The Definitive Guide to Gamefound's 2025 RPG Party

Welcome to TTRPG Insider!

Every week, we send you interviews, news and roundups straight to your inbox. Everything you need to know within the TTRPG hobby and industry without the hassle of social media, generative AI or Google search.

If you want to know more, check us out here! If you like what you’re reading, make sure you subscribe. Help us become one of the go-to sources in the industry on Dungeons and Dragons, independent RPGs, and everything in between.

This week’s issue is a LONG one, as it’s been the work of months of interviews and discussions with designers. As we covered last month, Gamefound launched the RPG Party experience, an initiative to provide new game designers with a chance to crowdfund their games in front of a new audience. 24 game designers and publishers met the challenge, and now their projects will be available today at 5 PM EST.

I had the chance to talk with more than a few of the game’s designers about what they’ve created, why folks should try their game, and what excites them. I have compiled it here into a rather lengthy feature that I hope will help you understand and find games that excite you. If something stands out, you can check them out via the table of contents below.

Full disclosure: I did not get to talk to every designer due to various factors on my end, but I included the non-interviewed games as well for the sake of clarity.

Heliosail: Solarpunk Space Pirates

What is your game? It’s a game about solarpunk space pirates, where everything is solar-powered, the aesthetics are a bit like the gilded age. It’s set in a future where humanity has colonized Mars but made Earth uninhabitable. It’s a science fiction setting with strange forces, corrupt corporation, aliens that come from another universe that collided with ours.

What inspired you to make the game? “I’m fascinated with the optimistic aspect of the subgenre,” Quinn Martin, the game’s designer told TTRPG Inisider. “I'm a big fan of kind of sci fi and post-apocalyptic games like Fallout, but there is something kind of depressing in this pervasive idea that we lost the war against ourselves. One of the defining features of cyberpunk is that even if you kind of win the day and you have the hero of the story, it's kind of set in this backdrop that, like, we have lost a piece of our humanity because we're living in this dystopian world. And so a big part of solarpunk, to me, is the opposite of that. You could have a story in a solarpunk setting where, you know, there's an unhappy ending. But the backdrop is that we are living in a world that is at least approaching a utopia.

How Do You Play? You roll up to four 8-sided dice, total up the numbers and add a modifier. It’s a system that should feel fairly familiar to D&D players, incorporating elements of magic through a science-inspired mythos that explores Martin’s view of the world as well as the lengthy mythos around the varying worlds.

Who will like it? If Treasure Planet is a vibe you adore, this game is for you.

Check out Heliosail here.

Soul’s Food: Dark Souls With a Culinary Twist

Designed by Nameless Games, a team of five former game designers

What is your game? Soul’s Food is a game that draws inspiration from Dark Souls and other grimdark games but twists it on its head where the players are sentient food existing in a strange era where the world is falling apart and where they have a chance to pursue items of great power. The food “characters” are defined in class

What inspired your game? “It all began when my fellow game designer Adam reached out to me during a work day,” game designer and Faceless Games team lead Nathaniel Elks told TTRPG Insider. “He asked me to consider a concept. Imagine you’re making a D&D character, but your race, your class, all of your abilities are derived from the food in front of you. Every ingredient in that food, how it was cooked, how long it was boiled. A number of things influence how your character is created. He later came back to me with around 300 pages of rules around how this might play out. Originally it was going to be a Mork Borg spinoff but we later decided to make it an entirely new product.”

How do I play? The game is built around the “Bouillion system,” which is the in-house mechanics for how to play. Players use elements of the food to define their character, then roll dice pools based on key attributes for success or failure. It’s a game that draws heavily on a system of struggle and lethality, so don’t expect a straightforward narrative.

Who will like it? If you like absurdist takes on grimdark settings or want a different take on Dark Souls, this might be for you.

Check out Soul’s Food here.

