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David Millians, Editor

Paideia School, 1509 Ponce de Leon Avenue, Atlanta, Georgia 30307 USA

millians.david@paideiaschool.org

ARTICLES

Museums as Sources of Ideas for Roleplaying-Games

Part 2: The Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg (Museum of Art and Design Hamburg), the Automuseum Prototyp (Prototype Museum), the Deutsches Zollmuseum (German Customs Museum), and the Polizeimuseum Hamburg (Hamburg Police Museum)

by Carsten Obst

The history of the Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg (Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg – impressive city name!) dates back to the 4th century BC, when first settlements were built here. During this long time the city experienced highs and lows. A high was the era of the Hanseatic League, while Hitler´s dictatorship marked the absolute low.

A good introduction into Hamburg´s history is available on Wikipedia (https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geschichte_Hamburgs). Here GMs get many ideas for adventures and campaigns, perhaps based on a family as described in the first part. As a result of this long history around sixty museums exist in Hamburg today. This article will introduce four of them, which give many inspirations for varied RPG-adventures.

The Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg (Museum of Art and Design Hamburg), founded in 1874, offers many interesting insights into European and Asian applied arts. Its collections include more than 600,000 objects, while several period rooms, among them a Japanese teahouse, are the highlights of the exhibitions (https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Museum_f%C3%BCr_Kunst_und_Gewerbe_Hamburg and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Museum_f%C3%BCr_Kunst_und_Gewerbe_Hamburg).

At first housed at temporary locations, the museum was relocated in 1876 to a new building, which was constructed between 1873 and 1875. Here it occupied together with two more museums the ground floor, while trade schools and a secondary school were in the upper floors. Since 1975 the museum has occupied the entire building.

For RPGs, the large building itself presents already unique challenges, both for the players and for the GMs. So the GM can confront the PCs with seemingly countless corridors and rooms, often running parallel and unexpectedly connected by side passages or doorways. Quickly the players get the impression that their characters are trapped in a Cthulhu-like dimension, as we know it, from H.P. Lovecraft’s stories. The broad corridors, which are also used as exhibition spaces, complicate the orientation even more.

A floor plan is available at the ticket office, but it offers no help for the orientation. Obviously the plan does not correspond with the real architecture. Somehow the visitors find themselves constantly in completely different rooms or corridors, while the staircases seem to be arranged in an asymmetrical way. The museum´s guards surely have a complicated duty when patrolling the building, while even experienced burglars certainly face a special challenge, if they are looking for a specific object. And what is in the top floor of the building, to which only the staff members have access to?

For this reason the building is an excellent setting for a Cthulhu by Gaslight adventure in Hamburg but also for Cthulhu Now and for other horror RPGs. By the way, in the exhibition of historical musical instruments, classical music can be constantly heard. Sometimes these melodies sound a little bit – well, let’s say: mysterious. Did you read Lovecraft´s story “The Music of Erich Zahn”? Shall the music delight the visitors – or banish something unspeakable from another dimension?

Even in a realistic RPG, however, the museum offers many possibilities for adventures with lots of fun. A chase through the exhibitions, with the PCs as hunters or hunted, quickly turns into a combination of a hide-and-seek-game, an obstacle course. and an orientation exercise. Display cases serve as cover and passageways as shortcuts, while the PCs must try to find their way in the asymmetrical stairwells. Of course, other visitors block them as moving obstacles at the most inopportune moment.

Like the park of the Charlottenburg Palace, diplomats, businessmen, crime bosses, or secret agents can use the museum for discreet meetings. Foreign intelligence agents, industrial spies, journalists, or police detectives may observe them or try to intercept confidential documents, which shall be exchanged. The confusing rooms, corridors, and staircases make it already difficult to find other persons, but to follow them discreetly or to evade observers, pursuers, and assassins will be a problem, which offers lots of fun – at least for the GM.

A classic plot would be the theft of one or more valuable objects from the exhibitions or depots. Then the museum’s location causes problems. There are no adjacent buildings, but there is a subway station next to the main entrance, streets on the north, east and south sides, as well as a walking path on the west side. North of the museum you find Hamburg´s main train station, and east of it the central bus station. So even in the night, people constantly surround the museum, who may spot suspicious activities. If the PCs are hired for the theft, they need a good plan to enter unnoticed and a better one to leave undetected with the acquired objects.

After getting successfully into the museum.\, the PCs must find the right way in the darkness through the innumerable corridors, rooms, and staircases. They also have to deal with security devices like motion detectors, surveillance cameras, and alarm systems, while the guards are to be avoided. At the most inopportune moment, the PCs may encounter visitors, who were accidentally locked in after closing time. Perhaps a Japanese tour group took refuge in the teahouse? Other possible encounters include adventurous school kids or students hiding in the museum because of a bet, another burglar gang, or a top cat burglar. In a horror-RPG things, which men was not meant to know may be lurking somewhere in the darkness….

Another museum in Hamburg, which offers many ideas for RPGs, is the Automuseum Prototyp (Prototype Museum) (https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automuseum_Prototyp and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prototype_Museum_(Hamburg)). Founded in 2008, a large number of cars are presented here, especially sports and racing cars. Many were produced in the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s, but lots of modern vehicles can be seen here, too. Cars from German producers like Porsche and Volkswagen are one of the special topics. A cinema, a freely accessible library, the reconstruction of a car repair shop from those good old times, before the digitalization turned cars into computers on wheels, as well as special exhibitions showing famous vehicles complete the museum.

