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Mad Jay

@madjay.bsky.social

Plays Games Fearlessly. Often pretends with Strangers. A Game designer. WIP: Lifted: Indomitable. Catch me on www.patreon.com/madjayzero and playfearless.substack.com #ttrpg

1,555 Followers  |  618 Following  |  489 Posts  |  Joined: 14.07.2023  |  1.7998

Latest posts by madjay.bsky.social on Bluesky

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The Play Fearless Greatest Crits Zine A Zine of Essays, Tools, and Table Truths from the Play Fearless Newsletter.

Alright, The Play Fearless Greatest Crits zine is live!!
I’ve been writing Play Fearless for years.
This is the part I wanted for my coffee table.

If you’ve ever pulled something from this work into your own games, I’d love your support.
You know what to do!
#ttrpg

06.02.2026 16:14 β€” πŸ‘ 9    πŸ” 5    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
All the Cold City Hot War short videos in one long video
YouTube video by Handiwork Games All the Cold City Hot War short videos in one long video

Hey in the run up to the crowdfunding campaign for Cold City and Hot War, (Both games are now out in PDF) I sat down with @malcolmcraig.bsky.social to chat about the upcoming new edition. You can watch (or listen) to all of the parts in one go: youtu.be/Hds6fbPzvJE #coldcity

04.02.2026 17:08 β€” πŸ‘ 19    πŸ” 5    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 4
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Monday Musings #137 🀬 Muses, and Zines, and Games, Oh My!

This is one of those weeks where a bunch of small, separate things quietly click into place.

None of it is flashy on its own. Taken together, though, it feels like momentumβ€”and I’ll take that kind of Monday every Monday.

Good Monday, Gamer!
open.substack.com/pub/playfear... #ttrpg

02.02.2026 15:22 β€” πŸ‘ 6    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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Coming soon: The Play Fearless Greatest Crits Zine A Zine of Essays, Tools, and Table Truths from the Play Fearless Newsletter.

Send in the Zines!!

www.kickstarter.com/projects/mad...

31.01.2026 23:03 β€” πŸ‘ 5    πŸ” 4    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Muses of Play | Diceology on Patreon Get more from Diceology on Patreon on Patreon

We are live on Patreon. 2026 is the year of Diceology Rerolled and also me (Play Fearless) moving away from Substack.
www.patreon.com/posts/muses-...

30.01.2026 22:07 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 1
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A little something-something I’ve been working on with the most awesome @scorchadoom.bsky.social Creativity in the TTRPG space. Should be going live today, it’s been a while since I did any podcast work, a brotha’s a bit rusty!

30.01.2026 18:30 β€” πŸ‘ 11    πŸ” 6    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 0
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Secret KC: Winter's Last Dance - Warm Rooms, Slow Vibes & Quiet Intentions! Discover KC's cozy winter weekend: Thawing out after the storm, embracing slow moments, and quietly preparing for February's gentle transitions with warm rooms and easy vibes.

Secret KC: Winter's Last Dance - Warm Rooms, Slow Vibes & Quiet Intentions! www.secretkc.com/p/the-big-th...

29.01.2026 19:36 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Monday Musings #136 🀬 You don't know Jack!

Someone ran the experiment anyway.
It worked.
It can’t be shut down.

Occult infrastructure.
Leaking systems.
Bad assumptions baked into reality.

Good Monday, Gamer. You Don’t Know Jack

open.substack.com/pub/playfear...
#ttrpg

26.01.2026 15:16 β€” πŸ‘ 4    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

just submitted two of my games, Birth of the Resistance Age (which is about fighting an authoritarian regime) and Imp of the Perverse (which is about ending the threat of monsters in your community), it’s not much but something’s better than nothing!

abolish ice, all power to MN.

25.01.2026 16:40 β€” πŸ‘ 15    πŸ” 6    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Field Notes: Occulted Kansas City Running a Weekly Monster of the Week Campaign

Behind the scenes of my weekly Monster of the Week campaign in an Occulted Kansas City. Practical prep, player-led discovery, table presence, and why I don’t stat baddies until I must.

Friday Field Notes: Occulted KC. open.substack.com/pub/playfear...

