Playtest Material

Latest — 26 Sep 2026

Sitting Down and Telling Stories: learning TTRPG skills from Rakugo

What do tabletop role-playing games have in common with Japanese sit-down comedy? In this article, D. "Zhen" C. explores the art of Rakugo and explains how TTRPG GMs and players can learn from its structured storytelling techniques.

Spectating Play: Theatre, RPGs, and Critical Spectatorship

Nicholas Orvis discusses the links between theatre and role-playing; what it means to perform and to watch others performing.

Playtest Material launches its first ever subscription drive

Playtest Material needs 75 subscribers to break even — one of those could be you.

Issue One of Playtest Material: A look inside our pages

I’m thrilled today to be able to say that the layout for the first issue of Playtest Material is complete. Though there are still refinements to be made, (proofreading, reference checking and final layout shifts) we’re looking at almost 100 pages and over 44,000 words of analysis,

Role-playing Games Are Raucous and Transformative

Introductions from the editors to the first issue of Playtest Material.

Determining a Melodramatic Sensibility in Tabletop Role-playing Games

Kayla Dice presents an argument for the existence of a developing melodramatic sensibility within TTRPGS, based on the analytic criteria of heightened emotionality, pathos, and meaningful dichotomies.

Disability, Dignity, and Hope in Apocalypse Keys

Luka Brave writes about Apocalypse Keys' monstrous PCs as a metaphor for the disability community, and hones in on Robert Perske's concept of "dignity of risk," which states that vulnerable groups, should be allowed the freedom to weigh the potential risks of a choice for themselves.

Polyhedral Diegesis: Mimicry, Narration, and the Linguistic Turn in TTRPGs

Benjamin Klug writes about classical concepts of mimesis and diegesis, applying them to analyse the language games played during a TTRPG.

Issue Two: Histories

It’s my great honour as guest editor to introduce the second issue of Playtest Material, “Histories.” The call for submissions for this issue will open to the public September 15 and close October 15. Call for Submissions We welcome work engaging with historical memory, historiography, archival practice, nostalgia, lineage,

First Look: Writing the Strange: An Interview with Elizabeth Little

This interview, with Elizabeth Little, creator of You Will Die In This Place, was conducted for a piece on lyric games for Playtest Material Issue One.

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