Skeleton Code Machine

Skeleton Code Machine

Home
GET TUMULUS
Archive
About
The moment of truth approaches!
Exploring how Gladiator (1981) uses mechanisms to support the theme of combat and a fickle crowd in the arenas of ancient Rome.
6
🚪 Kick open the door.
The latest issue of TUMULUS is shipping now, including creative inspiration for dungeon crawls, pub dice games, locks, keys, depth crawls, weird flora…
Start here: The best of Skeleton Code Machine
An updated list of the best articles you may have missed, including both old and new. If you are one of the 2,000+ new subscribers over the last year…
 • 
Exeunt Press
2
Most Popular
View all
Public domain art resources
 • Exeunt Press
13
More public domain art resources
 • Exeunt Press
12
Make your own one-page RPG (Part 1: Introduction)
16
Get creative with one-page RPGs
17
Don't ask these playtesting questions!
21
How fragile is your game design?
43
What's the difference between asymmetry and variable player powers?
Exploring games with variable player powers and asymmetric victory conditions, including Dracula vs Van Helsing.
8
Can we use ADDIE to make a better rulebook?
Exploring the ADDIE model from the world of instructional design and how it might be used to create rulebooks that are more clear, concise, and…
6
How should we handle garbage time in tabletop games?
Exploring the idea of "garbage time" at the end of a game through the psychological lenses of cognitive closure, ambiguous loss, and the framing effect.
20
Drinking deep from the well of sadness
Exploring the Ocean Madness tracker in Deep Regrets, an "unfortunate fishing game about pulling progressively more horrifying things out of the ocean."
10
Where are the board game SRDs?
In which I ponder if the idea of a board game SRD or third-party license makes any sense. And if so, what would be required to create a culture of…
41
Minimalist game design with Compile
Exploring minimalist game design and how Compile's multi-use cards create strategic depth with just a few simple game components
 • 
Exeunt Press
7
Playing the Chaplain's Game
Exploring the use of coins as a divination mechanism in Mechs to Plowshares, a solo TTRPG about war, anxiety, paranoia, identity, and purpose by…
17
Not my space zoo. Not my alien monkeys.
Exploring the use of DIY tiles in Menagerie, a solo journaling and storytelling game about running a failing alien space zoo.
2
Don't ask these playtesting questions!
10 of the best questions to ask after a board game or TTRPG playtest, and 3 questions you should avoid. Lessons learned from playtesting at Unpub 2025.
21
Skeleton Code Machine
Skeleton Code Machine
Spark your creativity as a tabletop game designer or enthusiast, and think differently about how games work. ENNIE-nominated!
Recommendations
Exeunt Omnes
Exeunt Omnes
Exeunt Press
Your RPG Confuses Me
Your RPG Confuses Me
Justin Vandermeer
The Soloist - an indie RPG newsletter
The Soloist - an indie RPG newsletter
Patrick Buechner
GameTek
GameTek
Geoff Engelstein
Exeunt Press
Shop
Games
Newsletter

Skeleton Code Machine

AboutArchiveRecommendationsSitemap
© 2025 Exeunt Press
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start writingGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture