Kurt Refling
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kurtrefling.bsky.social
Kurt Refling
@kurtrefling.bsky.social
570 followers 45 following 340 posts
Writer, tabletop game designer, occasional artist. Maybe: future friend?

He/him.

My games: http://a-smouldering-lighthouse.itch.io
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Reposted by Kurt Refling
ipr.bsky.social
Hey, did we mention we have Desperation back in stock?
clementcomposer.com Emmanuel Clement @clementcomposer.com · 9d
'Let it Snow' with all the positive lines removed
Oh, the weather outside is frightful And since we've no place to go It doesn't show signs of stopping How I hate going out in the storm The fire is slowly dying
December 12, 2025 at 1:34 AM
Reposted by Kurt Refling
helloalexroberts.bsky.social
So many people do not have a place in their lives where they can play with other people. I mean really be playful. And the capacity is always there, just waiting to be let out.
December 11, 2025 at 10:14 PM
kurtrefling.bsky.social
went to a white elephant gift exchange this weekend where everyone had to bring something hand-made.

nobody said i *wasn't* allowed to bring watercolour gnomes, so obviously that's what i did.
An amateur watercolour painting of a forest scene. A gnome couple sits in the foreground at the root of a tree. Behind them, a forested hillside angles upwards to the right, while a creek passes by on the left.
December 8, 2025 at 4:35 PM
kurtrefling.bsky.social
In February, I ran a $10,000 TTRPG Kickstarter for one of my games. My take-home for the year will be $1,500. Here's the full financial breakdown. Footnotes in replies. 🧵