AMBITION: A Psychological Daoist Tarot Fantasy

Designed by Yanni Panagiotopoulos

What is Your Game? The game is a 2-5 player TTRPG where players are the “ambitious”, characters striving for their own goals in the unique setting that Panagiotopoulos created. While the game is a fantasy setting, it breaks away from Tolkien fantasy tropes to focus on world drawing on Greek influences and that are inspired by the unique storytelling elements of Disco Elysium and Inside Out.  

What inspired your game? “There’s two things that I think inspired it,” Panagiotopoulos told TTRPG Insider. “The first one is that there's a kind of story that I like to tell in tabletop RPGs. “when you talk about doing a fantasy project or launching a fantasy project in a lot of game design spaces, you’re met with derision.” He noted how most fantasy games draw on the Tolkien inspired tropes of yore and that he wanted to do something that broke away from those ideas and that drew on his own heritage. He also wanted to incorprate the ideas of Daoism into a game. Daoism, for those unfamiliar, is a Chinese philosophy that encourages a healthy human life through “flourishing in accord with Dao aka nature.” The goals of the “Ambitious” ala the player characters is intended to run contrary to that philosophy since they’re pursuing something against the flowing style of nature and the consequences that might contain.

How do you play? The game offers rules-light storytelling but with what it describes as tactical combat. But what makes it stand out is how the GM often uses the players’ subconscious to inform their viewpoints, whether through their empathy or perceptions that guide their actions.

Who will like it? If you like trying to explore a different relationship to the fantasy world with a spin that steps away from Tolkien tropes, this might be for you.

You can check out Ambition here. 

Forgotten Roots of the Sewer Sanctuary: A Zero-Prep Dungeon

Designed by Laura Lang

What is this game? Sewer Sanctuary is the initial project from Laura Lang, and is a self-contained dungeon game where players play as adventurers a temple tucked beneath the region of Mar’leef as their crops are dying. Something is going on and it’s up to the players to try and explore the world, find the rumors, traverse the tunnels and confront the source of corruption. It’s a game designed with its own rolling system and is meant to be easily played in a similar way that you might a board game.

What inspired it: Lang began experimenting with game design while also working as a designer and decided that she wanted to draw up a dungeon as a surprise for a friend. That dungeon became a small game, the small game became a larger one and it continued from there. It’s intended to be used by people who are new to DMing and who want an easy to run book with its own relaxed gameplay rather than constant improvisation or tons of prep work.

How to play? It’s a simple d6 system where players roll pools of dice based on their skill and hope to get a 4, 5 or 6. Music also plays a vital role in the story. Characters are pregenerated but customizable.

Who will like this? If you enjoy easy to run adventures you can set up on a whim, this might be for you.

You can learn more about Sewer Sanctuary here.

The Girls of Genziana Hotel: Chambermaids Against the World

Designed by Hendrik ten Napel

What is this game? Genziana Hotel is ten Napel’s second game but is explicitly designed to tell a mystery oriented story set in the 19th century. The players are chambermaids in a hotel in northern Europe who have been informed that their friend has disappeared. They have to find out why she disappeared, why it is being kept quiet and what they want to do so.

What inspired this game? Ten Napel wanted to explore a lot of themes around the time period, such as the view of the world around younger women and how chambermaids (aka hotel attendants) are treated, and how women in a lower class will step up and act, especially with the Gothic horror elements that surround the time period.

How do you play the game? Like most mysteries, it’s focused on investigation and intended for a short campaign. It’s a Powered by the Apocalypse game whose mechanics draw on Brindlewood Bay, which emphasize a storytelling approach where even the GM doesn’t know the answer to a mystery but the players and storyteller figure it out together through finding appropriate clues for appropriate questions.

Who will enjoy this? If you like mysteries with Gothic vibes, social commentary and an open-ended approach to storytelling then this is likely for you.

You can learn all about The Girls of the Genziana Hotel here.