One collection describes the life of Wolfgang Reichsgraf Berghe von Trips (1928 to 1961), a German racing driver, who died in an accident at the Italian Grand Prize (https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolfgang_Graf_Berghe_von_Trips and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolfgang_von_Trips). As heir of an old noble family, Graf Trips became a legend as one of the last “Herrenfahrer” (“Gentleman Drivers”). His charismatic, polite, and friendly manner also contributed to the positive development of Germany´s international image after 1945, at least in the world of sports.

Another topic of the museum is a collection about Otto Mathé (1907 to 1995), an Austrian racing driver, businessman, and inventor. After a career as a motorcycle racer before World War II, he competed from 1948 successfully in car races. The collection shows among other things self-built racing cars, which Mathé constructed to participate in the races during the post-war years (https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otto_Math%C3%A9).

Two cars on display deserve to be mentioned. The first is the BMW Turbo X1, a prototype of the German company BMW built in 1972. Its technology was used for the BMW M1 series, produced since 1978. In the 1970s the prototype´s design seemed futuristic. With modern technology, the Turbo X1 would surely be even today a successful competitor on the markets (https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_Turbo_X1 and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_Turbo). The second car is the last existing model of the VW Typ 60 K 10 or Porsche Typ 64, a sports car developed by Porsche for the Rally Berlin-Rome. This rally should take place in the autumn of 1939, but World War II prevented the start (https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/VW_Typ_60_K_10 and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porsche_64).

For RPGs the Automuseum Prototyp offers many ideas for adventures. A classic plot may be the theft of one or even several cars. When a filthy rich car enthusiast (perhaps a tech billionaire, an Arabian oil sheik, or an European aristocrat) wants to expand his private car collection, the museum rejects his purchase offers. Realizing that a legal acquisition is impossible, he hires through intermediaries a group of specialists, who are able and willing to “extract” the object or objects of his desires – like the Turbo X1 or the Porsche Typ 64.

If the PCs accept this mission, they must solve the problem of how to get the cars out of the museum unnoticed and without triggering an alarm. All experts for such “acquisitions” know the difficulties. Jewels or microchips can easily be hidden and transported, but cars need another solution, especially because the vehicles must be delivered undamaged to the client. On the other hand the PCs may be police officers or insurance detectives, tasked to investigate a successful theft of the cars. The thieves must be caught, the client found, and the cars returned to the museum – preferably without any scratches on the paintwork, of course.

The career of Otto Mathé offers good ideas for a campaign after World War II. While Europe lay in ruins, racing enthusiasts organized car races again. In this campaign the PCs are a team competing in the races of the post-war years with self-constructed cars. The necessary supplies like tools, motors, spare parts, tires, or fuel they get only by bartering on the black markets, where skills like scrounging and streetwise are important. Once the PCs complete their cars, they must transport them somehow to the often improvised racing courses, even across the borders of the Allied occupation zones. For that, good contacts with the military authorities will be important, but first these have to be established somehow.

The life of Graf Trips can inspire a campaign in the 1950s with the PCs as members of a German team participating in international competitions. Here the political situation of the Fifties is also of importance. The PCs must prove that the new Federal Republic is a free democratic state, firmly integrated into the Western alliance. Like Graf Trips, they become unofficial diplomats, who have to overcome the negative experiences of other nations with Germany during World War II. Social skills are extremely important in this campaign.

The Porsche Type 64 may be used for an alternate-world campaign, where Hitler never came to power, while the Weimar Republic did not collapse. So the rally from Berlin to Rome takes place with the PCs as part of the Porsche team. They must overcome problems like poor road conditions, technical failures, difficult logistics, rival teams, agitated fans, and intrusive reporters. The crossing of the Alps is a special challenge. Of course, this can be played for fun: in Bavaria the cars get into the autumnal “Almabtrieb” (“cattle drive from the alpine pastures”), when the farmers bring their cow herds from the alpine pastures down to the valleys. Imagine the dashing drivers with their fast cars stuck in a herd!

The customs authorities are mostly associated with controls at border crossings, on airports and in harbours, where they search the luggage of travellers for prohibited or dutiable items. In Germany, however, their duties are much more extensive. The Deutsches Zollmuseum (German Customs Museum), founded in 1992 and located in Hamburg (what a coincidence …), gives a good insight into their duties, methods, and history. Around 1,000 objects inform the visitors about these topics, including the decommissioned customs cruiser Oldenburg as a special highlight(https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deutsches_Zollmuseum).

The exhibitions on the museum’s ground floor inform about the modern German customs authorities. Among other things, they include border controls, global trade, excise taxes, product piracy, wildlife conversation, illegal weapons, drugs, undeclared work, and controls within Germany. Other topics are the technical equipment like X-ray systems for scanning containers, the inspection of construction sites, restaurants, and other businesses, as well as the never-ending fight against drug trafficking. So the exhibitions demonstrate the versatility of the German customs authorities, often surprising the visitors.

GMs find here good ideas for a modern campaign, where the PCs are German customs officers, whose new tasks at different locations create challenges in each adventure. After starting with controls of airline passengers on the airport in Frankfurt, the PCs scan containers in the harbour of Hamburg for illegal goods, before they inspect construction sites in Berlin for unregistered work. After hunting drug traffickers at the border to the Netherlands, they investigate tax evasion in Munich, followed by searching for illegal weapon transports to Third World countries in Bremen. The campaign can fluctuate between drama and humour. Ruthless drug traffickers try to shoot their way out, while US tourists demand their constitutional right to bear arms according to the second amendment – even in Germany!

