Happy Halloween Sale – Paper Dice Games
It’s spooky season! To those who celebrate, Happy Halloween! To celebrate, my spookiest game – Grim Space – is 30% off! Check out the sale below! Additionally, for those interested in joining my Patreon, I have a 50% off your first month of membership by using the code: 208E3 My Patreon is set up for…
Fantasy Civ Solo 2026 Survey
I’m always trying to learn more about what everyone loves about the games I make. With this in mind, please consider taking the 11-question survey below! If you are interested in staying up to date and receiving discounts around future Spellbook expansions, join the newsletter here! Survey Giveaway Your insight and responses directly impact the…
Star Solo 2026 Survey
I’m always trying to learn more about what everyone loves about the games I make. With this in mind, please consider taking the 10-question survey below! If you are interested in staying up to date and receiving discounts around future Spellbook expansions, join the newsletter here! Survey Giveaway Your insight and responses directly impact the…
Weekly Update 10/19/2026
My 2027 road map is almost in focus! Here’s what I’ve been up to: Last Week I finished release tasks for Your First Spellbook! DriveThru RPG’s Halloween sale is started, and itch.io is soon. I started putting together some things for that. Star Solo Roadmap is gathered – I still need to run a survey…
Your First Spellbook 2026 Survey
I’m always trying to learn more about what everyone loves about the games I make. With this in mind, please consider taking the 10-question survey below! If you are interested in staying up to date and receiving discounts around future Spellbook expansions, join the newsletter here! Survey Giveaway Your insight and responses directly impact the…
Solo RPG Play Rankings – October 2026
Solo RPG Play Rankings are a way to share, learn and enjoy what solo RPG players have been playing over the last few months. For those unaware, I ran the first Solo RPG Play Rankings earlier this year, and published those results back in June – you can find them here. You can participate in…
Spell Creation and Creativity – Spellbook Design Diary
Your First Spellbook is out now! You can purchase it from DriveThru or itch using the buttons below. This blog post is a repost from my Patreon! I write frequent design diaries for my Patreon subscribers, as well as post exclusive games, early access videos and more. You can check out my Patreon here! Design…
Weekly Update – 10/12/2026
Fall is here (at least where I live)! Let’s dive in. Last Week Your First Spellbook marketing continued. Lots of amazing stories already being shared through playing the game! I continued working on my 2027 roadmap. I would say it’s mostly set, but I’m starting to gather details through surveys (with giveaways!) through my newsletter.…
Dwarf Mine 2026 Survey
Dwarf Mine and Apollo Mine 2026 Survey I’m always trying to learn more about what everyone loves about the games I make. With this in mind, please consider taking the 12-question survey below! Survey Giveaway Your insight and responses directly impact the types of games and expansions I make – THANK YOU for your time…
Paper Dice Games Update – October 2026
October 6, 2026 This blog post is a repost from this month’s newsletter. If you would like to join the newsletter to receive these monthly updates and receive discounts to games, you can do so at any of the links below: Paper Dice Games Main Newsletter Dwarf Mine Newsletter Fantasy Civ Solo Newsletter Space Books…
Weekly Update – 10/5/2026
I haven’t checked in for a few weeks – been busy! Here are the highlights from the last few weeks! Last Few Weeks Your First Spellbook released! Your First Spellbook is a journaling game that turns your everyday city into a hidden urban fantasy playground. The monsters you research, spells you create, and the result…
Your First Spellbook – Out Now!
Your First Spellbook is here! You can check it out at the buttons below! What is Your First Spellbook? Most people see a flickering neon sign or a dark alleyway and keep walking. You see a rift in the Veil. Most people see graffiti on their drive home. You see hidden arcane runes, ready to…
Your First Spellbook – Releases Tomorrow!