(If you'd like to read this as a post instead of images, feel free to click through here: www.reddit.com/r/RPGdesign/... )
I have a (very) small TTRPG business. I have a day job and sell my games in my spare time, which means I occupy a weird middle space between hobbyist and publisher. I'm a publish-ish. A hoblisher. It's a space that a lot of your favourite small designers exist in, and it's not very well documented. In the interest of financial transparency, I'm going to share my revenues and expenses for the 2025 calendar year, then a breakdown¹. The Numbers I had a pretty big Kickstarter this year, doing all the fulfillment myself ². Those figures make up most of my earnings and expenses! But these are totals for all my TTRPGs. All values are in Canadian dollars ³. Expenses Printing - $7,100 Shipping - $3,500 Marketing - $800 Formatting - $800 Software - $200 Total Expenses - $12,400 Revenues Kickstarter - $10,500 Distributors - $3,600 Online Storefronts - $1,100 Translation Royalties - $500 Total Revenues - $15,700 Net Earnings - $3,300 Breakdown Printing - $7,100 Did you know it costs money to make physical objects? It's true. I wanted to do a full print run because while print on demand is cheaper at my scale, it attracts less backers. People like to have a book. This was my first time ever printing and shipping my books myself, and I'm still getting used to looking at the total. It's actually several print runs of about 500 units each. I used a local print shop that was very affordable. These figures include test prints. My prints were a mix of perfect-bound and saddle-stitched booklets, all 40 pages or under. I have a bunch of copies in my little apartment storage locker, so I'm probably gonna be in a less spendy spot next year for this one. Shipping - $3,500 I live in Canada, which means I can't just stick a bunch of zines in lettermail and send it to my countrymen. For better or worse, the US is the main market for TTRPGs, and in spite of my Canadian-printed booklets being duty-free ⁴, it still costs some money to cross over. This number is a mix of shipping to individual backers and bulk shipments to distributors. The cost includes supplies, and a pretty spiffy label printer that I snagged second-hand. I managed to avoid ULINE ⁵ for like 99% of this, which I feel pretty good about. The cost also includes the duties I paid to ship my puppet, which I find very funny. Marketing - $800 This is a broader category than it sounds like. It includes some ads for the Kickstarter on podcasts and social media, but also travel and materials for convention appearances ⁶ . Travel was most expensive, but I've really enjoyed getting to see my games played in-person... and to meet the many lovely designers I've connected with over the years. Formatting - $800 A historic bottleneck for me. I pay formatters and illustrators because they generally make my games look better than I could, or -- even better -- actually finish the visuals for the games I've been telling myself I'll finish for years. Software & Digital Assets - $200 Digital assets (fonts, textures) and tools for formatting, mostly. One-time costs because I don't play the Adobe game ⁷ . Kickstarter Revenue - $10,500 This is what it sounds like. Bafflingly, I still don't really know why my Kickstarter was successful, even though I tried really hard to get tracking tools to work for me. It's kind of opaque. Maybe people just like socks. Distributor Revenue - $3,600 This is my "reliable" source of RPG income. Money comes in through Indie Press Revolution and Compose Dream Games, which are the two big distributors / marketplaces for indie titles in the US and Canada, respectively. I am very fortunate to have these partnerships, because it gets my games to way more people than I could on my own (at least without taking on way more stress). I thought about adding a third distributor -- someone who distributes to other distributors -- but the cut was a little high, so I balked. I'm glad the avenue exists for people who want to take on more risk or really get their stuff out there, but I had to make a call to decide how much stress I was willing to carry for a hobby. Online Storefront Revenue - $1,100 This is itch.io, mostly. Most people reach my game page by Google, so it's a bit of a mystery how they find my stuff. Always nice to get the notification. Always a surprise, too. Translation Royalties - $500 Yeah, so this was completely unexpected. I got a message in my inbox one day from an Italian gentleman who works for a game company; he asked if I was interested in an Italian edition. And he had a friend in a German game company who wanted to know the same... so now I'm internationally published in three languages ⁸ , which is wild. This rules for many reasons, but the most relevant for this post is that it's very little work on my end for a 10% cut. The figure here is an advance. Summary & Closing Thoughts I earned about $15,000 and get to keep about $3,000, half of which is gonna go to taxes. This may sound like a lot, but I make a decent living wage at my day job, and the TTRPG earnings are basically processed as an extension of my personal income^(9). I feel actually very lucky when I see those numbers. Is that strange? Maybe. As a small business, I would be drowning. But as an art project... it's a huge windfall, right? A windfall that comes with the privilege of seeing people celebrate and engage with my art, which is all I really want at the end of the day.
December 8, 2025 at 4:30 PM
kurtrefling.bsky.social
Just renamed my game about an artist who can't stop drawing dicks Ceci N'est Pas Une Pipe and I am very pleased with myself.
November 21, 2025 at 10:05 PM
kurtrefling.bsky.social
Looks like it's official! System Matters is publishing a German version of Sock Puppets. I was delighted to discover that the German translation of Sock Puppets is "Sockenpuppen"... which is just adorable.
systemmatters.bsky.social System Matters Verlag @systemmatters.bsky.social · Oct 22
Unsere Neuheiten zur SPIEL 2025! 🎲✨
📚 DCC: Der Schlüssel zu Burg Weissenfels, Der Trichter #6
🐭 Mausritter: Tessos Rache, Die Reise zum Käsemond
🎨 Der Blinzelhund #2
🎭 Sockenpuppen
☕ Kakao Matters Tasse
Infos: www.system-matters.de/347785/messe...
Halle 1, Stand 1D711 💙
#pnpde #SPIEL2025
Collage der System Matters Neuheiten zur SPIEL 2025: Zu sehen sind die Cover von Der Trichter Ausgabe 6, Dungeon Crawl Classics Der Schlüssel zu Burg Weissenfels und Tessos Rache für Mausritter, dazu Sockenpuppen, Kakao Matters-Tassen, Der Blinzelhund Ausgabe 2, Die Reise zum Käsemond und weitere Produkte auf blauem Hintergrund mit System Matters Logo.
October 29, 2025 at 8:07 PM
kurtrefling.bsky.social
i don't usually post about my weekly indie TTRPG livestream, but this session featured a well dug into the sky... and someone drew it.

thanks to friend of the show sierra for this bizarre, delightful gift. and thanks to nick wedig for Florilegium, a TTRPG about magic.

nickwedig.itch.io/florilegium
A poster reads: UPPER FRESCIA WAITS FOR NO-ONE! Two peasants carrying shovels walk up a tower that leads into the open sky.
October 14, 2025 at 3:25 AM
kurtrefling.bsky.social
sock puppets in this cool indie game store's new inventory picture is looking like
Two people sit beside each other as a selfie is taken in a car. The person on the left has extremely colorful hair and a bright smile. The person on the right is unsmiling and monochrome. Editor's note: I believe this picture was originally shared on the internet by one of the people pictured, and that they were sisters? These distant memories. Who can say. Certainly easier to ramble into alt text then verify for you.
October 2, 2025 at 12:56 PM
Reposted by Kurt Refling
helloalexroberts.bsky.social
Can't overstate this! It feels wonderful to know that someone had a good time with your game. It's not just that they appreciate your work. Someone's day, maybe a day with their friends, got better because of something you put into the world. It's a special feeling.
momatoes.com momatoes @momatoes.com · Sep 28
If you enjoyed a game on Itch, leave a comment!

