Tom of Tabletop Bookshelf🔜Rustic Road 55

22 Nov 2024

It's me, Tom G, the guy behind the curtain at Tabletop Bookshelf! In 2023 I saw an opportunity to build a new kind of shop that would serve as a platform for all the great work being done in the TTRPG space, bringing it all together in one place for people to discover, explore, and enjoy.

missed this one, but pretty sure this means that Rustic Road 55 was #1 on Kicktraq yesterday in TTRPGs

kicktraq.comHot List > TTRPG :: KicktraqKicktraq: The Crowdfunding Analytics & Discovery Platform!

if you don't know about Kicktraq www.kicktraq.com/hotlist/game...

love it when a plan comes together

$2Delimiter515 towards our goal!

Drive into the darkness!

Tabletop BOOkshelf🔜Rustic Road 55@tabletopbookshelf.com

We love sharing solo games, now we're making one! Rustic Road 55 is a paranormal mystery solo journaling game about driving into the darkness and confronting the horrors within, inspired by shows like The X-Files and Twin Peaks.

I'm feeling good about the Thursday launch but will feel better if we can get to 200 follows! Drive into the darkness with us.

Tabletop BOOkshelf🔜Rustic Road 55@tabletopbookshelf.com

What waits for you at the end of Rustic Road 55? Rustic Road 55 is a solo journaling game about driving into the darkness and confronting the weirdness within, inspired by shows like the X-Files and Twin Peaks and the experience of driving alone on country roads, late at night.

Today, a lady in the shop loudly pronounced "I hate games" after looking at our events board 😂

Tabletop BOOkshelf🔜Rustic Road 55

Her companion was buying a game, so I thought it was pretty funny. "That's why we also sell books!", I replied. And scene.

Tom of Tabletop Bookshelf🔜Rustic Road 55 reposted

@tabletopbookshelf.com

A paranormal mystery solo journaling game, launching this Thursday! 👻🛸🚗

Tabletop BOOkshelf🔜Rustic Road 55@tabletopbookshelf.com

Someone just told me they played One Way Out for a couple hours on their camping trip and it "ripped" and man I am set

Plus One Exp @ 🔜 Metatopia

They did not know I was the writer 🥹

Tom of Tabletop Bookshelf🔜Rustic Road 55 reposted

@plusoneexp.bsky.social

Finally got to spend time with one of my favorite folks in TTRPGS!

Tom of Tabletop Bookshelf🔜Rustic Road 55@tomg.tabletopbookshelf.com

It happened @plusoneexp.bsky.social

It happened @plusoneexp.bsky.social

The first two titles we sold out of at Gamehole: Tidebreak and Old Morris Cave

*what is this?" Is something I often say at Gamehole

Little D&D booth, surprising they don't make a bigger play here

Tabletop Bookshelf in a Crosstrek

D&D vs The Rest @ Gamehole Con Top 10 systems by event count:

it's long been a goal to have the shop support 88.9, happy to make it official today ✅

Tabletop BOOkshelf🔜Rustic Road 55@tabletopbookshelf.com

Turn the dial to 88.9 TODAY for Radio Milwaukee's Fall Member ship drive and you might hear a familiar name 📻 Donate today and get a free zine!

pretty slow event. zines sold: 1 VOID 1 Camp Snallygaster 1 RUNE 1 Fatherfog 1 How's My Driving 1 Odyssey of the Giant

Tabletop BOOkshelf🔜Rustic Road 55@tabletopbookshelf.com

Zine rack is looking STRONG

The biggest transaction was a bundle of fiction & non-fiction 🤷 And of course I sold a copy of Dungeon Crawler Carl 😜

When the hall gets slow at the Bierhaus, it's time for bier.

"Here, take this," declares @tablecatgames.com

The Dungeon Crawler Carl TTRPG makes some legit interesting decisions, and I think people are going to have a lot of fun playing it.

Once again, I have failed to sign up for any games during Gamehole Con! I will be itching to play something Thursday night if anyone is available.

