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We’re already to August here in 2025! I’ll be announcing a new sale this month, some celebrations, and a new game gets added to my design list! Find out more below!
Celebrating over 1000 Sales of Dwarf Mine…with a Sale!
Dwarf Mine has achieved over 1000 sales across all marketplaces as of April this year! It has also reached the Gold Medal Seller level on DriveThru RPG! That is a lot of people who have downloaded and are playing Dwarf Mine over the last 4 and a half years.
This is incredible! I never thought, when finishing the design of Dwarf Mine during covid in 2020, that it would reach this level of success. I owe each and every one of you a BIG THANK YOU!!!
To celebrate, I’ve created a few sales for this month. If you haven’t picked up Dwarf Mine or any of the expansions, now is a great time. You can check out the links to the sales below, or forward them to any friends who may be interested.
Dwarf Mine Base Game and Artifacts and Curses: $5 All of August
- itch.io Sale: Bundle Sale Link
- DriveThruRPG Sale: Dwarf Mine, Artifacts and Curses
- Gumroad Sale: Checkout Code: LLRBOGI
Dwarf Mine Map Expansions: 30% Off All August
- itch.io Sale: Bundle Sale Link
- DriveThruRPG Sale: Bundle Sale Link
- Gumroad Sale: Checkout Code: 22V25ZX
Fantasy Civ Solo Updates
Fantasy Civ Solo: Discovery and Doom is also doing very well! As of now, it is a Copper Seller on DriveThruRPG within 1.5 months, and has close to (or over) 100 sales! I’ve also released two meaningful updates, and have at least 1 more planned.
More importantly, I’ve gotten a lot of comments and feedback on the game, and people are having fun! It’s by far my most complicated release so far (with the exception of the free version of Star Solo), so I was very nervous heading up to release. And, while there are a few things I can improve, overall reception has been excellent!
As always, I’m going to thank each and every one of you for being a fan of games – seeing people enjoy something I created is precisely why I like to design games.
Introducing…Spellbook!
Well, this isn’t quite a full introduction yet. Rather, I’ve added a new project to my project updates list (see below) – Spellbook!
I don’t want to say too much about what the game is, but if you’ve played close attention over the years, you may have an idea on what it is about. I did hold an external playtest in 2022 for this game. This playtest revealed a lot of issues with my core design, so I shelfed it until now. I think it’s time to dust it off and get it rolling again.
I’m pretty confident I can publish this in the first half of 2026!
Other Updates
- Content Month is over. I learned a lot about what I enjoy making, and what you all enjoy reading and watching.
- Fantasy Civ Solo was featured on an itch.io review video, which you can watch here!
- I don’t know if I’ve ever shared this, but in 2021 a Traveller RPG podcast, SAFCOcast, featured a review of Distress Calls for Space RPGs. You can listen to the episode here.
Product and Project Updates
Work on Grim Space has officially begun! Additionally, design work on Spellbook has started, with a target release date sometime in the first half of 2026.
Other Games
- Party’s Past: This is a free 200 word RPG I created quite a while ago, for a 200 word RPG jam. It is a short mini-game that can be played to determine how your characters have interacted together in the past.
You can check it out for free here at itch.io.
Content Highlights from Last Month
- itch.io Monthly Roundup – Solo Physical Games July 2025 – a video outlining what solo RPGs came out on itch.io in July – check it out here.
- How to Create a Better itch.io Game Page – indie tabletop game dev – A video showing how to create a better game page on itch.io – watch here.
- Protospiel Twin Cities – May 2025 – a blog post outlining my experience at the Protospiel Twin Cities in May.
- Top 10 Magic Items from A4 – Marvelous Magic Items – my top 10 magic items from the OSR supplement A4.
- Top 10 Tables from Traveller RPG – my top 10 tables from Mongoose Traveller.
- Fantasy Civ Solo 1.06 Update – Multiplayer – a blog post outlining the 1.06 updates for Fantasy Civ Solo.
- Board Games on my Shelf (and Christmas in July at DriveThru) – a video about boardgames on my shelf!
- Channel Update – a Youtube short on updates to my channel after content month.
- Kickstarter/Gamefound Solo RPG Roundup – an August roundup of solo RPG games on Kickstarter and Gamefound.
- You Play Solo RPGs because Everyone Plays Solo RPGs – a video outlining my perspective that playing a solo RPG is not as far off as many people think.
Best Selling Games from Last Month
Here are the games I’ve played in the last month: Traveller RPG Solo, The Ghost of Lion Castle ADnD 2E Solo, The One Ring Solo (kind of), Dungeons and Dragons 5e, Hornet Leader: Carrier Air Operations, The Magic Labyrinth, Patchwork, The Game, A Game of Thrones: Hand of the King, Oh Hell!, Ticket to Ride: First Journey, Viticulture, Ark Nova, Dragonimo, Golf, Hues and Cues, Magic: The Gathering, Unlock! Squeek and Sausage, Unlock! House on the Hill.
Check This Out: I found a new podcast – The Solo RolePlayers Podcast! Has actual plays and interviews with authors and designers who create solo RPGs. Check out their podcast here!
If you have anything you’d like to share or discuss around this newsletter, please comment on this page on the website. I read very comment.
Thank you for being a fan of games!
-James Hron
Paper Dice Games 