Honestly, it really brightens a creator's day. And it's a big encouragement for others who may be interested in getting that game.

Itch hides reviews from the game page, so I find comments more useful in the long run.

Like a game? Comment away!
September 28, 2025 at 4:05 PM
kurtrefling.bsky.social
I wrote an article about how to manage your art in the event of your death, for tabletop RPG designers. Sharing here as screenshots with alt text.

Or, follow the link below:

www.reddit.com/r/RPGdesign/...
Some folks may have seen the article going around about J.D. Maxwell's absence after his Grimwild crowdfunding campaign. We don't know what happened to Grimwild's designer, and I would ask that we not speculate on the nature of his absence here. Still, this raised certain questions in my community of practice about art after death of the artist. There are real options for how to handle creative works after death or incapacitation, if you make preparations while you're around. I'm going to share a practical approach in this thread. Quickly, before we start: if you're not in the headspace to read this, that's okay. Close the tab. Your responsibility is to your well-being. Making a plan for your art is firmly in extra credit territory. It's okay to set this aside. I'll break this down into four steps. 1. Keep organized records (ongoing). 2. Elect caretakers. 3. Set up a dead man's switch. 4. Document your wishes. Both 2 and 4 are areas that benefit from an estate plan (including a legal will) if there's money involved. I am not going to discuss the drafting of formal wills here, but understand that wills are very important. See post-script in the comments. 1 - Keep organized records (ongoing). This is, of course, the biggest pain in the ass. It's also the item on this list that will actually help you while you're here. There are four kinds of information that matter: Creative works This is your art itself, of course. You probably have some that are completed, some abandoned and some works-in-progress. Where are they kept? Do you have a document tracking your catalogue? Financial records If there's one thing this kicks your ass into organizing, make it this. What did you spend on your projects? Where do you keep those receipts? Do you have any annual expenses? Do you have any contracts, active or past-tense? What about annual subscriptions for creative tools? Is your stock being held as consignment by any distributors? All of this should be documented somewhere. Operating procedures This is the sneaky kind of knowledge that tends to be completely kept in the brain. That's partly because it seems superfluous: if I told you I uploaded a game to itch.io, how much work would you imagine that really takes? Well, let's map it out: in practice, I... (1) Log in, (2) start a new project ("upload" a new project in itch lingo), (3) write a tagline and choose a URL, (4) add classifications and tags, (5) price it, (6) upload 3 to 5 screenshots, (7) create and upload a 630 x 500 pixel thumbnail, (8) actually upload the file(s), (9) write a description, which for me includes a thematic quote, the pitch, box info (player count / runtime / materials) and the contents of the file downloads, (10) choose tags, (11) write an engaging announcement post nested in a personal anecdote for my newsletter (and sometimes also Reddit), (12) set visibility to public, and (13) save. If I asked a friend to upload my game for me, how much of that would be a stumbling block? Absence isn't the only time that itemized protocols would be helpful, though. If I think "I need to upload my game to itch.io," I'm either going to see none of these steps (and assume I'll be done instantly), or see all of these steps as an amorphous, daunting process that disinclines me to ever bother doing it. Breaking larger tasks into smaller ones helps you see the labour as something that can be performed in small pieces, and helps you plan an appropriate amount of time to get it done. Plus, memory is unreliable! If there's something I only do once a year, will I remember those steps when it's time to do them again? Maybe not. That's why it's useful to have operating procedures written out, for you and anyone else who comes after. 2 - Elect caretakers. If not you, then who? The ideal person to handle your creative output after your passing is someone who you trust, and who values and understands your art. This is a little tricky, because those two things don't always exist in the same person. You might have a spouse, sibling, parent or child you loves you very much, but has no personal interest in your hobby. Ask multiple people. If you get multiple affirmative responses, that means you have backups. Organize them in a hierarchy of responsibility so that if Person A is too busy (or overwhelmed, or absent, or already passed) when the unthinkable happens, Person B can then accept or decline the duty. If you ask a bunch of people and don't set a hierarchy, now you have a committee. And nobody wants to have to deal with a committee. Much like being the executor of a will, caring for someone's art is an honour-flavoured burden. Your job is to choose people who are both willing and able to do this, and to make "no" a comfortable answer for them if they need it. 3 - Set up a dead man's switch. A dead man's switch is anything that's designed to trigger if the operator is incapacitated or dead. This is what fires the message to your art's caretakers. The simplest way to do this is probably Google's Inactive Account Manager. If your Google account is inactive for a specified period, Google's systems will attempt to contact you several times (through several avenues). If you fail to respond, it will provide access to some or all of your files or accounts to one or more people of your choosing. If you don't store your files on Google Drive, you can still use this feature to provide access to documents with sensitive information -- though be careful with what you choose to store in plaintext. Some password managers also have this service. So do some paid services, but you need to be confident that they'll still be around if you aren't. 4 - Document your wishes. Finally, this is what your art's caretaker is actually responsible for. Make sure your instructions are clear and feasible. You want it to be extremely obvious where your works are kept and what you want done with them. Consider: Should some or all of your drafts be made public? Which ones? Where would they be published? Do you want to offer certain collaborators or publishers the chance to finish and distribute some works? If so, how will rights (& revenue) be divided? Is there any community you want to be informed of your passing, local or online? Would that include a message from you? You may also have business concerns related to active Kickstarters or distribution. The approach to handling this will depend on your region and business structure. If you read all of this and thought: This is too much work, nobody would care, and we've gone beyond the scope of my concerns or interest. Well, perfect. You've learned something. If there's no business stuff involved that would frazzle your loved ones, then it's okay to let your art die too. Maybe its job was to make you smile, or think, or learn something. Maybe it existed to bring a little bit of joy to a small group of people in a strange and scary world. Maybe that's all any of us exist to do, really.
August 27, 2025 at 7:05 PM
kurtrefling.bsky.social
I celebrated the fifth anniversary of my first published game with a crossword puzzle.

