Those of us overseeing the web site have been otherwise pressured in 2024, with the result that there is a backlog of articles submitted by members of the Christian Gamers Guild, but the only things that actually got published were entries in the two main series, Faith in Play and RPG-ology.
It is a tradition to post an index of the past year’s articles on the last day of the year was fulfilled a few days late at the end of 2023 with 2023 at the Christian Gamers Guild Reviewed, and in prior years in December of 2022 with 2022 at the Christian Gamers Guild Reviewed. In December of 2021 we published 2021 At the Christian Gamers Guild Reviewed, and in previous years 2020 at the Christian Gamers Guild Reviewed; 2019 at the Christian Gamers Guild Reviewed; Thirteen Months in Review; and Overview of the Articles on the New Christian Gamers Guild Website, taking us back to the launch of the updated website in 2016. So for anyone who missed something or wants to find something they remember, we’ll try it again for this past year.
Faith in Play this year brought:
- #74: Preparation January 2, 2024, extending holidays by considering the lead-up to them.
- #75: Tourette’s February 6, 2024, suggesting characters who pepper their speech with particular words or phrases.
- #76: Lineage March 5, 20234 discussing how ancestry can matter in some cultures.
- #77: Animals April 2, 2024, about human/animal relationships.
- #78: Stakes May 7, 2024, suggesting that something in the story has to matter for the story to work.
- #79: Mind June 6, 2024, discussing the benefits and hazzards in what we imagine.
- #70: Synchronized July 4, 2023, discusses the pros and cons of having players speak the prayers their characters make in the game.
- #81: The Bland Mind August 6, 2024, discusses lack of imagination and a potential cure for it.
- #82: Nice September 3, 2024, considers the character trait both for ourselves and for our characters.
- #83: Spirits October 1, 2024, examines the place of the supernatural in our fictional worlds.
- #84: Hope November 5, 2024, looks at hope as motivation.
- #85: Codes December 3, 2024, examines the place of individual ethics.
RPG-ology continued with:
- #74: Senseless January 16, 2024, recovering a Game Ideas Unlimited article about the kind of fear that freezes someone.
- #75: Flashbacks February 20, 2024, recovers a Game Ideas Unlimited index that discusses including flashbacks in games.
- #76: Derivative March 19, 2024, considers the creative use of the work of other creatives.
- #77: Wounds April 16, 2024, reprints another Game Ideas Unlimited article about the lasting effects of some experiences.
- #78: Recoil May 21, 2024, suggests a mechanic to create the cinematic fight scene in which the hero springs back from losing to win.
- #79: Faith June 18, 2024, is a recovered Game Ideas Unlimited article about faith as a character trait.
- #80: Words July 16, 2024, discusses jargon and its use in play.
- #81: Wizardry August 20, 2024, is a Game Ideas Unlimited article with roots further back, about how to use magic effectively.
- #82: Knowing September 17, 2024, recovers a Game Ideas Unlimited article considering the ways our minds do and sometimes don’t make connections.
- #83: Tactics October 15, 2024, is another former Game Ideas Unlimited article about battle strategies.
- #84: Possibilities November 19, 2024, from Game Ideas Unlimited, showing the limits of deduction and the benefits of flexible scenarios.
- #85: Common December 17, 2024, again comes from Game Ideas Unlimited, considering how to play characters unlike ourselves.
There are more articles upcoming in the Faith in Play and RPG-ology series, and we anticipate these series to continue through the new year. We also hope, as mentioned, to be able to get articles submitted by other authors edited, formatted, and published, so that the new year will have a richer offering.
—M. J. Young
Chaplain, Christian Gamers Guild