Tabletop SPIRIT Magazine
@tsmag.bsky.social
www.tabletopspirit.com
A FREE quarterly PDF magazine full of boardgaming goodness, powered by passion! Packed with features, interviews and reviews, we cover boardgames and RPGs!
A FREE quarterly PDF magazine full of boardgaming goodness, powered by passion! Packed with features, interviews and reviews, we cover boardgames and RPGs!
Pinned
Just in case you didn't already know, the latest issue of Tabletop SPIRIT dropped last week and you can download it into your browser window totally free with this link... bit.ly/TSM_28 -- Inside you'll find this sort of thing... 1/
Reposted by Tabletop SPIRIT Magazine
Man goes to watch famous clown & notorious depressive Pagliacci, but has a major cardiac event mid-show & collapses, writhing. Pagliacci smiles & says 'you should go see the famous doctor who lives in this town - he's a heart specialist with a sideline in gaffe-ridden mental health advice.'
November 17, 2025 at 2:56 PM
Man goes to watch famous clown & notorious depressive Pagliacci, but has a major cardiac event mid-show & collapses, writhing. Pagliacci smiles & says 'you should go see the famous doctor who lives in this town - he's a heart specialist with a sideline in gaffe-ridden mental health advice.'
Reposted by Tabletop SPIRIT Magazine
Don't be too quick to guess because it's currently a very tight three-way tie!!
Designers & Dragons: Origins passed its next stretch goal over the weekend, which means that we have another poll up for content to add to the backer's-only preview. This one is boxed sets.
Pretty sure I know the winner here, but there's some fine options.
Pretty sure I know the winner here, but there's some fine options.
Designers & Dragons: Origins Project Update: Basic vs Expert vs Forgotten Realms and more! New poll - BOXED SETS.
Friends, we've got just FOUR days left in this campaign.
It's time to tell your friends, tell your neighbors, and tell them what? That you're voting on ANOTHER chapter to ...
www.backerkit.com
November 17, 2025 at 7:36 PM
Don't be too quick to guess because it's currently a very tight three-way tie!!
Reposted by Tabletop SPIRIT Magazine
Been thinking about this overnight and I have come to the horrible realisation that I do in fact very much want a lavish in depth book detailing every single ridiculous Dungeons & Dragons toy, colouring book, back of cereal packet hologram, view finder etc
God help me.
God help me.
November 15, 2025 at 10:36 AM
Been thinking about this overnight and I have come to the horrible realisation that I do in fact very much want a lavish in depth book detailing every single ridiculous Dungeons & Dragons toy, colouring book, back of cereal packet hologram, view finder etc
God help me.
God help me.
Reposted by Tabletop SPIRIT Magazine
Who's up thinking about that first character they ever made?
www.backerkit.com/c/projects/e...
www.backerkit.com/c/projects/e...
November 15, 2025 at 4:05 AM
Who's up thinking about that first character they ever made?
www.backerkit.com/c/projects/e...
www.backerkit.com/c/projects/e...
Reposted by Tabletop SPIRIT Magazine
Some cracking games played in October @bgstatsapp.bsky.social
The Essen releases are trickling through:
Ink - fast abstract race to the finish with great components.
The Hobbit there and back again - a story based roll and write.
@tsmag.bsky.social
The Essen releases are trickling through:
Ink - fast abstract race to the finish with great components.
The Hobbit there and back again - a story based roll and write.
@tsmag.bsky.social
November 1, 2025 at 11:16 AM
Some cracking games played in October @bgstatsapp.bsky.social
The Essen releases are trickling through:
Ink - fast abstract race to the finish with great components.
The Hobbit there and back again - a story based roll and write.
@tsmag.bsky.social
The Essen releases are trickling through:
Ink - fast abstract race to the finish with great components.
The Hobbit there and back again - a story based roll and write.
@tsmag.bsky.social
Reposted by Tabletop SPIRIT Magazine
Less than $70 away from our next stretch👇
Delve into the early history of the hobby. Designers & Dragons: Origins examines the inspiration, design, lore, and stumbles behind *each and every product* TSR published for OD&D, Basic D&D, and AD&D 1E.
Pledge today to access the expanded 140 page backer-only PDF!
www.backerkit.com/c/projects/e...
Pledge today to access the expanded 140 page backer-only PDF!
www.backerkit.com/c/projects/e...
November 8, 2025 at 8:48 PM
Less than $70 away from our next stretch👇
Reposted by Tabletop SPIRIT Magazine
Woot! We have topped $140k for Designers & Dragons: Origins.
Thanks to backers! It's great knowing that I'm not the only one interested in roleplaying history (and that I can publish books on the topic as a result!).
