Design Doc

Game design isn’t just about making good rules—it’s about making them in the right place. In our latest dungeon-delving RPG, we’ve tried to keep the fighting simple and instead focus on the game’s main themes: envy, greed, and madness. To do that, the rules had to move. Episode mentions: Cairn TTRPG - Yochai Gal MÖRK BORG TTRPG - Pelle Nilsson and Johan Nohr  Indiana Jones (1981 - Steven Spie...

Hannah and Evan talk about balancing work and play during a creative retreat. Three days surrounded by trees and friends yielded a heap of proofreading, some reluctant game design, and, triumphantly, reading an actual book! Episode mentions: Martha Moody (novel, Susan Stinson) Episode credits: Design Doc intro/outro theme by ipaghost:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠https://www.ipaghost.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Episodes edited b...

It would seem like creative inspiration should come from favorite films, classic works of art, and the world’s best novels. But sometimes, it can be hard to draw inspiration from perfect, untouchable things. In this episode, we take on the imperfect—bad movies from favorite directors, books that over-indulged in nostalgia, and video games with terrible final acts. Maybe the best inspiration comes...

What do the sequences (3-4-5-6), (5-2-5-2), and (1-1-1-1) have in common? They’re all random dice rolls! Sometimes randomness seems random, but more often than you’d expect, it looks like an obvious pattern. When relying on dice or cards as randomizers, how do you account for the edge cases and anomalies that can lead to repetition, unfair player imbalances, or long waits to get the results you ne...

Hannah and Evan tackle the question of reprinting versus redesigning an older game, Noirlandia. It’s a game that still sells well after all these years, but there are many tempting improvements to make. Where’s the line between editing a word here and there and getting drawn in by the siren song of a new edition? Episode credits: Design Doc intro/outro theme by ipaghost:⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠https://www.ipaghost....

Hannah and Evan talk about the next steps involved in releasing a new draft of the Escape from Wonderland beta. The sprint to publish a public version of the rules involved a ton of time and effort, but the work isn’t done yet! The newest release includes incorporating changes based on playtester feedback, fancying up flavor text, and releasing online play tools for the first time. Good news—that...

A quick announcement episode to let everyone know that the Escape from Wonderland beta rules are live. This is a draft of the game rules, publicly available for anyone to read and play. To share your thoughts, join us on Discord. Links below: Turtlebun discord: https://discord.gg/h6JsahwgH Link to the beta rules doc here: https://turtlebun.com/products/escape-from-wonderland Episode credits: Desig...

Hannah sits down with rules editor and game designer Josh Yearsley (Root, Arcs) for a conversation about public playtesting. After more than a decade of editing rulebooks, Josh has developed a keen eye and intuition for playtest feedback. Josh talks about playtesting as a fluid conversation, incorporating feedback on a community scale, and staying true to your own voice when it starts to get lost...

We're taking a short break to focus on finishing a game. See you back soon! Links Turtlebun Discord: ⁠https://discord.gg/ajP36nzPb2⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Patreon:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠https://www.patreon.com/turtlebun⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  Website:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠https://turtlebun.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  Credits Design Doc intro/outro theme by ipaghost:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠https://www.ipaghost.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Episodes edited by Rob Abrazado:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠https://robabrazado.co...

Evan and Hannah talk about two separate playtests—Evan’s playtest of the near-complete Escape from Wonderland, and Hannah’s playtest of the just-begun Seekers of the Thrice-Lost Crown. Both games went well, but surprises lurk around every corner, and sometimes someone has to die on the first turn. Episode mentions Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders (2018) Links Discord:⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠https://discord.g...

Hannah and Evan sit down for a rapid design session for Escape from Wonderland. In 30 minutes, they design an entirely new snow-themed park zone, complete with a gun-wielding Santa. Turtlebun Links Discord:⁠⁠⁠ ⁠https://discord.gg/ajP36nzPb2⁠⁠⁠⁠ Patreon:⁠⁠⁠ ⁠https://www.patreon.com/turtlebun⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  Website:⁠⁠⁠ ⁠https://turtlebun.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  Credits Design Doc intro/outro theme by ipaghost:⁠⁠⁠ ⁠...

While Evan's away, Hannah reflects on the announcement that Hampshire College, an unconventional school founded in the 1970s, is closing its doors. It was flawed, idealistic, and not always what was promised. But it was a special place that encouraged weirdos to be weird, and paved our own winding path to game design. Hampshire College Workers' Emergency Relief Fund Help Hampshire workers faced wi...

