Lessons learned at SAF 2024

TUMULUS, MECH WEEK, Save Against Fear 2024, and Cthulhu: Death May Die

Welcome to Exeunt Omnes, the official newsletter for loyal fans and sworn enemies of Exeunt Press, creator of games such as Exclusion Zone Botanist and Eleventh Beast. You can find digital games at games.exeunt.press and physical products at shop.exeunt.press.

TL;DR Summary

• 💀 Subscribe to TUMULUS

• 🦾 The end of MECH WEEK

• 🎪 Lessons learned at Save Against Fear

• 🎲 Recently played: Cthulhu: Death May Die

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💀 Subscribe to TUMULUS

Last week I launched TUMULUS, a project I’ve been working on for quite a while and an extension of Skeleton Code Machine. Like Skeleton Code Machine, it is focused on exploring tabletop game mechanisms, but it’s more than that. I want TUMULUS to be a mixture of articles, design inspiration, playable micro-games, and more.

I had a few, specific design goals for TUMULUS:

• The best articles in print: Many readers have asked for Skeleton Code Machine articles in print. Each TUMULUS issue includes at least two “best of” pieces from Skeleton Code Machin selected to fit the issue’s theme.

• Avoid “time-bound” content: I want TUMULUS to focus on lasting information and inspiration — mechanism analysis and examples that don’t have an expiration date. I want this to earn a permanent spot on your shelf.

• A cohesive (and changing) theme: Everything inside TUMULUS needs to be connected. The first issue’s theme is DO NOT TRUST ROBOTS. The next issue’s theme is completely different. DM me on Bluesky if you want to know what it is.

• Active vs. passive reading: Each issue starts with an assignment — something to do or try. Articles have exercises at the end. I want TUMULUS to be something you engage with rather than just passively flipping through the pages.

• No automatic renewals: When you subscribe, you get 1 year of TUMULUS — one issue per quarter for 12 months. You’ll get a notice to resubscribe (and I hope you do!) but it’s not automatic and that’s on purpose.

If you are one of the first 100 subscribers, you’ll also receive some extras including an art print by Strega Wolf and a Skeleton Code Machine sticker. Gift subscriptions and international shipping options are also available.

TUMULUS Issue 01: DO NOT TRUST ROBOTS

I’m really excited for you to see this! The first issue of TUMULUS is already complete, and I received the test prints on Monday. I’ll order the full print run soon and it will ship in December!

SUBSCRIBE: Subscribe to TUMULUS for design inspiration each quarter.

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🦾 The end of MECH WEEK

I hope you enjoyed MECH WEEK as much as I did. It started with a bang — a featherless biped chicken mech coloring contest.¹ Each day was a new exploration of mechs in tabletop games:

• Part 1: Is Iron Man a mech? (Plato’s Mech)

• Part 2: Heat (BattleTech)

• Part 3: Combat (Lancer)

• Part 4: Pilots (HOME: MECH x KAIJU)

• Part 5: Systems (Apocalypse Frame, KILL ENGN, Eldritch Automata)

All previous Skeleton Code Machine articles (including MECH WEEK) are available in the Archive. Don’t miss the comments on each one! Great insights were shared!

READ: at Skeleton Code Machine

Skeleton Code Machine is an ENNIE-nominated weekly publication that explores tabletop game mechanisms. It’s been called a “Seemingly endless source of gaming ponderings” and a “Goldmine.” Check it out at www.skeletoncodemachine.com.

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🎪 Lessons learned at Save Against Fear

Thank you to everyone who visited the Exeunt Press table at Save Against Fear! I can’t explain how motivating it is to have people come up and say how much they enjoyed playing Exclusion Zone Botanist, You are a Muffin, and other games! I left the weekend convention energized and ready to create!

After each in-person event, I’ve shared a post-mortem to help others who are new to running vendor tables. You can check out the previous ones here:

• Save Against Fear (November 2023)

• MEPACON (April 2024)

• Indie Games Fair (September 2024)

And now the lessons and notes from Save Against Fear (SAF) in November 2024:

• Don’t overlook small conventions: SAF is a tiny convention by most standards with only about 300 people registered. While this means the booth wasn’t busy the entire time, it also allowed time for me to meet others at the convention and have actual conversations. I made valuable connections and was able to really talk to people about my games.

• Cash and cards: About 36% of transactions (~20% of sales value) were cash at SAF 2024, as compared to 17% at the Indie Game Fair, 18% at SAF 2023, and 37% at MEPACON. Setting up the “cash box” feature in the Square POS Terminal handled calculating change and tracking all the sales. I strongly recommend having a plan to accept cash at conventions.

• Running a booth solo is hard: While I did have help for some of Saturday, I was the only one available to run the booth the other days. While it can be done, it can be a challenge. If nothing else, it’s good to have some company during slow periods.

• Business cards you can write on: Multiple times I wanted to give a written note to someone (e.g. my cell number) but the Exeunt Press business cards are printed black on both sides. Would be nice to have one side white so it’s easy to write on.

• “Please touch” sign: I think having a “PLEASE TOUCH” sign on the displays helped. People are always hesitant to pick anything up, so anything that reinforces that it’s ok to grab display copies is good.

• Personal items: It’s in all the “first time vendor booth” guides, but remember to bring ample water, band-aids, chapstick, and personal care items. I forgot to bring extra water on the first day and while not catastrophic, it was inconvenient.

• Take photos of business cards: I appreciate business cards, but they are just too easy to lose during the chaos of the event. This time I immediately took a photo of any cards I wanted to follow up on, ensuring I wouldn’t lose the info even if the physical card went missing.

• More games = longer pitch: Exeunt Press now has five (5) solo TTRPGs, multiple CY_BORG heists, and other products. When someone stops by and is interested in knowing more, it takes a while to explain everything. This is fine for smaller conventions, but I’ll need to refine the pitches at a larger event.

• Label display copies: I put bright yellow DISPLAY COPY stickers on all the display zines. This seemed to work both to get people to pick them up and to not accidentally buy them. I want to make sure customers get a nice, new copy from inventory and not one that has potentially been damaged on the display.

• The Chessex calendar was a hit: I brought a few Chessex 2024 Holiday Calendars to sell, not knowing if there would be interest. They were all gone before lunch on the first day!

• Catalog helps with retailers: Talking to retails is an important part of conventions. Having a printed Product Catalog made those conversations a lot easier. They were able to flip through and see what Exeunt Press offers.

SAF was a really fun event, and I look forward to chances to work with The Bodhana Group in the future.²

SHOP: Get the EP Solo Game Bundle at the Exeunt Press Shop.

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🎲 Recently played: Cthulhu: Death May Die

Cthulhu: Death May Die (2019)

Played two games of Cthulhu: Death May Die (Daviau & Lang, 2019) and had a great time. We played S1E5: Accursed Tide with The Black Goat of the Woods as the elder god and got crushed. Quick reset and played S1E6: Unspeakable Hour. It came down to the last card pull and we almost won, but ultimately lost when time ran out.

Interestingly both episodes are some of the lowest rated, but I thought S1E6 was a really fun puzzle and would happily try it again.

PLAY: Cthulhu: Death May Die

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Thanks for subscribing to Exeunt Omnes!

Check out games.exeunt.press for all the latest games and resources!

- E.P. 💀

1. Thank you to

Justin Vandermeer

for the amazing Plato’s Mech art!

2. The Bodhana Group is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that advocates the use of tabletop gaming as a directed therapeutic and clinical practice that can benefit personal growth as well as enhance social and educational services to individuals and families.