July Roundtable: Journaling Games

July Roundtable: Journaling Games

July, being the peak of summer here in the US, is maybe not the time when we’re at our most introspective. But maybe it should be! This month, we’re taking a look at journaling games, a genre of… well, we’ll call them physical games, because that’s what itch.io does. In these games, players use notebooks or their preferred writing format to respond to game prompts, sometimes ending up with an art object (a la keepsake games), sometimes with a great story, and sometimes just (just!) with a wonderful experience under your belt. (more…)

Review: Haulways Trucking Inc Provides A Much-Needed Escape

Review: Haulways Trucking Inc Provides A Much-Needed Escape

When I started playing Haulways Trucking Inc in December, I was interested in how playing as a long haul trucker might be a way for me to reflect on my own sense of isolation, brought on—and this may come as a surprise to many—not by lonesome cross-country drives but by a combination of being disabled and living through a pandemic in a wildly ableist society. My intention going into the game was to draw heavily on this theme, exploring how my character felt about encountering strange and scary things on the road, with nobody else to lean on and only their vehicle as reliable refuge. What I wasn’t expecting was how leaning into the game’s sense of adventure and magic also provided me with a much-needed escape from my real-life loneliness.

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REVIEW: Playing Make Believe with Field Guide to Memory

REVIEW: Playing Make Believe with Field Guide to Memory

As a newly converted fan of solo tabletop RPGs, Field Guide to Memory immediately caught my attention—not only did it combine my passing interest in pretty journals with cryptozoology, but it featured contributions from several of my favorite authors. (more…)