Nat Mesnard
@natmesnard.bsky.social
Game designer, writer, teacher in NYC. Co-founder Scryptid Games & Unquiet Games. They/them 🤖 natmesnard.com
Pinned
Nat Mesnard
@natmesnard.bsky.social
· Dec 1
Today on Edge Effects, @natmesnard.bsky.social reflects on their new table top role-playing game Assemblages: the strange creatures players create for its imaginary multispecies universe and the meditation they elicit on extinction, grief, and collaborative, queer survival in the Anthropocene. ♟️🍄
Role-Playing Queer Assemblages Amidst Capitalist Ruins - Edge Effects
Ecologically inspired role-playing game Assemblages is a meditation on extinction, grief, and collaborative, queer survival.
edgeeffects.net
If you picked up Assemblage at PAX Unplugged and wanna read more about it, I have this exceedingly nerdy design diary / personal essay up over on @edgeeffectsmag.bsky.social 🍄
Reposted by Nat Mesnard
New York friends, come hang out with me in Brooklyn on 1/31!
Join Scryptid Games and @natmesnard.bsky.social on 1/31 for the Assemblage game release party at Twenty Sided Store in Brooklyn, NY! twentysidedstore.com/collections/...
Spotlight | Assemblage Eco-Storytelling Release Party
Come celebrate the release of Assemblage, Nat Mesnard's TTRPG of world-building and world-breaking. We'll kick off at 4p with a short design talk between Nat and a featured guest. Then at 5p join a t...
twentysidedstore.com
January 12, 2026 at 1:22 AM
New York friends, come hang out with me in Brooklyn on 1/31!
Reposted by Nat Mesnard
Join Scryptid Games and @natmesnard.bsky.social on 1/31 for the Assemblage game release party at Twenty Sided Store in Brooklyn, NY! twentysidedstore.com/collections/...
Spotlight | Assemblage Eco-Storytelling Release Party
Come celebrate the release of Assemblage, Nat Mesnard's TTRPG of world-building and world-breaking. We'll kick off at 4p with a short design talk between Nat and a featured guest. Then at 5p join a t...
twentysidedstore.com
January 12, 2026 at 1:21 AM
Join Scryptid Games and @natmesnard.bsky.social on 1/31 for the Assemblage game release party at Twenty Sided Store in Brooklyn, NY! twentysidedstore.com/collections/...
Reposted by Nat Mesnard
Get ready for Tales from the Cryptids! We are crowdfunding our first anthology in February 2026! Edited by @brigittewinter.bsky.social, this collection of TTRPGs, fiction, poetry, and other uncanny ephemera flips the lens on conventional cryptid lore: tinyurl.com/cryptidtales.
Get Ready for Tales from the Cryptids: Games, Stories, & Uncanny Ephemera
From Scryptid Games - Get Ready for Tales from the Cryptids: Games, Stories, & Uncanny Ephemera
tinyurl.com
January 5, 2026 at 10:06 PM
Get ready for Tales from the Cryptids! We are crowdfunding our first anthology in February 2026! Edited by @brigittewinter.bsky.social, this collection of TTRPGs, fiction, poetry, and other uncanny ephemera flips the lens on conventional cryptid lore: tinyurl.com/cryptidtales.
NarraScope submissions are open, and you have a month to get your talks, games, etc. in! Don't sleep on it!
📣 NarraScope 2026 submissions are open! This year NarraScope will feature three different areas for submission: our classic talks, the second year of our game Showcase, and the debut of The Experience. 🧵(1/4)
January 2, 2026 at 5:33 PM
NarraScope submissions are open, and you have a month to get your talks, games, etc. in! Don't sleep on it!
Reposted by Nat Mesnard
We are delighted to announce that #NarraScope 2026 will take place this year from June 12th-14th at the University at Albany! We'll be collaborating w/ the @albany.edu #UAlbany Game Center, and its Director @jcorace.bsky.social 🎉
narrascope.org/blog/post/20...
narrascope.org/blog/post/20...
