to include 83 orders and 386 families of plants.

What I noticed about this system was that the dicots class (Magnoliopsida) had six distinct subclasses. These subclasses mapped easily onto the roll of a six-sided die: Magnoliidae, Hammamelidae, Caryophyllidae, Dilleniidae, Rosidae, and Asteridae.

The subclasses were based on the plants having similar structures and outward appearances — perfect for narrative prompts!

The monocot class (Liliopsida) was a little trickier because there are only five subclasses. This was easily solved, however, by splitting the Liliidae subclass into its two orders of Liliales (e.g. lily, iris, aloe) and Orchidales (orchids). With six classifications, it easily maps onto the roll of a die just like the dicots.

Epsilon plant discovery mechanisms

When a new plant is discovered in Epsilon, the player will first roll dice to determine the Cronquist class (monocot or dicot) and subclass.3 Each subclass is presented with the subclass name, key words, description of defining features, and a few real-world examples with both common name and scientific name.

This classification serves as a quick archetype or blueprint for what the player found. It packs a lot of information into a die roll, but at the same time allows the player to pick and choose what they want to use from it.

For example, the Caryophyllidae subclass includes plants that contain betalains (derived from the Latin word for the common beet) for pigmentation rather than anthocyanins. This gives the plants unusual and often vivid red, violet, yellow, and orange colors (e.g. Swiss chard). Along with the rest of the description, the player might choose to incorporate this coloration into their finding.

After the classification, the player will still roll for size, leaf shape, and leaf arrangement. This will be done, however, with the classification in mind — not so much as “rules to apply” but a framework or scaffold that is there if they need it.

Also the leaf shape and arrangement types are being significantly expanded, as that’s easy to do without adding more dice rolls. The 2d6 simply becomes a D66 random table. The leaf shape table, for example, will be expanded to at least 18 types.

Extra morphology random tables

When creating Tollund, I added some extra random tables to the back of the book. They are never specifically required while playing the game, but are there if players need them. My thought was that if you get stuck and need some help, the tables might get you unstuck. There are tables for small items, signs and omens, nearby locations, and members of the village. Players have seemed to really appreciate having them.

I’d like to do the same with Epsilon, including even more plant morphology tables that are fully optional and not required by the rules. Some examples of ones that will probably be included are: fruit/seed traits, specialized structures, flower characteristics, and pigmentation. So if you want to really dig deep into botany, it’s all there for you. But it’s also OK to skip it!

But what about APG IV?

The Cronquist system was developed based on literature, botanist advice, and inspection of specimens. As such, it was very focused on the physical form of the plants. That makes it perfect for inclusion in a game that’s all about visually inspecting plants and trying to draw their external appearance.

But it’s also probably not the best classification system when it comes to real-world science and botany.

By the 1990s, it was possible to do widespread genetic testing of plants in a field called phylogenetics. This meant that rather than classifying plants based on what various specimens look like (or perhaps some chemical analysis), they could be classified into groups that include all the descendants of a common ancestor (i.e. a monophyletic group). Once the actual genes of plants could be sequenced and analyzed, it became clear that it didn’t match some of the visual classifications. The Cronquist system fell out of favor and the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (APG) system has become arguably the most authoritative system in use today.4

So why not use the APG system in Epsilon?

Well, in part because it is a more complex system. I don’t want the game to read like a botany text book and am very careful to keep the science stuff light. In addition, because it’s based on genetics and not visible morphology, it doesn’t really meet the goals of why I’d want to include it. I want a simple classification system that groups similar looking plants together. The Cronquist system does that quite well!

Follow the Epsilon project

In future updates, I’ll talk about both encounters and the EZ map, which might be a pointcrawl… because everything is pointcrawl.

🌿 If you haven’t already, join 800+ others and follow the pre-launch page on Kickstarter.

Get notified on launch!

- E.P. 💀

P.S. If you love tabletop games, you should check out Tumulus. It’s a print-only, quarterly zine packed with Skeleton Code Machine game design content.

Play some weird and wonderful games at shop.exeunt.press.