If I was a more sane person, that sentence would mean "I had a bubble bath and did a crossword puzzle in the tub." But no. I made one. Which, it turns out, is wildly difficult.

You can play it or read more here.
It's the fifth anniversary of my first game, so I made you something.
Hello darlings. You would think that after a few decades swimming in the stuff, I would be less surprised by time. The funny way it warps and flows and comes...
buttondown.com
August 21, 2025 at 3:56 PM
kurtrefling.bsky.social
I'm gonna be a tease about this one.
Text within a halo of dots. The text reads: Name: #ERROR Class: Xenon Age: 83 Type: Mender / Local / Ghost Grandchildren: 2 [name, common interest] x2 Achievement: 1 [career / hobby / obstacle overcome] Regret: 1 [missed opportunity / harm caused]
August 14, 2025 at 7:35 PM
Reposted by Kurt Refling
deepdark.games
You can get HOME from IPR, but I'd also highly recommend:

Curios by @smolghost.bsky.social (a really cool investigation game that's a literal envelope full of evidence!)

& The Hourglass Sings by @kurtrefling.bsky.social (GMless worldbuilding inspired by Zelda!)
ipr.bsky.social Indie Press Revolution @ipr.bsky.social · Aug 2
17/17 And our #booth449 tour concludes. If you go back and look at the first two pictures you can see even more games along the back table, including The Monster Overhaul.
August 2, 2025 at 3:22 AM
Reposted by Kurt Refling
ipr.bsky.social
6/17 Sock Puppets and friends!
August 2, 2025 at 2:35 AM
Reposted by Kurt Refling
fanterland.itch.io
This week at #RPGNightUtrecht we played Sock Puppets by @kurtrefling.bsky.social . What a unique joy it was! And a shining example of how you don't need mechanics when players know exactly what to do.
Craft materials and sock puppets at the play table. Sock Puppet home-printed zine.
July 12, 2025 at 8:21 AM
kurtrefling.bsky.social
[Heated arbitration with the fetus union.]

And why do you work on the nose in week 8? Don't sniff around in there. It's not OSHA-compliant. You know what else gets made in that cavity. Use week 8 for something useful; develop empathy.

[An aide whispers in my ear.]

WHAT DO YOU MEAN THAT'S YEAR 8.
July 16, 2025 at 3:54 PM
kurtrefling.bsky.social
i hope there's a D&D guy out there who thinks it's spelled "fivey".
July 15, 2025 at 5:48 PM
Reposted by Kurt Refling
rollforfelicity.bsky.social
I got to play @kurtrefling.bsky.social’s Sock Puppets today and decided it wasn’t enough to make a puppet, I had to also dress like a children’s show puppeteer
Mirror selfie of me with my puppet, Large Bean. I’m wearing a rainbow striped dress and Sesame Street scrunchies. Selfie of me (a human) and Large Bean (a sock puppet)
July 5, 2025 at 10:14 PM
kurtrefling.bsky.social
Moonshot filmed a playthrough of my Sock Puppets TTRPG. All 4 players made their puppets in advance and didn't show each other until they were live.