Thanks to backers! It's great knowing that I'm not the only one interested in roleplaying history (and that I can publish books on the topic as a result!).
Less than $70 away from our next stretch👇
Delve into the early history of the hobby. Designers & Dragons: Origins examines the inspiration, design, lore, and stumbles behind *each and every product* TSR published for OD&D, Basic D&D, and AD&D 1E.
Pledge today to access the expanded 140 page backer-only PDF!
www.backerkit.com/c/projects/e...
Pledge today to access the expanded 140 page backer-only PDF!
www.backerkit.com/c/projects/e...
November 9, 2025 at 2:22 AM
Woot! We have topped $140k for Designers & Dragons: Origins.
Thanks to backers! It's great knowing that I'm not the only one interested in roleplaying history (and that I can publish books on the topic as a result!).
Thanks to backers! It's great knowing that I'm not the only one interested in roleplaying history (and that I can publish books on the topic as a result!).
Reposted by Tabletop SPIRIT Magazine
Until the end of the government shutdown, our campaign will be donating $2,500 a month to a food pantry in the Ninth District.
And to my fellow candidates, I challenge you to do the same:
And to my fellow candidates, I challenge you to do the same:
November 8, 2025 at 8:56 PM
Until the end of the government shutdown, our campaign will be donating $2,500 a month to a food pantry in the Ninth District.
And to my fellow candidates, I challenge you to do the same:
And to my fellow candidates, I challenge you to do the same:
Reposted by Tabletop SPIRIT Magazine
Wow I can’t believe I haven’t worked on this game in like half a year! It’s been a busyyyy year for me in the best of ways.
This weekend I spend some time on it, and I think I’m starting to hone in on the artstyle for Shortstack! I'm much happier with the clean vectors over the "realism" effect.
This weekend I spend some time on it, and I think I’m starting to hone in on the artstyle for Shortstack! I'm much happier with the clean vectors over the "realism" effect.
November 9, 2025 at 4:51 AM
Wow I can’t believe I haven’t worked on this game in like half a year! It’s been a busyyyy year for me in the best of ways.
This weekend I spend some time on it, and I think I’m starting to hone in on the artstyle for Shortstack! I'm much happier with the clean vectors over the "realism" effect.
This weekend I spend some time on it, and I think I’m starting to hone in on the artstyle for Shortstack! I'm much happier with the clean vectors over the "realism" effect.
Reposted by Tabletop SPIRIT Magazine
What ancient horrors lie slumbering in a newly discovered tomb deep in Egypt's Valley of the Kings? Today, on the main stage at tabletop.me Chaosium's MOB is taking this wide-eyed crew of investigators to find out... Call of Cthulhu, live at 4pm.
Dubai Outlet Mall, 🇦🇪
Dubai Outlet Mall, 🇦🇪
November 9, 2025 at 7:26 AM
What ancient horrors lie slumbering in a newly discovered tomb deep in Egypt's Valley of the Kings? Today, on the main stage at tabletop.me Chaosium's MOB is taking this wide-eyed crew of investigators to find out... Call of Cthulhu, live at 4pm.
Dubai Outlet Mall, 🇦🇪
Dubai Outlet Mall, 🇦🇪
Reposted by Tabletop SPIRIT Magazine
Another great Games Night. Won Azul on the tie breaker and then came 3rd (out of 4) in Vikings!
November 6, 2025 at 10:52 PM
Another great Games Night. Won Azul on the tie breaker and then came 3rd (out of 4) in Vikings!
Reposted by Tabletop SPIRIT Magazine
Today’s blog post: Burnout creationandplay.blogspot.com/2025/10/burn...
Burnout
A blog about board game creation, design and publishing.
creationandplay.blogspot.com
October 27, 2025 at 11:53 AM
Today’s blog post: Burnout creationandplay.blogspot.com/2025/10/burn...
Reposted by Tabletop SPIRIT Magazine
If you are thinking of gifts for Xmas this year, my book about tabletop games, The Game Changers (UK, other territories) / Across the Board (US, Canada), is out in paperback, audiobook & ebook. I think it is good for anyone who loves boardgames old or new, or who likes stuff on culture & history.
October 26, 2025 at 10:40 AM
If you are thinking of gifts for Xmas this year, my book about tabletop games, The Game Changers (UK, other territories) / Across the Board (US, Canada), is out in paperback, audiobook & ebook. I think it is good for anyone who loves boardgames old or new, or who likes stuff on culture & history.