Written, augmented, purged, and published by Exeunt Press. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without permission. Exeunt Omnes is Copyright 2025 Exeunt Press. For comments, questions, reports from the EZ, or pro tips: games@exeunt.press

I enjoy putting together year-end reviews for Exeunt Press.

It’s far too easy (for me) to forget about the highlights and instead focus on the projects I didn’t finish or things that didn’t go as planned. Failures are remembered while successes are forgotten. Taking time to make a list of accomplishments over the last twelve months helps put it all in perspective.1

Here’s what Exeunt Press accomplished this year.

Notable releases

In total, Exeunt Press released nine (9) projects this year:

1. ADVENTURE!: Make your own TTRPG adventure with the help of this guide from Skeleton Code Machine. Each chapter includes practical exercises to encourage hands-on learning — accessible for both beginners and experienced designers. Art by Evlyn Moreau! (trailer | print | pdf)

2. Ghost Beacon Micro: The civilization that inhabited this planet has perished — buried under dust and sand. In an effort to be remembered, they have left behind beacons, beaming signals to whomever might hear them beyond the stars. You can save this civilization’s history before it is too late. (pdf)

3. The Trench Grub’s Thirst: Inspired by The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton and the “The Last Question” short story by Isaac Asimov, The Trench Grub’s Thirst is a retro sci-fi heist of low-tech hacking under the Nevada desert. A corporate cult feeds stolen memories to a vast worm with the goal of controlling all knowledge. Compatible with CY_BORG. (pdf)

4. Doom Quest Bundle: Although Doom Quest: An Offering of Sweet Honey was released at the end of 2024, in early March 2025 I launched the Doom Quest Bundle for MÖRK BORG. (trailer | print)

5. MÖRKTOBER Creator Kit: A collection of random tables and creative inspiration you can use to make dark and weird creations. Works in any dark fantasy setting. With art by Francisco Lemos! (trailer | pdf)

6. Blood Chapter (🔖): You are a Vampyre Hunter in 16th century Germany sworn to send revenants back to the grave. But beware — you may become the one hunted. Gather power. Strike when ready! (trailer | pdf)

7. Dragon Pages (🔖): You are a knight on a quest to slay a dragon. Journey to its lair, discovering boons, banes, and omens along the way. But move swiftly, lest your supplies run out! The dragon awaits! (pdf)

8. Massive Damage (🔖): A boss monster that fits in your pocket? A giant robot vampire lord that helps mark your book page while reading? Sort of both... Inspired by Giant Enemy Crab! at Skeleton Code Machine and Boss Fights at Exeunt Omnes. Roll 3d6 to generate a boss type, special move, and environment. Actual, real-life monsters and combat not included. (pdf)

9. In Fair Verona (🔖): Outwit fate and unite Romeo & Juliet! Inspired by Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet (obviously) but more so by Baz Luhrmann’s 1996 Romeo + Juliet film that I love so dearly. Cut the bookmark into Romeo and Juliet halves. Read your book to bring Romeo closer to Juliet, but beware! Each day that passes has a to chance push Juliet further away. (pdf)

While I’m extremely happy with the projects above, I always end each year wishing I could have released more. For example, I have most of an expanded Ghost Beacon zine written and art selected, but just didn’t get it over the finish line in time. Medusa is largely written but still needs some work to be press-ready. A lot of my time went into Tumulus this year (positive), which I discuss below.

But small progress is progress, and that work is not wasted. Expect to see more games released in 2026 as they get completed.

Conventions, classes, and other events

• Make Your Own One-Page RPG Class (Carlisle, PA): I taught another public library class this year based on the Make Your Own One-Page RPG guide. It was four sessions that you can read about here: Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 4.

• Harrisburg Board Game Day (Harrisburg, PA): Exeunt Press had a vendor booth at Harrisburg Board Game Day in July. See the lessons learned for details.

• Lazarus Games Local Developer Day (Harrisburg, PA): This one was extremely rewarding. Some of the first-time game designers in my One-Page RPG library class sold their games at the event! Zero to published in just four class sessions.

