Ben (he/him) {samovar games}
@playsamovar.bsky.social
Samovar Games is the publishing imprint of Ben Glickstein.
I'm excited to share my first game. Emissary is a GM-less storytelling game for 2-5 players, and a love letter to Ursula K. Le Guin’s Hainish Cycle.
https://samovargames.itch.io/emissary
I'm excited to share my first game. Emissary is a GM-less storytelling game for 2-5 players, and a love letter to Ursula K. Le Guin’s Hainish Cycle.
https://samovargames.itch.io/emissary
Reposted by Ben (he/him) {samovar games}
Before you get to the main expo hall, stop by the PAX Together Intersection Lounge in 201C - I spot some games Designed in the DMV here, from @greenintern.bsky.social, @playsamovar.bsky.social, and me!
Thank you @sidequestbooks.bsky.social for welcoming indie designers and games to the table!
Thank you @sidequestbooks.bsky.social for welcoming indie designers and games to the table!
November 21, 2025 at 2:48 PM
Before you get to the main expo hall, stop by the PAX Together Intersection Lounge in 201C - I spot some games Designed in the DMV here, from @greenintern.bsky.social, @playsamovar.bsky.social, and me!
Thank you @sidequestbooks.bsky.social for welcoming indie designers and games to the table!
Thank you @sidequestbooks.bsky.social for welcoming indie designers and games to the table!
238 games! at the @ipr.bsky.social table staffed by Pandemonium Games! at #PAXUnplugged! and one of them is Emissary, my GM-less story game inspired by the worlds and wanderers of Ursula K. Le Guin. Pay them a visit and grab your copy this weekend!
We'll be in #Booth3701 at #PaxUnplugged2025 this weekend in Philadelphia.
Here's a list of the 238 games from 119 member-publishers we'll have:
www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/PAX-Un...
Here's a list of the 238 games from 119 member-publishers we'll have:
www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/PAX-Un...
November 19, 2025 at 1:23 AM
238 games! at the @ipr.bsky.social table staffed by Pandemonium Games! at #PAXUnplugged! and one of them is Emissary, my GM-less story game inspired by the worlds and wanderers of Ursula K. Le Guin. Pay them a visit and grab your copy this weekend!
Emissary will be at @officialpax.bsky.social #PaxUnplugged in Philly next weekend! Drop by the @sidequestbooks.bsky.social table in the PTI Lounge to grab a copy while supplies last! I can't wait to hear what 🪐 worlds and 👣 wanderers you all cook up. #DesignedintheDMV #storygame
November 15, 2025 at 5:31 PM
Emissary will be at @officialpax.bsky.social #PaxUnplugged in Philly next weekend! Drop by the @sidequestbooks.bsky.social table in the PTI Lounge to grab a copy while supplies last! I can't wait to hear what 🪐 worlds and 👣 wanderers you all cook up. #DesignedintheDMV #storygame
Reposted by Ben (he/him) {samovar games}
If you're going to #PAXU, check out @sidequestbooks.bsky.social's booth! They'll be selling a whole mess of great independent RPGs, including my own! I'm terribly grateful to them for the opportunity to get my stuff out there!
November 15, 2025 at 2:49 AM
If you're going to #PAXU, check out @sidequestbooks.bsky.social's booth! They'll be selling a whole mess of great independent RPGs, including my own! I'm terribly grateful to them for the opportunity to get my stuff out there!
Reposted by Ben (he/him) {samovar games}
Happy drop weekend! New in the shop: Emissary by @playsamovar.bsky.social
🫱🏽🫲🏼
A GMless multiplayer storytelling RPG inspired by The Hainish Cycle, Ursula K Le Guin's stories of Hain-seeded human(ish) worlds. Guide an Emissary from Here (their world) to There (a fantastic and mysterious new world)
🫱🏽🫲🏼
A GMless multiplayer storytelling RPG inspired by The Hainish Cycle, Ursula K Le Guin's stories of Hain-seeded human(ish) worlds. Guide an Emissary from Here (their world) to There (a fantastic and mysterious new world)
November 9, 2025 at 9:01 PM
Happy drop weekend! New in the shop: Emissary by @playsamovar.bsky.social
🫱🏽🫲🏼
A GMless multiplayer storytelling RPG inspired by The Hainish Cycle, Ursula K Le Guin's stories of Hain-seeded human(ish) worlds. Guide an Emissary from Here (their world) to There (a fantastic and mysterious new world)
🫱🏽🫲🏼
A GMless multiplayer storytelling RPG inspired by The Hainish Cycle, Ursula K Le Guin's stories of Hain-seeded human(ish) worlds. Guide an Emissary from Here (their world) to There (a fantastic and mysterious new world)
Omg the second coolest thing about being included in the @knaveofcups.com catalogue is getting to see your product against one of their impeccably selected backdrops 😍 🌌
Got a whole crew ready to play? We grabbed...