NarraScope 2026 | Blog | Welcome to Albany
NarraScope is a conference that brings together the writers, developers, scholars, and players of interactive narrative.
narrascope.org
January 2, 2026 at 5:19 PM
We are delighted to announce that #NarraScope 2026 will take place this year from June 12th-14th at the University at Albany! We'll be collaborating w/ the @albany.edu #UAlbany Game Center, and its Director @jcorace.bsky.social 🎉
narrascope.org/blog/post/20...
narrascope.org/blog/post/20...
Reposted by Nat Mesnard
Celebrating the official launch of Assemblage, a new TTRPG of world building and world breaking by @natmesnard.bsky.social, with this inspiring Tabletopped Podcast episode about the challenges and rewards of creating truly collaborative play spaces. tinyurl.com/4mt7zn8c
December 29, 2025 at 6:46 PM
Celebrating the official launch of Assemblage, a new TTRPG of world building and world breaking by @natmesnard.bsky.social, with this inspiring Tabletopped Podcast episode about the challenges and rewards of creating truly collaborative play spaces. tinyurl.com/4mt7zn8c
Yes! Love to see @scryptidgames.bsky.social titles in indie bookstores 🎉 And @games.mothspire.com nearby 💖
Looking for a last-minute gift for the gamer in your life? Check out the locally-designed games at your neighborhood book, comic, or game shop!
Here in the DMV, @peoplesbooktakoma.com *just* restocked with indie zines after selling out earlier in the season -- come and get them!
Here in the DMV, @peoplesbooktakoma.com *just* restocked with indie zines after selling out earlier in the season -- come and get them!
December 24, 2025 at 12:21 AM
Yes! Love to see @scryptidgames.bsky.social titles in indie bookstores 🎉 And @games.mothspire.com nearby 💖
Reposted by Nat Mesnard
Lovely write-up in Gay City News for @juliewbach.bsky.social and their bookstore Hive Mind Books.
Queer bookstore Hive Mind Books builds community in Brooklyn
At the start of last summer, shortly after Kaitlyn Crockett moved to New York City, she opened her smartphone and searched for the nearest locations matching
gaycitynews.com
December 23, 2025 at 11:00 PM
Lovely write-up in Gay City News for @juliewbach.bsky.social and their bookstore Hive Mind Books.
Reposted by Nat Mesnard
Any day a package from @scryptidgames.bsky.social arrives is a great day! I’m really excited to dive into Assemblage by @natmesnard.bsky.social.
December 23, 2025 at 9:40 PM
Any day a package from @scryptidgames.bsky.social arrives is a great day! I’m really excited to dive into Assemblage by @natmesnard.bsky.social.
I'm so glad it's in your hands @czamboni.bsky.social! Can't wait to hear what you think of the design ☺️
Just before departing for Italy, this beautiful game by @natmesnard.bsky.social and @scryptidgames.bsky.social arrived, so I can bring it with me!
I tried this at Metatopia in 2024 and it was great - I'm looking forward to seeing what has changed!
🌏❤️
#ttrpg
I tried this at Metatopia in 2024 and it was great - I'm looking forward to seeing what has changed!
🌏❤️
#ttrpg
December 21, 2025 at 5:23 PM
I'm so glad it's in your hands @czamboni.bsky.social! Can't wait to hear what you think of the design ☺️
Reposted by Nat Mesnard
'Tis the season for hot chocolate, cozy blankets, and the itch.io Winter Sale! Check out our game discounts and core game bundle going on now until January 5th ☃️🏷
itch.io/s/175924/win...
itch.io/s/175924/win...
December 17, 2025 at 8:45 PM
'Tis the season for hot chocolate, cozy blankets, and the itch.io Winter Sale! Check out our game discounts and core game bundle going on now until January 5th ☃️🏷
itch.io/s/175924/win...
itch.io/s/175924/win...
Reposted by Nat Mesnard
Winter sale! ❄️ Scryptid Games products are 30% off this month on itch.io/s/175091/win...!
Winter Sale 2025 by Scryptid Games
A bundle by Scryptid Games, $28.00 for 4 games
itch.io
December 17, 2025 at 8:05 PM
Winter sale! ❄️ Scryptid Games products are 30% off this month on itch.io/s/175091/win...!
A delightful release party and a delightful worldbuilding game!
Have you heard about A Land Once Magic?