23.01.2026 22:22 β€” πŸ‘ 5    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Around the Hearth | Roll for Origin: Supers TTRPG History: Ep. 6 Godlike & Wild Talents Roll for Origin: Supers TTRPG History looks at two related RPG systems. First Godlike, the World War II supers game that leans into realism and consistency. Second Wild Talents, the evolution of th...

Roll for Origin: Supers TTRPG History: Ep. 6 Godlike & Wild Talents

In this ep @madjay.bsky.social and I cover Godlike, the WW2 supers game that leans into realism and consistency. Second Wild Talents, which can follow that first game's history or be recast into a generic supers RPG.

#ttrpg

20.01.2026 14:03 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 2
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Monday Musings #135 🀬 Why the Most Dangerous NPCs Are Player-Generated

Your best NPCs aren’t planned.
For me, they’re often player consequences.

A failed roll created Bennie.
Three sessions later, he’s an emergent antagonist with ambitions.

I wrote about letting the table grow your villains vs forcing them.

Good Monday, Gamers!!
open.substack.com/pub/playfear...

19.01.2026 17:59 β€” πŸ‘ 48    πŸ” 8    πŸ’¬ 5    πŸ“Œ 2
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Monday Musings #134 🀬 Stats, sessions, and what survived contact IRL

2025 by the numbers.

Not the games I bought or meant to play.
The ones that actually hit the table β€” plus what readers told me they need most right now, a check-in on play, people, and what really mattered.

What counted most at your table this year?
open.substack.com/pub/playfear...

13.01.2026 00:04 β€” πŸ‘ 8    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Secret KC: Restaurant Week, Jazz & Late Night Vibes - Jan Guide! Discover KC's vibrant Restaurant Week: Dive into prix-fixe menus, hidden cocktail gems, and spontaneous nights that transform from first sips to unforgettable urban adventures!

🎷 Start Strong. Stay Out Late. 🍽️ Dive into Kansas City Restaurant Week (Jan 9–18) with prix-fixe menus & jazz vibes. Discover the best spots to start & end your night. Book early, stay late! More details: www.secretkc.com/p/start-stro... #KCRestaurantWeek #SecretKC

08.01.2026 17:29 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Monday Musings #133 🀬 Why I’m starting 2026 with a table instead of a checklist

First Monday of 2026.

No resolutions. No β€œmust-play” list. Just a new IRL Monster of the Week table.
Wrote this week’s Monday Musing about starting the year with play instead of promises.

What are you carrying into your 2026 games?
open.substack.com/pub/playfear... #ttrpg

05.01.2026 16:45 β€” πŸ‘ 7    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Secret KC: NYE Bash, Yachties & Vibrant City Vibes - Welcome 2026! Discover KC's cozy New Year kickoff: Winter jazz vibes, Knuckleheads NYE magic, and insider nightlife secrets that'll warm up your January adventure!

πŸŽ‰ Happy New Year!! πŸŽ‰ Dive into 2026 with SecretKC's guide to KC's best nights out! From First Fridays to jazz lounges, let's celebrate all month long. Check out the full scoop: www.secretkc.com/p/happy-new-... #KCnights #FirstFriday

02.01.2026 18:03 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Monday Musings #132 🀬 What got played, dropped and what's next.

Like most years, my ambitions far exceeded my calendar. Some games hit the table. Some lived in notebooks. Here's what workedβ€”and my one secret weird trick for campaigns that actually get played.
🎲 Good Monday, Gamers!
open.substack.com/pub/playfear...

29.12.2025 17:09 β€” πŸ‘ 4    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Legitimately the single best FPS campaign ever made.

If you've never played it, get it.

27.12.2025 19:17 β€” πŸ‘ 45    πŸ” 11    πŸ’¬ 3    πŸ“Œ 0

Make a Bond movie casual
Live and let Dance!

26.12.2025 18:41 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 1
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Monday Musings #131 🀬 Musing on the Penultimate Monday!!

Last two Mondays of the year are easy to skip.

But I’m still here β€” coffee in hand, Bolognese sauce simmering, writing words...
open.substack.com/pub/playfear... #ttrpgs

22.12.2025 16:19 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
4170 free SVG and PNG icons for your games or apps | Game-icons.net

Mad love to game-icons.net. I cannot tell you how much time they have saved me. I'm a hexslinger, not a pixel artist, Jim.