👻Camp Snallygaster by @pandiongames.com - a nostalgic 90s summer camp horror game built on quick roll over/under system Lasers & Feelings
🚀Emissary by @playsamovar.bsky.social - a collaborative storytelling game about a curious visitor to a new place
👻Camp Snallygaster by @pandiongames.com - a nostalgic 90s summer camp horror game built on quick roll over/under system Lasers & Feelings
🚀Emissary by @playsamovar.bsky.social - a collaborative storytelling game about a curious visitor to a new place
November 7, 2025 at 4:32 PM
Omg the second coolest thing about being included in the @knaveofcups.com catalogue is getting to see your product against one of their impeccably selected backdrops 😍 🌌
I made digital download key bookmarks for physical copies of Emissary I’m selling locally. On the back I dropped 20 more Nonsense Words. That’s a 20% increase in nonsense words from base Emissary! Get yours this weekend at Game Kastle’s Goblin Market gamekastle.eventcalendarapp.com/u/46429/2o5l...
October 28, 2025 at 11:26 PM
I made digital download key bookmarks for physical copies of Emissary I’m selling locally. On the back I dropped 20 more Nonsense Words. That’s a 20% increase in nonsense words from base Emissary! Get yours this weekend at Game Kastle’s Goblin Market gamekastle.eventcalendarapp.com/u/46429/2o5l...
My haul from the @peoplesbooktakoma.com Indie Game Fair last weekend! I can’t wait to dig in.
October 22, 2025 at 12:13 AM
My haul from the @peoplesbooktakoma.com Indie Game Fair last weekend! I can’t wait to dig in.
Wonderful Indie Tabletop Fair today at @peoplesbooktakoma.com talking to people about Emissary and hearing some great speakers.
October 19, 2025 at 1:13 AM
Wonderful Indie Tabletop Fair today at @peoplesbooktakoma.com talking to people about Emissary and hearing some great speakers.
Reposted by Ben (he/him) {samovar games}
Weather looks great for our outdoor tabletop games fair on Saturday 10/18! ☀️ Swing by from 12-4 to meet local designers and join us for a moderated discussion between three established gamer designers inside People's Book at 4pm!
October 17, 2025 at 8:03 PM
Weather looks great for our outdoor tabletop games fair on Saturday 10/18! ☀️ Swing by from 12-4 to meet local designers and join us for a moderated discussion between three established gamer designers inside People's Book at 4pm!
Thanks Gene for repping Emissary! DMV folks, come out to @peoplesbooktakoma.com on Saturday 10/18 to check it out!
Once you start going to local tabletop design events you start realizing how many people make games, some right in your own hometown. @playsamovar.bsky.social is someone I'm delighted to share a neighborhood with. Come check out his love letter to Ursula Le Guin's Hainish cycle:
1/▶️
1/▶️
October 7, 2025 at 11:59 AM
Thanks Gene for repping Emissary! DMV folks, come out to @peoplesbooktakoma.com on Saturday 10/18 to check it out!
I finally finished @stickydoodler.bsky.social’s Bonsai Diary. Truly a mind-expanding experience to think forward six generations, especially in this moment that is so steeped in despair.
October 3, 2025 at 12:42 PM
I finally finished @stickydoodler.bsky.social’s Bonsai Diary. Truly a mind-expanding experience to think forward six generations, especially in this moment that is so steeped in despair.
October 18, People’s Book in Takoma Park! Hear from the creator of Fluxx and many more. Buy local board games, card games, roleplaying games, and zones!
🚨 Alert! Games! Alert! 🚨
October 1, 2025 at 12:39 AM
October 18, People’s Book in Takoma Park! Hear from the creator of Fluxx and many more. Buy local board games, card games, roleplaying games, and zones!
Reposted by Ben (he/him) {samovar games}
Indie Tabletop Day at Pure Panic Comics and Games is in just over a week!
Games, vending, panels!
Sept 28th!
Silver Spring, MD
Check out the deets in the link below and sign up to play some games.
Tell your friends!
www.designedinthedmv.org/indie-tablet...
Games, vending, panels!
Sept 28th!
Silver Spring, MD
Check out the deets in the link below and sign up to play some games.
Tell your friends!
www.designedinthedmv.org/indie-tablet...
Indie Tabletop Day!
