Breaking Ground on the Slapdash Battle Arena

New Audio Recording

The latest monthly Project Slapdash Live Chat and Project Update is available now on Club Slapdash for all those with access. For those not in the know, Project Slapdash is the code name for my currently in early development fantasy adventure roleplaying game adventure. All Frienemy-tier supporters are invited to follow the project, view the preview material, and participate in playtests as and when they become available. There is a channel in my Discord server for discussion, a website where I post news and updates and materials, and I host a monthly live chat and then share the recording for all those who can't attend.

Project Slapdash has gone through several rounds of alpha testing with small groups to check that the engine and core mechanics are functional. Starting in mid-to-late August I will be expanding the alpha testing a bit and inviting members of Club Slapdash to participate in short skirmish-type encounters. Basically combats. I need to run a bunch of combats. I did a massive overhaul of the combat engine earlier in the year and I need to make sure the redesigned combat engine is still smooth, playable, and not overwhelming.

More details are available in the Slapchat, which you can listen to if you have a valid login at Club Slapdash. But for those who can't listen to the audio recording, the important thing to note is that, if you want a chance to participate in one of these Slapdash Skirmishes, a signup form and availability poll will be available at Club Slapdash next week. Hopefully Thursday. I can't guarantee everyone will get a chance to play, I intend to record or stream at least one session, maybe several, so people can see them even if they can't participate, and everything is subject to what I can manage. I do intend to run more sessions than I strictly need just to give more people a chance to break the game.

Anyway, that's it. Take care.

Listen to Slapchat July 2026: Breaking Ground on the Battle Arena at Club Slapdash

Mental Models in Roleplaying Games: They're Not Bullshit

New General Access Feature

Why are some parts of tabletop roleplaying games so weirdly hard to handle: social interactions, traps, wilderness travel, downtime, and lots of other crap that should be core fantasy adventure gameplay. The problem isn’t bad mechanics, but missing mental models. There just aren’t any conceptual tools that help Dungeon Masters and players understand how the world works, make strategic choices, and actually play the parts of Dungeons & Dragons that shouldn’t be nearly as hard as they are.

Read Mental Models in Roleplaying Games: They're Not Bullshit at TheAngryGM.com

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Y'All Mind If I Rant About Box Text?

New General Access Feature

Box text seems like it should help Dungeon Masters run better Dungeons & Dragons adventures, but it hurts games and Game Masters a lot more than you might thing. Let me tell you why read-aloud text weakens scene-setting, kills pacing, overloads players, and keeps GMs from building one of their most important skills at the table. Whether you're using published modules or writing your own adventures, it's time for you to quit your dependence on box text.

Read Y'All Mind If I Rant About Box Text? at TheAngryGM.com

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Angry Games Announces Article Split: Live Readaloud Rescheduled

Good news everyone! The Live Readaloud isn't happening today.

Wait, don't run away. This is good news. I've been working on the final article in my Stupid Narration Tricks series — a name I regret a little more with each entry — and I realized there's actually two awesome narration tricks tangled up together. One is about verbal scavenger hunts and how to hide things in narrative plain sight. The other is about repetition, escalation, and broken patterns.

I need to rip this article in two, which means throwing away a few thousand words and starting fresh.

The article will still hit Early Access as scheduled next Wednesday, July 8, 2026, but it won't be read-aloudable today. I'm totally on schedule. Actually, let me just promise the readaloud on Tuesday rather than leaving it up in the air so you can adjust your schedules accordingly.

So live Readaloud of Stupid Narration Tricks: Verbal Scavenger Hunts on Tuesday, July 7, 2026 at 2:00 PM.

Everyone enjoy your weekend, and Happy 250th Birthday America!

Upcoming Live Readaloud and Slapchat

I'll prepare a proper July content calendar in the next few days, but I wanted to put a few dates on your calendar in advance.

On Friday, July 3 at 3:00 PM ET, I'll be recording a Readaloud of the next Early Access article on making and breaking patterns in narration. Folks with Discord access (Angrican tier and above) are welcome to listen live on the Discord #event-channel and we'll maybe have a little unrecorded hangout afterwards for a half hour. The recording and the article itself will be released into Early Access next Wednesday, July 8. My goal is to record Readalouds every Friday thereafter.

On Monday, July 6 at 8:30 PM ET, I'll be hosting the next Project Slapdash update for members of Club Slapdash (Frienemy-tier and above) in the Discord #slapchat-channel. I will be discussing some of the plans for in-community combat engine testing that will begin in mid-August. On Thursday, July 9, the recording will be released on Club Slapdash along with an initial poll/signup thingy for playtest sessions.

There will be no video game stream on my YouTube channel this Sunday and there won't be for the foreseeable future. I'm sorry to the half-dozen or so of you who actually enjoy them, but it's just a heavy draw on my time right now and it just wasn't going well. I'm not closing the door on video game streaming altogether, because it is fun, mostly, but for right now, it just isn't in the cards.