You Will Die in This Place: A Dark Look at Death Through Game Design

Designed by Elizabeth Little of Shrike Studio

What is the game? The game is an “experimental survival horror tabletop dungeon crawl” that focuses on the inevitability of death. Players are exiles entering the Vaulted Kingdom and Abyssal Labyrinth, seeking purpose and meaning in a universe that feels deeply antagonistic toward them. The game adopts a unique design aspect, however, in that it is intended to look like a “reconstructed and unfinished indie game” pieced together through its many parts. The goal is hopefully to tell a story about “creativity, communication, identity and coming to terms with loss,” something that Little has had to process as a transgender creator.

What inspired this game? Little’s inspiration arose from an unfortunately common practice among independent TTRPG fans; buying games but never playing them. “I was at my local game convention pondering about the nature of indie games and how so many are doomed to go unplayed despite how beloved they are and the best of intentions of those who bought them. I’m pretty guilty of this myself - I buy indie games at every opportunity and yet it is pretty rare that I manage to bring them to table with my group. Anyway, this got me thinking about what elements of a TTRPG book I value most highly and how one might go about creating something that is equally enjoyable as an artifact purely to be read as it is as a game to be played.”

Who will like this game? If you like games that are darker in vibe but explore their stories in a meta-textual manner, this might be for you.

You can learn more about You Will Die in This Place here.

Twilight Sun: A Long Journey to Godhood

A game designed by Phoevos-Dimosthenis Kraniotakis

What is this Game? Twilight Sun is a TTRPG about “personal struggle, poetic horror and the long, painful climb toward godhood” according to its team. It tells the story about a world where a mechanical sun lingers above and the world is falling apart due to God dying. Traditions have instead stepped in to replace the divine, ideas used by political houses to offer seekers answers about what it means to reach godhood. The game draws heavy inspiration from Jules Verne, Lovecraft and a lot of darker stories, but it is a tale about what it means to be human and what it means to become a god.

What inspired this game? The game was inspired by Kraniotakis’ love of Victorian Gothic storytelling and the aesthetics of the period, and has been converted into its own unique system and setting for consideration.

Who will like this? If you like 19th century literature with darker fantasy twists and a bit of a grim view of the world, you might enjoy this.

You can check out Twilight Sun here.

Mutananny: Enter the Swamplands

Designed by Jake Eldritch of Planarian Games

What is this game? Mutananny is a “swamp apocalypse TTRPG where you play as fun-loving, garbage-dwelling mutants just trying to make it through their next awful day,” Eldritch told TTRPG Insider. “Gear up for the motor mayhem of off-road racing, fend off the onslaught of monstrous abominations, and outwit the ravenous return of pure-strain humans from the moon. It’s a game of rapid changes and finding a home in the sweltering remains of a world that was never meant for you.”

What inspired it? The game was inspired by the author’s love of post-apocalyptic fiction, who drew on his family’s own history of going to the dump to dig up treasures and what could be there. The game initially started as a personal game ran by the designer, but Eldritch eventually converted it into his first crowdfunding project.

How to play? Gameplay is built around Mettle Core, a dice pool system designed by Eldritch that offers options for turning failures into twists as well as options for making your mutant as weird as you want.

Who will like this? If you want something a bit more high energy and ridiculous, this might fit your vibes.

You can check out Mutananny here.

Trenchcoat Raccoons: A ‘Chaotic Fail-Forward” Heist Game

Designed by Dean Gkane

What is this game? The game describes it well; you’re one of multiple raccoons in a trenchcoat who wish to go on a heist. You control only one of the raccoons but have to pretend to be human, steal cursed loot and breach parts of the world while engaging with the world in a silly manny akin to the humor of Sly Cooper, TMNT or Gravity Falls.

What inspired this game? The game is inspired by the popular trope of “X in a trenchcoat,” according to game designer Dean Gkane. He’d heard of concepts and TTRPG ideas where players were multiple voices in a person’s head and wanted to adapt that into a sillier setting where players collaborate, clash and try to pursue sillier goals for comedic purposes such as theft at a fruit vampire’s house.

How to play: Players roll d6es in relation to checks, but the concept is that every player rolls a dice at the same time….and they can choose whether to help or hinder the ‘lead raccoon.’ (thankfully failing can have some interesting results as much as success, according to Gkane.) Each creature is affected by their own impulses and interests, and that can cause the ‘lead’ to swap at a moment’s notice as they wander through several heists.

Who will enjoy this? If you liek games with cartoony energy and a teamwork aspect, you will enjoy this.

You will enjoy Raccoons in a Trenchcoat here.

Starot: Wielding the Arcana in a Galactic Adventure

Designed by Benedict Yugaraj and his team

What is this game? Starot is a high-level sci-fi adventure built around a universe where multiple sci-fi civilizations have come into contact with each other after three galaxies collided into the borders of a mysterious fourth galaxy. This fourth region is mysterious and not well understood but holds semi-divine constellations who are able to influence fate. Now the civilizations and galaxies have to figure out how they wish to relate to each other, manage the politics, while also exploring the new galaxy with the hope of understanding and harnessing it for themselves.

What inspired this game? The game came to exist while Yugaraj was attempting to run his own take on Spelljammer, the fantasy sci-fi setting built for D&D, in 2020. He found the rules backwards and annoying to run. So he decided to make his own conversion. That eventually evolved into his own RPG, which also draws inspiration from Mass Effect, Warhammer, Lancer and a number of other games.

How do you play? The game is heavily inspired by the d20 system of D&D but also draws inspiration from Dark Heresy, Lancer and Powered by the Apocalypse games. The game does use tarot cards as a tool for the storyteller to inform how events go on alongside other dice. It also contains its own system akin to the biotics of Mass Effect that include elements like telekinesis and other mental powers.

You can check out Starot here.

Gnomes of Diccory: Gnomish Adventures Through Minigames

Designed by Zack and Ryan of Roll and Perish

What is this game? Gnomes of Diccory is a simple adventuring game about gnomes leaving their villages to go on an adventure and make a name for themselves. The game is intentionally designed with new players in mind, hoping to provide a simple point of entry for players to try a TTRPG. The aesthetics and play appear well aimed at younger players wanting their own chance at playing a TTRPG themselves.

What inspired this game? The two game designers (who introduced themselves as librarians from Iowa) said that it began when they started having a conversation about what’s fun about TTRPGs. They wanted to make it easy and accessible, so they adopted a more mechanically-minded approach to play, making it easier than ever to run things.

How do you play? The game is focused on four ‘minigames’ that play around with aspects of what people typically do in TTRPGs, whether it is problem-solving or playing with probability or what have you. It provides plenty of maps, a simplified character system and is also designed for solo play.

Who will enjoy this? If you like games that are simple and easy to teach to younger players, you might enjoy this.

You can check out Gnomes of Diccory here.

Siren’s Oath: Turning the Tides Through Witchy Magic

Designed by Wingshan Huntley of Twisted Spire

What is this game? It’s a “collaborative short-form game” about mermaid witches uniting to perform a ritual that will determine the fate of a city.

What inspired it? The game was inspired by a lot of ideas around eco-grief, myth-making and feminine fury as the women have to take action to take out a city for the crimes they did against them.

How to play? The game is built around what the designers call “rituals”, which are simple prompts. The game itself is more about talking through the story rather than excess rolling. It is a one-shot game intended to be played in a single sitting.

Who will enjoy this? Players interested in witches, mermaids, narrative games and anything involving all of the above.

You can check out Siren’s Oath here.

Moonwych: A Britannic Animal Fantasy

What is this game? Moonwych is a late medieval fantasy setting where players exist in a world where they were once animals living in ye olde England but ended up being transformed into anthropomorphic animals on the isle of Moonwych. Now they take on roles living in the complicated society of Moonwych with all its classes, fantasies and whatnot. It has big Redwall vibes for those familiar.

What inspired this game? It was an opportunity to create some “epic fantasy stories,” according to the designer, that were set in the Wildlands of Britain. A lot of the story draws on fiction like Wind in the Willows as well as Game of Thrones.