The exhibitions on the second floor of the museum describe the history of the customs authorities in Germany, beginning with the first century AD, when parts of ancient Germania were provinces of the Roman Empire. In the Middle Ages customs rights could be transferred to princes and cities, while the rights holders were allowed to lease and pawn the tolls. During the time of National Socialism, the customs authorities supported the economical extermination of the German Jews as part of the Holocaust. In the GDR the efforts concentrated on preventing the own citizens from fleeing into the free West with elaborate searches of cars and trains compartments. For RPGs this long and varied history offers also many ideas for historical adventures and campaigns since the Romans.

A special topic is the smuggling of coffee across the borders to Belgium and the Netherlands between 1945 and 1953. The German taxes on coffee caused high prices for the consumers, and so the illegal trade with it became a lucrative business in the border regions, which were nicknamed the Aachener Kaffeefront (Aachen Coffee Front). This was not seen as a crime by the people. They needed money to rebuild their destroyed home areas, which were heavily destroyed in 1945. Smugglers even donated for the reconstruction of the St. Hubertus-church in the village Schmidt, which is therefore still called St. Mokka (St. Mocha).

But smuggling coffee was not a sport-like competition between smugglers and customs officers. The gangs, often tightly organized, used weapons to evade arrests, and so the situation escalated. Two customs officers and thirty-one smugglers were killed in fire fights, while several hundred people suffered injuries. One gang stole M3 Half-Tracks from a military barracks in Belgium to ram their way literally through the border checkpoints.

When smugglers tried to stop pursuing vehicles by throwing caltrops on the streets, the customs authorities responded with two specially equipped sports cars from Porsche. Sunroofs allowed the officers to fire at the pursued cars and trucks without being hindered, blue lights could quickly be fastened on the roofs for identification as customs vehicles, while the safety tires did not lose air after a hit. Two hidden steel brooms could be lowered to sweep caltrops away. This device earned the vehicles the nickname “Besenporsche” (“Broom Porsches”). Did the producers of the James Bond-movies know about this? The coffee smuggling on a large scale ended in 1953, when the German parliament reduced the coffee taxes by sixty percent. Now it was no longer profitable, but some people continued to smuggle for nearly ten years.

The “Aachener Kaffeefront” can be used for humorous and dark campaigns alike. In a humorous one the PCs can be smugglers, who do it for their own needs or for those of their families, friends, and local communities. They may even be children, because complete school classes crossed the borders to get the coveted coffee. When the kids encountered customs officers, they tried to overrun them. Even if two or three were caught, most broke through. In a dark campaign, ruthless smugglers force their way violently through the checkpoints.

Of course the PCs can also be customs officers. In a humorous campaign they know that their own families, friends, and neighbours smuggle for their own needs and may suddenly “be distracted” at the right moment. In a dark campaign, the PCs face heavily armed criminals, who do not hesitate to shoot and to kill. This may cause dangerous situations and tough decisions – often smugglers and customs officers lived in the same towns or villages.

The Hamburger Polizeimuseum (Hamburg Police Museum), founded in 2014, is also of great interest for RPGs. Here three exhibitions show the history of Hamburg´s police since 1814, modern police work, and well-known cases (https://www.polizeimuseum.hamburg/, https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polizeimuseum_Hamburg and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamburg_Police_Museum). Because the museum is located in the police academy, visitors´ IDs are checked at the gate. Sometimes you can watch the training of the students on the courtyard. Attention: during water cannon exercises, it gets wet!

The first exhibition documents the history of Hamburg´s police since 1814. Before France annexed the city in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars, several authorities had been responsible for police duties, among them the Nachtwächterkorps (Night Watchmen Corps – almost classic!). The French established a central police authority, which was maintained after the city regained its independence in 1814 (https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polizei_Hamburg).

During the 19th century Hamburg´s police underwent several expansions like the establishment of a criminal investigation department and a harbour police in 1876. Therefore, the city had in 1914 a modern police force, which was embroiled in the civil war-like unrests after World War I. Since 1933 the National Socialists restructured it to support their dictatorship, while in 1945 the British military government began a deNazification. More reforms and restructures improved the police´s effectiveness during the following decades.

A dark topic of the exhibition is the Reserve-Polizei-Bataillon 101 (Reserve-Police-Bataillon 101), which committed war crimes during World War II and took part in the Holocaust. Good cops in a police plagued by corruption have a hard time, but atrocities like the murder of Jews demand tough choices from the PCs, if they are transferred to this unit.

The replica of a police station from the 1960s is a visual highlight of the historical exhibition. Overactive PCs lacking subtlety, who visit Hamburg in an adventure during this period, may reflect one long night in its dark detention cell on a steel-hard bunk about a more reasonable behaviour.

This varied history can be the basis for a police campaign, which lasts over two centuries. In each adventure, the PCs may experience another step of the long development from the classic night watchmen, who patrolled Hamburg´s streets before 1806, to the challenges of modern police work in our globalized world. Often they will face difficult situations and must make tough decisions, which result from the political, social, and economic struggles of the respective eras.

