Monday Musings #132 🤬
What got played, dropped and what's next.
Good Monday, Gamer!
“It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.” — Ursula K. Le Guin
Like most years, my ambitions far exceeded my calendar.
Some games hit the table. Some lived entirely in notebooks. Some showed up in prep and notes but never quite made it to the table.
What did get played tended to share a few traits: tight campaign premises, forgiving schedules, and clear session lengths—think 4-5 sessions with an option to continue another 1-3. That’s my one secret weird trick.
Standout sessions this year: Mythic Bastionland, Black Sword Hack, Flying Circus. I’m biased; however, I would have had a great time playing anything with the folks in these sessions.
Games That Changed How I Think
Not the “best” games.
The useful ones.
Jiangshi — This has a strong time and cultural premise, delivered without lecture and presented in a game-accessible way. The game mechanics are even a statement. I’ll keep this in mind as I work on what I have to offer in a cultural premise RPG.
Mythic Bastionland — What this game manages to do with the “simple” mechanics of Into the Odd, Knights, and three stats is fantastic. 7ishsessions and a wrap were perfect. Would play again!
Flying Circus — Crunchy PbtA, yes please! Car Wars-ish lonely fun building planes. Yes please. The downtime mechanics that alone make this game soar.
Miseries and Misfortunes — Crunchy. Built for campaign play, and while historical settings don’t really do it for me, I can turn up the strange dial to 11 for M&M. Love to revisit this in 2026.
Creative Fuel This Year
Working with Sarah Doom on Muses of Play (recording in edits) and talking with our fantastic guests solidified some approaches to creativity for me. It’s not one thing...it’s all of the things.
Conversations with other gaming friends. The Peripheral, Count Zero, Dandadan. Terence Crawford matches. 52 miniatures on YouTube. 3I/Atlas, Hitting the golf range and the folks I’ve met there. Writing SecretKC and all the local experiences that come with that. Re-watching Farscape, GotG 1, and Marco Polo. Playing guitar in a youth group band, an adult band, and a holiday band, and getting back on the skateboard.
Feeding the mind still matters, and at my age, moving the body. Possibly more than ever.
Making Moves
Mad-dice.com is still rolling... I’m happy with the number of games being run using it. Updates coming!!
Tiny-Con is getting updates and some small test runs before we release it in 2026. We’re aiming for that spot between free-to-use and premium pricing. Still focused on game clubs/stores, house cons, but we’ll take Big Con Cash too.
I’m trying to get a demo into Steam Fest next year—my first shot will be in Feb 2026. Zero Day Bandits is my Deckbuilder RPG love letter to Netrunner. I’ve got an MVP on paper...we’ll see.
What I’m Carrying Into Next Year
Returning to IRL for a campaign game of Monster of the Week — and I’m AMPED about that. I’ve been mainly running open-table/one-shot formats and I miss the weekly IRL table.
Diceology returns in 2026. I’m consolidating everything under one banner and platform. Starting with Muses of Play with Sarah Doom and I. Mostly to quit having to crosspost to 2-3 platforms.
Sunday Morning games! That’s been the GOAT this year for me.
Help Shape What Play Fearless Becomes Next
Before I wrap this up, I want to hear from you.
Substack has a built-in survey feature, and you’ll see it right after this section. It’s short, and it genuinely helps me understand what’s resonating, what you want more (or less) of, and how you’re actually playing right now.
If Play Fearless has been useful to you this year, this is the best way to help guide what it becomes next.
Thanks for reading this year. Truly.
Whether you’ve been here since the beginning or just found Play Fearless recently, I appreciate the time and attention you’ve given me.
However, you’re closing out the year—busy, quiet, reflective, or already looking ahead—I hope you find space for play that fits your life!
I’ll see you on the other side.
ICYMI
Judd’s Forgotten Cairns - A Cairn RPG port of the Forgotten Realms
Sarah Doom OSM - You know you wanna know!
Advice for Running a Hexcrawl - Save vs TPK!
Keith Senkowski - Adaptations - and Art!!