Puzzle dungeon: January 2026
New puzzle dungeons! Videos! Crowdfunding!
The theme of the past few months has been “hurry up and wait” as I hosted Puzzle Dungeon Jam and continue to get things in order for A Familiar Tower. I’ve been extremely busy but it should all wind down soon after AFT wraps.
A Familiar Tower crowdfunding campaign
After over a year of work, A Familiar Tower is nearly finished. This is a 40-page, color, staple-bound zine that details an escape room-style wizard tower. There will be a digital-only option too if you just want the PDF, maps, and handouts. If you like The Legend of Zelda puzzle dungeons from Ocarina of Time, you’ll like this.
Words and art are polished, layout is being tweaked. If you haven’t already, click the “follow” button on the BackerKit page. Besides sending out an e-mail when the campaign goes live on Monday(!), it lowers my blood pressure (probably).
If you back in the first 48 hours, you’ll get a sweet wizard sticker.
All art in A Familiar Tower is by Skullboy who has also provided a printable texture for folks to create their own wizard tower.
The Seers Sanctum remaster
It’s been 5 years since Puzzle Dungeon: The Seers Sanctum was released. It now has tighter text, fresh layout by Jesse Winter, cover by Jacob Fleming, art and handouts by Munkao. If you already own Seers, you own the remaster. <3
After being out of print for way too long, prints of both the Seers remaster and Aberrant Reflections will be available as add-ons to A Familiar Tower crowdfunding campaign.
Puzzle Dungeon Jam
In November/December I hosted Puzzle Dungeon Jam. About 23 creators took up the challenge and made some pretty rad puzzle dungeons.
You can watch me and guest creators give developmental feedback on 10 of the entries on Youtube or listen on whichever podcast app you’d like.
And here’s a a retrospective I wrote looking back on the whole thing complete with stats and submission highlights. Neat!
Interested in making your own dungeon, puzzley or not? I collected some resources to hopefully make the process less daunting.
Blogging
Occasionally, I write stuff that takes minutes (instead of seconds) to read. Here’s the puzzle theory skinny you may have missed from PuzzleDungeon.com
Puzzle Dungeon Design: Themes & Gimmicks
One of the most important things to remember when crafting puzzle dungeons is to stick to a theme. Everything you need to make your puzzles feel meaningful stems from this. But how do you choose the right one? And how do you find the right gimmicks?
Mastering the Puzzle Dungeon Through Challenges and Lessons
How do you make satisfying OSR-style puzzle challenges? Well you first layer in some sick lessons that build off each other and teach the unique mechanics of your dungeon.
Your players are your co-creators (and you should credit them)
Playtesting is like improvisational jazz (I assume). The referee and the players are all in a band and you’re making something special. Use that creative juice and give credit where credit’s due.
WanderingDMs
It’s a video of me and two other cool folks just chattin’ Puzzle Dungeons! I have been a big fan of Dan and Paul for some time and it was truly special coming on the show.
Zine Month
The community-driven zine creation event is nearly here and I’m freakin’. These are some projects that I thought were cool.
Reservoir
Drippy flesh and eyeballs is going to take over the world (probably). Figure out how it works and stop it and maybe get rich trying! This is an expanded version of the submission to Puzzle Dungeon Jam!
CAIN SUN
The party plays a bunch of parasites fighting for control of a Mothership crew member. Fight for control! Convince the rest of the crew everything is honky dory! Make sure you don’t burn up in the light of the sun!
Outcast Unseelie and the Ooze Between
Oozy gooey puzzle dungeon with portals and fleas. This is an expanded version of the submission to Puzzle Dungeon Jam!
Twisting Unseen
Portal-hopping Mothership shenanigans. Now you’re thinking with Twisting Unseen!
Black Tower Hack
It’s Stephen King’s dark tower Black Tower Hack. A weird west (kind of), door world ttrpg!
Fang Dungeon Bestiary
Fang is like an Ikea store met a child’s fairy tale. This is their bestiary brother!
Until next time
Did you know, that according to a now inaccessible government resource, 70 percent of the human brain is made up of water? Drink more water. Play more games. Try to stay sane. Thank you!