Happy Monday everyone,

As of this afternoon, all copies of everything I have addresses for have been shipped. Many of you already have received copies of your zines, and the rest of you should receive them very shortly.

Three things:

Special note: I will be out of the country and unavailable to provide any assistance from May 8th-May 24th. 

Thanks again!
Travis

Hi all!

I have had a couple of big boxes on the floor in my office for a week or so now and have finally found the time to pack! (Getting a doctoral degree takes up far more time than necessary.)

I'm thrilled! I will pack and ship most of the games over the next few days. Then the second round will be the week of April 15th. Over the weekend, I will release the PDFs as well!

Thanks for all the support!
Travis

Hello all,

Just a quick update for you that the zines have been in production for the last week and a half and should be shipping soon. If you have not finalized your shipping address, you probably have a week or two.

Here is a TIMELINE for you:

We are still on track for zine distro during early April. I'll let you all know when things arrive, get sorted, and start processing here at Press Pot Games distribution center (AKA, my dining room table).

Travis

Hi friends,

Thanks to everyone who has filled out their survey! That's almost 89% of you, which means I have a good count and can go ahead and move forward with my timeline.

Here is a TIMELINE for you:

This will be a quick turnaround, so thanks for making it all happen! Talk to you all again when zines begin arriving.

Y'all are the best.
Travis

Hi friends,

Surveys have been distributed as of this morning. You can add on some copies of zines if you'd like, but everything else is pretty straight forward. Let me know if you run into any issues. I think everything works correctly.

Here is a TIMELINE for you:

Y'all are the best.
Travis

Hi friends,

Thanks for the support as always! There were quite a few new backers over those last 8 hours, so please go read some of the past updates to get an idea of the timeline, etc.

I will get surveys out some time over the next two weeks.

Y'all are the best.
Travis

Hi friends,

I usually only run 7-day campaigns. This one being 10-days has felt weird, but considering I have been ultra busy at work and school (who knew working full-time and getting a PhD would take up so much time?), this one has flown by!

We have fewer than 30 hours left. I can't thank you all enough for choosing to back my project.

A TIMELINE (this is carried over from the last update)
This is about the time in the campaign I like to start tossing out general dates and timelines of completion. So here you go.

If you are new to my campaigns, you will notice this is about a 3-month window. That's normal. You can ask other backers, I normally do a super quick turnaround. This is actually a bit slower than usual. :)

Last update I talked about Portal and this world, this time I want to talk about more personal zines:

INNERMOST AND REUNIFICATION

Our Innermost Thoughts is a mostly-solo RPG/LARP written the summer of 2020. If you can recall back to that time in the world, you remember the unrest, the hatred and vitriol occurring, the protests, and so much more. Places were literally on fire and everyone was rightfully angry, yet couldn't go anywhere due to lockdown. My wife and I were both educators at the time, really struggling with how we could navigate the world. Our Innermost Thoughts is five small LARPs/RPGs/Experiences birthed out of that frustration. They are really interesting experiences and are rather nontraditional ways to interact with the world around you (i.e., carrying a piece of nature in your pocket or learning how to debate, or interacting with radio waves). This was my first dive into experimental games, into pushing the boundaries of what a game could be. They are all small: 5 games carried out over 32 pages.

Reunification is a 3-5 player question-asking game. This was the first RPG I ever wrote and crowdfunded. It was the first game I ever felt was "good enough" to put out into the world. In it, players take on the roles of a family that has been divided due to a civil war in their country. However, that country is finally reuniting. Over the span of a year, the family members write letters and ask questions to each other in hopes of learning who their lost family members are. It's small and large, personal and general, serious and whimsical. It is loosely based on the experiences of a few former students of mine whose family fled their country due to war. They discussed what is was like talking to family members still in country.

That sparked an idea which has drastically shaped my life these last 5 years. In fact, I launched it February 1, 2019, so I guess this means I have been an RPG designer for 5 years this week. That's wild, friends. I'm not the speediest nor the most prolific. But I hope I am able to bring something new to your lives.

We will wrap up early Friday morning.

With gratitude,
Travis

Hi friends and happy weekend!

In the couple of days since our last check-in, we have blown past 100 backers and look like we will hit 4x the funding goal in the next day or so. Thanks again to everyone for all of the support.

A TIMELINE
This is about the time in the campaign I like to start tossing out general dates and timelines of completion. So here you go.