Green Intern Games Hartly Samovar Games StickerDoodle Games
www.designedinthedmv.org
September 19, 2025 at 2:44 PM
Indie Tabletop Day at Pure Panic Comics and Games is in just over a week!
Games, vending, panels!
Sept 28th!
Silver Spring, MD
Check out the deets in the link below and sign up to play some games.
Tell your friends!
www.designedinthedmv.org/indie-tablet...
Games, vending, panels!
Sept 28th!
Silver Spring, MD
Check out the deets in the link below and sign up to play some games.
Tell your friends!
www.designedinthedmv.org/indie-tablet...
Come check out our little mini-convention with vendors, panels, and game demonstrations highlighting locally-designed tabletop roleplaying games!! There is so much creativity going on #DesignedInTheDMV
August 26, 2025 at 1:45 PM
Come check out our little mini-convention with vendors, panels, and game demonstrations highlighting locally-designed tabletop roleplaying games!! There is so much creativity going on #DesignedInTheDMV
! @ipr.bsky.social is selling Emissary at PAX West, bringing this game to the PNW, home of Le Guin’s worldbuilding.
Also #DesignedintheDMV stuff by @goblinmixtape.bsky.social, @scryptidgames.bsky.social, @tomahawkbunny.bsky.social (who did I miss?)
www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/PAX-We...
Also #DesignedintheDMV stuff by @goblinmixtape.bsky.social, @scryptidgames.bsky.social, @tomahawkbunny.bsky.social (who did I miss?)
www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/PAX-We...
PAX West 2025 :: IPR
Indie Press Revolution (IPR) is a direct sales network of quality independent publishers, dedicated to bringing you the best of small press tabletop roleplaying and storytelling games.
www.indiepressrevolution.com
August 24, 2025 at 7:38 PM
! @ipr.bsky.social is selling Emissary at PAX West, bringing this game to the PNW, home of Le Guin’s worldbuilding.
Also #DesignedintheDMV stuff by @goblinmixtape.bsky.social, @scryptidgames.bsky.social, @tomahawkbunny.bsky.social (who did I miss?)
www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/PAX-We...
Also #DesignedintheDMV stuff by @goblinmixtape.bsky.social, @scryptidgames.bsky.social, @tomahawkbunny.bsky.social (who did I miss?)
www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/PAX-We...
I’ve been toying with a room-by-room exploration game idea recently so of course I had to try out Moon Rings by @junkfoodgames.bsky.social! I loved my journey and the story that emerged. Shout out to the Madame Zostra figurine from Betrayal at House on the Hill for being my Witch.
August 6, 2025 at 11:36 AM
I’ve been toying with a room-by-room exploration game idea recently so of course I had to try out Moon Rings by @junkfoodgames.bsky.social! I loved my journey and the story that emerged. Shout out to the Madame Zostra figurine from Betrayal at House on the Hill for being my Witch.
Emissary is now available on @ipr.bsky.social!!
www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/Emissa...
You are a visitor. A lit match thrown into a world of tinder.
Tell your own story of discovery, diplomacy, and dialogue in the style of Ursula K. Le Guin’s Hainish cycle.
#GenCon #TTRPG #zine
www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/Emissa...
You are a visitor. A lit match thrown into a world of tinder.
Tell your own story of discovery, diplomacy, and dialogue in the style of Ursula K. Le Guin’s Hainish cycle.
#GenCon #TTRPG #zine
Emissary: A Story Game Inspired by Ursula K. Le Guin
YouTube video by Ben Glickstein
m.youtube.com
July 31, 2025 at 4:31 PM
Emissary is now available on @ipr.bsky.social!!
www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/Emissa...
You are a visitor. A lit match thrown into a world of tinder.
Tell your own story of discovery, diplomacy, and dialogue in the style of Ursula K. Le Guin’s Hainish cycle.
#GenCon #TTRPG #zine
www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/Emissa...
You are a visitor. A lit match thrown into a world of tinder.
Tell your own story of discovery, diplomacy, and dialogue in the style of Ursula K. Le Guin’s Hainish cycle.
#GenCon #TTRPG #zine
New!
Emissary is a GM-less storytelling game for 3-5 players, and a love letter to Ursula K. Le Guin's Hainish Cycle.
www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/Emissa...
Emissary is a GM-less storytelling game for 3-5 players, and a love letter to Ursula K. Le Guin's Hainish Cycle.
www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/Emissa...
July 31, 2025 at 1:27 AM
Sadly Emissary didn’t make it into IPR’s system soon enough to make it to GenCon, but they’ll have 184(!!) indie games including a bunch #DesignedintheDMV! Check them out below:
Here's the list of 184 products from 108 of our member publishers we'll have in #Booth449 at #GenCon2025, including a link to download
a 36 page PDF or ePub with short descriptions of all of them, in case you wanted a little travel reading.
www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/Gen-Co...
a 36 page PDF or ePub with short descriptions of all of them, in case you wanted a little travel reading.
www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/Gen-Co...
