In this newsletter | Arcane Sword Press | Get Haunted Industries | Ham & Egg Publishing | Stillfleet Studio |
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Get Haunted Industries StapleCult: Crowdfunding From The Underground |  | StapleCult Wants to Give Indie RPG Zinesters Their Own Space Again
by Joey Royale
Remember when crowdfunding was an exciting and inspiring way to discover cool games and give independent creators a boost?
Before giant campaigns, marketing teams, and publishers with built-in audiences started swallowing all the oxygen in the room, smaller creators could actually get noticed. StapleCult is a new crowdfunding platform that wants to carve out space for those creators again.
Built by zinesters for zinesters, StapleCult is focused entirely on independent TTRPG zines and DIY publishing. The platform keeps things simple on purpose: straightforward crowdfunding, manageable campaign goals, and direct support from people who’ve already been through the process themselves.
Creators keep control of their projects while gaining access to coaching on printing, fulfillment, and technical setup. No bloated campaigns. No endless stretch goals. No trying to compete with companies that already have massive audiences and marketing budgets.
StapleCult is meant to help small publishers actually finish projects, get them printed, and get them into readers’ hands.
The platform also aims to support the broader indie community by uplifting LGBTQ+ creators and marginalized voices while rejecting hateful or discriminatory content.
For people making strange, small-footprint games, photocopied zines, oddball settings, or deeply personal projects that might get lost elsewhere, StapleCult hopes to become a place where that work can still thrive.
Coming soon. Stay stapled! | | |
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| | Arcane Sword PressMagazine Madness Does NOT Return This Week!
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Sorry! I didn’t get a chance to get around to really dive into The Duelist magazine yet due to being preoccupied with projects and such! Such is life! However, I WILL use this space for something I haven’t done in awhile – self promotion!
Next month, I am flying to Portland, Oregon, with Eon to attend Between Two Cons! I’m personally very excited about it because 1) I’ve only been a vendor at conventions within driving distance, and 2) I’m doing a seminar at it!
Yes, for some wild reason, I will be standing in front of a crowd of people putting aside their valuable time to watch me talk. Talk about what? Talking Traveller of course! I’ll be trying to convert some old-school b/x D&D folks to the finer side of role-playing in the far future!
This talk is also an extension of sorts for three (ugh) related projects I’m working on:
1) Travelling Solo: Solitaire Role-playing in Traveller will be the Traveller version of my Old School revival Solo Role-Playing Guide, but it’s a little more in depth due to the potential scope of a galactic solo gaming. Currently plodding along with layout for the first public playtest but it should be good to go “soon.” This will eventually be released under the Traveller Aid Society license later this year.
2) “Racer”: Myself and the legendary HODAG are working on a sci-fi racer supplement for Traveller (and similar games). Currently in the conceptual and playtesting mechanics phase, so far, but it’s really cool! I love the idea of having a campaign where you role-play being a high-speed racer in a sci-fi racing circuit, where you have to survive each race to pay off debts or finish a contract.
3) SPACER: The final form of my madness, I am currently writing a basic retro clone sci-fi RPG inspired by the original version of Traveller that came out in 1977, that will be FREE, and released under the Creative Commons Sharealike license. Yes, it’s a heartbreaker RPG but my aim is to get some OSR folks into far future gaming! |  | A future photo of myself during my seminar at Between Two Cons | Speaking of conventions, I finally drew a poster for this year’s ArcaneCon! Check it out! |  |
And finally, I need YOUR help! I ran out of magazines to review! If you’ve been following my posts (once weekly, now bi-weekly), then you know if you’ve been doing this for months and months now. But I don’t know what to do next! That’s where YOU come in. Please fill out the survey of what you’d like to see me focus on next for the Analog Union. I have four ideas:
More Magazine Madness: There are many more magazines out there for me to look at, and I’m absolutely willing to keep going if you want! RPG Anthropology: This is an idea I had where I look at an old RPG that’s out of print and/or hasn’t been republished due to the original publisher being out of business. This came about after seeing all of the ads for games I never heard of while perusing magazines for Magazine Madness. I’d probably focus on a few games in different genres or strange outliers. A Game Oddity: This idea stems from the weird pop-culture tabletop gaming tie-ins nobody asked for, such as the 2001 and 2010 Star Frontiers modules or the Austin Powers collectible card game. Lost Lore: This is a more focused version of RPG Anthropology, where I dive into the forgotten games made by pioneers and legends in the RPG hobby. This includes looking at games like Gary Gygax’s Cyborg Commando or Dave Arneson’s Adventures in Fantasy.
Take the survey: The Survey will ask you to choose which ideas you are Most interested, Somewhat Interested, and Least interested in to help me make a tiered ranking. Anyways, please fill out the survey to help me focus on something!