Reposted by Tabletop SPIRIT Magazine
SPIEL - SATURDAY! 🌟 Here's a video that condenses our 12+ hour day at the halls into 90 seconds and Youtube decided to grace with this terrible cover image. 🤣
youtube.com/shorts/xsh7k...
youtube.com/shorts/xsh7k...
Our twelve-hour #SPIEL day condensed in less than 90 seconds! Many people, many games, many yays!
YouTube video by Semi Co-op
youtube.com
October 26, 2025 at 7:42 AM
SPIEL - SATURDAY! 🌟 Here's a video that condenses our 12+ hour day at the halls into 90 seconds and Youtube decided to grace with this terrible cover image. 🤣
youtube.com/shorts/xsh7k...
youtube.com/shorts/xsh7k...
Reposted by Tabletop SPIRIT Magazine
So Final Fantasy 2 really is an Elder Scrolls predecessor huh - trainable skills, conversation topics, a somewhat open world with high level monsters that will crush you. There are some parallels to the first Phantasy in playing with a wider range of 'role-playing' verbs
October 25, 2025 at 4:51 PM
So Final Fantasy 2 really is an Elder Scrolls predecessor huh - trainable skills, conversation topics, a somewhat open world with high level monsters that will crush you. There are some parallels to the first Phantasy in playing with a wider range of 'role-playing' verbs
Reposted by Tabletop SPIRIT Magazine
The crowdfunding campaign will only be shipping the slipcase + books to the USA. You have several options, outlined here: www.backerkit.com/c/projects/e...
In the UK, we highly recommend leisuregames.com they do a great job of carrying all our latest releases.
In the UK, we highly recommend leisuregames.com they do a great job of carrying all our latest releases.
October 21, 2025 at 8:07 PM
The crowdfunding campaign will only be shipping the slipcase + books to the USA. You have several options, outlined here: www.backerkit.com/c/projects/e...
In the UK, we highly recommend leisuregames.com they do a great job of carrying all our latest releases.
In the UK, we highly recommend leisuregames.com they do a great job of carrying all our latest releases.
Reposted by Tabletop SPIRIT Magazine
I'll be up at dawn (my time!) to answer questions about Designers & Dragons Origins and the history behind it.
Join us on Sunday at 1pm ET.
Join us on Sunday at 1pm ET.
Don't forget we've got @shannonappelcline.bsky.social live on the Sunday show to talk about his all-encompassing 4-volume set on all the early D&D products we love so much! #dnd #origins #adnd www.youtube.com/live/l0YedvL...
Dungeons & Dragons Origins | With Shannon Appelcline | Wandering DMs S07 E34
YouTube video by Wandering DMs
www.youtube.com
October 17, 2025 at 11:26 PM
I'll be up at dawn (my time!) to answer questions about Designers & Dragons Origins and the history behind it.
Join us on Sunday at 1pm ET.
Join us on Sunday at 1pm ET.
Reposted by Tabletop SPIRIT Magazine
LASERSSSSSS ✨
Each game I make for Indie Games Night Market is an opportunity to learn a new process or craft. Last time it was stamps, and this time it’s laser cutting!
Heavenly Bodies 🪐💫🌙 is getting acrylic components! Each piece is a star fragment—when you collect 4 you make a star and win!
Each game I make for Indie Games Night Market is an opportunity to learn a new process or craft. Last time it was stamps, and this time it’s laser cutting!
Heavenly Bodies 🪐💫🌙 is getting acrylic components! Each piece is a star fragment—when you collect 4 you make a star and win!
October 16, 2025 at 2:48 PM
LASERSSSSSS ✨
Each game I make for Indie Games Night Market is an opportunity to learn a new process or craft. Last time it was stamps, and this time it’s laser cutting!
Heavenly Bodies 🪐💫🌙 is getting acrylic components! Each piece is a star fragment—when you collect 4 you make a star and win!
Each game I make for Indie Games Night Market is an opportunity to learn a new process or craft. Last time it was stamps, and this time it’s laser cutting!
Heavenly Bodies 🪐💫🌙 is getting acrylic components! Each piece is a star fragment—when you collect 4 you make a star and win!
Reposted by Tabletop SPIRIT Magazine
October 15, 2025 at 11:36 PM
Reposted by Tabletop SPIRIT Magazine
After last year's Out of Sorts, I've been looking forward to seeing what @connor.alwaysawake.games would come up with next. Turns out, the next thing is two very different board games about the afterlife: Club Spooky and That's the Spirit! My review: spacebiff.com/2025/10/15/c...
