Rene Plays Games

Welcome back to the monthly design diaries series of 2026 where I am holding myself accountable toward putting out more games.

 

For the first Design Diaries of the year that isn't about Gardens of Rust, I decided to go back to what was going to be the original Design Diaries episode of 2026... my two-player buddy cop TTRPG Decktectives.

 

In this game, the two players sit down and create a pair of detectives or investigators who are going to solve a crime in around 1 hour of real time like an episode your favorite procedural using a deck of cards and a Three Act Structure with "commercial breaks."

 

The game mechanics are very simple, using cards from small hands to overcome prompts and obstacles flipped from a 3x3 grid representing each Act of the investigation to create piles of Clues & Complications. By the end, hopefully your duo has amassed enough evidence to put away the culprit (or solve the crime and let it slide).

 

I'm confident this one's done design-wise, I just need to get the layout done. SOMEONE YELL AT ME UNTIL I DO!

 

----more----

Join the DMs After Dark Discord!

 

I made a Ko-Fi if you feel absurdly generous and want to help cover podcast hosting costs & all the upkeep. I'm still working on whether I want to offer anything special over there or just give my extreme gratitude (maybe some stickers or something in the mail) to those who donate, but no pressure whatsoever :)

 

Where to Follow Rene Plays Games:

LinkTree |  BlueSky | Threads | Instagram | Facebook | DMs After Dark

Rene's Games:

MECH | MECH Cities 2 | One Last Quest | I Know I Know You, But I Don't Know How...

email: [email protected]

 

Music in the Episode (in order of appearance):

Rain, Book And Cup Of Tea by | e s c p | https://www.escp.space
https://escp-music.bandcamp.com

Iorlas spends time recovering between the small community of Archet in the Chetwood and a visit to Bree, where he runs into Gandalf again. After hearing news of an attack on a homestead along the Greenway to the north, Iorlas assumes it must be Drustan and his allies, so he ventures slightly out of the way to investigate. He finds a wondrous item...

 

Learn more about The One Ring 2e by Free League Publishing.

 

----more----

Join the DMs After Dark Discord channel!

 

I made a Ko-Fi if you feel absurdly generous and want to help cover podcast hosting costs & all the upkeep. I'm still working on whether I want to offer anything special over there or just give my extreme gratitude (maybe some stickers or something in the mail) to those who donate, but no pressure whatsoever :)

 

Where to Follow Rene Plays Games:

LinkTree |  BlueSky | Threads | Instagram | Facebook | DMs After Dark

Rene's Games:

MECH | MECH Cities 2 | One Last Quest | I Know I Know You, But I Don't Know How...

email: [email protected]

 

Music in the Episode (in order of appearance):

Woodland Murmur by Vindsvept

Reverie by Vindsvept

Traveler Harp Loop by Monument Studios

Privy Council by Tabletop Audio

Origination by Monument Studios

Enigma by Vindsvept

Rene Plays Games Theme written & produced by Dan Pomfret | @danfrombothbands

Welcome to another episode of Perspective Checks where I sit down with friends and folks from the TTRPG world and discuss what they love about this wonderful hobby!

 

This month I have the pleasure of talking with Brian Flaherty, AP performer, GM, sound designer, producer, game designer, and one of the founders of the Many Sided Media network with an insane lineup of TTRPG podcasts including:

My First Dungeon

Talk of the Table

Bitcherton

And many, many more of some absolute staples in my own podcast queue like Dice Exploder and Maia's Game Room.

 

Anyway, this is just to say Brian wears A TON of hats that make him and his crew so aspirational and inspirational. One of my favorite quotes of this interview is him describing the idea for this TTRPG podcast adventure to show people "the peak of an indie game through actual play," and to get people excited about the game so they can play anywhere on that mountain in terms of how much production or extras they want to add onto it, but the goal is to provide an immersive, enjoyable experience with a game that tells a story like no other can.

 

Brian's episode is full of so much wisdom not just about podcasting professionally, but also about supporting creators, artists, and all the people whose work goes into making the things we love and play to tell great stories. 

