Guy Caradog Morgan

Online Nickname: @twosnakesgames.bsky.social

Introduction 

I’m a long-time DM and recently started designing games myself. I’m UK based and have a strong perspective on UK-based indie and NSR games. I’ve previously been a judge for the LSF Micro Short film festival and have read a wide range of TTRPGs and modules.

Why do you play/run RPGs?

For connection and creativity and to share experiences that you literally cannot get anywhere else. Sharing a guided waking dream, making your own episodic TV series, embodying and living different lives for fleeting moments in time.

The ENNIES requires a major commitment of time and energy. What resources do you have that will help you discharge these responsibilities? Will your gaming group or other individuals be assisting you? Does your family support you?

I am a member of a very active local gaming group and have a regular gaming session with friends and family. My family would 100% support me – and I have a supportive employer that would allow me time off to be an ENNIES judge.

Judging requires a great deal of critical thinking skills, communication with other judges, deadline management, organization, and storage space for the product received. What interests, experience, and skills do you bring that will make you a more effective judge?

I’ve experienced this as a judge before, but also – I have studied for a couple of degrees, and worked in high-level data analysis roles, so I am familiar with the news for clear communication and systems around triaging and working through a body of submissions. I have interests in anthropology, literature, academic writing around computational arts and technofuturist ecology.

What styles and genres of RPGs do you enjoy most? Are there any styles or genres that you do not enjoy? Which games best exemplify what you like? Do you consider yourself a fan of a particular system, publisher, or genre?

I really enjoy classless RPGs, particularly when they have a very strong setting and flavour. I like Chaosium over Wizards… But I also really like NSR and indie work, and very lightweight systems which are very hackable. And then I also like big box sets / ‘experiential’ games like The Zone.

List (up to 5) games you’ve played in the last 2 years. What drew you to playing them? Which did you like best and why?

Mother ship – because I’d run it a lot but never played it. It was a homebrew adventure based on a Ray Bradbury story and it was great.
Call of Cthulu – because someone in my group was running Horror on the Orient Express and I’ve never played it. I forgot how much it tends to send you running to Wikipedia for your backstory and context – it’s been fun to place myself in the 1920s again.
The Burning Wheel – heard it was a unique blend of storytelling and crunch and it was a really interesting split-screen narrative kind of experience. Enjoyed the Duel of Wits and the token economy a lot.
Blades in the Dark – hadn’t played this before, played it at a small local convention. Can see how you might get totally consumed by it (in a good way).
I have to give it to Blades in the Dark because not only was it fun but it was very inspiring. It made me wish I had a lot more free time!

Have you been a game master in the past 2 years? If yes, what games have you run? What made you decide to run those games?

Vaults of Vaarn – because of the single writer + artist and the consistency of vision that gives it, because it looks like something someone invented in an exercise book but it’s very deep and faction-led in fact. Ran it at UKGE and it worked well as a convention game.
Eco Mofos!! – because of its British sensibility, and the community around it.
Changeling: The Lost – as a throwback during a winter event – it was really good and still holds up! Was nice to play in a fictionalised version of the local area again.
Eat the Reich – because I was running an online game and needed something fast and dumb and time-limited, and also it was great to introduce some new players to a style of play where they had more than the usual amount of narrative control.

Summarize the criteria you would use to determine if a game deserves to be nominated for Best Game.

Not in any particular order of importance, but:

1. Does it work synergistically, ie is the writing, artwork, information design and system all working together and creating force multiplier effects on the overall impact?
2. Does it play well for entry level players?
3. Is the setting imaginative and well-realised (if appropriate)?
4. Does the system do anything novel or clever that creates a consonant ludic effect (ie do the rules underscore the game’s themes and setting?)
5. Does the game make players feel something they haven’t felt before?
6. Are there good assets associated with the game / game experience?
7. Are there good GM tools?
8. Is it expandable / hackable / highly interpretable?

How will you judge supplements or adventures for game systems whose core rules you are unfamiliar with or you believe are badly designed?

I will go out and buy a game I don’t have if I need to. I have a vast RPG library of several thousand books as I really enjoy just reading game books and finding inspiration from them. I am familiar with many of the current published games.

How would you like to see the ENNIEs change? What should remain inviolate?

I would like to see a wider pool of entries, a longer voting period, and more ‘up and coming’ awards for individuals. It would be good to have more emphasis on global categories – there is a lot of activity in the SEA region for example. A more global outlook would be great. The community-led and diversity and inclusivity emphasis should remain. The ENNIES are an important intangible cultural institution and have an opportunity to broaden engagement in the hobby/art form/industry around the world!