Most of my actual writing nowadays is done in Google Docs on a Chromebook. But most of my graphic design and layout over the past several years has been done on a robust Lenovo ThinkPad running Windows 10. As you probably know, Windows 10 support is ending in a few days, but my workhorse of a ThinkPad isn't upgradeable to Windows 11.

My horror-themed card games have joined the role-playing games in celebrating Halloween! Through the end of the month, these card games are just 66¢ for the print-&- play PDFs, and 31¢ above my cost for print decks. Here are direct links to those card games: Wolf Man's Curse! PDF: $4.95 66¢ / Print: $9.95 $6.87 Monster Con! PDF: $4.95 66¢ / Print: …

Through the end of October, all Lester Smith Games horror RPG titles on DriveThruRPG are on sale for 1/3 off! Including all four best-selling core rules titles! Here's your chance to score something new to celebrate your Halloween on the cheap. Dare I say, "monstrously" so? And here are direct links to the items on sale: Bookmark No HP RPG…

Way back in April, I started reading Lord Dunsany's The King of Elfland's Daughter, due to its reputation as a fantasy classic before there were fantasy classics. (The Hobbit wasn't published until 13 years later; Lord of the Rings fully 30 years later.) Having read less than half of it, I was already in love and knew I'd want to role-play in this world myself.

Back in February of this year (2025), I mentioned here, in "Fey and Fedoras, Nixies and Noir," that my old college buddy Tim Ryan and I were using the Fairyland Confidential solo mystery game by Teapot Dome as a GM-less framework for play-testing the d4ce rpg.  Before I go any further, let me repeat that the biggest crime here is that Fairyland Confidential has gotten so little love on DriveThruRPG.

Image by Constance Kowalik from Pixabay I have been told by a European buddy that I fret too much about being impolite to objectionable friends and family. And honestly, yeah, before posting, I take a lot of time to think things through, craft my words, and research and reevaluate my position. Then after posting, I wrestle for days with guilt about having been impolite—but always coming back to the same conclusion: "Somebody had to say it."

I just came back from a session with a behavioral therapist I see on and off. Last time was months ago, before my autism/ADHD evaluation. I Iet her know the phyciatrist's conclusions (forgive my summarizing them here if you've seen an earlier post), which were: (1) lots of autism markers, but he sees kids who are worse; (2) lots of ADHD markers, but he sees kids who are worse; (3) the lifetime of feeling "odd man out" is from being bright and well educated and (4) probably also because of childhood trauma.

Last night I filled a hole my Gamehole Con schedule—things I'm running—so I'm good to go. Some of those events are sold out, others have a slot or two left, and the newest one is wide open, of course. Click the banner or link above to see what all is on the list. The first seven are my own events; the next three are by my friend Kurt LaRue, two with the…

I won't try to defend the randomness of Slay the Spire. Honestly, in general, I don't much care for deck-building games. But this one has me hooked. As frustratingly unpredictable as the card- and artifact-drops can be, I'm finding ways to maximize the potential of individual characters. It's a deceptively strategic game masquerading as a tactical one. If you let yourself get too caught up in flashy effects along the way, your deck won't be tuned for the two final battles.

Okay, if I'm going to be brutally honest -- and today I need a little pressure release -- this Trump worship has taken me from respect for religious faith, to skepticism about religion overall, to outright disgust for American Evangelical Christianity and dislike of the human impulse to worship of any kind. Caveat: The only thing keeping from a combative style of atheism is the good hearts and humble sincerity of my many Christian friends.

So he said, "You have a lot of autism characteristics, but I have young patients who can barely communicate. And you have a lot of ADHD characteristics, but I see young kids who run around this office touching everything." He said a couple of other things I can't share about why a lifelong feeling of not quite fitting in. But my takeaway is, "You're too old and accomplished for autism and ADHD, no matter what the test results say."

Why is "front yard" two words, but "backyard" one? "Front seat" two words, but "backseat" one? 😛 Having spent most of my life (post factory decade) writing, editing, and teaching, I'm just grateful that such arbitrariness gives me iconoclastic stones to throw at pedantry. 😀

It only took 714 plays to accomplish this. 😛 Done with the Ironclad. Time to try it with the Silent, the Defect (my favorite), and the Watcher (2nd fave). 😀 IYKYK

I just noticed that crowdfunding ends today for the GameMaster's Apprentice Post-Apocalypse deck, which includes my Bookmark No HP RPG card and new Post-Apocalypse Sourcebookmark. It's the cheapest way to score a GMA deck at all, let alone with the BNHP cards included. Stick these in your pocked with a pencil and scratch paper, and you're good to go for portable role-play; the 

My buddy James Pearson has a knack for weird horror role-playing concepts. If you're a fan of Tales from the Crypt, Creepy, and/or Eerie magazines, for example, you should give Tales from the Terror Tomb a try. You and your friends play the sort of doomed protagonists of those stories, each with an evil secret past, each with a less-than-honorable desire, and each "working together" to survive a terrifying adventure.

Oh, thank god! For three days now, I have had Tammy Faye Baker singing "We are blessed!" in my head. No w severe thunderstorms have knocked out the power here, and I hear Roberta Flack singing, "Walkin' in the dark // Seein' lovers do their thing. . . ." So much better an earworm! (At least for the next three days.)

Way back in May, on a whim, I began reading Lord Dunsany's The King of Elfland's Daughter. It's considered a foundational work for modern fantasy, preceding Lord of the Rings by about three decades. Barely a quarter of the way into the novel, I fell in love with it, and I wanted a chance to role-play in that world, so I asked Peter Rudin-Burgess if he'd do a…

Nathan Rockwell of Larcenous Designs is crowdfunding a new oracle deck for his GameMasters' Apprentice line-up, and I'm excited to be involved. Every pledge level in the GMA Kickstarter—including the $1 level—includes not only a brand-new Bookmark HP RPG sourcebookmark for the post-apocalyptic genre, but also the core rules. As Nathan puts it, "making this a complete rules-lite RPG package for solo and group gaming!"

Granted, the wordplay of that post heading is a bit of a stretch. But the point is a perceived somewhat bipolar nature of this website. Let me start by saying that I grew up poor. Not destitute, but noticeably so to my classmates. I'm not complaining, but you know how kids are. Teasing me for offbrand jeans and homemade shirts. For always having a sack lunch.

Good Trouble Lives On is a national day of nonviolent action to respond to the attacks posed on our civil and human rights by the Trump administration and to remind them that in America, the power lie...