• Muffin Meetup (Philadelphia, PA): Hosted by Tony from Plus One Exp at Unity Java, this was a really small but fun event. Had some great chats about You are a Muffin and indie TTRPGs in general.

• Unpub Festival 2025 (Baltimore, MD): As a game designer, Unpub was one of the most fun events I attended this year. It spawned two SCM articles: How to Pitch Your Game at Unpub and Don’t Ask These Playtesting Questions.

• Indie & Local Tabletop Games Fair (Takoma Park, MD): This outdoor event near DC has become one of my favorites of the year. Hosted by People’s Book, it’s all local creators sharing their work. See the lessons learned for details.

• Harrisburg University Playtesting (Harrisburg, PA): I had the opportunity to help playtest student games at Harrisburg University this year. They did a great job with both designing the games and running a quality playtest! I tried to capture what they did so well in 10 ways to have happy playtesters.

• Dickinson College Game Design Talks (Carlisle, PA): I was asked to be a guest speaker for two different Dickinson College courses this year. One course was the archaeology of tabletop games (e.g. Senet and The Royal Game of Ur). The other was interactive media with a focus on activist media. I published a summary of the four design principles that I chose to cover.2

• Teaching Game Design in Libraries Webinar (video): The Indiana State Libary hosted a webinar where I talked about “How to run a tabletop game design workshop at your library.” You can watch the recorded video where I cover five key things you need to know to run your own classes.

• PAX Unplugged 2025 (Philadelphia, PA): I love PAX Unplugged. I look forward to it all year and I’m sad when it’s over. You can read my full PAXU write-up.

• MÖRKTOBER 2025: I hosted the annual MÖRKTOBER creative event again this year. It’s decentralized by design, so there’s no way to know how many people participated. That said, it sure seems like a lot of people based on the flood of dark and weird creations I saw across Discord and social media platforms!

In addition to the above, Exeunt Press was a Gold Tier Sponsor of International Gaming Month (IGM) hosted by the American Library Association (ALA). I was happy to be able to send free copies of solo games and design guides to 20 different libraries across the country!3

Newsletters and social media

SCM / Exeunt Omnes: Exeunt Omnes and Skeleton Code Machine, now have a combined follower count of over 10 thousand.4 That’s a +61% change year over year. About 80% of those subscribe to receive the newsletters in their inbox each week.

Bluesky: In last year’s review, I mentioned the social media shift from Twitter to other platforms. Exeunt Press Bluesky followers are up +72% YOY, which is cool. More importantly, I enjoy using it and interacting with readers and game designers!

YouTube: I’d still like to have more of a presence on YouTube, but remain unsure of how to approach it. There’s a question in the Skeleton Code Machine Reader Survey about it where you can let me know what you’d like to see.

EZB: Epsilon on Kickstarter

I had hoped to launch Exclusion Zone Botanist: Epsilon on Kickstarter in 2025, but that has been moved to 2026. As noted in the first monthly update, I will launch it when it’s ready and not before.

Epsilon is a huge project and my top priority in the coming year. It will be the first Exeunt Press project to hit crowdfunding, so I want to make sure everything is right.

I am posting Epsilon updates to Exeunt Omnes on the third Friday of every month until it is fulfilled. You and the other 800+ pre-launch followers will be able to follow along during design and development (now) all the way through crowdfunding (soon) and into production. I really appreciate all the support!

Subscribe now

Turtchester and experimental games

I recently launched BEEP BEEP DANGER, a place for experimental games by Exeunt Press. As games are ready to be tested by others, I may upload draft rules. Some of it might be quite broken. Things will be added and removed at will.

The first game is temporarily called Turtchester — an area control and open drafting game for 2-4 players set in a fantasy city. I’ve already received a lot of helpful feedback via the form. If you want to give it a try, you can access the BEEP BEEP DANGER page with the password “BONEMECH” in all caps.

I plan to do public playtesting with it at Unpub Festival 2026 in Baltimore.

Tumulus: analog by design

I launched Tumulus in December 2024 with Issue 1, and now it’s been a year. It’s been one of my biggest successes of 2025 — one that is worth some reflection.

