SCM Annual Review 2024
Looking back at the second year of Skeleton Code Machine
Welcome to Skeleton Code Machine, an ENNIE-nominated and award-winning weekly publication that explores tabletop game mechanisms. Check out Public Domain Art and Fragile Games to get started. Subscribe to TUMULUS to get more design inspiration delivered to your door each quarter!
Happy New Year!
Thank you for being a part of the Skeleton Code Machine community for another year. I continue to be amazed that I can just write about whatever mechanism or game design theory has captured my attention, and you continue to enjoy reading it. It really is a gift to be able to share my thoughts with you, and I appreciate it.
It’s time to look at the data from the recent Annual Reader Survey, reflect, and see if we find some things to think about.
Another year of growth
Skeleton Code Machine started with zero subscribers in January 2023. By the end of the first year, that number had grown to 1500. As of today, Skeleton Code Machine now has over 3,500 subscribers (+133% YOY).1 Based on the survey results, just over 50% of readers have been subscribed for 12 months or less, as to be expected with this sort of growth. If you are one of the 3% who has been subscribed for 6 month or less, welcome!
ENNIE-nominated and CRIT winner
Skeleton Code Machine picked up an ENNIE nomination in 2024 for Best Online Content and won a CRIT Award for Best Blog or Article Written in the TTRPG Space.
Just recently, Skeleton Code Machine was one of the 2024 Bloggies finalists in the Design Theory category!
You don’t just play games
Skeleton Code Machine readers don’t just play games — they make games. Based on the survey, about 80% of readers make some sort of TTRPG or board game content. Almost a quarter of respondents make both!
Tuesday is Skeleton Code Machine day
Many readers in the survey noted that they appreciate the consistent output of posts. They know that every Tuesday, a new Skeleton Code Machine article will be waiting for them in their mailbox. In two years, I have not missed a post. This includes some holidays and at least two posts written while enduring fevers.2
Last year I published 58 posts. This year, mostly due to series with multiple parts, I published 74 posts (+27.6% YOY). Of course, a few of the posts were announcements such as the TUMULUS launch, annual survey, and PAX Unplugged. The vast majority were, however, full articles about tabletop game mechanisms.
July stands out with 12 posts, due in part to the Make Your Own One-Page Roleplaying Game series published that month. That guide was also published as a PDF and in print, both of which proved to be extremely popular.
November had 9 posts as we celebrated MECH WEEK — five posts exploring what it means to be a mech, heat, combat, pilots, and systems.
Weekly emails that are worth reading
A few other observations:
Series are popular: According to the survey results, both series were extremely popular with readers. They also noted that the “five daily posts” seems like the correct amount for a series. It’s enough to cover the topic, but they wouldn’t want it to go longer than that.
You read most articles: I was surprised (and thrilled) to learn that 37% of readers who took the survey reported that they read “every article” from Skeleton Code Machine. Another 49% reported that they read “most articles.” So about 86% of respondents read almost every article that is published.3
Weekly is good: It looks like 74% of readers would like to receive a new post at least once a week or more frequently (e.g. twice a week).
Email is still king: Most readers prefer email (67%) and others on the web (16%) or the Substack app (17%). A few readers kindly reminded me that RSS is still around and should have been included as an option. Noted, and it’s a good reminder that RSS readers are a great way to keep up with blogs.
Don’t forget that all previous articles are available in the Archive — a fact known by 71% of readers but that was new information to 29%.
Popular board games and TTRPGs
Based on the survey, 89% of readers play board games and 91% play tabletop roleplaying games. Solo games were universally popular with 49% of board gamers and 70% of TTRPG players enjoying their games (at least some of the time) solo.
I always like to ask which was your favorite “new to you” game of the year:
Root and Arcs: Cole Wehrle was well represented in the responses from board gamers. Both Root (2018) and Arcs (2024) had the most specific mentions in the responses. It is notable, however, that while those two had the most mentions it was because the answers were so diverse. Almost everyone had a different game.
Mothership: Similar to board games, the answers for TTRPGs were diverse. The one with enough mentions to clearly push it to the top was Mothership — a game I’ve written about for both its use of dice and how I ran a one-shot. Slugblaster and Shadowdark also received notable mentions.
