Make Things for Small Games

9/15/25

It’s not all about the big guys! Most of the games out there are made by the little guys and while they may not all be groundbreaking someone put a lot of work into them, and they’re probably proud of them.

My game Crowns 2e took almost four years to develop for example. I know how much it cost to produce it, and I can only imagine how long and how much money it cost to create some of these other indies.

Here’s three good reasons why you should make supplements for the little guys out there:

Every Project Teaches You Something

Every project I’ve ever done has taught me something new, or has allowed me to practice something that otherwise would have gone unpracticed. Even the little one-page dungeons or the mini-supplements I write, help teach me new skills that I bring into every new project.

With every new thing I write that’s a new completed project under my belt that I can put on my game design resume. Practice makes perfect.

As your quantity of projects expands, so to will your quality. You’ll be able to develop workflows that enable your success, and learn new tools to get you there. Maybe this can be your chance to learn Affinity or Adobe Publisher. Maybe this is your opportunity to get really good at Microsoft Word, who knows, it’s up to you!

Expand Your Game Literacy

More games is more human!

When you GM, you are taking on the role (in some way or another) of game designer. You might not be writing elaborate rulebooks, contracting artists, and sitting with a full team to develop the lore (that no one will read by the way), but you are designing the game. You’re creating fun content for your players, or tailoring pre-made content to fit their needs.

Expanding your game literacy by not only reading/playing other games but learning them well enough to make new content for them, will make you a more successful GM. You’ll be able to pull on systems you’ve found successful in other games, and you’ll know why certain systems in the game you’re playing work the way they do.

It’ll Mean a Lot to Someone Like You

The indies that write these small games are like you. They aren’t philosopher-kings who sit in their elite gamer-chairs drafting the next generation of poetry.

They’re gamers (some are even grognards) in office chairs writing the best thing they can muster because they felt inspired to do so and hoped someone out there would like it. That someone would analyze it, play it, and maybe even be inspired by it themselves.

It would make their year if you wrote a supplement for one of their games. And it would make it their decade if you learned their game well-enough to actually make a good supplement for their game.