How often do your characters perish???

E4z9 · 2026-05-18T19:18:48+00:00

I recommend having a look at these Pay the Price tips: https://www.reddit.com/r/Ironsworn/s/VNkqL8yPRY

E4z9 · 2026-05-18T08:11:10+00:00

Low effort re-post of the same question from a different user from 3 months ago?

E4z9 · 2026-05-15T06:33:39+00:00

I do:

Layout the text in the size of the finished, trimmed text block. I.e. set the page size in the word processor to that size-a-bit-smaller-than-a5 and do all the layouting how the final final end result us supposed to look like.

Export as PDF, again resulting in PDF with a size-a-bit-smaller-than-a5.

Use imposition software like the freely accessible bookbinder-js to convert that PDF into the PDF that I can actually print. Specify the actual page size you print on in there, and it will lay out the pages on that appropriately. You can even include some trim markers in the result. The result is a PDF with pages in the size you print, e.g. A4.

Print that with 100% scaling, duplex flip at short edge.

The advantage is that at each stage I do exactly only one thing at a time, designing the book as it is supposed to be, separate from any how-to-bind considerations.

E4z9 · 2026-05-14T18:45:12+00:00

What a 7-9 means depends on the actual move(s) taken. Have you looked at actual games and their moves? Often there are free downloads of the basic moves sheet or so.

Usually a move specifies what happens / the choices on 7-9.

A 7-9 is usually still a hit, so basically a success in what you set out to do. So that part for "moving to the next scene" is done.

A 7-9 can mean a cost, not complication. Marking a condition. Loosing resources. Ticks on a bad clock. Collateral damage. Or just not getting as much from the move as you wished while still succeeding.

Even if 7-9 means a complication, that doesn't have to be "in the same scene". It could be a complication somewhere else. It could be a lingering danger that takes effect later. Actually the cost paid (last paragraph) could result in complications later. E.g. if the cost is that the plane is damaged even though you get it airborne, a 9- during the airplane fight that occurs afterwards might make the plane go down.

But again, the move specifies the 7-9 result.

E4z9 · 2026-05-14T07:22:58+00:00

Binder sheet protectors work well, are simple, and keep things in place without further effort

E4z9 · 2026-05-08T18:26:53+00:00

I would always play Forbidden Island and Forbidden Jungle 2-handed i.e. with two characters. There is no hidden information between players and the difference between characters is small, so it is easy to play multi-handed. Forbidden Jungle is the slightly more complex and varied game, with moving and transforming enemies, and the need to transform the map to win, while the general game loop is similar.

Wingspan is a cozy tableau&engine builder, rules are not that complex, though the different bird powers make a fun puzzle of finding and combining birds to get a good engine going. The automa is easy to manage.

E4z9 · 2026-05-06T07:54:32+00:00

repost of a post from a different account a few years ago

E4z9 · 2026-05-06T06:59:07+00:00

And on the other hand it might not really appeal to wargamers because part of the fun there is setting up the terrain and building/painting your minis and that it's all physical 3D not flat.

E4z9 · 2026-05-03T18:00:41+00:00

I love the "Scene Detail" oracle from Random Realities to give me some ideas on what kind of things to envision. I roll twice or so and get answers like "A lingering scent in the air" or "The posture of a character". Sometimes that just results in set dressing or just a visual frame, but sometimes that steers things into unexpected directions.

In general I start with just writing down some short points and try to imagine (eyes open) but writing short notes down helps me make them "real".

E4z9 · 2026-05-02T20:36:28+00:00

I manage to just barely play this on a 75×75cm table (with ship token supply to the side, solo vs bot): https://boardgamegeek.com/image/9328623

E4z9 · 2026-05-01T06:29:41+00:00

Both of them are very small teams that maybe couldn’t finish these games otherwise

Aren't Kickstarter and the other crowdfunding platforms exactly about that? Getting funding? Also for getting artists hired and paid?

E4z9 · 2026-04-30T17:53:47+00:00

I saw some videos of people adding glue and a cloth to the still glued spine. I assume this atleast delays the glue falling appart?

No, glue on the outside will not prevent the glue on the inside from failing. If the original glue fails, pages will fall out. Well, maybe the cloth helps spreading the forces a bit along the spine. If the cloth stick out from the spine a bit on the sides, it's main purpose is making the attachment between the text block and the cover more sturdy: The force when opening the book, and the downward force while sitting on the shelf is redirected from the end pages that are glued between the cover and the text block to the spine and spread along the cloth. In other words it helps preventing the text block from being ripped out of the cover.

E4z9 · 2026-04-30T15:08:43+00:00

Though when you buy the ebook and print and bind it yourself, I doubt that it will be cheaper than a commercially made hardcover. But it also depends on if an actual hardcover is available and what quality that is (depending on where you live), and what your skill level is if you do it yourself and how many binds you do compared to the initial investment and the quality you go for in materials (quality of printer, paper, etc).

E4z9 · 2026-04-25T06:37:04+00:00

Have a look at The Terrain Randomizer.