Afterlives
Sometimes I think about the afterlife. Not the actual afterlife. I’m suspicious about the probability of any such thing. But the afterlife as it appears across faiths and cultures, as reflect…
spacebiff.com
October 16, 2025 at 12:05 AM
After last year's Out of Sorts, I've been looking forward to seeing what @connor.alwaysawake.games would come up with next. Turns out, the next thing is two very different board games about the afterlife: Club Spooky and That's the Spirit! My review: spacebiff.com/2025/10/15/c...
Reposted by Tabletop SPIRIT Magazine
The ASUS ROG Xbox Ally X is a niche handheld that costs a small fortune, but it's a powerful device that can take all your favourite Game Pass games and play them in your hands.
Review: www.consolecreatures.com/rog-xbox-all...
Review: www.consolecreatures.com/rog-xbox-all...
October 15, 2025 at 1:09 PM
The ASUS ROG Xbox Ally X is a niche handheld that costs a small fortune, but it's a powerful device that can take all your favourite Game Pass games and play them in your hands.
Review: www.consolecreatures.com/rog-xbox-all...
Review: www.consolecreatures.com/rog-xbox-all...
Reposted by Tabletop SPIRIT Magazine
Turn based RPG fans take note!
‘Essence’ is live today! We have had a blast playing this in both co-op, competitive and indeed solo modes and it’s an utterly engrossing RPG with a lot of reason to go back to time and time again
www.kickstarter.com/projects/434...
#rpg #play #win
‘Essence’ is live today! We have had a blast playing this in both co-op, competitive and indeed solo modes and it’s an utterly engrossing RPG with a lot of reason to go back to time and time again
www.kickstarter.com/projects/434...
#rpg #play #win
Coming soon: Essence: A Fortune-Building Strategy Board Game
An open-world, loot-driven, dark fantasy RPG with options for solo, co-op, and pvp gameplay.
www.kickstarter.com
October 15, 2025 at 10:52 AM
Turn based RPG fans take note!
‘Essence’ is live today! We have had a blast playing this in both co-op, competitive and indeed solo modes and it’s an utterly engrossing RPG with a lot of reason to go back to time and time again
www.kickstarter.com/projects/434...
#rpg #play #win
‘Essence’ is live today! We have had a blast playing this in both co-op, competitive and indeed solo modes and it’s an utterly engrossing RPG with a lot of reason to go back to time and time again
www.kickstarter.com/projects/434...
#rpg #play #win
Reposted by Tabletop SPIRIT Magazine
Just a reminder if you'd like to hear me & the British Museum's Irving Finkel talk about the history of boardgames, we're on in Canterbury this Saturday at 5:30pm. I'd love to see you there. I can't wait.
canterburyfestival.co.uk/whats-on/tim...
canterburyfestival.co.uk/whats-on/tim...
Tim Clare & Irving Finkel: The History of Board Games - Canterbury Festival
Global expert on cuneiform tablet games, Dr Irving Finkel speaks to author Tim Clare about our fascination with a good board game.
canterburyfestival.co.uk
October 14, 2025 at 5:01 PM
Just a reminder if you'd like to hear me & the British Museum's Irving Finkel talk about the history of boardgames, we're on in Canterbury this Saturday at 5:30pm. I'd love to see you there. I can't wait.
canterburyfestival.co.uk/whats-on/tim...
canterburyfestival.co.uk/whats-on/tim...
Reposted by Tabletop SPIRIT Magazine
Leaders is an abstract-ish game about drafting heroes mid-action. Also, the box has this really great little drawer. But for all its good ideas, the game struggles to generate drama. My review: spacebiff.com/2025/10/14/l...
Belligeniture
It isn’t often that a title will cause me to spend more time thinking about its system of political succession than its gameplay, but that’s exactly what happens every time I try to bre…
spacebiff.com
October 14, 2025 at 5:20 PM
Leaders is an abstract-ish game about drafting heroes mid-action. Also, the box has this really great little drawer. But for all its good ideas, the game struggles to generate drama. My review: spacebiff.com/2025/10/14/l...
Reposted by Tabletop SPIRIT Magazine
RIP Drew Struzan - a man whose talent and imagination etched onto so many minds throughout the last 40+ years.
His art & posters are some of the first visuals I think of when I think about cinema - an invitation to watch these stories and worlds.
A massive loss 💔
His art & posters are some of the first visuals I think of when I think about cinema - an invitation to watch these stories and worlds.
A massive loss 💔
October 14, 2025 at 3:10 PM
RIP Drew Struzan - a man whose talent and imagination etched onto so many minds throughout the last 40+ years.
His art & posters are some of the first visuals I think of when I think about cinema - an invitation to watch these stories and worlds.
A massive loss 💔
His art & posters are some of the first visuals I think of when I think about cinema - an invitation to watch these stories and worlds.
A massive loss 💔