Ypsilanti-based indie publisher Suffety Games, in collaboration with J. Yamil, has launched a Kickstarter campaign for Tales from the Tape Deck. This rules-lite tabletop roleplaying game is designed to fit entirely inside a standard cassette tape box and uses curated music playlists to act as an inescapable in-game timer.
As the tabletop industry continues to experiment with alternative physical formats, a trend highlighted when Gamefound selected this specific project for its exclusive RPG Party open call, Tales from the Tape Deck offers a fast-paced, one-to-two-hour experience. The campaign is live now, funding a stripped-down d20 system that draws direct inspiration from the minimalist nature of Mörk Borg and the deadline-driven urgency of Shadowdark.
Rewind, Pause, and Fast-Forward
The core engine of the game revolves around an actual one-hour music playlist. When the music stops, the session immediately ends, regardless of whether the players have succeeded or failed in their objective.
However, players are not entirely at the mercy of the clock. The system introduces “Tape Deck Powers,” allowing the table to physically interact with the soundtrack. Once per session, players can agree to pause, rewind, or fast-forward the tracks, which triggers specific in-game repercussions such as skipping encounters or gaining mechanical bonuses.
Characters eschew standard skill lists, relying instead on Ability modifiers, a Luck pool, and a highly limited “NERVE” resource that represents a character’s maverick nature.
Four Volumes of Audio Horror and Action
The game is modular, launching with four distinct settings, or “Volumes,” each paired with its own curated QR-code playlist:
- Volume 1: Righteous Ride of the Radicals: A post-apocalyptic wasteland race pitched as Mad Max meets the giant robots of Super Sentai.
- Volume 2: Dawn without a Coffin: A vampire-centric pointcrawl set in 1700s New Orleans, where players must recover their stolen coffins before sunrise.
- Volume 3: DeDroid City: A cyberpunk reverse-heist into the heart of New Detroit to free sentient androids.
- Volume 4: Madness Motel: A cosmic horror depthcrawl tasking players with destroying an eldritch artefact before losing their sanity.
“Tales from the Tape Deck blends the stripped-down, reckless nature of Mork Borg, the deadly urgency of Shadowdark, the over-the-top frog-god-worshipping attitude of DCC, and the ‘rulings, not rules’ collaboration of the OSR.”
Reward Tiers
The campaign offers a mix of digital and physical cassette-case rewards.
- Pledge $30 (approx. £23): Tales from the Tape Deck + Vol 1 (PDF). Digital copies of the core rules and the first adventure volume.
- Pledge $35 (approx. £27): Tales from the Tape Deck and Vol. 1. The physical zine packed in a cassette tape case, plus PDF copies.
- Pledge $50 (approx. £38): Core Rules + Vol. 1-4 (PDF ONLY). Digital copies of the core rules and all four adventure volumes.
- Pledge $60 (approx. £45): Core Rules + Vol. 1-4. Physical zines and PDFs for the core rules and all four adventure settings.
- Pledge $90 (approx. £67): All In (No Music Cassette). Includes the physical and digital zines, plus patches, pins, stickers, and bootleg PDFs.
- Pledge $110 (approx. £82): (LIMITED) Righteous Ride of the Radicals. The complete bundle includes a limited-edition physical music cassette featuring original tracks and featured artists.
The project is all-or-nothing and will only be funded if it reaches its goal by Thursday, March 26th, 2026. Delivery is estimated for December 2026.
