The Dash Action

One system to rule them all? Images by Free League [12 min read] Why I love The One Ring How does LOTR Roleplaying 5E compare? Why does Free League have both? Final Thoughts When it comes to your brand of fantasy, are you Frodo creeping into Mordor, or Aragorn challenging at the Black Gate? That’s how I’ve come to think about the two Middle-earth RPGs from Free League Publishing. The One Ring Second Edition follows the path of the books - grounded, weighty, and literary. The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying for 5th Edition takes more of a cinematic route - familiar mechanics leading to more heroic action . I grew up with both the books and the films. My dad’s battered paperbacks shaped how I saw fantasy. The Peter Jackson movies made it leap off the screen. So when I went looking for a D&D alternative set in Middle-earth, I bought both systems to compare. I ended up going deep on The One Ring: every expansion, two solo campaigns, one group game. But the question stuck with me - why ...

Image by Wizards of the Coast [15 min read] Dungeons & Dragons Forgotten Realms Dragonlance Planescape What's next? About a year ago I started thinking about my legacy. Not my positive impact on the world. Not the balance of the family trust fund. No - even more importantly   -  which of my favourite imaginary worlds might my kids explore and fall in love with?   That thought sent me down a rabbit hole - which stories are worth preserving? What content might still bring joy even today? And how do I make sure they're not lost to time, from a flooded basement or an impenetrable wall of digital rights management? Read all about that here.   Welcome to my  "Why I love..."  series, a collection of love letters to the creative works that have shaped my love of games. I'll share what they are, why I love them, and how you can step into them yourself, based on my experience of getting joyfully lost in them.  And I'm starting with th...

  2nd Edition - the Talisman I grew up with. 5th Edition - the Talisman my kids are growing up with. Image by Avalon Hill, part of  Hasbro [10 min read] How It Plays A Dash of Data Summing Up Talisman 2nd Edition was an important part of my childhood many decades ago. So I was excited when Hasbro relaunched the classic board game franchise with a 5th Edition back in July 2024. Since then, my family and I have played over a dozen games at multiple player counts, including the cooperative expansion. If you're curious about whether it's for you, check out How It Plays . But why Talisman and why now? In a world where board game demand has softened since the explosive growth enjoyed during Covid, production costs have risen due to inflation, and there is future uncertainty around tariffs, why did Hasbro bring back this venerable product? If you want to dig further into the rationale behind the relaunch, wonder if it hit the mark sales-wise and what might come n...