What's Hot in Indie TTRPGs 2021 - Year in Review

 

The indie ttrpg scene is wonderfully diverse and vibrant, however it is notoriously difficult for even dedicated indie roleplayers to keep track of everything happening within the hobby. Each year, I bring together a selection of contributors each with their own experiences and perspectives on the hobby and ask each to spotlight a game and a trend or theme from 2021 so as to help me, and everyone, understand more of what's developing within this hobby. 

Read it here

This compilation is available as an html doc either through DriveThruRPG (for download, good for phones) or itch.io (readable in browser, good for desktop). 

Table of contents:

What’s Hot in Indie TTRPG contributors
>Indie TTRPGs played in 2021
>Indie TTRPG trends from 2021
>>Community & industry
>>>Discord
>>>Kickstarter on blockchain
>>>In-person gaming
>>>Growth of #RPGLATAM
>>>Non-D20 Media licensed ttrpgs
>>>Indie supplement licensing
>>>Cooperative marketing
>>>Organised labour
>>Trends in design
>>>Digital first ttrpgs
>>>Digital Tools
>>>RPGs built for online play
>>>Artefact wrecking
>>>Suspense, horror, uncertainty
>>>Imagined nostalgia, hauntology, hope
>>>Emergent mystery
>>>PbtA trends
>>>Hyperfocused design
>>>Twisting game engines
>>>Innovation in skirmish wargaming
>>>FKR
>Upcoming indie TTRPGs
TTRPG crowdfunding in 2021
>Top 15 TTRPGs by funding level
>TTRPGs kickstarted by month 2019/2020/2021
>TTRPGs kickstarter funding targets 2021
TTRPGs released in 2021
>TTRPGs released by webstore (DriveThruRPG & itch)
>TTRPGs ‘in a box’
>DriveThruRPG’s 2021 releases bestsellers
>itch.io’s 2021 releases bestsellers (as at end December 2021)