Elizabeth Little’s YOU WILL DIE IN THIS PLACE has a mysterious “Shoebox” edition, and while I was home in Alabama it finally arrived, in all its creepy, meta, House of Leaves glory.

Emily C. Friedman teaches courses on British literature, book history, games, and playful media. Trained as a book historian, narratologist, and digital humanist, her work examines the history of cultural production outside of commercial mass media…

The Quiet Year is a map game. You define the struggles of a post-apocalyptic community, and attempt to build something good within their quiet year. Every decision and every action is set against a backdrop of dwindling time and rising concern.We…

I’m so tired of this analogy being used by people who hold positions of respect and authority in the field. After actually getting Quinns to let it go a while ago, it’s cropping up again. It’s a thought-terminating cliché.Throwback to my 2024 keynote…

@dimension20show @dropout

We’re all in this together. TTRPGs aren’t tools, but as my students have found, they can be places where we meet each other, face to face.My liner notes and annotations for this episode of Adventuring Academy are up for free on my Patreon:…

We’re all in this together. TTRPGs aren’t tools, but as my students have found, they can be places where we meet each other, face to face.My liner notes and annotations for this episode of Adventuring Academy are up for free on my Patreon:…

In partnership with Steve Jackson Games and Possum Creek Games we present... WIZARD WEEK! Each day this week we are exploring a different part of Jay Dragon's game 7 Part Pact. Hierophant, known as Keeper of the Flames, Grail-Bearer, and The Blessed…

This time I asked my friend Kieron Gillen to help me recap and debrief about our class discussion about his comic & game DIE. This virtual visit took place while my students were in Auburn, I was in Philadelphia for a conference, and Kieron was at…

This video covers our Game Tasters' first two-shot: playing the whole scroll of Fall of Magic.This time of year, multi-session games mean the possibility we may lose (or add) players. So this video talks about how we dealt with both a player who…

I am very pleased to announce that THE ACTUAL HISTORY OF ACTUAL PLAY (working title, subject to change) is now under contract with MIT Press. MIT has always been my top choice for this book’s home, and I’m thrilled it’s finally official.I have been…

What to play on the spur of the moment, with players still getting used to going deep into character, right as we start Spring Break?I can't believe I didn't think of ALICE IS MISSING earlier -- another staple of my classroom (see the end of this…

This week in preparation for UnEssays, students close-read a sequence of essays emerging from players at the same table -- and you can read along with us!Jay Dragon’s Seven Part Pact is still in active development (she just playtested it here in…

Starting March 16, we'll be reading the comic-and-RPG DIE, one volume per week, through early April. Monday's class will tackle the narrative, and Wednesday we'll look into some of the essays included in the back matter.The conversation will…

Dillin Apelyan and James D'Amato joined me in Auburn, ransacked the Wall of Games, and did what they do so well: shared their favorite game designs in an engaging and enthusiastic way with my students, colleagues, and my home game group.We've got a…

Welcome to a new experimental miniseries where folks are teaching me how to expand my horizons, hone my techniques, and rethink roleplaying games. For now, call it Home Office Hours.In class this week, James D'Amato waxed poetic about what he thinks…

Some material I take more care with, including this week's really important recap.And so a quick explainer about when I subscriber-wall (and/or temporarily paywall) material, and where to find it.www.patreon.com/ecfriedman(oh and shirt from Legendary…