iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

breaking my immersion!! crossing guards are already angels. 😇 thank you for running sock puppets - - and for sending me a picture of your puppets!

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thanks for the kind words! i was pretty nervous going into a visual design talk beside the incredibly talented @dngnclub.itch.io and @sifsweetman.bsky.social, but both my fellow panelists and our audience were very sweet. i always love hearing people talk about their craft, and i learned a lot too!

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i was running sock puppets at a different convention the same day!! it's always so ridiculous. HUGE kudos for navigating a morning slot; what an insane thing to do before noon, hahaha. these are all great, but i love the halo and stop sign.

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Kurt Refling @kurtrefling.bsky.social · 11/03/2026

i was with ian this weekend, and you better believe when i saw Bonsai Diaries sitting out i was grinning. "gene's game!!" such a lovely design concept.

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Someone in one of my tabletop communities asked how to make her own TTRPGs. I didn't LOVE any of the articles I came across, so I wrote one of my own fueled by stubbornness and Vyvanse. This is the best 101 I can provide on the process of taking an RPG from idea to finished game. Hope it helps.

buttondown.com

A Guide to Creating Your Own TTRPG

Today's letter is something a little different: an article I wrote about how to create your own TTRPG. I don't usually share guides or resources here, but I...

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Kurt Refling @kurtrefling.bsky.social · 03/03/2026

I have rolled the dice that were in the dicebox and which you were probably saving for saving throws Forgive me they were shiny so neat and unrolled

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Kurt Refling @kurtrefling.bsky.social · 02/03/2026

loving the expressiveness you folks coaxed out of those puppets!

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Reposted by Kurt Refling

Jes the human @jesthehuman.itch.io · 09/02/2026

The No ICE in Minnesota Charity Bundle has officially LAUNCHED! There are 1,439 games to discover for a $10+ donation to Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota! Purchase the bundle here: itch.io/b/3484/no-ic...

graphic that says no ice in Minnesota itch.io charity bundle

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Kurt Refling @kurtrefling.bsky.social · 14/01/2026

Stories that aren't mine (from places I haven't been). A letter with a few feelings about mailing an object I mistook for a friend, the peculiarities of translation, and a bittersweet feeling in a place that's been abandoned. buttondown.com/Kurt/archive...

buttondown.com

Stories that aren't mine (from places I haven't been).

Hello darlings. I’ve been sipping at an idea these past weeks. Nursing it like a drink on a night that’s on the edge of over. Stories don’t really belong to...

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Kurt Refling @kurtrefling.bsky.social · 12/01/2026

i'm sitting on a couple panels at a convention this year. i know deep down that i'm Smart & Helpful Guy Who Knows Stuff, but do y'all ever feel like --

A crude MS Paint drawing of a small person smiling nervously. In front of the small person, a placard reads "Kurt Refling: Baby / Imposter." On either side of Kurt, the shoulders of two people can be seen, heads out-of-frame like adults in a Charlie Brown cartoon. The left figure wears a suit jacket; the right figure wears a blouse.

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Kurt Refling @kurtrefling.bsky.social · 31/12/2025

never before has a sock puppets post included video. now i am spoiled forever. listen to this perfect bumpo.

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Reposted by Kurt Refling

Ian Howard @leafydragongames.bsky.social · 25/12/2025

As one of the KS rewards for Sock Puppets — a LARP where you make and operate actual puppets — the inimitable @kurtrefling.bsky.social offered the chance for backers to play a game with Herman, the puppet Kurt built to hype the game. So what game did I pick? SOCK PUPPETS.

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Closing this thread: I would love to know if you've ever watched a how to play video for an RPG! They're so common in the board game space, but I feel like it's largely absent from TTRPGs. If you have, link it below so we can see it too!

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If people want to pirate a game, there are much easier ways to do it than squinting at a screenshot from a tutorial. But I am always looking for better ways to open the door for people to play. It's part of what makes @helloalexroberts.bsky.social's game For the Queen such a beautiful thing.

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"But Kurt," says a straw man. "Your RPG is like 40 pages. What if people just watch this video instead of buying your game?" Thank you for asking, imaginary person. I believe that people WANT to support art. We tip buskers because a moment of music is moving enough to invite something in exchange.

