RTFM

Box season is over, so now we must rank the games. Which boxes are best? Which are worst? (They're actually all pretty good.) Plus we announce next season's theme: no game only PDF.⁠⁠Max Lander⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Aaron King⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to.If you want to chat about the episode, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠join our Discord⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. And ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠check us out on Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for extra episodes!

You have been selected to work at the Triangle Agency. Game designer Sam Leigh joins us to talk about this corporate horror RPG by Caleb Zane Huett. Is corporate horror for the youths? Does metafiction have a place in RPGs? And who is the yellow voice?!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Max Lander⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Aaron King⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to.If you want to chat about the episode, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠join our Discord⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. And ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠check us out on Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for extra episodes!

Prepare to enter The Zone by Raph D'Amico. We compare the gamefeel of cards versus tables. We talk mutations. And we talk shit about the Southern Reach Trilogy.We're talking the ⁠Possible Worlds series by Tyler Crumrine⁠, six discreet games boxed together. We have them fight to the death until only the best emerges victorious. Just kidding, we loved them all.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Max Lander⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Aaron King⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to.If you want to chat about the episode, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠join our Discord⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. And ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠check us out on Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for extra episodes!

The RTFM interview series continues. We talk to Austin Walker and Tyler Crumrine about Realis, the meaning of "ashcan," and Wawa versus Sheetz.⁠⁠Max Lander⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Aaron King⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to.If you want to chat about the episode, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠join our Discord⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. And ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠check us out on Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for extra episodes!

We're talking the Possible Worlds series by Tyler Crumrine, six discreet games boxed together. We have them fight to the death until only the best emerges victorious. Just kidding, we loved them all.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Max Lander⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Aaron King⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to.If you want to chat about the episode, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠join our Discord⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. And ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠check us out on Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for extra episodes!

Fantasy soap opera in a box? That's what you get in Dragonlance: Fifth Age. We talk about Dragonlance in general, card-based RPG mechanics, and kender genitals. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Max Lander⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Aaron King⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to. If you want to chat about the episode, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠join our Discord⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. And ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠check us out on Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for extra episodes!

Box season continues with A Guide to Casting Phantoms In the Revolution by Adam Vass & Will Jobst. We're talking mechanical crunch in narrative structure, scene-based roleplaying, and breaking Kickstarter. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Max Lander⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Aaron King⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to. If you want to chat about the episode, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠join our Discord⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. And ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠check us out on Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for extra episodes!

It's a holiday miracle! This Christmas, we're covering Pendragon, the classic RPG of chivalric knighthood. Can the game split the difference between history and fantasy? What can you learn by staring at bees? And would you like to roll on the cuck table? ⁠⁠⁠⁠Max Lander⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Aaron King⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to. If you want to chat about the episode, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠join our Discord⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. And ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠check us out on Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for extra episodes!

Today we're covering Mausritter: The Estate, a box set of adventures and setting materials for teeny tiny mice adventures. What makes for a good adventure? Are you a filler-inner or a chipper-awayer? How do you deal with an evil cat wizard? ⁠⁠⁠Max Lander⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Aaron King⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to. If you want to chat about the episode, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠join our Discord⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. And ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠check us out on Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for extra episodes!

Today, we interview game designer and podcast Daniel Kwan. We talk games in museums, wuxia movies, and smelly Toronto. ⁠⁠Max Lander⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Aaron King⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to. If you want to chat about the episode, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠join our Discord⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. And ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠check us out on Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for extra episodes!

We're back with another box set. This time, it's the Swedish Drakar och Demoner, or as it's known in English, Dragonbane. Who is this game for? Why can't indie devs get a big box budget? And why am I now keeping track of every person who's ever harmed me? ⁠⁠⁠Max Lander⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Aaron King⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to. If you want to chat about the episode, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠join our Discord⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. And ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠check us out on Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for extra episodes!

A guest had to reschedule, so Max and Aaron had to scramble and invent a whole new schema through which to observe RPG discourse. ⁠⁠Max Lander⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Aaron King⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to. If you want to chat about the episode, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠join our Discord⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. And ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠check us out on Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for extra episodes!

Books are out, boxes are in. That's the philosophy behind this latest episode, covering the Green Knight starter set, direct from A24. ⁠⁠Max Lander⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Aaron King⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to. If you want to chat about the episode, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠join our Discord⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. And ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠check us out on Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for extra episodes!

RTFM is back from hiatus! And this time, it's personal. We'll be alternating our regular book reviews with interviews, and to usher in this new era, we have Will Jobst, designer of Torq and the currently crowdfunding Plasmodics. We talk about game design, learning new skills, and mutants mutants mutants. ⁠Max Lander⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Aaron King⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to. If you want to chat about the episode, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠join our Discord⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. And ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠check us out on Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for extra episodes!

This episode is brought to you by No-Tell Motel from Bannerless Games, a solo murder mystery game. It rules! Our sex game trend continues with Let These Mermaids Touch Your Dick Maybe from Riverhouse Games. Want to slap a dildo with a sticky hand? Is it a lyric game? Has anyone played it? ⁠Max Lander⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Aaron King⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to. If you want to chat about the episode, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠join our Discord⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. And ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠check us out on Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for extra episodes!

This episode is brought to you by VOID 1680 AM by Bannerless Games. It's a solo, playlist-building RPG, and it rules. We're talking Monsterhearts 2 by Avery Alder, and we're joined by Jay Dragon of Possum Creek Games. Jay claims to know the deep dark truth of Monsterhearts, so who were we to disagree? Max Lander⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Aaron King⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to. If you want to chat about the episode, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠join our Discord⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. And ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠check us out on Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for extra episodes!

This episode is brought to you by ⁠Cloud Empress: Life & Death by watt⁠. Back it on Kickstarter now! The sex continues with Vice & Violence by Rapscallion, an explicitly horny and lewd RPG. The art is great, but is it a good game? (Yes, it's a very good game.) About the show: ⁠⁠Max Lander⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Aaron King⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to. If you want to chat about the episode, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠join our Discord⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. And ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠check us out on Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for extra episodes!

This episode is brought to you by Cloud Empress: Life & Death by watt. Back it on Kickstarter now! Max Lander⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Aaron King⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to. Today, we cover ANAL WIZARDS by the Genchi Brothers. It's a comic book, but it's a game. We talk about transgressive art and sex sex sex. If you want to chat about the episode, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠join our Discord⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. And ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠check us out on Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for extra episodes!

⁠⁠⁠⁠Max Lander⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Aaron King⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to. A freewheeling discussion of the themes and lessons of the season: ownership, games criticism, social versus mechanical rules. We discuss what's next for the podcast and, as always, we rank the games. If you want to chat about the episode, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠join our Discord⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. And ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠check us out on Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for extra episodes!

This episode is sponsored by ⁠The Lost Bay RPG, on Kickstarter now⁠. ⁠⁠⁠Max Lander⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Aaron King⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to. We're joined by Sam Dunnewold of Dice Exploder to cover Errant by Ava Islam, an OSR game that is "rules light, procedure heavy." If you want to chat about the episode, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠join our Discord⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. And ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠check us out on Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for extra episodes!