In recent years, the TTRPG community has come together to raise funds for charities and organizations that help fight for the dignity and rights of transgender people in America. The latest of these bundles, dubbed TTRPGs for Trans Rights – Ohio, focuses on raising money for charitable organizations in Ohio due to the state’s legislators introducing a terrifying number of bills aimed at demonizing and stripping rights from the state’s transgender residents.
This bundle, consisting of 467 games, raises money for TransOhio, a group “dedicated to protecting and advancing the rights of trans, nonbinary, intersex, and gender nonconforming people in Ohio,” and Kaleidoscope Youth Center, the largest and longest-standing organization in Ohio solely dedicated to serving and supporting LGBTQIA+ youth.
Knowing where to start with these bundles can often feel overwhelming. So, here are several of my personal favorites from the TTRPGs for Trans Rights – Ohio bundle, ones that are perfect for both long-time TTRPG fans and those just dipping their toes into the medium.
Eyes On The Prize
A Courtly Game About Fake Marriages
Ira Prince’s Eyes On The Prize is a game about romance and courtly drama. The game casts players as two troublemakers forced to pose as a married couple at a party to get what they want. However, this plan isn’t as simple as it sounds, as the court’s rules are complex, and one wrong step could lead to social exile.
But this is far from the players’ only worry, as one wrong move could lead to the characters’ deception being revealed. Even worse, there is a chance the characters could start believing in their own lie and end up falling in love for real, causing even more chaos!
Gutterpunk the TTRPG
Rock The World And Smash The System
Gutterpunk puts a unique, counter-culture twist on the isekai format. Each player takes control of a punk who has been transported to a strange world dubbed Gutter. While this sprawling metropolitan reality may look familiar, it is vastly different from our Earth because it is full of magic, weird beings, and a looming authority that aims to enforce conformity in any way it can.
What makes Gutterpinks stand out is its unique but intuitive Riffs dice system. This music-inspired resolution system perfectly balances complexity and intuitiveness, giving fantastic storytelling freedom while still being easy for new players to pick up. Combine this with some excellent writing and a wonderful zine-inspired visual style, and you’re left with a game that feels like a true punk masterpiece.
IMMORTAL GAMBIT
Finally, Everyone Can Get In The Robot
Proudly wearing its Gundam Wing and Evangelion influences on its sleeve, IMMORTAL GAMBIT is a mech game that aims to be simple to pick up and play. At the start of the game, each player selects a role from a selection that includes options like Pilot, Battleship Captain, Rival, and Faction Leader.
After this, each player selects a goal. However, unlike in similar games, players keep their goals a secret. A D20 is rolled at the start of every round, and the players secretly vote to raise or lower the number. If the final number matches the number associated with your goal, you gain a point and move one step closer to victory. This leads to a tense but fast-paced social deduction game with a surprising amount of depth as players try to work out who they can trust and try to work out how other players will vote.
Cult Of The Drive-In
Make Your Dream Silver Screen
The drive-in movie theater is still a beloved and romanticized institution despite becoming a rare sight in many parts of the world. Brian Transplant’s Cult Of The Drive-In is a solo game that aims to let players live the dream of running a drive-in theater. At the start of each in-game weekend, players draw a card to find the genre of that weekend’s films and any events that may affect their cinema’s attendance. The player then picks what films they want to show and writes a journal entry explaining why they selected those specific films and how they fit with the overall theme of the weekend.
While this is a solo game, the fact that players are asked to pick real-world movies means that this would be a great game to play alongside friends so everyone can discover new movies they may not have heard of.
Uncaging Nicolas
The Nicolas Cage Heist That Will Take Your Face/Off
Sometimes, a TTRPG sells itself on its premise alone, and Uncaging Nicolas is the perfect example of this. In this game, Nicolas Cage has been imprisoned within a multiverse created from his numerous films, forcing a gang of his most famous characters to track him down and return him to the film he’s meant to be in.
This game’s commitment to the bit is impressive. Rather than a character class, your stats and abilities are decided by which Nicolas Cage character you choose to play as (with the game coming with 8 pre-built options, including Cages from Con Air, Face Off, Ghost Rider, and Kickass) and the game is packed with references to his work. Combine this with the game’s pick-up and play nature, and Uncaging Nicolas cements itself as the perfect thing for impromptu game nights.
Next Top Jester!
Jingle Your Bells And Win The King’s Eye
Jesters are experiencing a meme renaissance, so it’s only natural that many TTRPG groups want to put themselves in the bell-covered shoes of the kingdom’s most famous mirth-makers. In Lloyd L. Lynnea’s Next Top Jester, players are cast as unemployed Jesters who have turned up at a newly-appointed King’s court hoping to land themselves a gig. However, the King will only hire one person, forcing all the jesters to compete for the King’s attention.
Over three rounds, each player will have to devise an act for the Jester and then flip coins to discover how well the Jester pulls it off. Naturally, this leads to chaotic chaos as the Jesters constantly try to one-up each other, only for unexpected things to go wrong. A simple narrative game, Next Top Jester! is the perfect title for people looking to dip their toes into the world of storytelling-focused TTRPGs.
Dinocar
A Charming Arts And Crafts Adventure For The Whole Family
Dinocar is set in a whimsical (almost Richard Scarry-esq) world where dinosaurs live among humans. Alas, the life of a modern dinosaur isn’t easy, as many everyday objects (including cars) are not built for them. A game of Dinocar is split into different stages. In the first stage, the players get a big piece of paper and draw a map featuring natural landmarks and human structures before connecting these locations with roads.
After this, one player is blindfolded and, with help from the other players, is tasked with drawing a line that hits as many landmarks as possible while remaining on the previously drawn road. Dinocar is one of my favorite TTRPGs of the last few years, as it’s super accessible and fun for kids and grown-ups alike. So, if you’ve not played it, it’s worth picking up the TTRPGs for Trans Rights – Ohio bundle to get a copy.
Games Featured Elsewhere On The Site
A few games included within the TTRPGs for Trans Rights – Ohio bundle have previously been covered on Library Of Words. So, if you want to learn more about them, you can check out their dedicated articles.