If Skeleton Code Machine gave out awards based on reader preferences, Arcs and Mothership would be the winners this year.
More of this and less of that
TTRPG mechanisms (91%) and board game mechanisms (79%) are the two most popular types of content at Skeleton Code Machine. The next most popular are tutorials (73%), interviews (62%), and coming in just above the cut-off is retro/vintage games (53%). News and updates (48%) and Top 10 lists (44%) are the least popular.
In the survey I asked what you would like to see more of and what you’d like to see less of at Skeleton Code Machine. The answers were pretty clear!
You want more TTRPG content (79%), more tutorials (62%), more solo games (57%), and more board game content (48%). This is good to see, because that is the content that I’ve been focusing on for the last two years.
If you want more historical wargame (27%) and 18XX train game content (8%), however, I’m sad to report that you are in the minority. In fact, 24% of readers say they want less 18XX train game content even though I’ve never published an article about 18XX train games!
Other formats including print
About 20% of readers would like to see more printed content from Skeleton Code Machine including books and zines. The print version of Make Your Own One-Page Roleplaying Game and TUMULUS are two ways you can get that right now.
Other format such as videos (13%), podcasts (16%), and puppet shows (13%) were less popular. Regardless, I will continue to threaten to make a puppet show.
TUMULUS launch
In November I launched TUMULUS, a Skeleton Code Machine quarterly print publication focused on game design inspiration. The first issue shipped in December, and the second issue will be coming out in March.
Even with an announcement post, dedicated page, and social media, 26% of readers have never heard of TUMULUS. If you are one of those readers, I’d like to personally invite you to check it out!
TUMULUS subscriptions get you four issues delivered to your door, one each quarter over the course of 12 months. You can subscribe at any time, and don’t have to worry about it auto-renewing. You’ll receive a notice when it’s time to renew, making it easier to give as a gift.
Unpub and Break My Game
Only 29% of survey respondents had heard of either the Unpublished Games Network (Unpub) or Break My Game (BMG). Both are interesting and helpful groups that can make it easier to get your games playtested. While their focus has historically been on board games, narrative and TTRPG games are also welcome.
I’m familiar with the Unpub section at PAX Unplugged, and plan to attend the Unpub 2025 event in Baltimore, MD.4 Watch for an article about playtesting groups after that!
Conclusion
Some things to think about:
Repeat the message: It is important to remember that not every person reads every post. We are all busy, and it’s easy to miss things. I’ll try to do a better job of communicating things such as TUMULUS and that the Archive exists.
TTRPG vs. board games: The Skeleton Code Machine audience skews more toward TTRPGs than board games, but both are popular. The games I’m most interested in operate in the area between those definitions — board games that feel like RPGs and RPGs that feel like board games. I’ll continue to cover both!
I can’t wait to explore more in 2025: After two years, you might wonder if I’m losing interest in this. Absolutely not! I’m so excited to explore more mechanisms, try new formats, and hopefully give you some new things to think about.
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to share my thoughts with you each week. Here’s to rolling dice and making games in 2025.
— E.P. 💀
P.S. Subscribe to TUMULUS for more design inspiration delivered to your door.
Skeleton Code Machine is a production of Exeunt Press. All previous posts are in the Archive on the web. Subscribe to TUMULUS to get more design inspiration. If you want to see what else is happening at Exeunt Press, check out the Exeunt Omnes newsletter.
Substack has made some changes that allow users to follow a newsletter without subscribing. I’m not really certain of all the details, but SCM has 3,564 subscribers excluding followers. Count all followers that number increases to 4,017.
More than one person in the survey mentioned that while they appreciate that I never miss a week, they would like to make sure I take care of myself. This is very kind of you, and I assure you that I’m doing OK!
There were four people who reported that they are not subscribed to Skeleton Code Machine and do not read the articles. While I am a bit confused by this, I appreciate the commitment to taking surveys.
I’m going as a playtester and not a designer this year.
Wow! Congratulations on your growth and success - this is amazing! If I subscribe to Tumulus now, does that include any back issue I missed?
Congrats to Exuent Press on a fantastic 2024! And thanks for sharing the data on your survey. So interesting for anyone else who writes a blog or newsletter. Best of luck for your newsletters into 2025!