The second exhibition shows the modern police work as well as its technical and scientific methods. Among other topics it includes information about forensic sciences, DNA-identification, the use of computers, and search methods. The cross-section of a police helicopter allows virtual flights over Hamburg, based on real missions like the search of a missing person or the coordination of police cars pursuing a criminal in a car chase.

Here GMs get many ideas for modern police campaigns, while players learn how to expand the options of their PCs as police officers, especially in skill-based systems. Their characters may be forensic experts, computer specialists or helicopter pilots, which enables them to react to the constantly changing challenges of their daily duties and missions.

The third exhibition focuses on well-known criminal cases from Hamburg. It is not accessible to children younger than 14 years, but GMs with the necessary mental toughness also find here good ideas for adventures. Two of these cases shall be mentioned as examples.

Around 1980 German politics and judiciary realized that organized crime also existed in Germany. At that time pimp gangs controlled the red-light-districts of Hamburg, fighting violently for the profits from the sex business. So Hamburg´s police established in 1982 a department to investigate organized crime. The arrest of Werner Pinzner (1947 to 1986), the so-called St.-Pauli-Killer, became one of its early successes. Pinzner was a hitman for the “Chikago Bande” (“Chicago Gang”), which rivalled two other gangs. After his arrest he claimed to have killed eleven people since 1984, the police confirmed five victims. Hoping to get insider information from Pinzner, his wife was allowed to be present at the interrogations. She smuggled in a revolver, with which he killed the prosecutor, his wife, and himself.

The arrest of Christine Kuby (born 1957) shows how a routine police operation may unexpectedly become a life-threatening situation. In 1978 Kuby, a member of the German terrorist organization Rote Armee Fraktion (Red Army Faction), tried to obtain painkillers with a forged prescription from a pharmacy. The pharmacist recognized the forgery and called the police. Suspecting a drug offense, the officers Trapp and Fitzner arrested Kuby. Suddenly she pulled out a gun and shot Trapp in the chest. Fitzner fired back, seriously wounding Kuby. Fortunately, Trapp suffered only light injuries, because the bullet hit a notebook in his jacket – a real miracle! Kuby, sentenced to life imprisonment in 1979, was released in 1995 on parole.

Both cases give good ideas for a realistic police campaign in the 1970s and 1980s. As police officers the PCs may be among the first members of the department against organized crime, tasked to infiltrate Hamburg´s red-light-districts as undercover cops. The shootout with Christine Kuby proves the dangers and risks with which the police must deal on a daily basis.

Museums offer lots of inspirations, hints, ideas, and possibilities for interesting RPG campaigns and adventures. We should use these chances, which also improve our education. Just think, what treasures may be hidden already in your local historical museum?

Links for Videos:

The following videos give you some impressions of the museums described in both parts of the article. I would be happy, if they invite you, to visit them during your next holiday.

Schloß Charlottenburg:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sSRyu0fRrc, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiJ3lX-8O3Y and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujoI6hpxq3c: Three videos of the TV-station tvberlin with historical information about Schloß Charlottenburg.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_V1iAorCgHk, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RupRsX5Aso and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkcWTbkJ0H8: Three videos of the TV-station tvberlin with historical information about the park of Schloß Charlottenburg.

Deutsches Historisches Museum:

https://www.youtube.com/@dhmchannel: Official YouTube-channel of the museum.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wc5W9xGE924&t=1621s: Private video about the exhibitions for the time until the 18th century.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNqFxK-XDFg: Private video about the museum’s exhibitions.

Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg:

https://www.youtube.com/@mkghamburg: Official YouTube channel of the museum.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8i-nZul0IXI: Video about the music played in the museum. Remember the weird melodies? Note the strange looking musicians!

Automuseum Prototyp:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBGNq_L2rM0: Video of the TV-station Hamburg 1 Fernsehen commemorating the museum´s fifteenth anniversary.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiYQAWgSnI8: Video of the TV-station SAT.1 about the VW 34, the original “Käfer” (“Bug”, in English known as “Love Bug”).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtgnTd4lEdM: Private video about the museum.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_AkgC959e4: Private video about the museum.

Deutsches Zollmuseum:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJ6kkuSxxMw&t=1007s: Video of the TV-station NDR about the custom´s inland operations.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sd_UX4LAvXI: Video of the TV-station ZDF about the custom´s operations against undeclared work, smuggling, and drug dealers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ogo9MJ3xaOs: Video of the TV-station SWR about the Zentrale Unterstützungsgruppe Zoll (Central Support Group Custom), trained and equipped for confrontation with armed opponents – a good basis for an action-oriented campaign!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjVwPNOiKaI: Private video about the museum.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMhzMSVOBKw: Private video about the museum.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ac4BA-XJ-tE: Private video about the museum.

Hamburger Polizeimuseum:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41BeuBWV4MQ&t=1421s: Video of the German TV-station NDR about the daily duties of Hamburg´s police.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-YT_1q5X4o:  Video of the German TV-station NDR about the police´s daily routine – if you can call that routine.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhSNZG_u5WE: Video of the SHZ-Verlag about the opening of the museum.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXQaClyH8Z4: Video of the TV-station Hamburg 1 Fernsehen commemorating the museum´s tenth anniversary.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OO32yrzH7JI: Video of the TV-station 7:Newstime about a police operation in Hamburg, which happened in 2024 and gives good impressions of the daily risks. There is no routine on the streets!