21.12.2025 14:27 β€” πŸ‘ 6    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Dogs walked, coffee brewed. back to discovering the shape of this cyber-hacker deckbuilder thing. Night club system nodes at the top, card 'deck' at the bottom. Thinking about card resolution mechanics, turn structure, stealing from Netrunner and SR:Crossfire until I figure it out. #indiegamedev

21.12.2025 14:25 β€” πŸ‘ 9    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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Secret KC: Winter Date Night Vibes - Igloos, Jazz & Holiday Magic! Discover KC's winter magic: Cozy rooftop igloos, jazz-filled nights, and secret pop-up bars offering the perfect date night escape this holiday season!

🎷✨ Winter Date Night Vibes in KC! Cozy up in igloos, sip holiday cocktails, and enjoy live jazz. Perfect for a magical night out. Naughty or nice, see you at the bar! More info: www.secretkc.com/p/winter-dat... #KansasCity

18.12.2025 18:18 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Apocalypse World: Burned Over The 3rd edition of the groundbreaking original.

My friends! The Apocalypse World 3rd Ed kickstarter ends on Friday night. We launched with a Q&A on Reddit and I think we'd like to wrap up with a Q&A here.

Ask me anything! Ask @megueyb.bsky.social anything too!

www.kickstarter.com/projects/lum...

16.12.2025 13:11 β€” πŸ‘ 133    πŸ” 69    πŸ’¬ 24    πŸ“Œ 4
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Monday Musings #130 🀬 Musing on inspiration strikes and LFG

It might be nothing.
But it doesn’t feel like nothing.
This week’s Monday Musing is about:

🎲 LFG IRL
πŸ•°οΈ Scheduling is the real end-boss
πŸ“š William Gibson’s Jackpot trilogy
⚑️ dumb random inspiration

Scheduling: weekly, bi-weekly, or sporadic?

Good Monday, Gamer!
open.substack.com/pub/playfear...

15.12.2025 16:56 β€” πŸ‘ 4    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Day 14
When the first babe was born glowing, the world changed. We didn’t know, at first. We, who dug in the ruins of What Was, daring monsters & each other. Lilah Blackthorn said it could live, and we would watch to see what would follow.

What followed was more. So many more.

#AW3rd #ttrpg #pbta

14.12.2025 16:42 β€” πŸ‘ 37    πŸ” 11    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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a cartoon drawing of a white and blue train going down the tracks ALT: a cartoon drawing of a white and blue train going down the tracks

Dumb, stupid, random Inspiration. Comes at you like a train when it's ready. Gets you off track from the thing you doing, the thing you need to be working on. Got ya all wide-eyed, how didn't we see it before?!
Happy Saturday. Me, coffee, fresh field notebook, riding this bullet train.

13.12.2025 15:52 β€” πŸ‘ 11    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
Knights Errant
playing Mythic Bastionland

PIC: Fortified bridge from Spain

Knights Errant playing Mythic Bastionland PIC: Fortified bridge from Spain

Looking back fondly on the Horde Knight and the Vulture Knight with @newmadras.bsky.social and @madjay.bsky.social, whose young knights were violent jocks from the jump, having just defeated the Ogre...

youtube.com/clip/Ugkx7c-...

07.12.2025 21:17 β€” πŸ‘ 19    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 0
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Easy Sunday morning. Working my Advent coffee calendar and 'discovering the shape of fun' in a prototype for a deckbuilder game that should already exist. Discovering things you can do with a digital card deck that you can not or wouldn't do with a physical one, like destroying a card! πŸ‘€πŸ€¬
#indiedev

07.12.2025 15:35 β€” πŸ‘ 10    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Reminder applications for our yearly turn-based games festival, Steam sale, & showcase are open now until Dec 12th.

412 games submitted so far, hope to see even more #IndieDev / #GameDev applying over the weekend.

Gaming content creators, we have visibility + keys for you too, check it out!

05.12.2025 17:27 β€” πŸ‘ 28    πŸ” 12    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 1

@madjay is following 20 prominent accounts