How to play? It’s a game focused on narrative storytelling but with customization akin to Pathfinder as well as unique elements that gift animals strengths and powers based on their relationship with the day/night cycle.

Who will enjoy this? If you enjoy fantasy inspired by Britain’s long history or anthropomorphic fantasy, this is for you.

Check out Moonwych here!

Under the Table: Sir Lancelot Meets Al Capone

Designed by Pete Woodworth of Muse Afire Games

What is this game? It’s Arthurian legend meets 1920s gangster fiction. Players are members of the Royals, a gang best known for bootlegging a liquor that enables people to use magic as they operate out of Camelot, IL. Unfortunately, the law and their rival gangs aren’t the biggest fans of them, thus sparking the story.

What inspired this story? “I’d always been a fan of gangster fiction,” Woodworth told TTRPG Insider, “And something that my wife and I had noticed is how gangsters and Arthurian knights had a few things in common. Specifically, they had a “code of conduct” that they both operated under as well as some form of honor. I just kept finding parallels between the two. Then my wife decided to tell me to take some prompts and turn it into a setting. And now I’ve converted it into a full game.” The game initially started out as a setting built on Evil Hat’s Fate system, but Woodworth eventually decided to make the game its own system.

How do I play? The game is built around the Forged in the Dark system aka Blades in the Dark, but also incorporates its own rules around magic (something that distinguishes the Royals as a gane from their competitors.)

Who will like this? If you like Scorsese cinema and Arthurian legends, this might be something to try.

You can check out Under the Table here.

Providence City Punks: Punk Vibes Hit a Fantastic World

Designed by Frogpunk Games

What is the game? It’s a punk-themed urban fantasy setting telling the story of a conflict between a theocratic leadership and the people beneath them who are trying to make a life.

How do I play? The game uses a chessboard as a reference point when engaging in combat, while it also leans into narrative tools that encourage a collaborative storytelling approach.

Who will like this? If you like simpler narrative-heavy games or enjoy more urban fantasy settings with an alternative twist, maybe give this a look

You can check out Providence City Punks here.

The Wildsea: Tigers on the Wire

Made by Mythworks

What is this? Wildsea fans are receiving a new scenario set in the tree-filled apocalyptic world of the same name. This scenario tells the story about a broadcast hunted down by a pirate in the wilder parts of this world. It holds new lore, new creatures, a new “post” aka character role and more.

Who will like this? Wildsea fans will definitely be excited for new content.

You can check out Tigers on the Wire here.

Magniscape: Magnetic RPG Battle Tiles

Designed by TabletopTime

What is this? It’s a collection of reversible magnetic sheets that can have similarly magnetic segments attached to them to create whatever maps you need. RPG Map design tools for on the go.

It’s mostly focused on travel and taverns, but it appears like a prototype that could become something a lot bigger if funded.

Who will enjoy this? DMs who want easy-to-make maps for random encounters in their fantasy games will love this.

You can experience Magniscape for yourself here.

Lies By Omission: From Italy with Love (and Terror)

Designed by Chain Assembly

What is this Game?  It tells the story about a 1970s version of Italy that’s more about pulp horror and a particular Gothic aesthetic known as Giallo. Expect cults, politics, lots of Italian culture and more.

What inspired this game? “I wanted to design a system that made it easy to generate mystery, tension, and unraveling trust,” game designer Nicholas Ribera told TTRPG Insider. “A game where players could watch their chances of success slipping as failure accumulated, but with a built-in release valve to relieve that pressure. The mechanics of Lies By Omission are built around that emotional arc. Giallo, as a genre, hits those same beats. It gives you evil, crime, and psychological terror, but it wraps them in sunsets, gelato, and romance. I was drawn to that contrast; the idea that beauty can feel just as unsettling as violence. Like giallo, this game lives in the uncomfortable space where illusion and horror overlap, and where the most disturbing revelations are often the ones spoken softly over wine.

