Tuesday, May 19th

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Solarian Games

Mad About Mod Con 2026

Mod Con is a one-day roleplaying convention focused on modern-era TTRPGs taking place on Saturday, May 30th, at the Smith College Conference Center in beautiful Northampton, Massachusetts.

ModCon is also more than just a convention about games. It’s also a networking opportunity with many of the local gaming personalities. Game designers and publishers will be on site, along with other convention organizers, getting to know attendees in between events. 

Here is more on that: the conventions organizer, Jayson Elliot of Solarian Games. 

Hambone: Jayson, thanks for joining me. On Saturday, May 30th, the inaugural ModCon takes place. What is the elevator pitch for Mod Con?

Jayson: ModCon is a game convention for the “Moderns” tabletop game genre. It’s our first year, so we’re keeping it simple with a one-day event. Game conventions usually see the fantasy and sci-fi genres dominate, and I wanted to give Moderns a chance to shine. 

We define “Moderns” as any game set in the 20th or 21st centuries. I’ve noticed that focusing on Moderns also gives a lot more attention to indie publishers.

H: You are best known for resurrecting a classic with Top Secret and updating it to appeal to modern audiences. What was that process like for you? 

J: Top Secret was my favorite game growing up, and I always wished there were a new version, since the third edition, Top Secret SI, went out of print in the 1990s. Before resurrecting Top Secret, I was the creator of Gygax Magazine. With Luke & Ernie Gygax as my partners, I met a lot of great people from the original TSR, and that led me to find Merle Rasmussen, the original author of Top Secret.

Merle was enthusiastic about writing a new Top Secret, but we had to stipulate during the process that he wasn’t allowed to look at his old work while we made the new game. I had previously registered the Top Secret trademark as a tabletop game, but trademark and copyright are two different things. We had to make sure we didn’t use any copyrighted material from the old game, as it was made for TSR as a “work for hire,” so Merle didn’t hold the copyright to the actual content. That was a blessing in disguise, because it allowed us to create an entirely new game without the baggage of the past. It turns out TTRPG design has advanced quite a bit since 1980!

We enlisted the help of Allen Hammack, the original editor for Top Secret at TSR, and my business partner, James Carpio, who wrote the “Lucky 13” game engine that drives Top Secret.

The design process lasted over two years as we went through various iterations and a ton of playtesting. We finally debuted it at GaryCon before doing our Kickstarter, and thankfully, it was a hit!

H: Why do you think it is so important to take chances on new games? 

J: As a player, or as a publisher? I guess the same answer applies to both. The tabletop game industry, or hobby, whichever you call it, is virtually unmatched in terms of how many players are also game designers. The only scene I can think of that’s got as close to a 1:1 ratio of audience-to-creator would be the punk scene in the 1970s and early ‘80s. As a result, you’ve got new ideas and experiences happening all the time. The joy of discovery is as much fun as the joy of playing the games themselves. If you’re not taking chances on new games, you’re missing out on at least 50% of the fun of being in the scene.

H: What new game are you looking most forward to?

J: Can I be self-serving here? It’s our next Solarian game. Peter Bryant, the other partner in Solarian, has written an awesome skirmish game that I named Moar Blood. It takes place in a dystopian future of unspecified time and place, in a hypercapitalist arena spectacle reminiscent of the 1987 movie The Running Man. 

H: What can attendees look forward to at ModCon?

J: We’ve got a ton of games on the schedule, including Blade Runner, Kids on Brooms, DC Heroes, Fiasco!, Twilight 2000, Weird Heroes of Public Access, Delta Green, and of course, Top Secret. There’s even some miniatures gaming in the room we’re calling “The Safehouse.” 

The location is beautiful. Smith College Conference Center overlooks the Mill River, and we’ve even got a nice outdoor deck for people to relax and hang out on when they’re not gaming. I’ve checked out all the games and every one of them looks like a blast. I really hope I get a chance to hang out with everyone who shows up. Northampton is a wonderfully inclusive and creative community, and the gamers at ModCon will be a fun bunch!

Friends Of The Union

Max Moon

Greetings to all of you who eschew the normal, the recognizable, the known. I am Max Moon, co-founder of Flaming Hand and progenitor of Max Moon Games. I started Max Moon Games in 2020, crowdfunding Twelve Years, a solo / GMless fantasy game.  

That year, I realized I could marry so many of my passions and experiences into one big polyamorous lump: occultism, printmaking, bookbinding, running a record label, touring as a weirdo musician, and teaching art. It all sort of swirled together, the right combo of organizational skills and creative work. I discovered I absolutely love it all. And it centered on what I feel like this rotting world needs most, play. 