CONVENTIONS & CONFERENCES

NEW MATERIAL

This is a compilation of articles and other resources that have come to the editor’s attention over the last month. Everyone is welcome to send bibliographic information about anything you discover that fits the mission of CAR-PGa and this newsletter.

First off, tariffs:

Billingsley, Gene (2025 Apr 17) Monthly Update – April 2025. https://mailchi.mp/2438d2843c59/april-17-update-from-gmt-tariffs-and-action-plan-new-p500s-updated-production-outlook-designer-updates-and-more. Business planning and communicating with customers.

Carter, Chase (2025 Apr 4) Tabletop publishers believe RPG books are exempt from Trump tariffs, for now. https://www.rascal.news/tabletop-publishers-believe-rpg-books-are-exempt-from-trump-tariffs-for-now. RPGs may have more breathing room than, for example, board games, but uncertainty is all that’s certain.

Carter, Chase (2025 Apr 16) Small tabletop creators already feeling squeezed by the Tariff Era. https://www.rascal.news/small-tabletop-creators-already-feeling-squeezed-by-the-tariff-era. Scrambling for answers and plans in uncertain economic times.

Girdwood, Andrew (2025 Apr 3) America’s Game Manufacturers Association comes out against Trump’s tariffs. https://www.geeknative.com/172125/americas-game-manufacturers-association-comes-out-against-trumps-tariffs. Impacts, action plans, and more.

Girdwood, Andrew (2025 Apr 17) Greater Than Games shutters with the team unemployed. https://www.geeknative.com/172400/greater-than-games-shutters-with-the-team-unemployed. Business closes due to tariffs.

Girdwood, Andrew (2025 Apr 17) Tariffs hit tabletop publishers: $1.2 Million in Cephalofair Games stuck in China. https://www.geeknative.com/172404/tariffs-hit-tabletop-publishers-1-2-million-in-cephalofair-games-stuck-in-china. Literal tons of games trapped during shipment to the USA.

Girdwood, Andrew (2025 Apr 21) Stonemaier Games is taking legal action against Trump over the American tariffs. https://www.geeknative.com/172483/stonemaier-games-is-taking-legal-action-against-trump-over-the-american-tariffs. Growing legal push back against sudden tariff increases.

Girdwood, Andrew (2025 Apr 25) Trump’s tariffs cost more jobs as CMON stops games development. https://www.geeknative.com/172583/trumps-tariffs-cost-more-jobs-as-cmon-stops-games-development. New limits on production and employment.

Girdwood, Andrew (2025 Apr 29) Kickstarter to introduce a tariff tool for USA backers. https://www.geeknative.com/172678/kickstarter-to-introduce-a-tariff-tool-for-usa-backers. Launching in a few weeks, a new Kickstarter tool for tariff clarity.

Hoffer, Christian (2025 Apr 21) Greater Than Games Shutters Due to Tariffs. https://www.enworld.org/threads/greater-than-games-shutters-due-to-tariffs.713004. Layoffs and canceled projects.

Hoffer, Christian (2025 Apr 24) Wizards of the Coast Says That China Tariffs Will Have Minimal Impact on D&D. https://www.enworld.org/threads/wizards-of-the-coast-says-that-china-tariffs-will-have-minimal-impact-on-d-d.713072. Planning for only boxed games to be affected. More analysis from Chase Carter.

Hutton, Christopher (2025 Apr 29) Gaming Conventions Faces Crisis Amid Trump Immigration Decisions, Tariffs. https://www.ttrpginsider.news/p/gaming-conventions-faces-crisis-amid-trump-immigration-decisions-tariffs. Tourism and tariffs.

Kelley, Lora (2025 Apr 26) Want to Escape the Financial News? Don’t Try a Hobby. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/26/business/trump-tariffs-hobbies-costs.html. Affecting products and the materials to make them.

Meredith at Roll20 (2025 Apr 6) April 2025: Open Letter to Our Publishing Partners. https://medium.com/drivethru/april-2025-open-letter-to-our-publishing-partners-57ddeb96ac92. Business concern and options in light of rising tariffs.

Morrissey, Russ (2025 Apr 3) How Will The New Tariffs Affect TTRPG Prices?. https://www.enworld.org/threads/how-will-the-new-tariffs-affect-ttrpg-prices.712698. Breaking down the tariffs and options for publishers.

Morrissey, Russ (2025 Apr 4) What Game Publishers Are Saying About The Tariffs. https://www.enworld.org/threads/what-game-publishers-are-saying-about-the-tariffs.712717. Expanding thread of commentary and discussion with most expecting challenges ahead.

Morrissey, Russ (2025 Apr 14) Do Tariffs Apply To RPG Books? Maybe, Maybe Not. https://www.enworld.org/threads/do-tariffs-apply-to-rpg-books-maybe-maybe-not.712908. Uncertainties abound.

Rollins, Brandon (2025 Apr 16) Shipping & Fulfillment Strategies for Creators Facing Tariff Changes. https://updates.kickstarter.com/shipping-fulfillment-strategies-for-creators-facing-tariff-changes. Making changing plans for various crowdfunding circumstances.

Thorne, Scott (2025 Apr 14) Rolling for Initiative: More Tariff Reactions: RPGs May Not Be Exempt, Cost Comparisons, Lines Pulling Out. https://icv2.com/articles/columns/view/59308/rolling-initiative-more-tariff-reactions-rpgs-may-not-be-exempt-cost-comparisons-lines-pulling-out. Varying reactions to varying circumstances.