How do I play? The game plays on a traditional stat-based system, but there’s also elements involving the Major Arcana from tarot cards, which are often used to help the players learn more about the stories and conflicts going on at the table.

Who will enjoy this? Indie film horror fans and those wanting a setting that breaks away from 1920s Lovecraftian horror may find this a breath of fresh air.

Check out Lies by Omission for yourself.

Turn It Off: Eldritch Horror At the Edge of the Sea

Designed by Cloud Press

What is this game? It’s a short horror game telling the story about how two men at a lighthouse saw something terrifying and they lost their minds. Now you’ve been sent to relight the lighthouse.

What inspired it? While it’s unclear, it’s hard to deny that it probably drew inspiration from The Lighthouse.

How do I Play? The game is built on the Knave 2e ruleset, so it should feel familiar, although the story has been adapted to a system-agnostic text format.

Who will enjoy this? Horror fans and those wanting a simple adventure at sea may find this appealing.

Check out Turn it Off for yourself.

Urban Shadows: Algiers and Angels

Designed by Magpie Games

What is this? It’s an expansion for Magpie Games’ Powered by the Apocalypse-based Urban Shadows 2e that tells the story of the city of Algiers. It adds a new playbook and a new city hub as additional assets for fans of the dark urban fantasy game.

Who will enjoy this? Fans of Urban Shadows or White Wolf’s World of Darkness setting may find this worth their time.

Check out Algiers and Angels for yourself.

Strangers on the Net: Online RP In the 90s

Designed by the Soft Chaos Cooperative

What is this game about? The game tells the story of teenagers in the late 90s and early 2000s who have gathered online to make friends and to roleplay in their favorite fandoms, whether it is Buffy, Sailor Moon or other games. It is designed to explore how those roleplays inform how other people interact with one another, how these interactions evolve one’s view of themselves and even what happens when life makes you move on.

What inspired this game? The team goes into extensive detail in a blog post about how the game originated during an online theatre festival in Canada and how they’ve refined it over time into an experience that has gained attention in fandom communities.

How do you play? It’s all played out over text-based roleplay, aka the players use Discord servers or instant messages to play as their characters while the storyteller keeps things moving.

Who is this for? Nerds and elder millennials who lived through that early era of the internet and are nostalgic for the ideas at hand.

Check out Strangers on the Net here.

Dreams of No Sleep: Adventuring in Bed

Designed by Alexandre Chu of Shu Initsu

What is this game? The players exist in a fantasy land where dreaming is more than distraction. It is a way to enter into another dangerous realm.

What inspired this game? The game came about after Chu played games like Blades in the Dark and Fabula Ultima as well as Final Fantasy XIV, which was brought together to create the fantasy experience before you.

How do I play? Players will roleplay, organize, and plan while awake, then enter into their dreams to combat the threats they need to succeed. The mechanics are built on a mixture of playing cards and dice rolls as well as a unique grid-based arena system that allows players to move and dodge attacks as they see fit (inspired by the raiding designs of MMOs like FFXIV.)

Who is this for? It’s a very tactical game, so players who want a unique twist on fantasy adventures with heavy dreaming themes may find this appealing.

Learn all about Dreams of No Sleep here.

Punk Fried Chicken: Cyberpunk with Flair

What is this game? It’s a game about “cybernetic, wannabe outlaws looking to slide into the rich and famous life by plunging head first into criminal adventures in a city obsessed with addictive fast food, to-kill-for fashion, and CPU/brain-blitzing social media entertainment.” High action and mercenary storylines in a very ridiculous cyberpunk setting.

How do you play? It’s a game built around d20 rolls for combat and 2d6 for everything else. Players will have a variety of species, professions and its own complicated systems for hacking, combat and more.

 Who will like this? If you want an alternative to Shadowrun or Cyberpunk 2077 while maintaining the vibe, this seems up your alley.

Give Punk Fried Chicken a taste.

Thank you to Gamefound for connecting us with the game designers and all the creators for giving us their time. We know this is a busy experience and we wish all the creators luck in bringing their games to life.