As I worked on Max Moon Games, I met Janaka Stucky, whom I had been familiar with as an occult poet, but discovered he was also getting into indie TTRPG publishing. We started collaborating more and eventually co-founded Flaming Hand, where we have been able to pool our collective resources to focus on an artist-centric approach to game publishing (and other things).  For us, art is just as important as the game mechanics. This means we work diligently to raise the money we need to pay artists well and create the most beautiful damn objects we can! 

My guiding philosophy when creating work is to listen to what it wants to be. I liken this to divination, in that it is much more about being open to discovery than it is about mastery or making an idea come out the way it is in my mind. For me, vision is less about executing a replica of my precious idea and more about seeing outside of myself. Whether this approach brings me into dialogue with ancient demons or just cultural milieu, I guess that’s out of my hands.

As ridiculous as it may be, I take nothing more seriously than play, and nothing more playfully than spirit.

The next project we are summoning comes straight out of hell.  The Black Spire Pact is a two-player competitive choose-your-own-adventure style set of gamebooks, built on the back of Old School Essentials, aka B/X.  We are very excited to be crowdfunding this on Backerkit until Jun 5th, 2026!

Ham & Egg Publishing 

One All The Way With Monster Dog

From left to right- Shawn Orr, Chris Pingor, Chuck Friendly, Pete Ugly

Punk rock has come a long way since CBGB’s heyday. A smoky room full of kids with liberty spikes and mowhawks taking it very seriously. Trying to recreate the vibe of the first wave while being on the downswing of the third. Fun as hell, but fleeting, like all good times should be. 

Today, the scene looks a little more suburban. You still check out your favorite band even on a school night, but you sure as hell feel it in the morning. Sometimes, being an older punk comes with faded tattoos, kids, and a mortgage. However, sometimes, if you are really lucky,  it comes in the form of four dudes wearing Hot Dog costumes.  

From their first show as a duo featuring Chuck Friendly (vocals) and Pete Ugly (guitar) in the parking lot of the legendary Rutt’s Hutt in 2023 to Montclair, New Jersey’s Porchfest, where I checked them out this weekend, Monster Dog has brought the fun and frankfurter fury to audiences all over the Garden State. 

With a sound I would describe as a melodic hardcore version of Cheap Trick, Monster Dog’s songs have something for everyone. From tributes to the finest Hot Dog establishments the tri-state area has to offer (“Rippers, “JJs,” and “Chris’”) to songs like “Tammy Goes To Dicky Dees,” and “Meet Me At Hot Grill,” Monster Dog crafts heartfelt songs about the people who both love and serve hot dogs to their customers. 

Monster Dog’s current line-up, now a four-piece including Shawn Orr (bass) and Chris Pingor (drums), has made the “All The Way” version of the band a rock ‘n’ roll juggernaut. This intensity was on full display at Porchfest, where they unleashed a blistering set for an all-ages crowd that filled the yard and poured out into the street. People had a blast, including a lifelong friend of mine, Christine, who said she “Hasn’t felt like this since seeing bands at the Pipeline”––a legendary and long-defunct punk club in Newark–– when she was in high school. 

Monster Dog is a band that has nothing to prove. They are four dudes from New Jersey who love hot dogs and making music with their friends. There is no posturing, filler, or artificial flavors here, dear reader. Just four 100% all-beef franks who are having fun keeping the true spirit of punk rock alive better than most bands I could count on one hand. 

You can check out their music on Apple Music, Bandcamp, and Spotify. 

Monster Dog’s perfect Hot Dog orders:

Pete Ugly (Guitar)

1) Hank’s Franks: Onions. 

2) Hot Dog Johnny’s in Buttzville: “One with, and a buttermilk”. 

3) Rutt’s: Royal Club with rice pudding for dessert, water to drink. 

Chuck Friendly (Vocals)

1) JJ’s: The Hookup and a Yoo-hoo. 

2) Rutt’s: Tuna sandwich with Rutt’s relish on it. 

3) Davey’s: Route 80 because they have beer

Stillfleet Studio

Curious 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.

GameFace Con, Baltimore, MD – May 23rd & 24

Baltimore’s Annual  Tabletop Game Convention at Peabody Heights Brewery

 12 pm – 8 pm both days. 

Meet creators, shop, and play  tabletop RPGs and board games

NeonCon 3-D, Virtual Convention – May 23rd & 24

NeonCon 3-D! May 22nd-23rd over on the Neon Lords of the Toxic Wasteland discord!!! 

Come play Neon Lords of the Toxic Wasteland and all its offshoot games, as well as other indie RPGs and old out-of-print games!!!

Make sure to bring your 3D glasses! Each night we will show an old 3D movie!

ModCon 2026 Northampton, MA – May 30th

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!

ArcaneCon Northampton, MA – October 16th & 17th

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 will go live on March 1st! See more information at Tabletop Events.

Your editor this week has been Hambone of Ham & Egg Publishing. 

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.

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Until next time!

—JHM