NUKED! Totally Radical Tales is Now Live on Kickstarter!
Art by Mac
Hey folks, it’s that time of year where all kinds of indie RPG hopefuls put their hearts and projects out there for the masses. Yep, it’s Zine Month 2024 (and also Zine Quest)! This year my co-creator, NondairyGiant, and I are releasing not one, but two zines this year (we’re making up for last year). We have for you the first two issues in what will hopefully be an ongoing series entitled Totally Radical Tales.
Issue #1: The Lost Valley of the Humanitarians and Issue #2: The Skrapper’s Handbook are now live on Kickstarter, so go check ‘em out! And if you don’t have the original NUKED rules on your shelf already, don’t worry, the PDF is included in all pledge tiers and you can grab a physical copy as part of the Trifecta pledge level!
That’s really all I’ve got to say about our project, so now I want to take a little time and shout out some other projects I’ve seen as part of this year’s Zine Month. Last year I called the segment the “Jefferson County Telegraph,” but we’re not back in 1886 anymore, we’re in… uh… a different year. So anyway, this Zine Month I present to you the:
The Boomtown Gazette, Vol. 1
Zine Month 2024 is officially upon us and I several projects have me stoked as hell. Figured I’d do my part and give them a little bit of a signal boost, so here we go!
(Games are listed in no particular order and their titles double as links to their respective crowdfunding pages).
1- Beetle Knight by Jim Hall
King Arthur meets Hollow Knight meets A Bug’s Life - or at least that’s my take on it. I backed one of Jim Hall’s projects last year and it did not disappoint, so I’m back on the wagon for Beetle Knight. Plus one of the artists is Perplexing Ruins, and he rules super hard both as an artist, community leader, and just as a cool dude. Anyway, I was super excited when I saw the announcement for Beetle Knight and it’s going to make a fine addition to my collection. Looks like a great game to bust out between larger campaigns or from random game nights.
Beetle Knight will be funding for another four weeks. Check it out on Kickstarter.
2- Death Enters the Saloon by Daniele Di Rubbo
I think we all know I’ve got a thing for Westerns, and Death Enters the Saloon is no exception. Impressively, this game reached it’s goal almost immediately (at the very least I can say I got the email 6 hours before I backed it and it was at 115% at the time of this writing). Nothing like a sure thing, right? Beyond the genre basically being “A Thing Mac Will Definitely Love”, Death Enters the Saloon is also a game that utilizes a deck of poker cards, which I also love. It’s designed to be a quick game that you can set up and play all within an hour or two and borrows mechanics from Old Maid, which everyone and their mother knows how to play. Definitely an excellent choice for game nights - plus I want to see more games that use cards instead of dice!
Death Enters the Saloon will be funding for another four weeks. Check it out on Kickstarter.
3- The Tower by Lola Johnson
Our first promoted adventure, The Tower is system agnostic and promises a dungeon delve full of puzzles and riddles. Personally I’m not so great at either one of those things, but despite that fact I love them (I love lots of things that are bad for me!). Moreover, I’m in a monthly hexcrawl group that would absolutely drop this adventure into a hex, so it’s an easy back for me (you’re welcome, Tisen)! The art previewed on the campaign page looks amazing and they’re offering a risograph print, so if you’re into zines as artifacts it’s an excellent choice.
The Tower will be funding for another four weeks. Check it out on Kickstarter.
4 - Dimday Red TTRPG - Nodus Zine 02 by Spiros Drakatos
NUKED! isn’t the only post-apocalyptic game out there this Zine Month: Dimday Red TTRPG launched their second zine! Okay, so it’s technically a mid-apocalypse, but I’m giving myself points for trying! Inspired by and expanding upon the mechanics of Powered by the Apocalypse (a system I have very much enjoyed playing in the past), DimdayRed TTRPG - Nodus Zine 02 puts the players on the brink of the end times: Earth has 52 years before it’s rendered uninhabitable and everyone’s just got to deal with it. Large swathes of land have been buried beneath the sea and mass migrations have resulted in the collapse of old governments and the rise of new factions. The art that’s been shared so far is amazing and if you don’t have the first zine you can grab it as part of this campaign!
Alright, that’s a wrap for this week. I’ll be back with an update and a few more spotlighted projects next week! If you’re interested in what’s going on for Zine Month 2024, check out the Unofficial list of ZiMo projects!
