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In September the @sanjenarocoop released the Short Games Digest Fall 2020, which was Volume 6 of this quarterly publication. 17 talented creators worked on this project, which was themed around ideas of peace, reformation and building better worlds.
It's the best we've done yet.
It's the best we've done yet.
You can get it in digital or print through DriveThruRPG, or in digital only through Itchio. It starts at just $10 and you get 8 incredible games which I know you're going to love. I'm going to talk about them below, but here's the link in the meantime. http://www.tinyurl.com/SJCDigest6
The cover art is drawn by @akooros and coloured by @BriDanann and comes from the game Pilgrimage. It does so much to evoke the feel of that game and is emblematic of the collection as a whole. The style of this cover works perfectly for what we wanted to get across.
The issue had two forewords - one by our illustrious founder @machineiv which talks about where the Co-Op is and is headed, and one by @propergoffic who was project lead. They talk about the themes of the issue, which I'll go into a bit in the next tweet.
This issue is about building better worlds: imagining a fantasy universe which is better than our own. We do this by reclaiming and reforming the broken institutions of power: how things might look if we lived in the worlds we wanted. And we approach it by going beyond conflict.
The first game in the digest (which is always ordered alphabetically by game name) is AT LAST SIBLING, THEY ARE LEAVING, which is by me, @IAmPhophos. It was edited by @propergoffic and contains art by @BriDanann, @BasiliskOnline and @nynphaiel and graphic design by @elalfil.
At last sibling, They are leaving is a hack and sort-of sequel to @bullypulpit_hq's Durance, by whom I was very kindly given permission to do this unofficial fan tribute. Durance is one of my favourite story games ever written, and I wanted to explore its themes, but peacefully.
ALS,TAL is about what might happen if decolonisation were to happen responsibly. It looks at how a colony of people who weren't supposed to be somewhere decide to leave. It's about the interactions between that colony and the first people to be in a place.
You play either a human or one of the first inhabitants of the planet where these humans were placed, unceremoniously, in a penal colony. That penal colony has already been dissolved, violently. This colony is now trying to live, and to leave, peacefully.
The point is to examine how communities become interconnected and then, perhaps, how that disentanglement process looks and feels.
I don't write many hacks, but my obsession with this system is tangible and this is probably the best hack I've ever written. I love it.
I don't write many hacks, but my obsession with this system is tangible and this is probably the best hack I've ever written. I love it.
A big shoutout also to @Pidjj who did very good work on sensitivity reading this game. Thank you so much - I would not have had the confidence to publish it had it not been for you. 
The next game is @angsthuman's Drama Kids, a game about the kids in drama class and their relationships. Oh, and they have super powers.
It's edited by @propergoffic and illustrated by @BriDanann and @BasiliskOnline.
It's edited by @propergoffic and illustrated by @BriDanann and @BasiliskOnline.
Drama Kids is concise and to-the-point. It's also (self-described as) "loosey-goosey"; there are no dice, and everything hinges on the story and what the players think is the most dramatically appropriate way to continue.
About half of it is written as a screenplay, which is a lot of fun to read (probably less fun for layout to do).
This game will definitely lead your group to exciting and fun narrative arcs, and if you want to dabble with masterless, diceless games, here's a cool place to start.
This game will definitely lead your group to exciting and fun narrative arcs, and if you want to dabble with masterless, diceless games, here's a cool place to start.
The third game is @Psi_Kik's Pilgrimage: A Game About How Everything Changes, which I edited. It's illustrated by @nynphaiel and @akooros (see the cover art) and the sensitivity reader was @KamalaKaraA1.
It's a game about resource couriers between communities in the apocalypse.
It's a game about resource couriers between communities in the apocalypse.
This is a game about environmental apocalypse: something destroys all of the things which makes the modern world possible. Couriers ship stuff between communities, but the most important these is stories, and hope.
I love this game.
I love this game.
This story highlights the passage of time so well, and has brilliant mechanics for burnout and other things, and I just want you to pick it up and play with it. It's so much better than any other apocalypse game you might care to mention.
@elalfil's Reclaim is next, edited by @nynphaiel and illustrated by both of them. This is a thoughtful hack of The Dark Forest by @trumonz and @lackingceremony with some major differences that highlight the themes of the game really neatly.
Reclaim is about a community of "monsters" which has been ransacked by a group of "heroes". This is a snarky side-eye to the principles of DnD modules which have you destroying the Other and stealing their stuff.
This game has you rebuilding this community from the burning remains, and working out how you'll interact with the outside world afterwards. Revenge? Reconciliation? Repair? Your actions as a community will decide.
One of the finest things about this game is the twists on OSR that it hits: the Almanac is a d66 table, the conceit is in stark contrast to those expectations, and you're giving life to the Other that is normally dehumanised.
