Made it! 2020's 12 New Games completed!

 Was getting worried some time back if I would be able to still complete my 12 New Games Each Year challenge this 2020. It was bad enough that I've been forced to withdraw from lots of communities I was happily part of, but there was the added challenge then of the pandemic itself making everything quite a mess.

Thankfully, however, we were still able to find ways to hit the mark and this year seems like it will end with 13 games hit, instead of just 12!

12 New Games this 2020

1) Praxis: Black Sun - Sunrise End

2) Protocol: Dinner Guests
3) Protocol: Chebyshev Function
4) Maze Rats
5) Dreams of the Aquarium
6) Trinity Continuum
7) Eldritch High
8) Jim Henson's Labyrinth: The Adventure Game
9) Takipsilim playtest
10) Night's Black Agents
11) Parsley: Pumpkin Town

12) Root the RPG
13) Legend of the Elements

I'm very happy that I was still able to achieve this personal goal despite all the events that could have complicated things.  I still am hoping to finish and release a game this year and I still am happy that other people are either discovering tabletop rpgs for the very first time  or expanding on their roster of experiences through us. It is always quite an honest joy to help out the community even in no matter how small a way.

Thank you all for playing.
Here's to a better year in 2021.

Sickening Queens finds some love

Just wanted to share the small joy of realizing that one of the games I wrote, Sickening Queens, actually received some love.  Fiasco was one of the game systems that opened my eyes to the wide-range of potential stories one can tell with collaborative gameplay.  After enjoying my first few experiences playing Fiasco, I felt compelled to try to contribute a game or two to the vast range of experiences that were available.  I wrote a Romantic Comedy one called Bad Timing (which was inspired by this script I hoped to someday produce), and my love letter to local Philippine Drag and our drag queen friends, in a book named, Sickening Queens.



Jason Morningstar had a curated collection of playsets which he really liked. I was curious to see what games got the nod and was pleasantly surprised to see a few intriguing titles which I wanted to try out.  But what really surprised me was the later page which had the following list:

 

Sickening Queens made the cut! I feel so happy to know it was well-received. I only hope more people give the game a try.  May this help boost the signal out to the amazingness that is local Filipino drag and even drag in general!

Happy Holidays to Solo Boardgamers Philippines!

Was very happy to help spread the joy of tabletop gaming and Christmas cheer this year by giving away free copies of a number of TAG Sessions games in the 2020 Virtual Christmas Party for the Solo Boardgamers Philippines group.

With over 50 attendees, it was quite a wonderful treat to know that gaming is alive and well despite the current pandemic.  I was honestly happy to give some games out as it was my desire to see more people find ways to cope with the stresses of the lockdowns.  It is quite possible that for many, the pdfs might be their first steps towards trying tabletop role-playing games and I am very happy to help them explore that new geekdom.  

I want to extend further thanks to my TAG TEAM SUPPORTERS:  Rocky, Hello, Mirai, and Tanya for always being there to help support these engagements!  Thanks to you three, over 50 people now have copies of my games for free!  

Here's hoping that they all enjoy it (or if not, pass it on to someone else who might!)  Gaming keeps us going!  Happy Holidays!

We played ROOT the Tabletop Roleplaying Game!

Our usual Pendragon Campaign had to be rescheduled for now due to adulting reasons, so we decided to take a dive into another game to make the most of the time.  After spending some time to look at our options, we realized we could use this opportunity as a 12 New Games item for me.  So I checked if the rest of the group would be interested in playing, Root The Tabletop Roleplaying Game.

Oh man, ROOT was such a treat.

The way it uses the engine Powered by the Apocalypse is just amazing. It is kind of frustrating that in the Quickstart only Vagabonds are available, but even there its quite exciting seeing how the system works and makes each one unique.  The use of the boardgame's map itself as a prop was super fun too! And we we liked having fun injecting information from the boardgame experience into the game itself.

The three played Vagabonds who found themselves in the center of the Eyrie attempting to suffocate a Cat dominated clearing by cutting off its supply chains. But after some hilarious moments with the Riverfolk and some odd dealings with the Lizard Cult, the three soon learned they best helped the Woodland Alliance to bring some level of control in the region. With their help, the Mouse territories rose up and shattered all chains binding them to other factions.
Freedom is within reach.

Some examples:

"The Eyrie are traditionalists. They can be predictable. And we can use that to our advantage!"

"The Woodland Alliance cannot take all three regions at once. Only one region per faction would heed their calls."

"We're here merely to welcome you to our faith. The Cult does not join politics."

"Don't trust them. They might seem harmless but that's because they prefer to move at Night. Shall we meet come tomorrow's Birdsong?"

And best of all, this game was the game that allowed me to finally hit the 12 New Games a Year challenge this year!  Whooo hooO!  I was so scared that this year would be a failure.  Thankfully, friends were there to help usher us across the finish line.

Keep playing!

 

Played a session of Parsely #6: Pumpkin Town

While hanging out with our friends online after an episode of Baduy Pride, we decided to try playing something that can accommodate a lot of players at the same time.  I took this as a chance to introduce to them Memento Mori Theatricks' Parsley games.  In particular, after naming the different games out there, they chose Pumpkin Town! 

These games are designed to emulate the old text adventure parser games from the 1980s. One person, in this case, me, plays the computer, while everyone else tries to figure out the commands and actions needed to go through the adventure.  It was quite fun, although at some point we opted to "save" the game and switch to a different one. But it was definitely an experience! 

Thank you for playing!