Please witness the exact moment Andrew wheeled in "Dr. Bean."

The whole stream is SO funny. See it here:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGIJ...
A screenshot of a live playthrough of a tabletop RPG. At the top-left, a human-sized puppet is wheeled onscreen. At the bottom-left, a hand puppet fills the frame. On the right, both other plays laugh in open-mouthed astonishment.
June 25, 2025 at 5:45 PM
kurtrefling.bsky.social
So exciting!!! I'm sad I'll miss this live* but I'm psyched to watch the VOD.

I'm told the puppets are 🧑‍🍳💋.
moonshotpods.bsky.social Moonshot [UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT] @moonshotpods.bsky.social · Jun 23
TONIGHT: Join the Moon Crew as they balance dysfunction, edutainment, and real life puppetry on the set of a children's TV show! It's a LIVE actual play of @kurtrefling.bsky.social's Sock Puppets!
Monday, June 23 9 PM Eastern twitch.tv/moonshotnetwork Moonshot Plays Sock Puppets A roleplaying game about puppets and their problems.
June 23, 2025 at 4:39 PM
kurtrefling.bsky.social
Last summer, a neighbour posted lots of vegetable juice on the local Buy Nothing group: a space for folks to lend or donate things they don't need anymore. I raised my hand -- far be it for a me to turn down free vegetables -- and walked over to the neighbour's address. (1/8)
June 18, 2025 at 1:29 PM
kurtrefling.bsky.social
I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that Sam's podcast (Afterimage) is the best attempt to capture the feeling of tabletop play ever made.

Sam has shared, with my permission, a pretty rabid take from me on actual play in the thread. I'll take space here to ground and elaborate. (1/6)
diceexploder.com Sam D @diceexploder.com · Jun 16
Tomorrow I'm releasing the first episode of Dice Exploder: Afterimage, a new show format that's equal parts play report and This American Life style personal memoir.

Perhaps the greatest compliment I have ever received is for this thing. (1/2)
June 16, 2025 at 7:49 PM
Reposted by Kurt Refling
hime.vtubers.social
We're continuing on with The Hourglass Sings by @kurtrefling.bsky.social tonight! www.twitch.tv/himeutsugi #vtuber #vsky #solorpg #solottrpg
Hime standing in front of the cover of indie TTRPG The Hourglass Sings
June 13, 2025 at 12:03 AM
kurtrefling.bsky.social
IPR is bringing Sock Puppets and all its friends to Origins this year, so here's some glamour shots of my little TTRPGs. Vibes: Avenue Q, Majora's Mask, Lassie.

(I know marketing is like 80% bragging, but you might wanna stop by early! Sock Puppets sold out at UKGE, to my delight and surprise.)
A copy of a book titled Sock Puppets sits on a table. The book reads, "A roleplaying game about puppets and their problems." The cover image pictures a concerned-looking sock on a puppet show set, complete with lights and a camera. The game is surrounded by crafting supplies: scissors, glue, markets, stickers, paper, and so many googly eyes. A game titled "The Hourglass Sings" sits on a sandy surface. The cover art, done in pixel art reminiscent of cross-stitch, shows a seated figure with a hurdy-gurdy on their back. The figure is facing away from the viewer, looking out at a town that extends into distant mountains. Additional text indicates that the game is 1 - 6 players, and is made by Kurt Refling. Surrounding the book are various decorations: dried flowers; a pocket watch; three bronze triangles; circular cards; and, a vessel spilling sand. A zine sits on a wooden table. The title reads "Big Dog Big Volcano". The cover art pictures a mountain in the background, and a woman with her dog in the foreground. The mountain, title text, and characters all have the same silhouette. Text reads: "A TTRPG by Kurt Refling & Kathleen Hartin. 3 players, 60-90 minutes." Several implements surround the book: dice spilling out from a dice bag; a water bottle; a frond of a plant; and driftwood.
June 12, 2025 at 3:27 PM
kurtrefling.bsky.social
i'm still really proud of how the silhouettes of the volcano, title text and characters echo each other
kurtrefling.bsky.social Kurt Refling @kurtrefling.bsky.social · Oct 3
new ttrpg dropping soon 🌋
A volcano rises above a girl and her dog. Text reads: Big Dog, Big Volcano. A TTRPG by Kurt Refling and Kathleen Hartin. 3 players, 90 minutes. The volcano, text and foreground figures are the same shape.
June 6, 2025 at 1:29 PM