Get excited! Your First Spellbook releases tomorrow! Remember – you’ll get a discount code in around 24 hours as a huge THANK YOU if you subscribe to this newsletter. Be sure to let your friends know who may be interested – there is still time to join for the discount! More Sneak Peaks Here is…
Weekly Update – 9/14/2026
Your First Spellbook is almost done! Here’s what’s happening with it. Last Week Layout is complete for Your First Spellbook I started final proof for Spellbook Final Playtesting wrapped up (except for one question) Research for 2027 began! I did a ton of research on other designers, the games they make, the audience they design…
Sneak Peak – Spell Creation in Your First Spellbook
Spell Creation – Sneak Peak I wanted to give a sneak peak for spell creation in Your First Spellbook! Check out the images from the game below. Spell creation in Your First Spellbook is focused on allowing you to be as creative as possible – especially around the use of real-life items! I also provide a list of…
Weekly Update – 9/8/2026
My focuses this week are Your First Spellbook – and a bunch of research around 2027! Last Week Your First Spellbook was announced! Release date is Tuesday September 29th. I worked a bunch on Your First Spellbook for layout, editing, finalizing rules, etc. Late-stage playtests continue – mostly trying to smooth over the play experience.…
Your First Spellbook – Announcement and Trailer
Your First Spellbook – a journaling game about creating spells, researching monsters, and hunting them anywhere – has been announced! Your First Spellbook will release on Tuesday, September 29th! Spellbook was designed with three goals in mind: You can use creativity to design your own spells You can play at any location (at home, at a…
Weekly Update – 9/2/2026
I had to switch the order for a few things because of my Your First Spellbook announcement! Here’s what has been going on. Last Week Spellbook playtests continue! Spellbook rules design is complete. I started layout, development and publishing tasks for Spellbook! This Week I spent a lot of time to start the week kicking…
Fantasy Civ Solo Maps – Design Diary 7/13/2026
The Fantasy Civ Solo: Quests Expansion is out now! You can purchase it from DriveThru or itch using the buttons below. This blog post is a repost from my Patreon! I write frequent design diaries for my Patreon subscribers, as well as post exclusive games, early access videos and more. You can check out my…
Weekly Update – 8/24/2026
The Fantasy Civ Solo: Quests Expansion launch has gone very well! I am swinging my focus almost completely over to Spellbook (which gets officially announced next week), and starting to do some realistic 2027 planning! Last Week Continued the Quests Expansion release items Got a 2027 game playtest document up Playtested Spellbook – I am…
The Blueprint of a Quest – Design Diary 7/31/2026
The Fantasy Civ Solo: Quests Expansion is out now! You can purchase it from DriveThru or itch using the buttons below. This blog post is a repost from my Patreon! I write frequent design diaries for my Patreon subscribers, as well as post exclusive games, early access videos and more. You can check out my…
Weekly Update – 8/17/2026
Trying to get back into a regular schedule…will be tough over the next 6 weeks. But I’m incredibly jazzed to share what I’ve been up to! Last Week Last week was all about the Quests Expansion Release: Released the Quests Expansion! Did a bunch of outreach and marketing for the Quests Expansion I also did…
Paper Dice Games Update
August 11, 2026 This blog post is a repost from this month’s newsletter. If you would like to join the newsletter to receive these monthly updates and receive discounts to games, you can do so at any of the links below: Paper Dice Games Main Newsletter Dwarf Mine Newsletter Fantasy Civ Solo Newsletter Space Books…
Weekly Update – 8/11/2026
Wow it’s been a busy two weeks. I’ve gotten a lot of work done on a few different projects – here’s what’s new. Last 2 Weeks Fantasy Civ Solo: Quests Expansion is complete and released! You can check it out here! Spellbook playtest has wrapped up. I’ll start developing this pretty soon, maybe as early…
FIRST LOOK – Fantasy Civ Solo: Quests Expansion
First Look Below are some first-look images for the upcoming Fantasy Civ Solo: Quests Expansion! Enjoy! Releases Tuesday August 11th Just a reminder that the Fantasy Civ Solo: Quests Expansion releases Tuesday August 11th! As a huge THANK YOU for subscribing to this newsletter, you’ll be sent a discount on release day! Be sure to forward this to any…
Weekly Update – 7/28/2026
Summer craziness continues. I feel a bit frazzled, but having a lot of fun! Here’s what is coming up. Last Week Added content to the Quests Expansion for Fantasy Civ Solo. Spellbook Art is complete! Spellbook Playtest continues. This Week Continuing to work on the Quests expansion for Fantasy Civ Solo. I want to be…
Weekly Design Update – 7/22/2026
It’s the busy time of the summer, between family activities and other things happening. Case in point, I am posting this update on a Wednesday instead of Monday. Even so, I was able to get a fair amount of design work done – here’s what I accomplished. Last Week I finished internal playtesting for the…
Happy Christmas in July!
The Christmas in July sale is here at DriveThru RPG! Everything at Paper Dice Games is on sale! There are a ton of great games on sale at DriveThru right now! I hope you find something you enjoy – thank you for being a fan of games! -James Hron
Weekly Design Update – 7/13/2026
The next month and a half will be incredibly busy – not only in my household, but for PDG! Here’s what is coming up! Last Week The Spellbook Playtest kicked off! I sent a base version of the game to really allow the playtesters to focus on the core part of the game. I know…
Fantasy Civ Solo: Questions Expansion
Fantasy Civ Solo: Quests Expansion The Fantasy Civ Solo: Quests Expansion is officially announced, and will be released on Tuesday August 11th. Check out the amazing final cover art from Alex Odinson below! I’ll be diving into the details about the game over the next few weeks with this newsletter – stay tuned! Found Your Empire Sale In…