If you are new to my campaigns, you will notice this is about a 2-3 month window. That's normal. You can ask other backers, I normally do a super quick turnaround. This is actually a bit slower than usual. :)

Over the next two updates, I want to talk about the add-on titles. So first up is:

PORTAL AND THIS WORLD

The Portal at Hill House is a solo journaling game of cosmic horror that was co-designed with my spouse. I did most of the writing and she did most of the graphics and layout. It was our first collaboration on any game thing, so it's extra special to me. Portal was ideated and crowdfunded in the height of uncertainty during Covid-19 lockdown. My spouse and I were both educators at the time and needed something fun and interesting to do. I love cosmic horror; she loves coming up with fun things, so this was it! By far, it is my most popular title and biggest seller. I don't know why this one. But here it is. We have talked for years about a sequel to Portal, one where players went through the portal and are trying to find their way back to this realm. But between career changes and graduate school, there hasn't been much time. Maybe this summer we could poke at things?

this world is not yours is a two-player game where one person plays an abode (like a house or apartment building) and the other player plays the 4 generations of inhabitants of the abode. I love Ben Robbins' Microscope, and this is my love letter to it. It's a game of beats and misses, of digging into events and lineage. I was joined by two fantastic people who contributed scenarios for people to play: Sam Leigh and Danny Quach. I have been honored to be a part of their worlds as they continue to grow and grow and grow into really big names in the RPG space. twiny is full of family and whimsy.

THAT'S IT FOR NOW
As always, y'all are the best. I'm not in this for the fame or the money (though both are nice). I like to make small-form interesting stuff and let people explore it. Thanks for letting me into your gaming world a bit.

Cheers,
Travis

Hi friends,

We have doubled the number of backers since my last update, so hello all old and new! Please go back and read the first update if you want to get a feel for where we are going. I am so grateful for the trust around these little projects of mine.

RPG ZINES
First of all, I didn't realize it has been 2.5 years since I crowdfunded an RPG zine. That is far too long. However, in the meantime (between designing train games, card games, a full-time job, and being a PhD student) I have still been working on and creating RPG zines. I won't lie, I probably have 3 more in some final 10%. In fact, the three that I have come with a fourth one. The zines are seasonal, multiplayer RPGs about exploring friendships. Maybe after this semester I can finalize that last one and send those out.

But I digress...

ASTRONOMICAL
The reason why I think that history is important is because for years now I have wanted to create a zine that actually came with two zines. I wanted players to experience the game together, but this could involve different prompts, mechanisms, and more. Astronomical is my first venture into this journey.

So in case you didn't even read the description pages: You will receive two 8-page zines. The zines are about 50% the same (across most instructions and outcomes), but the prompts and mechanisms are different. This means that the purple zine and the turquoise zine are different, and depending on how you play and which one you pick up, the game will be slightly different. I think that's fun. I hate games where one person has to prep for 3 hours before the game begins. It's not my thing.

To play, you need DICE, CARDS, and PAPER.

DICE represent people on planets. When you roll your 12 dice, some will naturally pair up (like you roll multiple "2"s) and some might be singles (as in you roll only one "5"). Paired dice are people on separate planets who have had some relationship but are currently separated by space. Single dice are people on planets perfectly content living their own lives alone.

CARDS you play from your hand correspond to prompts in your zines, longings, thoughts, emotions, or something else. You will use those prompts to write a short 2-3 sentence letter. If it's a paired die, that letter is addressed to someone on the other planet. If it's a single die, that letter is a wondering or hope for the person who is alone.

PAPER can be index cards, sticky notes, or something else. These are what you write the letter on, and then tuck them underneath the die.

Players do this simultaneously until all 12 dice have been "lettered" and each player has written 6 letters. Then, you resolve what happens to the letters. Do they get delivered or do they get lost?

I'll let you find out that part by yourself.

Thanks everyone. We will be in touch in a couple of days where I start talking about some of the other games up for reprint!

Travis

Hi friends,

I see tons of familiar names in the backer list. I am so grateful to all of you for continuing to support the things I do. Did you know that it was June 2021 since I last crowdfunded a physical RPG zine? That is unforgivable. I guess I was busy making train games and other form-factor RPGs. Truthfully, I'm grateful to get back to making these things. They are what I love the most.

If you are returning, thank you and welcome back! If you are a first-time backer, thanks! You will notice this is a no-frills campaign. I make small RPGs and run small campaigns to back them.

Over the next 10 days you will get an update from me every other day with general information, play updates, etc. I'll spend the updates providing you all with the timeframe and more.

Next time, I'll talk specifically about Astronomical, my newest RPG zine in (apparently) 2.5 years. Wild.

Take care all,
Travis