An international network of researchers into all aspects of role-playing games
David Millians, Editor
Paideia School, 1509 Ponce de Leon Avenue, Atlanta, Georgia 30307 USA
millians.david@paideiaschool.org
ARTICLES
Adam’s Educational Electrum
April 2026
Welcome to my educational contribution to the monthly CAR-PGa newsletter! For those readers out there who work for or support schools, districts, or youth, I am flattered, humbled and grateful for the chance to share a modest trinket of treasure to help you on your instructional quests. This might be a gaming resource, a full out TTRPG, or a particular educator’s story.
Librarians may always be on the lookout for a tome to add to their shelves, but so are teachers – many have their own classroom library of books. Perhaps a student needs something to read for enrichment time or wants to check out a copy for home. Or you might be short some gamemasters for a particular game club meeting, yet the members are still eager to play. If these students appreciate Dungeons & Dragons, I would like to offer a solo RPG solution: Obvious Mimic.
Obvious Mimic specializes in adventures based on Fifth / 5.5 Edition D & D. Roll up a character as normal (the company takes pains to explain that any and all classes can potentially succeed – “or fail!”) and then open the first page of the text. From there, the formatting is like a “Choose Your Own Adventure” with choices and successes/failures determining what section you must read next. (Full disclosure: I namedropped Obvious Mimic in the section of my own book describing how students can consume and create their own branching narratives.) There are ability check rolls and even combat.
Obvious Mimic’s first adventure, The Wolves of Langston, began as a very successful Kickstarter in 2024, which also happened to be the first of their books I played as a PDF. (Softcovers and hardcovers are also available for most titles.) Not only was the quality of the mystery plotline excellent and well supported by vivid NPCs, but I also truly felt I had agency in what happened next. Of course, Obvious Mimic are not the only publishers of solo TTRPGs. (To take just one example, Chaosium have published a series of Alone Against… adventures for their Call of Cthulhu TTRPG.) But beyond the quality of the writing, what makes Obvious Mimic really stand out is the transmedia that surrounds their stories. Many of their books have accompanying downloadable music soundtracks, STL files for miniatures, gridded/ungridded maps, and more. Additionally, their latest publications encourage players in existing campaigns to play these solo adventures with the consent of their DMs by providing Dungeon Masters with a short summary of the adventure (spoiler alert: don’t read if you plan to play them!), with details of potential loot and recommended story hooks so the quest might better weave into your campaign’s narrative. Your character could even potentially level up at the end of the adventure, with the DM’s approval!
If you’re considering purchasing a copy for your classroom or library, here are some suggestions:
• While the Internet is littered with “5e Players Cheat Sheets,” Obvious Mimic offers a very good one formatted in Portrait and in Landscape, either in color or black and white. It might be good to keep a laminated one nearby as reference, especially for new players.
• Always read through an adventure first and make your own judgment if they are the appropriate reading age for your students. There was nothing I encountered in The Wolves of Langston that I felt was above PG-13, but of course that’s only my opinion.
• If you want something for a younger crowd, you may want to consider The Secret of Oki Island.
If you’re looking for adventures to accommodate a shorter play time, Obvious Mimic is now selling “SideQuests” on their Patreon site. They recently published a collection of these as a book — SideQuest Volume One – and having just received my own softcover copy, I can’t wait to dive in!
This might be the first mimic you will (obviously) enjoy encountering. Happy solo adventuring!
Until our next time together at the table,
Adam Watson
(CAR-PGa Board Member since January 2026)
Adam Watson is an award-winning public school educator, writer, and frequent presenter of professional development at regional and national conferences such as Gen Con, Serious Play, and GAMA Expo. In 2022, he launched Kentucky Educators for Role Playing Games, sharing how TTRPGs can positively impact student learning. His book Tabletop Role-Playing Games in the Classroom: Infusing Gameplay into K-12 Instruction was published by McFarland in 2025. For more about Adam, visit his personal site.
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.
Burkholder, Katie (2026 Mar 14) New app to facilitate community among LGBTQ+ Dungeons and Dragons players. https://roughdraftatlanta.com/2026/03/14/dungeons-not-dating-app. Dungeons Not Dating app helps marginalized players find comfortable game groups.
Campbell, Stephanie (2026 Mar 31) Tabletop RPG Classroom: In-Game Math Lesson for Elementary School Kids. https://www.ttrpgkids.com/2026/03/31/tabletop-rpg-classroom-in-game-math-lesson-for-elementary-school-kids. Planning, implementation, and examples.
Carter, Chase (2026 Mar 30) Esoteric Ebb’s tabletop roots travel deeper than the big ampersand. https://www.rascal.news/esoteric-ebbs-tabletop-roots-travel-deeper-than-the-big-ampersand. RPGs and older games influencing video games.
Collins, Jason (2026 Mar 23) From Cyberpsychos to Netrunners, Here is the Story of Mike Pondsmith, the True Mastermind Behind Cyberpunk. https://blackgirlnerds.com/from-cyberpsychos-to-netrunners-here-is-the-story-of-mike-pondsmith-the-true-mastermind-behind-cyberpunk. Some history of the game and its creator.