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How to Play Sock Puppets, ft. Herman

In an act of radical approachability & mediocre puppetry, I made a quickstart video for Sock Puppets: a TTRPG about puppets and their problems. I made this because I want more games you can just... play. No homework. No tests. I also wanted to make bad, embarrassing jokes. youtu.be/DcAZH6iwcXU

youtu.be

YouTube video by An Open Hand

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Kurt Refling @kurtrefling.bsky.social · 20/12/2025

Just couple of OVAs, but they're hard to track down these days

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Kurt Refling @kurtrefling.bsky.social · 20/12/2025

...Which means I also didn't know what a "black deck" was. Or that every card in the deck is like, "rotten corpse" or "bone devourer". Which is how I found myself on my birthday, with my in-laws, playtesting a game about girls attending a school for young... necromancers. [2/2]

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Kurt Refling @kurtrefling.bsky.social · 20/12/2025

I wrote a magical girls game that uses Clow cards as oracles. During playtesting, I quickly realized it could work with any cards that have interesting art, so I asked my brother-in-law to bring Magic cards over. I do not know anything about Magic. [1/2]

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Reposted by Kurt Refling

Indie Press Revolution @ipr.bsky.social · 12/12/2025

Hey, did we mention we have Desperation back in stock?

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Alex Roberts @helloalexroberts.bsky.social · 11/12/2025

So many people do not have a place in their lives where they can play with other people. I mean really be playful. And the capacity is always there, just waiting to be let out.

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I know this story wasn't fishing, but I will never pass up on an opportunity to tell you again what a smart smart thing you made.

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Of the many things that make FtQ so genius (revolutionary!) is that and truly embodies games as conversation. You're just answering questions! It's such a perfect way to transition from natural discussion into this place of creativity and imagination.

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After games of For the Queen, I've had people sheepishly tell me that they'd borrowed some idea from a piece of media they love, or it was just a reframing of something that happened to them. And I'm like, darlings! Sweet lovelies. Please. That's where all stories come from. You're doing great.

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God, yes, this exactly. People are so scared that they won't be clever or funny or cool, but none of that is what makes a good story. Good stories come from a place of honesty.

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writers are such magicians with storytelling games. always a treat.

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went to a white elephant gift exchange this weekend where everyone had to bring something hand-made. nobody said i *wasn't* allowed to bring watercolour gnomes, so obviously that's what i did.

An amateur watercolour painting of a forest scene. A gnome couple sits in the foreground at the root of a tree. Behind them, a forested hillside angles upwards to the right, while a creek passes by on the left.

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a-smouldering-lighthouse.itch.io

10 - I tricked you, there's no 10th footnote. You're just reading this because you like reading, nerd. Go read one of my games instead. a-smouldering-lighthouse.itch.io Some are even free. itch.io/c/3144634/li... Or maybe read my newsletter? I'm fun there too. buttondown.com/Kurt/archive/

A Smouldering Lighthouse

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9 - If this still sounds high, look into "marginal tax rates"! If you can understand how that works, you'll be a lot less mad about taxes (and a lot more informed than most people).

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7 - Paying for Adobe would change this thread to "how I made zero money as a game designer this year". 8 - The German title for Sock Puppets is Sockenpuppen. It's the literal translation. I know this. But tell me that isn't adorable. (The Italians have gone with "Sock Puppets," which, fair play.)

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5 - ULINE is a shipping behemoth headquartered in the US. They are affordable and ubiquitous. They also are megadonors to a very specific political movement that I personally find reprehensible. 6 - If you see me at Breakout (Toronto) in March, please say hello!

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3 - One Canadian dollar is worth about 70 US cents. That said, cost of living is about 16% higher in the US, so they're closer than they look in practice. 4 - If I was shipping a game in a box or anything that could be considered a toy, my US customers would have to pay significantly more.

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From the RPGdesign community on Reddit

FOOTNOTES 1 - Not, like, sobbing. I'm actually pretty happy with the numbers, all things considered. 2 - I wrote a blog on the RPG design subreddit talking about the printing and shipping process; you can read it here if you want. www.reddit.com/r/RPGdesign/...

reddit.com

Explore this post and more from the RPGdesign community

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