Check out this great new game by @vidityavoleti.bsky.social, published by @moreblueberries.bsky.social
From the ALOM release party at The Twenty Sided Store in Brooklyn
alomrpg.world
Check out this great new game by @vidityavoleti.bsky.social, published by @moreblueberries.bsky.social
From the ALOM release party at The Twenty Sided Store in Brooklyn
alomrpg.world
December 15, 2025 at 2:13 PM
A delightful release party and a delightful worldbuilding game!
Reposted by Nat Mesnard
The 2026 Narrascope website is live!
narrascope.org
narrascope.org
NarraScope 2026 | A Hybrid Conference on Interactive Narrative
NarraScope is a conference that brings together the writers, developers, scholars, and players of interactive narrative.
narrascope.org
December 9, 2025 at 8:09 PM
The 2026 Narrascope website is live!
narrascope.org
narrascope.org
Reposted by Nat Mesnard
@natmesnard.bsky.social & I had a great time chatting with Zoey on True Avatars, her weekly podcast about queer games! It was a fun convo that got into some serious issues - from puzzle design & “MetroidBrainias,” to fascism & queer erasure. Find the full interview (both audio & video) linked below!
A lot of queer media is at risk of being removed right now, so I spoke to two devs who are making Banned Together, a first person puzzle game about queer books mysteriously disappearing from the shelves of a library
Video version HERE (other platforms in thread):
youtu.be/C5wsBatoc_0
Video version HERE (other platforms in thread):
youtu.be/C5wsBatoc_0
Ep. 63 - Interview with Unquiet Games: When Your Game About Censorship is at Risk of Being Censored
YouTube video by True Avatars - A Queer Video Game Podcast
youtu.be
December 9, 2025 at 4:16 AM
@natmesnard.bsky.social & I had a great time chatting with Zoey on True Avatars, her weekly podcast about queer games! It was a fun convo that got into some serious issues - from puzzle design & “MetroidBrainias,” to fascism & queer erasure. Find the full interview (both audio & video) linked below!
Who can point me to some TTRPGs that use a physical component *other than* dice, cards, and tarot? I'm thinking games like Dread, only not Jenga. Give me your recs!
December 3, 2025 at 3:52 PM
Who can point me to some TTRPGs that use a physical component *other than* dice, cards, and tarot? I'm thinking games like Dread, only not Jenga. Give me your recs!
Reposted by Nat Mesnard
If you picked up Assemblage at PAX Unplugged and wanna read more about it, I have this exceedingly nerdy design diary / personal essay up over on @edgeeffectsmag.bsky.social 🍄
Today on Edge Effects, @natmesnard.bsky.social reflects on their new table top role-playing game Assemblages: the strange creatures players create for its imaginary multispecies universe and the meditation they elicit on extinction, grief, and collaborative, queer survival in the Anthropocene. ♟️🍄
December 1, 2025 at 1:47 AM
If you picked up Assemblage at PAX Unplugged and wanna read more about it, I have this exceedingly nerdy design diary / personal essay up over on @edgeeffectsmag.bsky.social 🍄
Today on Edge Effects, @natmesnard.bsky.social reflects on their new table top role-playing game Assemblages: the strange creatures players create for its imaginary multispecies universe and the meditation they elicit on extinction, grief, and collaborative, queer survival in the Anthropocene. ♟️🍄
Role-Playing Queer Assemblages Amidst Capitalist Ruins - Edge Effects
Ecologically inspired role-playing game Assemblages is a meditation on extinction, grief, and collaborative, queer survival.
edgeeffects.net
December 1, 2025 at 1:27 AM
If you picked up Assemblage at PAX Unplugged and wanna read more about it, I have this exceedingly nerdy design diary / personal essay up over on @edgeeffectsmag.bsky.social 🍄
Oooh, this haul also looks so so good 🤩
December 1, 2025 at 1:23 AM
Oooh, this haul also looks so so good 🤩
Delighted to see Assemblage amidst this enticing haul, being its RPG-in-a-box self at center along w/ so many indie friends! 🍄
December reading.