Derek B. (2026 Mar 17) Teaching Cairn to Kids. https://widdershinswanderings.bearblog.dev/teaching-cairn-to-kids. Insights from gaming with middle schoolers.
Ellis, Caelyn (2026 Mar 24) Sword World may no longer be revolutionary, but Japan’s dominant fantasy RPG is still more than a historical curiosity. https://www.rascal.news/sword-world-may-no-longer-be-revolutionary-but-japans-dominant-fantasy-rpg-is-still-more-than-a-historical-curiosity. Legacy of a playful Japanese RPG.
Girdwood, Andrew (2026 Mar 2) Why the MoD is using Elite Dangerous writers to plan for 2122. https://www.geeknative.com/226894/why-the-mod-is-using-elite-dangerous-writers-to-plan-for-2122. UK government planning and playing out future challenges.
Girdwood, Andrew (2026 Mar 21) The price of immortality: Jason Carl and Mark Meer lead $8,000 vampire experience in Los Angeles. https://www.geeknative.com/228578/the-price-of-immortality-jason-carl-and-mark-meer-lead-8000-vampire-experience-in-los-angeles. Live action celebrities play in the World of Darkness.
Girdwood, Andrew (2026 Mar 31) New research links high complexity gaming to social wellbeing. https://www.geeknative.com/230420/new-research-links-high-complexity-gaming-to-social-wellbeing. Debates about complexity, challenges, and the benefits of difficult play.
Hutton, Christopher (2026 Mar 22) Foundry VTT Bans “Prepared” AI Content in Updated Policy. https://www.ttrpginsider.news/p/news-roundup-hunters-entertainment-in-2026-and-gygax-greyhawk#foundry-vtt-bans-prepared-ai-conten. Virtual platform updates for AI.
Jade Inverarity (2026 Feb 24) Why I Don’t Trust People Who Won’t Roleplay Sex Scenes: On Attitudes Toward Safety Tools, Consent, and Predation in the RPG Hobby. http://www.moonglummedia.com/2026/02/why-i-dont-trust-people-who-wont.html. The ongoing nature of safety conversations at the table and creating community.
Joe, Antonio & Ruiz Ezquerro (2026 Mar 11) Guiding the Game: A Model for How Facilitation, Psychological Safety, Cohesion, and Creativity are Interrelated in Dungeons & Dragons Groups. https://journals.uu.se/IJRP/article/view/677. Investigating facilitation, clarity, cohesion, support, and creativity.
Kyriakoudis, Nikolaos (2026 Mar 29) TTRPGs, ADHD, Autism, and Families. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvMw12e6DXw&t=1395s. Mental health and learning with RPGs.
MacDougall, Nico (2026 Mar 12) February 2026 TTRPG Crowdfunding Retrospective. https://ttrpg-spider.blogspot.com/2026/03/february-2026-ttrpg-crowdfunding.html. Zine-month promotions plateau.
Manuel, Thomas (2026 Mar 17) How do the deals for licensed games happen. https://www.rascal.news/how-do-the-deals-for-licensed-games-happen. License complexities.
Manuel, Thomas (2026 Mar 20) An RPG community in Iraq takes their first steps outside D&D. https://www.rascal.news/an-rpg-community-in-iraq-takes-their-first-steps-outside-d-d. Board and Beyond organizes face-to-face play in Baghdad.
McKenzie, Brian, Bret Zawilski, James Beirne (2026 Mar 11) Concealed Conscientization: A Case Study of a Commercial Dungeons & Dragons Adventure. https://journals.uu.se/IJRP/article/view/679. Designing game scenarios with critical theory and intent for a wide audience.
Morrissey, Russ (2026 Mar 2) &D 2024 Is Now OFFICIALLY Called “5.5e”. https://www.enworld.org/threads/d-d-2024-is-now-officially-called-5-5e.718185. Community usage leads to official designation.
Orchard, Martin (2026 Mar 21) 60 systems and 600 sessions. 3 years in the life of a TTRPG meetup. https://pointlessmonument.blot.im/60-systems-and-600-sessions-3-years-in-the-life-of-a-ttrpg-meetup. Coordinating meetup play in Bristol, UK.
Plante, Corey (2026 Mar 26) This D&D-themed vacation lets you explore on horseback and solve mysteries by the campfire. https://www.polygon.com/dnd-dungeons-dragons-event-millbrooke-realmquest-horseback-riding-event. Millbrooke Realmquest blends D&D, LARP, and horseback riding.
Sperl, Geoffrey (2026 Mar 3) Why I Brought TTRPGs to English Class. https://blog.roll20.net/posts/guest-blog-ttrpgs-in-english-class. Supporting student play and learning.
Tresca, Mike (2026 Mar 23) Me vs. the Mob. https://www.enworld.org/threads/rpg-evolution-me-vs-the-mob.718165. Managing suddenly large groups in the brave new world of face-to-face gaming.
Warren, Nate (2026 Mar 4) First Tabletop Game Certified With Anti-AI Human Intelligence®. https://www.rascal.news/first-tabletop-game-certified-with-anti-ai-human-intelligence-r. Walton Wood and Rugose Kohn are humans making games and certifying it as so.
© Copyright 2026 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.