It's very good, y'all. Please throw money at it.
It's very good, y'all. Please throw money at it.
Halfway through. I'm gonna shout out to the layout designers @BasiliskOnline and @byfrancita. They've both done a stellar job with this edition. If you need people to do book layout for you, these two will add a certain JE SAIS EXACTEMENT QUOI to your game. Hire them!
Here's that purchase link again. http://www.tinyurl.com/SJCDigest6
Next up is @nynphaiel's offering The Breath I Breathed, which is beautifully self-illustrated.
You should commission Nynphaiel to draw for you by the way. Her work is always completely stunning.
This is inspired by the works of Ursula LeGuin from whose works the title is taken.
You should commission Nynphaiel to draw for you by the way. Her work is always completely stunning.
This is inspired by the works of Ursula LeGuin from whose works the title is taken.
This game looks at the aftermath of the #AttackAndDethroneGodJam, in many ways. It's about how a deposed deity travels to the mundane world, and forges and accepts their new position amongst the mortal folk.
You can play this game by yourself or with three players in total. Nynphaiel writes a games that disrupt the traditional format; this one uses tarot and has weird player dynamics. It's innovative and cool.
(it also has a succinct breakdown of the different tarot traditions!)
(it also has a succinct breakdown of the different tarot traditions!)
It's very simple to play: draw cards, consult the oracle, answer the questions and tie it to a theme. When you run out of stops on your journey, then you've found your new home, and the game ends.
It's very elegant, with clever, engaging and moving questions.
Big love from me.
It's very elegant, with clever, engaging and moving questions.
Big love from me.
@realjamesbarton is an SJC veteran and their offering this time is The Goblin Wood, a lovely OSR-adjacent game with lovely art by @akooros and @nynphaiel.
This is a very nice, neat little game about travelling to the heart of a fae-inhabited magick woodland, extracting something that will save your family and possibly the world.
Also? You're gonna lose something on the way. And it might not be something you expect.
Also? You're gonna lose something on the way. And it might not be something you expect.
This game has a simple but effective system of bartering: you find stuff and use it in exchanges as you progress through the wood to find what you need.
These things include your name, for example, or strange artefacts, or even stranger things.
These things include your name, for example, or strange artefacts, or even stranger things.
Undead Author has done a brilliant job at devising new twists on fae legends. I think you should check out this game with its wonderful, evocative d66 table of bizarre goods for exchange, and tell us about your adventures in the Goblin Wood.
11/10 would recommend.
11/10 would recommend.
Two more games to go. I've been reminded to tell you about our Itchio page. We get more money if you buy through Itchio. http://san-jenaro-co-op.itch.io/sgd6
Each of the 17 contributors to this issue will get paid for every copy you buy. It's split fairly and rates are tweaked every issue to get better pay for creators.
We are ridiculously proud of our model of working and I thoroughly recommend doing creative development in a coop.
We are ridiculously proud of our model of working and I thoroughly recommend doing creative development in a coop.
The next game is The Hitchhiker's Guide to Elfland by my friend and editor @propergoffic (I edited this game). @BriDanann and @nynphaiel illustrated it. You? You should play this game right away.
This game is everything that this Digest is about.
This game is everything that this Digest is about.
Jonathan made this game with a few ideals in mind: exploration as tourism; magic as a tool; places as drivers of narrative; and violence as a last resort.
This game is everything that a Douglas Adams, Terry Pratchett and Mervyn Peake would put into a roleplaying game.
This game is everything that a Douglas Adams, Terry Pratchett and Mervyn Peake would put into a roleplaying game.
You are never exploring a virgin land in DnD, and this game acknowledges that. You're on someone else's land. Behave like you're a guest, and don't screw up or you'll be in Deep Trouble (a phrase which forms part of the mechanics).
Magic shouldn't be anything other than a means to an end. This game gives you runes as magic which are wry puns wrought into one-shot vaguely useful spells. It's very Rincewind. It's also much smarter and makes for a more open, simple magic system than 90% of fantasy games.
When you build locations in this game, you make a beautiful topology of dice results. How that looks is up to you, but it gives you branching options for moving through a landscape. Some of the neatest and most succinct worldbuilding mechanics I've ever seen.
As for violence? There are no rules for violence. There are no martial driven characters. You... explore. Explorers shouldn't be killing local people. They should be polite, and friendly, and do what they're asked by the people they meet.
Violent explorers? Never heard of 'em.
Violent explorers? Never heard of 'em.
This game is amazing and you need to read through it to get to grips with it. Even read it as a supplement on how to do exploration in a game /better/. In short, it's just wonderful.
Go and throw all of your money at @propergoffic. There is no way you could regret this decision.
Go and throw all of your money at @propergoffic. There is no way you could regret this decision.
