We’re into April, dodged the fools and therefore picking our May Spotlight honouree! In this post, our Patrons get to vote for a publisher that the blog and podcast will promote.
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This month we offer thanks to; Sean P Kelley, Philippe Marcil, Adept Icarus, Noril of Cold River, R Waibel, Allen Varney, Kate, Paul Wilson, and Heike.
Geek Native’s patreons have voted ndvamps the honouree for May. As usual, you can always pop over to the Spotlight page to view who has held the honour in previous months.
Patreons can vote in this month’s poll because they are awesome people.
The five candidates for next month’s RPG Publisher Spotlight are:
Psst, Patreons can vote right on the supporters page.
International Museum Day
In the second half of these Spotlight announcement posts, I often pop in a wee TTRPG-centric essay. This month, I want to write about International Museum Day, which is on May 18 and is coordinated by the International Council of Museums, with the theme “Museums Uniting a Divided World”.
The 2026 celebrations will mark the 80th anniversary of ICOM, the International Council of Museums, highlighting eight decades of global cooperation in the heritage sector. While International Museum Day itself was introduced in 1977, the theme for 2026 will help shape the organisation’s anniversary goals, focusing on dialogue, inclusion, and peace.
For writers and designers of RPGs, museums are key resources for research and inspiration. The “world-building” community often looks to museum archives to create fictional cultures grounded in real history. However, the idea of museums as “bridges” also raises important questions about how these institutions navigate their own historical narratives.
A major point of debate in the field of curation today is repatriation. While the ICOM theme encourages museums not to “erase differences” but to create conditions for those differences to be respected, some critics argue that true respect involves returning cultural artefacts taken during colonial times.
In the TTRPG world, we have had a problematic relationship with a high-profile museum. The “Dungeon Hobby Shop Museum“, launched as the TSR Museum until it had to change its name, was an attempt to make money from politically charging the hobby. It was doing the opposite of uniting.
However, we’re not without support as the Strong National Museum of Play has an online exhibit to support and recognise 50 years of D&D. It’s all free thanks to Google.