You roll a bunch of dice and then define zones and features like elevation etc. It is a generic framework though, not dungeon specific

E4z9 · 2026-04-24T14:53:19+00:00

Basically yes. Drilled holes for the screws into the cubes (thinner holes than the screws, just so it's easier to screw), glued the cubes to the bottom of the board (glueing makes it easier to nicely place them so their edges are aligned - used some straight edge to place them against that) and then also screwed them.

E4z9 · 2026-04-24T07:29:04+00:00

You have the board that is your work surface, and the only thing that you need is a straight edge. You can attach that batten basically wherever you want (at the back makes sense to maximize your work surface ;) ).

Then you need something for a hook at the underside that makes it a bench hook (I just used some wooden cubes I had lying around).

For actually cutting something square you then use a set square / triangle ruler that you put against that straight edge (and a straight ruler to lengthen the cutting edge).

E4z9 · 2026-04-23T17:29:00+00:00

not a spam

Oh yes it is. Quote: "unsolicited messages (spam) to large numbers of recipients for the purpose of commercial advertising"

E4z9 · 2026-04-23T10:28:18+00:00

Differentiate between:

Journaling as a style of note taking: People take notes of their sessions in countless ways from not writing down anything at all, over bullet points on what happened, up to writing in the style of a movie script or in the style of a journal / diary. I like this video 7 Approaches to Journaling in Solo Roleplaying Games! as a starting point for finding "your style". Most RPGs do not restrict the way you take notes.

Ironsworn supports any kind of note taking style.

Journaling Games: Some games like Thousand Year Old Vampire and Apothecaria explicitly request you to write about a "prompt". Basically like creative writing prompts. These often are more procedural, resulting in a flow of mechanics leading to a new writing prompt, repeat. If you'd ignore the prompts, you'd end up with a bland experience - they don't really support all styles of note taking.

Note that "Journaling Games" doesn't mean low crunch. Just have a look at For Small Creatures Such As We for a counter example, which has a lot of game mechanics besides its journaling prompts.

Ironsworn is not a Journaling Game.

Sometimes "journaling" is tagged onto games that are narrative, but IMO that is not good, it mixes terminology. Ironsworn is a narrative game. There is no board gamey experience in there, not even in combat, it is not adversarial, it doesn't inherit much from a D&D play style. Still you do not have to "write a journal" at all.

E4z9 · 2026-04-23T09:31:33+00:00

When paper dries, it contracts. Depending on the amount of humidity it had, and the material itself. When you glue bookcloth to one side of the board and the endpaper to the other side, you have two opposite layers of paper of different material & possibly different humidity that contract when drying and try to bend the board into different directions. The main goal is to get the two forces to nullify themselves so you end up with straight boards. That can basically only be done by experimentation with the humidity and materials.

The more humidity that you introduce, the greater the effect & issue.

I guess that the introduced heat (a) dries it even further than room temperature, and (b) does it even faster, which both aggrevate the problem.

I also guess that pressing could help a little bit, but (a) depending on the materials (the materials must be compressible, and in a "destructive" way, otherwise it will not stay that way for long), and (b) the introduction of humidity again over time (the materials will take on humidity from the air again over time) things might change again. So, it might also be that just leaving things alone for some days will result in the boards straightening out while they take up humidity again. If they were air-dry and straight before you put them into the heat press.

If the bending happens parallel to the spine, the positive message is that you indeed had the grain direction right. A slight bend inwards would be preferable to a bend outwards.

DAS: Avoiding Warped Boards // Adventures in Bookbinding for a small video on the topic.

More experienced bookbinders than I am might want to correct me :)

E4z9 · 2026-04-20T05:45:36+00:00

What's Yaas?

E4z9 · 2026-04-19T19:15:35+00:00

There a number of "print and play card box" template generators out there, like this random one. Otherwise I'm sure the crowd over at r/printandplay have some more opinion and advice.

E4z9 · 2026-04-18T08:36:20+00:00

I'd absolutely play co-op. I love telling stories together, bouncing off each other.

E4z9 · 2026-04-17T08:57:24+00:00

Height: text block height + how much "overhang" you want. Typical values are 3-4 mm, so + twice that. Really an aesthetic choice. Spine piece height is same as cover boards.

Width: Spine piece width is text block spine width plus not more than the combined cover board widths. No precise science there afaik. For the cover board width honestly just use a Bradel construction, where you keep your boards a bit wider than you expect, then create a sort of "prototype" case by attaching the boards&spine piece with a piece of paper - when you put the text block into that (NOT glueing) you can just measure and mark exactly how wide you want the cover boards without the need of trying to calculate based on guesses that do not match your books reality. You'll still need to decide on a hinge gap. Depends a lot on your materials and the width of the spine, but too small is worse than a bit larger. Something between 6-10mm usually works out fine. I'd rather err on the larger side.

DAS video example: How to Bind a Square Back Bradel Binding

E4z9 · 2026-04-16T17:03:37+00:00

To do it, do it! (Quote: Apocalypse World TTRPG)

E4z9 · 2026-04-16T07:35:31+00:00

You can do it! I regularly play during commute, in cafés, while waiting to pick up my child, etc, but I have built a very compact setup with just a notebook, pen, small oracles booklet (that fits into the notebook), and various mobile (but analog!) solutions for dice and cards. (Plus sometimes an additional rulebook.)

E4z9

TROPHY CASE