Zeoli, Rowan (2025 Apr 11) Canadian tabletop will not be bullied by Trump regime. https://www.rascal.news/canadian-tabletop-will-not-be-bullied-by-trump-regime. Complications and shifts in publisher and consumer planning.

And the rest of the stories:

Alami, Nada/Amir (2025 Apr 23) How RPGs Get Disability Wrong. https://www.rascal.news/how-rpgs-get-disability-wrong. Deepening awareness and story possibilities.

Amaan HK (2025 Mar 30) D&D, Islam, and my Journey – a TTRPG perspective. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1mEW7Vw5R0. Islam and D&D.

Antikchi, Mahnaz, Sara Heydari & Fatemeh Bakhshi (2025) The effect of game-based scenario writing on the clinical reasoning of internship nursing students in cardiovascular emergencies and critical care units. https://bmcmededuc.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12909-025-07079-w. Playing through critical scenarios before the real thing.

The Awards (2025) 2023-2024 Winners. https://theawards.games. TTRPG awards for Weird Shit.

Barker, Miranda (2025 Apr 25) Geek Therapy: How Video Games, D&D, and Fandom Can Support Mental Health. https://elliementalhealth.com/how-geek-therapy-can-support-mental-health. Reflection, growth, and healing through games.

Benitez, Irving (2025 Apr 28) The TTRPG Manifesto Jam Begins April 30th. https://www.rascal.news/the-ttrpg-manifesto-jam-begins-april-30th. Non-conformity and game design.

Birnie, Sheldon (2025 Apr 23) Dungeons and dragons and… a choir?. https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/our-communities/east/2025/04/23/dungeons-and-dragons-and-a-choir. Upcoming performance in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Bischoff, Manon (2025 Apr 22) Prime Number Mystery Is Key to Magic: The Gathering Card Game Strategy. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/magic-the-gathering-fans-harness-prime-number-puzzle-as-a-game-strategy. Programming and math explorations with game mechanics.

Campbell, Steph (2025 Apr 3) Review of Fetch! – a fetch quest TTRPG adventure about a boy and his cerberus. https://www.ttrpgkids.com/2025/04/03/review-of-fetch-a-fetch-quest-ttrpg-adventure-about-a-boy-and-his-cerberus. Cute one-shot adventure.

Campbell, Steph (2025 Apr 9) TTRPGkids Dev Log #1: A Construct’s Nature, Greeting Games, StoryGuider, and more. https://www.ttrpgkids.com/2025/04/09/ttrpgkids-dev-log-1-a-constructs-nature-greeting-games-storyguider-and-more. Insights into ongoing projects, plus conferences and more.

Campbell, Steph (2025 Apr 10) Interview with John Bultena, TTRPG professor. https://www.ttrpgkids.com/2025/04/10/interview-with-john-bultena-ttrpg-professor. Theory, history, and play.

Campbell, Steph (2025 Apr 14) Review of The Tiny Teahouse, a TTRPG adventure. https://www.ttrpgkids.com/2025/04/14/review-of-the-tiny-teahouse-a-ttrpg-adventure. Fanciful one-shot compatible with D&D.

Campbell, Steph (2025 Apr 17) TTRPGkids on Ludology Podcast, Episode 22: Using TTRPGs to focus on joy in learning. https://www.ttrpgkids.com/2025/04/17/ttrpgkids-on-ludology-podcast-episode-22-using-ttrpgs-to-focus-on-joy-in-learning. Holding onto the joy of learning and playing.

Campbell, Steph (2025 Apr 24) Review of Everspark. https://www.ttrpgkids.com/2025/04/24/review-of-everspark. Designed for kids and new gamers and with lots of options.

Codega, Lin (2025 Apr 15) The Trans Rights TTRPG Bundle is about more than just the money. https://www.rascal.news/trans-rights-ttrpg-bundle-2025-rue-dickey-interview. Ends May 2, 2025.

Ellis, Caelyn (2025 Apr 24) Rascal goes to SALUTE. https://www.rascal.news/rascal-goes-to-salute. A large, cozy London gathering for wargamers.

Friedman, Emily (2025) Tabletop Roleplaying Performance Audience and Participant Study. https://auburn.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_39lCJtsN7tFpyPI. Seeking data about actual play RPG creation and consumption.

Girdwood, Andrew (2025 Apr 1) Strange Times returns. https://www.geeknative.com/172087/strange-times-returns. W.M. Akers plays with history.

Girdwood, Andrew (2025 Apr 3) Aussie gamers spend big: Tabletop gaming survey highlights surprising stats. https://www.geeknative.com/172115/aussie-gamers-spend-big-tabletop-gaming-survey-highlights-surprising-stats. Survey tries to quantify gamers in Australia, Canada, and USA by age, games, spending, and more.

Girdwood, Andrew (2025 Apr 7) It’s got nasty: Alliance Entertainment dues Diamond Comic Distributors. https://www.geeknative.com/172218/its-got-nasty-alliance-entertainment-dues-diamond-comic-distributors. Legal disputes around next steps in bankruptcy.

Girdwood, Andrew (2025 Apr 8) Mongoose Publishing apologise to fans for reposting AI art. https://www.geeknative.com/172235/mongoose-publishing-apologise-to-fans-for-reposting-ai-art. Image shares withdrawn.

