🎲 Your first game jam

Plus 5 new GM-less games, actual play fiction, and a bundle for trans youth

Mar 29, 2023

Game jams are game-designing events centered around a theme with a time limit. They began in video game communities in the early 2000s and have become a popular way for both new and experienced creators to explore ideas, practice skills, and connect with other enthusiasts.

There are currently over 60 active tabletop game jams on itchio, the primary platform for hosting, discovering, and participating in game jams.

I wanted advice on jamming, so I spoke with Andy Boyd, the designer behind Pandion Games and a participant in 15 jams, and Lindsey Bonnette, a writer and game designer currently hosting the Spooky Starry Spring TTRP Jam.

Why join a jam?

A jam theme limits endless creative options and overcomes ‘blank page syndrome.’
Time constraints enable you to prioritize features and make quick decisions.
A community of participants provide advice and accelerate learning. They are also a source of encouragement and engagement.
Game system rules and other resources are often provided by the host. The Firelights Jam, for example, provides a rule system to get you started.
You’ll publish something!

The Soloist is for players and creators of solo and co-op games.
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Advice for your first jam

Join jams with existing systems so you have a starting place for rules.
Participate in the community for that jam.
Pick a theme that excites you.
Start small and focused.
It’s OK to cut content to make the deadline.
Don't worry about polish. Iterate later if you're still interested your idea.

Current and upcoming jams

You can enter jams at any time, so feel free to join one that has already started.

Firelights Jam – March 1 to May 1. Design and publish a game based on the rules system behind Firelights (see The Soloist March 1).
TTRPG Art Asset Jam – March 3 to April 30. Create open-license art assets for tabletop RPG designers to use as an alternative to “AI art.”
Kaijujam 2 – March 23 to April 6. Make a tabletop or video game about giant monsters inspired by Japanese Kaiju movies.
Spooky Starry Spring TTRPG Jam – April 1 to April 30. Write something tabletop RPG related (an adventure, class, a whole game, or whatever you want) within the theme. A chill jam and great one to start with.
Ironsworn Jam 1 – April 1 to May 1. Create whatever content you want for Shawn Tomkin’s classic GM-less fantasy game.
The Dark Fairy Book — MÖRK BORG jam – April 1 to May 31. Create a new dark fairy tale that could be told in the world of the MÖRK BORG RPG. There are three participant voting categories: theme fit, art/layout, and writing.

Go deeper:

The physical game jam list is automatically updated weekly thanks to code written by Bryant Durrell.
Almost 30 entries have already been published for the Firelights Jam.
Almost 70 asset packs are available from the TTRPG Art Asset Jam.
Explore itchio’s detailed instructions on how to host a jam.

2. Five new GM-less games and tools

🌄 Shadows of a Dying Sun

SoaDS was designed by Alan Bahr for roleplaying weird, ✅ dying earth fantasy games. The book contains some great world-building tools and just enough lore, artifacts, and creatures to get you into the theme. The system relies less on random dice rolls and player skill management and more on how the player, enemies, and obstacles manage their resources. Your character’s death is inevitable, but as the end draws closer, they gain boons and scars that grant benefits. Seven pages of solo rules are modified from Sacrifice by Blackoath Entertainment and include action and theme, combat actions, encounter reactions, and other useful tables.
Shadows of a Dying Sun — $9.99 on DriveThruRPG

✅ Lingo check: dying earth fiction is a sci-fi and fantasy genre set in the declining last days of the world. Jack Vance helped shape its themes and style through his four-book Dying Earth series (1950 to 1984).

🐼 Solo Panda Fu

This is a 20-page solo supplement for Yin Yang Panda, the free tabletop RPG about becoming an animal kung fu expert. The add-on’s designer, Peter Rudin-Burgess, provides tips and improvisational techniques. My favorite is "unnecessary assertions,” extraneous information inserted into descriptions, such as the utterly ghost-free inn, that can be revisited for accuracy with a dice roll.
Solo Panda Fu — $4.95 on DriveThruRPG

🧭 Finding My Way Back

This game for 1 or 2 players uses pieces from the board game CATAN to create and explore a world in which you are lost. On the journey home, you will cook, build objects, and have adventures. Created by Waufl for the TTRP + Board(game) jam.
Finding My Way Back — $4.00 on itchio

🧑‍🌾 Polyhedral Garden

This charming solo microgame starts with planting your four-sided dice, then once a day choosing an action like watering, pruning, or pollinating and seeing what happens.
Polyhedral Garden — $1.00 on itchio

⚔️ SPEARS

The Solo Player’s Easy Reference Sheet is a system-neutral roleplaying tool on a single page. It’s good for beginners looking for a very condensed solo resource.
SPEARS — $0.99 on DriveThruRPG

3. Thunderfang actual play fiction

Continuing my series on actual play (AP) fiction created from GM-less games, I spoke with Tavon Gatling about his sci-fi/mystery, Thunderfang. Using Ironsworn: Starforged as his storytelling engine, Thunderfang follows detective Locke Holmes as he dives into a case with his trusty utility bot Watt, aboard the Scarlet Adler.

As a written AP, it takes a different approach than typical AP videos and podcasts.

“It’s very difficult for me to get through an actual play podcast or video,” says Tavon. “This format means you can take 10 to 15 minutes to read an episode like you would a chapter in a book.”

Included within the story narrative are the game moves Tavon uses and the thought process behind his interpretation of the results. Game moves are bolded, but the results and explanation are hidden beneath a toggle to reduce spoilers and keep readers in the fiction. For solo gamers who share their work online, it’s a cool format to consider.

Thunderfang is available for free as a newsletter or on Tavon’s blog which also includes other AP fiction, posts on solo tabletop RPGs, and resources for Starforged.

4. Support trans youth, get 500 games

Over 250 creators have donated more than 500 games to the TTRPG Bundle for Trans Rights in Florida. The bundle, which is available until April 7 for a minimum donation of $5.00, has raised $225,000 for two charities, Zebra Youth and Transinclusive Group, that work directly with trans youth in Florida.

Over 20,000 people have donated. Fundraiser organizer Rue Dickey says that the support has been a source of hope for marginalized youth. “Your $5 (or more) donation matters — not just because the money is funding a good cause, but because it adds your voice to the crowd supporting them.”
The bundle includes several GM-less games including the pastoral fantasy Wanderhome and the Dark Tower-inspired We Deal in Lead.

Anyone who purchases the bundle can receive Alone Against the Dark, a solo ruleset for Call of Cthulhu from Chaosium, Inc.

5. Last roll 🎲

The Twenty Sided Newsletter’s writers Brian Flaherty and Elliot Davis have been diving into solo gaming. In the latest issue Elliot provides an update on his upcoming game Project ECCO, and Brian has a 30-minute interview with Samantha Leigh about her popular journaling game Anamnesis.
Dan’ News has a thoughtful reflection and recommendations on solo games for dealing with grief.

Crowdfunding

Caregiver is a solo storytelling game where you play an exasperated spirit trying to aid a group of clueless heroes on an arduous journey.
Choose Cthulhu is a set of choose-your-own-adventure style gamebooks being Kickstarted by Steve Jackson games.
2D6 Dungeon is a classic dungeon crawler designed for solo play. You can download the rules for free on Board Game Geek.

The April issue of the UK’s Tabletop Gaming magazine includes my piece on solo “god games.” If you don’t live in the UK, you may have access to it digitally through your local library.