As a spin-off of the Skeleton Code Machine newsletter, I wanted Tumulus to be packed with tabletop game design articles, playable mechanisms, art, and exercises.

Instead of being a typical magazine full of previews and announcements, my vision for Tumulus was that everything inside is evergreen — just as good five or ten years from now as it is today. I don’t want Tumulus to be something you consume and discard. I want it to earn a place on your shelf.

I made two decisions that go against the usual business advice:

1. Tumulus subscriptions do not auto-renew.

2. Tumulus is print-only and not available in digital formats.

Perhaps not the best choices to maximize sales, but both are very important to me.

Here’s why:

1. I hate the onslaught of monthly recurring subscriptions.

Even when companies make it easy to “pause” your subscription, that’s still mental overhead. You still need to remember to cancel the subscription before some date, otherwise you’re locked in for another month. It may be “smart business” but it feels awful. If someone gets an issue of Tumulus, I want it to be because they asked for it. — not because they forgot to unsubscribe from their thousandth subscription.

2. I wanted to make something that isn’t fleeting.

On a long enough scale, everything is temporary. The sun will engulf the Earth in somewhere between 5-8 billion years and everything will become a faint chemical signature left in a dying star.5

That said, I want Tumulus to be a print-only artifact that lasts. Perhaps not until the sun boils the oceans away, but longer than the PDF that gets lost on your hard drive among a hundred thousand others. I want it to be something you hold in your hand, notice on a shelf, and choose to pick up. Something that competes with doom-scrolling. Analog by design.

So, thank you to the first 100 Tumulus Founders who believed in the project and thank you to all the others who joined in after that. Thank you to everyone who picked up back issues. Tumulus continues because of you.

To me, my top accomplishment of 2025 is Tumulus.

Get Tumulus

⏩ What’s next?

This year was another good one for Exeunt Press. I’m excited to see what next year brings and will talk more about goals in January.

Until then, make weird games!

- E.P. 💀

P.S. If you love tabletop games, you should check out Tumulus. It’s a print-only, quarterly zine packed with Skeleton Code Machine game design content.

Play some weird and wonderful games at shop.exeunt.press.

Written, augmented, purged, and published by Exeunt Press. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without permission. Exeunt Omnes is Copyright 2025 Exeunt Press. For comments, questions, reports from the EZ, or pro tips: games@exeunt.press

This brings the total submissions from Exeunt Press to four, ranging from star-cross’d lovers to vampire hunters. This has been a really fun event, and I really appreciate Unknown Dungeon organizing and hosting it. Thank you!

Free community copies are available for all of them. Please grab one!

Here are all four TTRPG bookmarks submitted to the jam:

Outwit fate and unite Romeo & Juliet!

“From forth the fatal loins of these two foes, a pair of star-cross’d lovers take their life.”

But are they truly destined for tragedy?

Not if you keep reading your book and use In Fair Verona as your bookmark!

Inspired by Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet (obviously) but more so by Baz Luhrmann’s 1996 Romeo + Juliet film that I love so dearly. Cut the bookmark into Romeo and Juliet halves. Read your book to bring Romeo closer to Juliet, but beware! Each day that passes has a chance to push Juliet further away.

Get In Fair Verona

Make your own final boss monster!

A boss monster that fits in your pocket?

A giant robot vampire lord that helps mark your book page while reading?

Sort of both...

Massive Damage is inspired by Giant Enemy Crab! at Skeleton Code Machine and Boss Fights at Exeunt Omnes. Roll 3d6 to generate a boss type, special move, and environment. Actual, real-life monsters and combat not included.

Get Massive Damage

Turn your book into a dangerous hunt

In Blood Chapter, you are a Vampyre Hunter in 16th century Germany sworn to send revenants back to the grave. But beware — you may become the one hunted. Stay ahead of your quarry. Gather power. Strike when ready!

Get Blood Chapter

Hunt a dragon through the pages of your book

In Dragon Pages, you are a knight on a quest to slay a dragon. Journey to its lair, discovering boons, banes, and omens along the way. But move swiftly, lest your supplies run out! The dragon awaits!