Girdwood, Andrew (2025 Apr 8) Oceania 2084 – Surplus Edition: RPG Magnifico 2024 winner. https://www.geeknative.com/172233/oceania-2084-surplus-edition-rpg-magnifico-2024-winner. Italian award taps Orwellian RPG.

Girdwood, Andrew (2025 Apr 22) Son of Oak aids recruitment for vital video game accessibility research. https://www.geeknative.com/172538/son-of-oak-aids-recruitment-for-vital-video-game-accessibility-research. Researching visual accessibility in video games.

Girdwood, Andrew (2025 Apr 26) Alliance wins, then quits the Diamond Comic purchase. https://www.geeknative.com/172632/alliance-wins-then-quits-the-diamond-comic-purchase. Business and law in complicated times.

Girdwood, Andrew (2025 Apr 29) Alliance Entertainment’s legal complaint against Diamond claims fraud. https://www.geeknative.com/172681/alliance-entertainments-legal-complaint-against-diamond-claims-fraud. Distribution of Wizards of the Coast materials at the center of the issue.

Glicker, Sammy (2025 Apr 21) Dungeons & Cabins Announces DMs and Registration Date. https://www.rascal.news/dungeons-cabins-announces-dms-and-registration-date. Interwoven table play and outdoor play.

Henrich, Sören (2025 Mar 24) Rolling for community. https://www.bps.org.uk/psychologist/rolling-community. The power of play and community.

Heumann, Steven (2025 Apr 4) My Year in Manufacturing & Games. https://www.superheumann.com/post/my-year-in-manufacturing-games. Discussion of individual professional experiences as a starting point for discussing USA federal economic policies.

Hoffer, Christian (2025 Apr 22) Dungeons & Dragons SRD 5.2 Is Officially Live. https://www.enworld.org/threads/dungeons-dragons-srd-5-2-is-officially-live.713038. Core text for third-party projects removes some formerly-available IP.

Hon, Adrian (2025 Apr 25) The Making of the First English Jubensha. https://mssv.net/2025/04/25/the-making-of-the-first-english-jubensha. Interview with c&t, who is creating games that originated in China and combine escape rooms with narrative structures and spreading these ideas internationally.

Hutton, Christopher (2025 Apr 2) Dungeons & Dissent: Using TTRPGs as Tools for Activism. https://ttrpg-insider.beehiiv.com/p/dungeons-dissent-using-ttrpgs-as-tools-for-activism. Playing with Activism.

Hutton, Christopher (2025 Apr 16) Pelgrane’s Robin Laws: Bringing Up the Next Generation of Gumshoes. https://www.ttrpginsider.news/p/pelgrane-s-robin-laws-bringing-up-the-next-generation-of-gumshoes. Interview excerpts about seeking stability and planning for the future.

Indie Game Developer Network (2025) The Metatopia Diversity Sponsorship. https://www.igdnonline.com/metatopia-diversity-sponsorship. Applications open until July 11, 2025.

Johnson, Beatrix (2025 Apr 25) Dungeons, Dragons and Drama: She Kills Monsters take the stage at Valborg Theatre. https://theappalachianonline.com/she-kills-monsters-app-state. Upcoming performance in Boone, North Carolina.

Koons, Stephanie (2025 Apr 15) ‘Missions with Monty’ advances science literacy through game-based learning. https://www.psu.edu/news/education/story/missions-monty-advances-science-literacy-through-game-based-learning. Questing for science and reading literacy.

Kunzelman, Cameron (2025 Apr 28) Witnessing Adepticon from the wargame event horizon. https://www.rascal.news/witnessing-adepticon-from-the-wargame-event-horizon. Thinking about miniatures, conventions, and community.

Lewis, Claire (2025 Apr 18) This Officially Licensed D&D Dice Set Was Designed By The Creator Of The Progress Pride Flag. https://www.gamespot.com/articles/this-officially-licensed-dd-dice-set-was-designed-by-the-creator-of-the-progress-pride-flag/1100-6530969. Collaboration with Hasbro to benefit the Trevor Project.

MacDougall, Nico (2025 Apr 1) March 2025 TTRPG Crowdfunding Retrospective. https://ttrpg-spider.blogspot.com/2025/04/march-2025-ttrpg-crowdfunding.html. Data and analysis, plus AI-usage critique.

Maliszewski, James (2025 Apr 4) Modules as Touchstones. https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2025/04/modules-as-touchstones.html. Shared stories across the hobby.

Manuel, Thomas (2025 Apr 10) When we play roleplaying games, we’re all magical girls. https://www.rascal.news/when-we-play-roleplaying-games-were-all-magical-girls. Transformation and play.

Manuel, Thomas (2025 Apr 22) The OSR dreams of having it all. https://www.rascal.news/the-osr-dreams-of-having-it-all. OSR and the many forms of nostalgia and creativity.

Manuel, Thomas (2025 Apr 28) Helena Real speaks candidly about Dungeon World 2. https://www.rascal.news/helena-real-speaks-candidly-about-dungeon-world-2. Reviving and revising a favorite but controversial game.

Mit-Rabbit (2025 Apr 28) The Maple Jam. https://www.rascal.news/the-maple-jam. Exploring things Canadian through game design.