Some of this is re-reading, to be fair. A lot of this job is thumbing through games and then seeing which are the ones I can't stop thinking about
Some of this is re-reading, to be fair. A lot of this job is thumbing through games and then seeing which are the ones I can't stop thinking about
November 30, 2025 at 11:38 PM
Delighted to see Assemblage amidst this enticing haul, being its RPG-in-a-box self at center along w/ so many indie friends! 🍄
Reposted by Nat Mesnard
I’m editing an anthology! And it’s about cryptids! 👀 This is a dream project for me, and I can’t wait to share this book of games, stories, poems, and other uncanny ephemera with you. Follow the project on Backerkit to learn more.
We are crowdfunding our first anthology! Tales from the Cryptids will launch on Backerkit for Zinetopia in February 2026. Follow the project to be the first to know when it goes live: bit.ly/3XVa94n.
November 29, 2025 at 7:47 PM
I’m editing an anthology! And it’s about cryptids! 👀 This is a dream project for me, and I can’t wait to share this book of games, stories, poems, and other uncanny ephemera with you. Follow the project on Backerkit to learn more.
Reposted by Nat Mesnard
We are crowdfunding our first anthology! Tales from the Cryptids will launch on Backerkit for Zinetopia in February 2026. Follow the project to be the first to know when it goes live: bit.ly/3XVa94n.
November 29, 2025 at 7:44 PM
We are crowdfunding our first anthology! Tales from the Cryptids will launch on Backerkit for Zinetopia in February 2026. Follow the project to be the first to know when it goes live: bit.ly/3XVa94n.
Reposted by Nat Mesnard
3 FT Lecturers of Game Design jobs at UAlbany
Open to game designers, developers, technical artists, narrative designers with a Master's.
Metro North is starting limited train service from Grand Central
albany.interviewexchange.com/jobofferdeta...
#gamejob #gamejobs
HT/ @jcorace.bsky.social
Open to game designers, developers, technical artists, narrative designers with a Master's.
Metro North is starting limited train service from Grand Central
albany.interviewexchange.com/jobofferdeta...
#gamejob #gamejobs
HT/ @jcorace.bsky.social
albany.interviewexchange.com
October 28, 2025 at 8:20 PM
3 FT Lecturers of Game Design jobs at UAlbany
Open to game designers, developers, technical artists, narrative designers with a Master's.
Metro North is starting limited train service from Grand Central
albany.interviewexchange.com/jobofferdeta...
#gamejob #gamejobs
HT/ @jcorace.bsky.social
Open to game designers, developers, technical artists, narrative designers with a Master's.
Metro North is starting limited train service from Grand Central
albany.interviewexchange.com/jobofferdeta...
#gamejob #gamejobs
HT/ @jcorace.bsky.social
I got to playtest this at Metatopia and it was an atmospheric delight. I love what this design team is doing with ritual space and immersion. ✨ Definitely a project to support!
HINTERLIGHT IS LIVE ON KICKSTARTER BABY!
Thanks a million to @plusoneexp.bsky.social and @rrookstudio.bsky.social and special thanks to @feralcharlie.bsky.social for the trailer!
ttrpg.link/hinterlight
Thanks a million to @plusoneexp.bsky.social and @rrookstudio.bsky.social and special thanks to @feralcharlie.bsky.social for the trailer!
ttrpg.link/hinterlight
Hinterlight
A gothic worldbuilding ritual & roleplaying game that sews seeds of adventure as you tell the tale of your demise!
ttrpg.link
November 18, 2025 at 7:03 PM
I got to playtest this at Metatopia and it was an atmospheric delight. I love what this design team is doing with ritual space and immersion. ✨ Definitely a project to support!
Reposted by Nat Mesnard
Thanks to Nat Mesnard and Lauren Bilanko for having us at their Game Design Days panel! We had a blast talking about media inspirations, playtesting, and how to pinpoint the fun in a game. Keep an eye out for other events at Twenty Sided Store, especially Nat’s Assemblage release party on 1/31!
November 17, 2025 at 5:48 PM
Thanks to Nat Mesnard and Lauren Bilanko for having us at their Game Design Days panel! We had a blast talking about media inspirations, playtesting, and how to pinpoint the fun in a game. Keep an eye out for other events at Twenty Sided Store, especially Nat’s Assemblage release party on 1/31!