July 30, 2025 at 1:03 AM
Sadly Emissary didn’t make it into IPR’s system soon enough to make it to GenCon, but they’ll have 184(!!) indie games including a bunch #DesignedintheDMV! Check them out below:
For Emissary's BxW illustrations, the wonderful Nick Bosworth helped conjure the feeling of simultaneously *exploring* and *imagining* a world. His solid, anonymous figures interact with loose, sketchy environments that feel like they're still being drafted.
July 19, 2025 at 1:55 AM
For Emissary's BxW illustrations, the wonderful Nick Bosworth helped conjure the feeling of simultaneously *exploring* and *imagining* a world. His solid, anonymous figures interact with loose, sketchy environments that feel like they're still being drafted.
100 copies packed up and shipped to @ipr.bsky.social! I can’t wait for Emissary to reach retailers all over the country!
July 12, 2025 at 1:57 PM
100 copies packed up and shipped to @ipr.bsky.social! I can’t wait for Emissary to reach retailers all over the country!
Reposted by Ben (he/him) {samovar games}
Hey #ttrpg land.
#PbtA fans.
#gamers
Our game is nearly funded. $305 away from our $10,000 goal.
I think this game is amazing and so do most people who have read the manuscript (everyone who's told me says they like it)
Come join us?
www.kickstarter.com/projects/hig...
#PbtA fans.
#gamers
Our game is nearly funded. $305 away from our $10,000 goal.
I think this game is amazing and so do most people who have read the manuscript (everyone who's told me says they like it)
Come join us?
www.kickstarter.com/projects/hig...
May I Enter: A Vampire Game
Play vampires inspired by the question: May I Enter?
www.kickstarter.com
July 2, 2025 at 11:18 PM
Hey #ttrpg land.
#PbtA fans.
#gamers
Our game is nearly funded. $305 away from our $10,000 goal.
I think this game is amazing and so do most people who have read the manuscript (everyone who's told me says they like it)
Come join us?
www.kickstarter.com/projects/hig...
#PbtA fans.
#gamers
Our game is nearly funded. $305 away from our $10,000 goal.
I think this game is amazing and so do most people who have read the manuscript (everyone who's told me says they like it)
Come join us?
www.kickstarter.com/projects/hig...
I’m honored to be involved in such a fantastic lineup. Buy local games! Thanks @junkfoodgames.bsky.social for all your hard work on this.
New ♦️🎲 Designed in the DMV 🎲♦️ Catalog just dropped!
ft games designed by residents of DC - MD - VA
Retailers: Order our games and let customers browse the catalog
Gamers: Find our games at your friendly local game, book, or comic shop!
youtu.be/US1u3gKAHWQ
1/▶️
ft games designed by residents of DC - MD - VA
Retailers: Order our games and let customers browse the catalog
Gamers: Find our games at your friendly local game, book, or comic shop!
youtu.be/US1u3gKAHWQ
1/▶️
June 28, 2025
YouTube video by StickyDoodler
youtu.be
June 29, 2025 at 9:52 AM
I’m honored to be involved in such a fantastic lineup. Buy local games! Thanks @junkfoodgames.bsky.social for all your hard work on this.
Reposted by Ben (he/him) {samovar games}
New ♦️🎲 Designed in the DMV 🎲♦️ Catalog just dropped!
ft games designed by residents of DC - MD - VA
Retailers: Order our games and let customers browse the catalog
Gamers: Find our games at your friendly local game, book, or comic shop!
youtu.be/US1u3gKAHWQ
1/▶️
ft games designed by residents of DC - MD - VA
Retailers: Order our games and let customers browse the catalog
Gamers: Find our games at your friendly local game, book, or comic shop!
youtu.be/US1u3gKAHWQ
1/▶️
June 28, 2025
YouTube video by StickyDoodler
youtu.be
June 29, 2025 at 3:45 AM
New ♦️🎲 Designed in the DMV 🎲♦️ Catalog just dropped!
ft games designed by residents of DC - MD - VA
Retailers: Order our games and let customers browse the catalog
Gamers: Find our games at your friendly local game, book, or comic shop!
youtu.be/US1u3gKAHWQ
1/▶️
ft games designed by residents of DC - MD - VA
Retailers: Order our games and let customers browse the catalog
Gamers: Find our games at your friendly local game, book, or comic shop!
youtu.be/US1u3gKAHWQ
1/▶️