Until next time! | | | Ham & Egg Publishing MDW Outlaw Party: Secret Country, The Mando & Hambone’s Burger Supreme! |  | Instead of rocking my socks off last weekend, my feet were cold and wet thanks to whoever fell asleep at the Cobra Weather Dominator this week–looking at you, Croc Master!
That said, there was still indoor fun to be had over the holiday weekend.
At the movies: I hit up my local theater and checked out The Mandalorian & Grogu. It was a blast. My spoiler-free review is that it isn’t so much a movie as it is three episodes in a trench coat, but it is a hell of a good time. If you like killer action, weird little dudes, puppets, and people in weird alien costumes, Mando’s got you covered.
It was also the first time that, to my knowledge, the stunt and body doubles got equal billing as the star. I think it is cool and should happen a lot more often for the folks who spend most of their time actually behind the mask.
At the jukebox: My outlaw country band, Secret Country, released a new single, Velvet Dreams. The single is a slight departure from our typical oeuvre, which runs the gamut of drinking, fucking, and staying in hotels for fun, but still fires on all cylinders. But don’t just take my word for it. Legendary NJ Rock Critic Jim Testa describes it as “A song about mileage: years on the odometer, ideals worn down but not entirely gone. When they sing, “we didn’t want something better, we didn’t want something new,” it lands less like regret and more like a shrug you earn after decades of doing it the right way. | | | At the grill: So after you’ve seen a quality flick and done some dancing, you’re probably hungry, right? Well, your ol’ buddy HB has got you covered. Here is my perfect smash burger recipe*.
Ingredients: American Cheese, 80/20 Ground Beef, Potato Bun, White Onion. POGS Seasoning.
Preparations: Take a 1/2-cup measuring spoon and use it to scoop out the ground beef. Flatten it, then roll it into a ball, and set it aside on parchment paper. DO NOT SMASH YET. Make your POGS seasoning (1 tbsp black pepper, 1 tbsp onion powder, 1 tbsp garlic powder, 1/4 cup salt). Mix in a food processor for proper distribution) and use a mandolin to slice the onions finely. Pre-heat the grill to medium.
Directions: Once the grill is warmed up, season the burgers, then place them at equal distances with a healthy amount of onion on top. Let it sit for two minutes to get a char on the bottom of the ball before smashing it down with a spatula. Let it cook for another minute or two, browning the edges before flipping.
Once flipped, add a slice of cheese, then place the top bun, with the bottom upside down, on top of it. This will allow the buns to steam, enhancing their flavor.
For service: Place the bottom bun on a plate, then place the rest of the burger on top, adding any condiments you wish, and ENJOY!
*This recipe is intended for a flat top. For a standard grill, pre-smash the burger patties, and sauté the onions in butter and a splash of oil in a pan. Burgers will only need to be flipped once. Add onions before serving.
-JHM |
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Stillfleet StudioCurious about Stillfleet’s Grit System?
|  | Recently, I hopped on a call with Ryan of The Weekly Scroll to chat about creating a TTRPG system from scratch. We talked in depth about the “why” behind a new system and the pros and cons of fundamental design choices such as task resolution and power design.
We also touched on developing mechanics with friends across multiple games, publishing commercial-friendly licenses, and sorting out a game jam so folks can hack it apart further. It’s a good introduction to the Grit System and—I hope—a useful addition to present conversations around the post-OSR future of TTRPG design.
Reminder, the inaugural Grit System Game Jam is running all summer long! We’d love to see our Analog friends jump in and build something epic (or goofy!) with us. | | |
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ModCon 2026 Northampton, MA – May 30th |
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Game submissions are open now, and badges are on sale for the first-ever ModCon.
It’s happening May 30th at the beautiful Smith College Conference Center in Northampton, MA. ModCon is a one-day convention dedicated to the modern-era genre of TTRPGs.
That includes games like…321 RPG • Call of Cthulhu • World of Darkness • Cyberpunk • Shadowrun • Marvel Super Heroes • Mutants & Masterminds • Delta Green • Savage Worlds • Burn 2d6 • Neon Lords of the Toxic Wasteland • WHPA and more!
It’s going to be a great day of gaming, dedicated to all kinds of settings in the 20th and 21st centuries, in worlds both like our own and very, very different. Sign up below, and we’ll see you there! |
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ArcaneCon Northampton, MA – October 16th & 17th |
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ArcaneCon is returning October 16th & 17th, 2026. Join us in a celebration of indie, old school, and old school-inspired RPGs, miniature games, board games, and more! ArcaneCon is Western Massachusetts’s premiere tabletop hobby convention! Game submissions are open now!!! See more information at Tabletop Events. |
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Keep on emailing us at hello@analogunion.com to let us know what you’d like to see more of/less of and to share ideas. If you enjoy the Analog Union newsletter, please tell your friends to sign up at AnalogUnion.com. Until next time! —JHM |
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