Haha! I was thinking back on games for that last slot and remember having such a great time with that one — laughing AND crying. I really want to love playing regular Borderlands but the FPS perspective is hard on my brain.
Me, please!
Had quite a bit of fun putting this list together. I don’t have much time to play these days. 😭
I honestly never imagined writing a self-help book but that’s what I was approached for and it turned out to be a beautiful little book. I’m glad it’s out in the world but would love to have more opportunities.
How To Be More D&D, which is part self-help and part gamification of life through the lens of D&D. But as a narrative game designer (and former YA author) I’d love opportunities to do things like pick-your-path adventures or adventure game books, etc. It’s not easy getting a publishing deal though!
Agreed. I wish it was as easy as just pitching a great idea. I was lucky to have a publisher approach me and even though the book is still doing well, face out on shelves at B&N, I haven’t had a followup book after several years.
Now that I’m back in Canada with zero intention of traveling to the US, I’m keeping an eye out for Canadian cons. I’ll have to see if I can make it to this one next year!
But also, maybe the answer is letting the strange woman keep the sword for herself and leading the charge. 😉
Absolutely the vision of Strahd that matches what is in my mind. This piece is truly perfection. 💕
I've got a few seats left for a mini campaign of "What You Do in the Shadows," a Vampire the Masquerade Game. This is a rules-lite, role-play heavy game meant to embrace the antics, themes, and world of the similarly named mockumentary movie and TV series.
startplaying.games/adventure/cm...
This makes SO much more sense! 🙏
Thanks! I’m so happy to be here. The announcement I saw said we’d start switching between Mountain and Pacific time which was so confusing to me. Regardless I look forward to not having to change all the appliance clocks in the future!
I just moved to the province recently and also worry about the scheduling confusion. The announcement I saw said nothing about a new time zone, but that would be so much more helpful than just switching between Mountain and Pacific!
FWIW, we have some cool alternative gaming industry events in Canada!
@xpgaminginc.bsky.social has events in Toronto and Halifax in May and June,
plus MIGS in late 2026.
Also in June is @torontogamesweek.com and Edmonton-based Game Con Canada’s inaugural North American Games Industry Summit.
Boromir from THE LORD OF THE RINGS, holding The One Ring. He thought he could use it for good, but everything done with the ring turns to evil. He was one of the mightiest warriors of middle earth, and he could not resist its powers. Others even mightier fell to the ring. Do you think you are stronger than them? The One Ring is generative AI.
Techbros seem to love Tolkien, so here's an analogy to help you understand what genAI is.
GenAI is The One Ring. You think your use is justified, b/c you don't have evil in your heart.
But it came from evil, it is intended for evil purpose, & anything you do with it will be twisted to that end.
This is the cutest little cutie ever!!! 💚
👀 Your maps are awesome! You did maps for my MCDM hobgoblins right? I feel like that’s the only time we’ve “worked” together (so far).
This looks like so much fun! I've contributed to Big Bads in the past both as a designer and actual play "agent" and I love this "Be bad, do crimes" take: www.kickstarter.com/projects/hit...
I believe Publishers Weekly makes some of these announcements.
Finished my daily calls (voice mails this morning) begging my reps to not fund the group that could haul me off the street with impunity for "looking Asian".
Now to my regular begging people on social media to please make the calls too. It takes 5 mins. Get over your anxiety - people are dying.
👀
Shades of orange on the background in a painterly splatter.On the right side is an image of me, Kat Kruger, a light-skinned Asian woman with a pixie cut. I'm wearing a dark green top and black-rimmed cats eyeglasses. Words on the page read: "Where Words Meet Play. Game design, Adventure writing, Narrative content including books and lore, Professional game master. Accepting new projects. steampunkunicornstudio.com
A pinned update. I'm Kat Kruger, a narrative game designer and author available for freelance or contract work. Let's connect: linktr.ee/krugerkat Interested in hiring me as a professional game master? Check out my StartPlaying profile in the links.
Same thing happened to me this week. My 18-year-old Tofu dog is still in the US where I had to leave him with my partner who I’m sponsoring into Canada. I hope you get visits with your kitty.
I saw a cooking show once (while sick) where the person used potato chips as a substitute for bread crumbs.
Just a reminder, friends, you are under no obligation to watch videos of violence: By all means, do keep yourself informed by watching or reading reliable news sources, but you don't have to subject yourself to second-hand violence and trauma. Please curate your feed according to your needs.
A timely reminder that you can turn off autoplay on videos through your settings. Take care, everyone. 🫂
A tale of two countries: In the USA, spent years trying to navigate the system trying to get my bright kid support & wound up paying out of pocket for OT. In Canada, signed up for community centre programs, mentioned he could get dysregulated in certain situations & immediately got FREE 1:1 support.
⚔️ 🐦⬛
🧙 🐉
2026 is starting off with a bang in the TTRPG sphere. While I don’t have huge news like my amazing peers who deservedly have taken on some great roles, I’ve got a bunch of cool freelance projects in my inbox that I’m incredibly excited about. 🔥
