Playtest Material is an open-access magazine of critical essays about roleplaying games, with each issue featuring many contributors. The excerpts show researched, original essays that connect TTRPG practice to outside traditions such as Japanese rakugo storytelling.
Website: https://playtestmaterial.org/
A board game designer's Substack covering the craft, playtesting, prototyping and business side of making games. Issues in the sample include a beginner's guide to reading manufacturer quotes, an explanation of player agency and modern game design, and an index of the author's best posts.
A personal essay newsletter on games, design ethics and play, mixing critiques of specific titles like Songs of Glimmerwick and Citizen Sleeper with broader reflections on dice mechanics and how design shapes behaviour. Readers get thoughtful, opinionated analysis of game design and the power of everyday objects and interfaces.
PARADISO is a creator newsletter about designing and playtesting otherworldly tabletop RPGs, centered on the megadungeon project The Blades of Gixa. Readers get development updates, design rationale, and old-school rules tinkering such as house rules for Old School Essentials.
Rolling Alone is a personal newsletter from a solo tabletop RPG designer and podcaster, covering his development of the horror game Tabula Rasa and play-by-play journals of other solo RPGs like Broken Shores. It offers design diaries, playtest calls, and reflections on peril, dice luck and solo play.
One short email a week with hand-picked newsletters from the index. Free, no spam, unsubscribe anytime.
