September 20, 2019: Fun With Hexagram!

Earlier this year, in response to a Kickstarter challenge, we did a little zine for The Fantasy Trip. We called it Hexagram (silly play on words – my favorite kind). The Kickstarter was successful, we did the zine, and it looked good . . . so we did another one. Now we have a lot of material for #3 and we'll start a Kickstarter for it soon. And I have every hope of doing at least one more after that.

Why do a zine? Why not declare victory with the first one and stop? The big reason – I have to be honest – is that I like it! Magazine publication is fun, and the zine format has an immediacy and informality that I really enjoy. Certainly the good fan feedback helped, too.

It's also good for TFT to have its own quick-response print organ. In addition to an assortment of new ideas and supplementary material, issue 3 includes a rules expansion for fighting on stairs. #3 will have not only the up-to-date errata for the Legacy Edition, but also a well-reasoned article explaining how I got defense wrong. You may agree with the author, you may not, but it's worth reading.

The biggest complaint we have had so far is that shipping is too expensive on a little booklet. That's right; it is. We have little control over that. One thing we are trying with #3 is omitting all ads, thus making the zine effectively 2 pages longer, but also making it eligible for Media Mail rates. We'll see how much that saves. Another approach, and one I selfishly encourage, is "put more stuff in the order." Shipping is a much less painful bite when it's spread over several things, and I get to sell you more game stuff . . .

-- Steve Jackson

NOTE: You can find the first two issues of Hexagram, in PDF and in print, at Warehouse 23. To receive email notification when the next campaign launches, please follow both the Steve Jackson Games and Warehouse 23 pages on Kickstarter. --PR