Open Hearth Gaming Community is working to provide a space for safe and exciting online TTRPG play. Emerging from the Gauntlet Gaming Community, this community has been organizing games since 2015. All sessions are run by volunteer game facilitators using a layered set of safety tools. Our calendar app allows for signup and waitlists for a variety of indie, trad, and story game RPGs. The community offers many other benefits including game facilitator workshops, podcasts, free online conventions, playtesting, a shared discussion space, seminars, and a Gameway program supporting marginalized gamers.
We are proud of all the community has done to develop a strong and vibrant play culture over the last few years… With community feedback, we remixed our code of conduct and put together a team to handle issues and complaints. We formalized the use of a layered set of safety tools built into every game run on our calendar. In 2020 when the lockdown began, community members asked what we could do to help onboard existing TTRPG players to playing online—not to recruit people for the community, but to help people set up their own games anywhere. That led to us organizing a half-dozen free Open Gaming conventions.
Work began on developing Open Hearth in 2022 when Gauntlet Publishing asked if we would spin off the community. A working group of community members came together to plan a new and independent version of the community. Over the next several months we worked with Jon Grim on Playabl, a new gaming calendar app. We’re excited to use and support further development of Playabl. It has several features lacking in our previous app, but more importantly, Jon hopes to make the app available to other TTRPG communities to organize events quickly and easily.
We’re excited by this new organization and the opportunities it offers us and Gauntlet Publishing to focus on our core strengths and missions. Gauntlet Publishing has had a run of success in recent years with projects like Trophy, Brindlewood Bay, and the forthcoming Arkham Herald. For Open Hearth Gaming, it allows us to focus on what’s most important to us, play: playing games, talking about play, proposing ideas for new games, discussing how we run, promoting a safe and inclusive play culture, hacking and playtesting, and supporting folks in joining the hobby.
Open Hearth will be supported by its own Patreon. Backers at the $4 level have a 48-hour window of priority access, but after that, sessions are open to anyone. We also offer sessions focused on new players to help them try out the community. Even if a game is full, players can always join a waitlist. Many games draw from those waitlists, and signing up for them is a great way to show that a game is in demand. Game facilitators run series using an open table policy, so players can sign up for anything from a single session to a whole campaign. Anyone who plays a session with us or supports our Patreon can join our Open Hearth Slack.
We also have a Gameway program supporting gamers from marginalized communities or those suffering financial hardship. We offer priority access free of charge to those persons. They can self-identify, and we don’t ask for an explanation or details. You can see more about the program here: openhearthgaming.com/gameway
For existing members, we will be using the Open Hearth Playabl calendar. Members already set up there don’t need to make any changes to their account. Event creators on the current Playabl calendar will keep that status.
To support the Open Hearth Gaming Community, gamers can join the Patreon. Joining at the $4 level or higher gets members RSVP priority access. We will not be downgrading anyone’s current status on the calendar before June 30th. Anyone currently set as a Supporter will keep that status until then, even if they don’t support either Patreon.
We will maintain the existing Gameway program and continue to support current participants. We will be checking in with existing members—or they can contact us at openhearthgamingcommunity@gmail.com—to get set up. For anyone interested in joining this program, please feel free to contact us.
- You can find our Patreon at patreon.com/openhearthgaming
- Check out our website at openhearthgaming.com
- You can follow us on Twitter @openhearthRPG
- For questions you can contact us at openhearthgamingcommunity@gmail.com