And Wednesday night after load-in

We survived our Mothership one-shot (but lost a few years)! Thank you @tablecatgames.com for joining us at the table and @hodagsoup.bsky.social for teaching us the system and running a creepy underwater adventure with a theremin soundtrack!

check out our Milwaukee Events page for more of what's coming up -> tabletopbookshelf.com/pages/milwau...

bleak

thecut.com‘My Husband Has No Friends’For some wives, first comes love, then comes marriage, then comes … managing their spouse’s social life?

if you want to dig into more bleakness about young and middle-aged married men (and can get through the paywall) www.thecut.com/article/my-h...

Sunday reads, spooky season approaches @goosepoopgames.com

well, my day is made

tabletopbookshelf.comOne Way OutWill You Escape The Oubliette? One Way Out is a quick-play fantasy storytelling game of escape and betrayal. Designed for two players, each fast-paced 30 minute session pits you against the terrible d...

pick up a physical copy while you can! tabletopbookshelf.com/products/one...

This game is made of the memory soup from my childhood and teenage years. Night drives on long roads. Strange places and random violence. That one experience you can't explain.

Tabletop BOOkshelf🔜Rustic Road 55@tabletopbookshelf.com

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And I'm beyond thrilled that @goblinmixtape.bsky.social and @twopancakes.com agreed to help me bring this into the world! I've been a fan of Sam's work for a while now, and you can see Mike's work already on display in that logo work.

kickstarter.comComing soon: Rustic Road 55: A Paranormal Mystery Solo Journaling GameA solo journaling game about driving into the darkness and confronting the weirdness within.

And I'll be upping the product game with a custom add-on journal and a deluxe edition option, and hopefully a few more surprises along the way! Launching next month, with delivery in Feb/Mar 20227. www.kickstarter.com/projects/tab...

This game is made of the memory soup from my childhood and teenage years. Night drives on long roads. Strange places and random violence. That one experience you can't explain.

Tabletop BOOkshelf🔜Rustic Road 55@tabletopbookshelf.com

I made the decision to keep my first solo game under 30 pages, both to keep it manageable and to force myself to simplify. I'm happy with the results, and think there's a fun, moody 30-60 minute experience to be had (or more, if you're feeling it)

I also didn't want to build a new system, so I spent some time grafting @pandiongames.com 's Hints & Hijinx onto my idea, and it just worked. There's a few mechanics that line up perfectly with the driving theme.

kickstarter.comComing soon: Rustic Road 55: A Paranormal Mystery Solo Journaling GameA solo journaling game about driving into the darkness and confronting the weirdness within.

22 Sept

I have games in my head and they need to come out

Tabletop BOOkshelf🔜Rustic Road 55@tabletopbookshelf.com

Rustic Road 55 launches in October -> www.kickstarter.com/projects/tab...

youtu.beMÖRK BORG: The RPG Where Everybody Is DoomedYouTube video by TechDweeb

22 Sept

Bootstrapping a low margin business feels like navigating Tierra del Fuego, once a month. We manage to come out on the other side, but it's a white knuckle experience, for sure.

Tom of Tabletop Bookshelf🔜Rustic Road 55 reposted

MÖRK BORG

@morkborg.com

18 Sept

What the hell is this MÖRK BORG malarkey, I hear you ask? This video explains it. youtu.be/TvXdLeLRzcY

Thrilled to launch this, and what it can mean for the partners I work with. One of the biggest hurdles with building up an economy is creating predictability -- without it, it's hard to plan, build, make long-term deals that benefit all parties, etc. Solo Party chips away at that problem.

Tabletop BOOkshelf🔜Rustic Road 55@tabletopbookshelf.com

SOLO PARTY IS HERE! A new solo journaling game (or two) delivered to your door every month. We're thrilled to partner with @pandiongames.com to bring you an exciting selection of solo games to get this party started! Solo Party (standard) - Hints & Hijinx 2-pack -

Once this gets going, we can go to our partners and say "We are 100% for sure going to need 20 (or 50 or 100) copies of X next month." Essentially it creates a new stable pipeline for creative output at scale. That's a powerful thing!

I don't want to oversell it -- I can only partner with one or two publisher per month, but over time, I'm hoping we can grow it to a place where we can offer different "flavors" of the service and expand opportunities to more people. But one thing at a time. :)