Morrissey, Russ (2025 Apr 4) Compare The Market’s Tabletop Gaming Survey. https://www.enworld.org/threads/compare-the-markets-tabletop-gaming-survey.712719. Survey tries to quantify gamers in Australia, Canada, and USA by age, games, spending, and more.

Morrissey, Russ (2025 Apr 4) GAMA’s Communications Manager Declares Organization ‘Broken’. https://www.enworld.org/threads/gamas-communications-manager-declares-organization-broken.712715. Strong criticism.

Oaks, Amanda Kay (2025 Apr 3) Arby’s Dungeons & Dragons Dice Keep Selling Out Over and Over Again. https://comicbook.com/gaming/news/arbys-dnd-dice-collab-norse-foundry-sold-out. Popular merchandising.

Patrick, Ian Jeremiah (2025 Apr 12) Dungeon master to corporate strategist? The surprising career skills hidden in tabletop RPGs. https://www.malaymail.com/news/life/2025/04/12/dungeon-master-to-corporate-strategist-the-surprising-career-skills-hidden-in-tabletop-rpgs/169808. From wrestling to corporate dynamics.

Patrick, Ian Jeremiah (2025 Apr 12) From dice rolls to dialogue, educators explore how tabletop RPGs can level up English lessons in Malaysia (VIDEO). https://www.malaymail.com/news/life/2025/04/12/from-dice-rolls-to-dialogue-educators-explore-how-tabletop-rpgs-can-level-up-english-lessons-in-malaysia-video/169431. Interview with Khairul Hisham Jamalludin about his RPG-based learning projects.

Randall, Harvey (2025 Apr 2) It’s clear Hasbro, the custodians of D&D, have no idea what to do with Baldur’s Gate 3’s success—but that’s nothing new, it’s spent the past 10 years fumbling the bag. https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/its-clear-hasbro-the-custodians-of-d-and-d-have-no-idea-what-to-do-with-baldurs-gate-3s-success-but-thats-nothing-new-its-spent-the-past-10-years-fumbling-the-bag. Missed opportunities and fumbled engagement.

Reznichek, Zachary (2025) Teacher-Gamer Revolution. https://teachergamer.com. New website for educational gaming project.

Sheward, Kari [Gen Con] (2025 Apr 17) Helpful Tips for Supporting Autistic Individuals at Conventions and Large Events. https://gencon.blog/2025/04/17/helpful-tips-for-supporting-autistic-individuals-at-conventions-and-large-events. Awareness and support.

Stromberg, Ronica (2025 Apr 16) Uden teaching ecological resilience concepts with Jenga. https://news.unl.edu/article/uden-teaching-ecological-resilience-concepts-with-jenga. Applicable and beneficial across many fields of study.

Stubbs, Richard (2025 June) Tabletop role-playing games and social and emotional learning in school settings. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2773233925000142. Inexpensive, flexible Social-Emotional Learning pedagogies with RPGs.

This Effin’ GM (2025 Apr 4) Chris Perkins announces Retirement from Dungeons and Dragons. https://www.enworld.org/threads/chris-perkins-announces-retirement-from-dungeons-and-dragons.712726. Long time creator and developer ends professional work at Wizards of the Coast. D&D Game director Jeremy Crawford as well.

Vitcavage, Adam (2025 Apr 15) The question of children in actual play. https://www.rascal.news/the-question-of-children-in-actual-play. Balancing engagement, creativity, exposure, and safety.

Watson, Adam (2025 Apr 2) BOOK RELEASE ANNOUNCEMENT: Three titles — including my own. https://watsonedtech.blogspot.com/2025/04/book-release-announcement-three-titles.html. Tabletop Role-Playing Games in the Classroom: Infusing Gameplay into K-12 Instruction and other exciting titles coming soon.

Winkeljohn, Kelsey (2025 Apr 3) Telling Stories, Slaying Dragons. https://comomag.com/2025/04/03/dungeons-and-dragons-community-columbia-missouri. Adventure and entertainment in Columbia, Missouri.

Yuliawati, Livia, Putri Ayu Puspieta Wardhani, and Joo Hou Ng (2024 Aug) A Scoping Review of Tabletop Role-Playing Game (TTRPG) as Psychological Intervention: Potential Benefits and Future Directions. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11299717. Early research indicates many benefits and plenty of possibilities for future study.

Zeoli, Rowan (2025 Apr 2) Quinns on the responsibilities of his platform and more. https://www.rascal.news/quinns-on-the-responsibilities-of-his-platform-and-more. Review, journalism, politics, and more.

Zeoli, Rowan (2025 Apr 30) Battle School and the Looming Context. https://www.rascal.news/rowans-pile-of-game-battle-school-and-the-looming-context. Review and exploration of overt game intent.

© Copyright 2025 by the Committee for the Advancement of Role-Playing Games (CAR-PGa), ISSN 1071 7129. The CAR-PGa Newsletter is a monthly publication. For more information contact David Millians, Editor, Paideia School, 1509 Ponce de Leon Avenue, Atlanta, Georgia 30307 USA, phone (404) 808-1070, fax (404) 377-3491, email millians.david@paideiaschool.org. Back issues are available. Contributions of material from the membership are urged, and the byline is responsible for content. Deadline is the last weekday of the month, email preferred. Permission is granted to copy anything in the Newsletter, provided we get a credit line in the publication copying it, and it doesn’t have someone else’s copyright on it. Information, including details on joining CAR-PGa, can be obtained on the Internet at car-pga.org.