We've always struggled to juggle multiple projects at a time. Right now, finishing the design on Escape from Wonderland is the top priority. But we don't want to set aside every other game and dream. What would it take to do two things at once? Links & Credits: Turtlebun Discord:⁠ ⁠https://discord.gg/ajP36nzPb2⁠⁠ Turtlebun on Patreon:⁠ ⁠https://www.patreon.com/turtlebun⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  Our website, for gam...

How many generations does it take to get into a canoe-making class? In this episode we go on a quest to redesign a queue system for a local craft school and quickly find that you cannot make a perfect queue without systemic social change. Episode Mentions: Hill Institute (With their mission right there on the front page) What Money Can’t Buy: The Moral Limits of Markets by Michael J. Sandel, 2013...

A discussion about how to design a liminal zone in a TTRPG leaves us trapped in an in-between place. Episode mentions: r/backrooms House of Leaves (2000 - Horror novel by Mark Z. Danielewski) The Last Unicorn (1982 - Animated movie based on 1968 book by Peter S. Beagle) Ultimate Haunted House (1994 - Point-and-click video game with art by Gahan Wilson) Play it on archive.org here. Links: Turtlebun...

In this episode, we talk fatigue. Is fatigue something to conquer, or is it a warning sign on the way to a physical and emotional crash? Evan is tired, but we’ve got strategies! After years of learning what the burnout cycle looks like while working on a game, we’re eager to intervene before exhaustion gets the best of us. Episode mentions: Ever so briefly, The Witness (2016 video game, Jonathan B...

Game design questions can be longer and more complex than their answers. In this episode, we initially set out to do a live-design session tackling an issue from our latest playtest, but discovered that describing the question required revisiting nearly every other part of the game. Join us for a chat about Twilight rules, open-eyed investigations, and escaping a cursed amusement park. Links: We h...

Who designs the game? Is it the players, who make decisions in real time at the table? The GM, who’s at the ready to suggest ideas or dole out consequences? Or the designers, who… well… make the game? In this episode, we talk about when and how to distribute control of the experience between the players, the GM, ourselves as designers, and random rolls of the dice. Links: Join the Turtlebun Discor...

Hannah watched 51 movies in 2025. Not all of them were helpful for game design, but there was inspiration to be found everywhere—in the form of left-behind robots, edgy existential planets, sci-fi noir, and Mother. Mother? Mother! Follow along and find every movie mentioned in the episode here: https://letterboxd.com/hanbandit/diary/films/for/2025/by/added-earliest/ Watch movies through your libra...

Sometimes a design problem can't be solved in any straightforward way. You need an epiphany! That can't be forced, but it can be encouraged. Hannah and Evan talk about the epiphanies that shaped their previous games and how to attract those mysterious flashes of insight. Links: We have a Discord! Come talk about Design Doc and Star Trek. https://discord.gg/XD4WVDjvbz⁠⁠⁠⁠ Turtlebun on Patreon: http...

As the year draws to a close we talk about New Year's resolutions. Hannah makes them every year, Evan does not. Hannah shares her elaborate system for setting goals of masteries, experiences, and skills. And together, we consider Turtlebun's upcoming year. Links: Join the Turtlebun Discord: https://discord.gg/XD4WVDjvbz⁠⁠⁠⁠ Support our work on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/turtlebun⁠⁠⁠⁠  Buy ou...

Conventions are an opportunity for us to get our games in front of a bigger audience, and PAX Unplugged is our biggest show. The stakes feel high, and we have to balance our ambitious goals with practical preparations. In this episode, we talk about what we were proud of, what we wish we’d done differently, and how every year we get a little better. Episode mentions: Thoughtcrime Games - https://t...

Just a quick announcement that we'll be skipping a release cycle for the Thanksgiving holiday. See you back in two weeks with a new episode! In the meantime you might consider: Joining the Turtlebun Discord: https://discord.gg/XD4WVDjvbz⁠⁠⁠⁠ Supporting Design Doc on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/turtlebun⁠⁠⁠⁠  Picking up one of our games: https://turtlebun.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠  Design Doc Credits: Design D...

It's hard for us to make a hack that doesn't grow into a game of its own. In this episode, we talk about two playtests—one for a game variant, another for a new hack—and say what went well, what needs work, and how to keep small things small. Links: Join the Turtlebun Discord: https://discord.gg/XD4WVDjvbz⁠⁠⁠⁠ Support Design Doc Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/turtlebun⁠⁠⁠⁠  Check out our games:...

Endings are hard. The ending of a roleplaying game isn’t just the culmination of the story; it’s also when the themes and purpose of the game become clear. In this episode we talk about designing a conclusion that comes at the right time, conveys the right message, and still leaves room for all the improvisation of roleplaying. Episode mentions: Ready Player One—but just a brief mention this time,...