Get Dragon Pages

There’s still a few hours left to make your own TTRPG bookmark if you’d like to give it a try. Submissions are open from November 30th 2025 at 7:00 PM to December 15th 2025 at 3:00 AM.

Make weird games!

- E.P. 💀

P.S. If you love tabletop games, you should check out Tumulus. It’s a print-only, quarterly zine packed with Skeleton Code Machine game design content.

Play some weird and wonderful games at shop.exeunt.press.

Written, augmented, purged, and published by Exeunt Press. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without permission. Exeunt Omnes is Copyright 2025 Exeunt Press. For comments, questions, reports from the EZ, or pro tips: games@exeunt.press

Experimental games

Exeunt Press is working on experimental games at a secure, undisclosed location.

Sometimes those games are ready to be tested by others. Those others are you! But remember, nothing at Beep Beep Danger (BBD) is final. Some of it is quite broken.

Feedback appreciated when submitted via the approved channels.

Multiple games may be posted and removed without notice.

The password is: BONEMECH (all caps)

BEEP BEEP DANGER

Turtchester

The first game prototype added to BBD is called Turtchester.1

It’s an area control and open drafting game for 2-4 players that plays in about 30 minutes:

“You are one of the political factions vying for control of the city. Spend influence to control city districts, but know that their worth changes over time.”

The game is inspired by The King is Dead, Beak, Feather, & Bone, and perhaps a little bit of Eschaton. The original idea was more of a roleplaying and/or worldbuilding game, but changed into an area control board game.

Components are limited to a deck of cards, some dice, and generic tokens. You will need to print the city map, victory point tracker, and player boards.

It’s been tested a few times in person (2-player) and on TTS (3-player), but not extensively. It has not been tested at 4-player.

See the FAQ for additional details.

Play Turtchester

Unguided playtesting is hard

Knowing what to ask when playtesting or how to keep playtesters happy is hard enough when you are there to guide the game. It’s even harder when you put your rules out into the world for unguided playtesting.

So remember that the explanation of the rules is being tested at the same time as the mechanisms of the game. What makes sense in my head may not make sense when you read it. If something is confusing, share it via the feedback form.2

- E.P. 💀

P.S. Love tabletop games? Check out Tumulus. It’s a print-only, quarterly zine packed with Skeleton Code Machine game design content.

Play some weird and wonderful games at shop.exeunt.press.

Written, augmented, purged, and published by Exeunt Press. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without permission. Exeunt Omnes is Copyright 2025 Exeunt Press. For comments, questions, reports from the EZ, or pro tips: games@exeunt.press

TTRPG Bookmark Jam

Unknown Dungeon, best known for the annual One-Page RPG Jam, is running a TTRPG Bookmark Jam. Submissions need to fit on a common-sized bookmark and include rules, random tables, procedures, or other tabletop gaming bits.

The requirements are strict and the design space is tight: bookmark only, no other parts allowed.1 While the player may bring their own dice, pencil, and paper, the game may not require character sheets, maps, and the other usual components.

I couldn’t resist the challenge, and released two new bookmark games this week!

There are free community copies of both, so please try them out!2

Blood Chapter

Turn your book into a dangerous hunt

In Blood Chapter, you are a Vampyre Hunter in 16th century Germany sworn to send revenants back to the grave. But beware — you may become the one hunted. Stay ahead of your quarry. Gather power. Strike when ready!

• Use any book you’d like along with two six-sided dice.

• Watch for key words in the text.

• Words will increase the power of either the Hunter or the Vampyre.

• If one side gains enough power, they will strike!

I wanted to play with the idea of a race between two parties who are both hunters and hunted at the same time. They can strike, but need to then build up enough power to strike again if not successful the first time. Oh, and I made a trailer for it!

GET BLOOD CHAPTER

Dragon Pages

Hunt a dragon through the pages of your book

In Dragon Pages, you are a knight on a quest to slay a dragon. Journey to its lair, discovering boons, banes, and omens along the way. But move swiftly, lest your supplies run out! The dragon awaits!