 

Please go check out everything Brian and his friends work on over at Many Sided Media and pay it back for him demanding that you leave me a rating (please do) by going and 5-star bombing all of their shows, too!

 

----more----

Join the DMs After Dark Discord channel!

 

I made a Ko-Fi if you feel absurdly generous and want to help cover podcast hosting costs & all the upkeep. I'm still working on whether I want to offer anything special over there or just give my extreme gratitude (maybe some stickers or something in the mail) to those who donate, but no pressure whatsoever :)

 

Where to Follow Rene Plays Games:

LinkTree |  BlueSky | Threads | Instagram | Facebook | DMs After Dark

Rene's Games:

MECH | MECH Cities 2 | One Last Quest | I Know I Know You, But I Don't Know How...

email: [email protected]

 

Music in the Episode (in order of appearance):

Rene Plays Games Theme written & produced by Dan Pomfret | @danfrombothbands

The adventure continues.

 

As Iorlas and Fitch Talltree, Forester of Archet hunt for the escaped servants of Saruman in the Chetwood, something from Fitch's past comes back to settle a different score. Iorlas is wounded.

 

Learn more about The One Ring 2e by Free League Publishing.

 

----more----

Join the DMs After Dark Discord channel!

 

I made a Ko-Fi if you feel absurdly generous and want to help cover podcast hosting costs & all the upkeep. I'm still working on whether I want to offer anything special over there or just give my extreme gratitude (maybe some stickers or something in the mail) to those who donate, but no pressure whatsoever :)

 

Where to Follow Rene Plays Games:

LinkTree |  BlueSky | Threads | Instagram | Facebook | DMs After Dark

Rene's Games:

MECH | MECH Cities 2 | One Last Quest | I Know I Know You, But I Don't Know How...

email: [email protected]

 

Music in the Episode (in order of appearance):

Hollow by Vindsvept

Atmos Braam A (D) by Monument Studios

Forgotten Forest by Tabletop Audio

Blighted Forest by Tabletop Audio

Small Tree Fall by Monument Studios

Terror in the Woods by Tabletop Audio

Earthshatter by Monument Studios

Single Hit F by Monument Studios

Escape from the Shadow by Tabletop Audio

Their Roots Go Deep by Vindsvept

Rene Plays Games Theme written & produced by Dan Pomfret | @danfrombothbands

Welcome back to the monthly design diaries series of 2026 where I am holding myself accountable toward putting out more games.

 

We're back to talk more Gardens of Rust, the post-catastrophe survival and community rebuilding game by myself and Christian from the DMs After Dark. 

 

This is the final episode of this series for Gardens of Rust and it goes over the Community Phase of the game; when the PCs return back to their small settlement of survivors in the Rust, play zooms out and the players make decisions from a community-wide perspective. Based on the Comm's stats, the players have a limited number of actions to handle issues facing the community, make progress on forward-looking projects, enjoy moments when they can be enjoyed, and more, which in turn inform the goals of the next PC-focused Player Phase.

 

Please email or join the DMs After Dark Discord server to tell me about the kind of character you'd make for a post-collapse game so we can make it together! I want to start playtesting this game more with new players, so maybe we can set something up on the Discord.

 

----more----

Join the DMs After Dark Discord!

 

I made a Ko-Fi if you feel absurdly generous and want to help cover podcast hosting costs & all the upkeep. I'm still working on whether I want to offer anything special over there or just give my extreme gratitude (maybe some stickers or something in the mail) to those who donate, but no pressure whatsoever :)

 

Where to Follow Rene Plays Games:

LinkTree |  BlueSky | Threads | Instagram | Facebook | DMs After Dark

Rene's Games:

MECH | MECH Cities 2 | One Last Quest | I Know I Know You, But I Don't Know How...

email: [email protected]

 

Music in the Episode (in order of appearance):

Rene Plays Games Theme written & produced by Dan Pomfret | @danfrombothbands