The TinyCon Manifesto

How I started and where I'm going.

Waaay back in 5th grade, the first teacher who made the largest impact on my life, Ms. Cullen, had me removed from PS #14 to J.W. Wakeman PS #6 across town by public bus. It was the nearest school with a program to challenge me. I lived in Jersey City, NJ, circa the 1970s; the program was known as Gifted and Talented. I’m still conflicted about efforts like these, but a good thing for me was learning about a little game in a red box called Dungeons and Dragons. That one game made getting up super early, walking several blocks to the public bus stop, and riding it 45 minutes to school solo (5th -8th grades) worthwhile. We played D&D over lunch, sometimes after school at the nearby library. Then I’d have to navigate the bus schedule home at night or walk it back —which I’ve done for the love of RPGs.

That first summer break was rough. I lived too far away to play with my new classmates and didn’t always have the coins or bus passes to make it to the library sessions. Before I acquired my own copy of the red box, I made up rules for dungeon crawling taught to my neighborhood friends: Butch, Half-Mike, Whiteboy-John, and Renard. We played my first DIY sandbox mega-dungeon all summer long. And here I am 100 years later, still making games, teaching games, and building communities — but now I’m aware that’s what I’ve been doing.

I have plenty of event-organizing friends and connections. I got the texts and chats when Warhorn.net announced it was sunsetting (or changing hands, maybe..) of folks who were panicking. As I traded emails or talked with event organizers and remembered my time organizing Games On Demand Online in 2020/21…this became more than making a piece of software. My friend Paul of The Indie Games Reading Club and I often talk about our hobby and the meaning of its community. Is it a community? Or a collection of folks who like gaming? Or something else? Are there community leaders and standards here? Who do I take a grievance to? Questions— I’m not complaining or asking anything of anyone. Is this collection of TTRPGers a community? Should I have that expectation? 🤷🏾‍♂️

But here’s where I’m going:

The TinyCon Manifesto.

For TinyCon.Events, the mission is simple: to build and nurture a community of RPG gamers who value deep, meaningful gaming experiences. I believe in the power of games to bring people together in positive ways, and we’re committed to creating a space where that can happen.

TinyCon.Events is more than just the software; it’s a community-funded platform designed to make event management accessible to everyone, whether you’re hosting a one-time game night, an irregular house con, or a regular convention. Our commitment is to keep the platform ad-free, never sell your data, and ensure the focus remains on creating deeper, more enriching game experiences.

We want TinyCon events to be a place where the gaming community can thrive, supported by those who find value in the software and the connections it fosters. Together, we can build a better, more connected world of RPG gaming—one event at a time. C’mon out to the Kickstarter, get in where you fit, and help me do some lifting.

Discover. Organize. Play!