• Use any book you’d like along with a few six-sided dice.

• Watch for key words in the text.

• Words will add or subtract from the attack dice pool.

• Each real day that passes consumes your supplies.

I like how the dragon can move around the book and that your character will starve to death if you don’t read quickly enough.

GET DRAGON PAGES

Printed bookmarks with Tumulus

I plan to do small print runs of both bookmarks to include with specific, upcoming issues of Tumulus:

• Tumulus 06 “Hammer a nail in the coffin.” will include Blood Chapter

• Tumulus 07 “Slay the dragon.” will include Dragon Pages

They will be included both with subscriptions and back issues for those two specific issues when they ship.

Subscribe to Tumulus

Designing bookmark games

Blood Chapter and Dragon Pages are the first bookmark games from Exeunt Press. It’s a format I’ve always wanted to try, and the TTRPG Bookmark Jam was the motivation I needed. I’d consider both games “experiments” in the sense that they are uncharted territory and are meant to try out new mechanisms.

I plan to write a “How to make a bookmark game” article for Skeleton Code Machine in the next week or so, sharing what I’ve learned. There’s a lot to talk about: generating randomness with a book, digital roots, and low/no agency games.3

If you’d like to make your own bookmark game, the jam runs until December 14th 2025 at 6:59 PM.

- E.P. 💀

P.S. If you love tabletop games, you should check out Tumulus. It’s a print-only, quarterly zine packed with Skeleton Code Machine game design content.

Play some weird and wonderful games at shop.exeunt.press.

Written, augmented, purged, and published by Exeunt Press. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without permission. Exeunt Omnes is Copyright 2025 Exeunt Press. For comments, questions, reports from the EZ, or pro tips: games@exeunt.press

Now that I’m safely back from PAX Unplugged (PAXU) and recovered, it’s time to share some thoughts and highlights about this year’s convention.

First of all, it was great. I look forward to PAXU all year and have the best time while there, and this year was no exception. A weekend of seeing friends, meeting people I know only from Discord, playing (and buying) games, and eating great food for four days is amazing.

Even though I come back physically exhausted, I am mentally rejuvenated and filled with creative motivation — riding that post-con high for as long as I can.1

So here are some convention highlights in no particular order.

The first ever Exeunt Press PAXU guide?!

While I usually send out a newsletter about how to find Exeunt Press games at PAXU, this year I expanded it into a full guide. It covered where my games would be, but also other interesting indie booths to visit, the Indie Games Night Market, playtesting at Unpub, new board games, and meetups.

It started as just a list I was making for myself — fellow designers to see, booths to stop by, games I hoped to purchase. Didn’t think much of it, and just wrote down things off the top of my head. Eventually I thought other people might want a copy too. So I posted it.

Turns out, a lot of people liked it!

In fact, a few people told me they were using it as their guide for the con!

So watch for a similar guide next year as well.

The marathon wasn’t a problem (for me).

With PAXU moving to November this year vs. its usual place in December, it ended up being the same weekend as the Philadelphia Marathon. Reddit and other forums were sure this would be a disaster for traffic, hotels, and significantly impact PAXU attendance. I can’t speak for everyone’s experience, but for me, it was basically a non-issue. Other than a bit more difficulty getting my preferred hotel, everything else (e.g. crowds, flow, etc.) were the same as any other year. Plus, I was able to get up early and watch the start of the marathon!

Indie Press Revolution

Indie Press Revolution (IPR) continues to be one of the best places to find and purchase indie games of all sorts. I’m biased because they sell my games too, but I’d love their booth even if they didn’t. They work with hundreds of small creators to give them the ability to get their books into conventions like PAXU. Really cool stuff.

Side Quest Books & Games

This year, Side Quest Books & Games had a table in the PAX Together room at the convention. They worked with indie creators to source books that might otherwise have too small of print runs or presence to get featured, along with some more well-known titles. If you look closely, you might even spot You are a Muffin and Make Your Own One-Page RPG in the photo above. It was great to finally meet Caroline (the owner) in person!

TTRPGkids Indie Self-Publisher Meetup

I can’t thank Steph of TTRPGkids enough for organizing, scheduling, and putting in all the work to make the Indie Self Pub Meetup. To be honest, I was expecting to walk into a room of about 8-10 creators. Instead it was over 30 people who showed up! I instantly felt welcome, chatted, and met new people. The time was up in an instant, and I apologize if you were there and I didn’t get a chance to talk! Really hoping this happens again next year.

Unpub Feedback Frenzy

My first experience with Unpub Feedback Frenzy was at the convention in Baltimore earlier this year. I had never seen anything like it and wrote about pitching at Skeleton Code Machine (SCM) to compile some of my thoughts. The PAXU event was the same format with five sets of designers pitching their game to a panel of industry professionals. I took pages of notes and will probably write another SCM article to share the lessons learned.

What games did I buy and/or play?

The top questions I’ve gotten after PAXU are “What was the best game?” and “What games did you buy?” While I’m not convinced this is the most interesting topic for a newsletter, I will say that Compile was my most played game and Pacts was the one I think about the most. Playthings from DVC was the most interesting demo. The other purchases I’m most excited about include Marie Enger’s Death to the Wizard Kings, Conservas, 20 Strong: Tanglewoods, Griot, and Blood Borg.

It looks like you’re working out.

My watch was pretty convinced that I was working out during the convention. My steps for the main three days were: Friday 13,009, Saturday 15,969, and Sunday 13,742. That’s 6 - 7.5 miles of walking a day. Not enough to work off the cheesesteak from Uncle Gus’ but significant nevertheless.

You’re that guy!

A notable moment was when someone yelled, “HEY, YOU’RE THAT GUY!” in my direction while I was browsing the Plus One EXP booth. I had said that if anyone spots me at PAXU wearing my Skeleton Code Machine shirt, I’d give them a sticker. She had seen my post about that on social media and came to collect!

Reading Terminal Market

The food options around the Philly Convention Center are fantastic. There’s Reading Terminal Market right across the street with cheesesteaks and almost anything else you’d want.2 Sure, it’s crowded at peak hours but never so much that I felt it was unmanageable. Also, Philadelphia’s Chinatown neighborhood is just a block or two away, allowing me to get my mandatory soup dumplings (xiao long bao) almost every day I was there.3

Don’t skip the Christmas Market.

The Philly Christmas market is just a block or two from the main convention entrance and worth visiting. I stopped by Sunday to check out the handmade items and food vendors. It’s a nice break from the convention.

Philly is a great city!

Between the convention center facility, nearby food options, and easy public transportation (Amtrak to 30th Street Station), PAXU has a great location.

Go birds. 🦅

See you next year!

I think that covers everything. Great convention!

I plan to be back again next year and hope to see you there!

- E.P. 💀

Thanks for subscribing to Exeunt Omnes! Play some weird and wonderful games available at shop.exeunt.press.

Written, augmented, purged, and published by Exeunt Press. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without permission. Exeunt Omnes is Copyright 2025 Exeunt Press.

For comments or questions: games@exeunt.press

I recently presented a webinar on “How to run a tabletop game design workshop at your library” hosted by the Indiana State Library. The recording is now available on YouTube!

Subscribe now

Here’s what you will learn

The talk and questions are about an hour and cover how to:

1. Define the scope of their workshop.

2. Choose topics.

3. Pick a workshop format.

4. Have some ideas for hands-on activities.

5. Know how and when to promote the class.

It’s a lot, as noted when discussing how library game workshops benefit everyone.

How to watch

The recording is part of the What’s Up Wednesday series hosted by the Indiana State Library: How to run a tabletop game design workshop at your library.

They have many more videos on games and gaming in libraries that are worth watching too. So check those out when you are done!

- E.P. 💀

Written, augmented, purged, and published by Exeunt Press. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without permission. Exeunt Omnes is Copyright 2025 Exeunt Press.

For comments or questions: games@exeunt.press