Proud to Gayme

In this episode of Proud to Gayme, Danielle Reynolds sits down with Yass Crit, featuring Bill Skaggs, Mark Cashwell, Ilana a la Mode, and AfroDytee, to explore the fabulous collision of drag and tabletop role-playing. They reflect on early sparks of queer identity through comic book heroes and Wonder Woman spins, before diving into their Gen Con show where the cast was "Jumanjied" into worlds like Candyland, Caution Signs, and Monopoly.
The group shares how improv and performance blend with dice rolls, creating both chaotic fun and deep attachment to their characters. They talk about the inspirations behind their names, the surprises of stepping into TTRPGs, and the unique challenge of weaving music, dance, and drag artistry into a live role-playing campaign. At its heart, Dragons, Dice, and Divas shows how storytelling, queerness, and performance come together to create unforgettable community magic.

In this episode, Danielle sits down with Ray Billings to chat about her journey through queerness, creativity, and content creation in the tabletop industry. From discovering that board games could actually be a career, to carving out space online for fans who couldn’t make it to in-person events, Ray shares how she found her footing and her voice in the gaming world. They talk about breaking into the industry with Resonym Games, building community through streaming and media at CEG, and now crafting short-form content and fan engagement as the Digital Content Specialist at The Op. Along the way, they reflect on how content creation is evolving and how platforms shape the communities that grow around them.

Danielle talks with Irene Zielinski of Steve Jackson Games about her identity and writing TTRPGs. They talk about starting queer fashion Facebook groups, learning that lesbian labels are location-dependent, and how not knowing pop culture references can hurt your chances at getting a date. Plus, they talk about indie TTRPGs, Irene being an unofficial 3rd panelist at a convention leading to a job at Steve Jackson Games where she paints miniatures, makes short form videos, and writes/edits for Dahlia's Diversions for Peculiar Parties, among other projects. Irene speaks about how her game, Scurvy Buggers, was all about a found family, which felt so reminiscent of her life. The TTRPG embodies how your connections can change over time.

Danielle interviews 9th Level Games’ Adriel Wilson and Bug Boll about their upcoming Queer Coven TTRPG created in partnership with Tabletop Gaymers. Using the Polymorph system, they have taken the new pin collection designed by Danielle and made a thoughtful, cozy game of building community and coming into your magic with your friends to celebrate Tabletop Gaymers 10-Year Gayaversary! The parallels between coming into your queer identity and magic are strong with cute touches like grabbing your 3 favorite beverages. This TTRPG was written by the queers for the LGBTQIA+ community built on the respect for the individual's gender identity, sexual orientation, romantic orientation, and body autonomy. They talk about building character sheets and the trolls in our everyday lives that inspired the antagonist, which can be used in your campaigns. We end the episode mentioning other future Queer Coven collaborations people can look forward to starting at GenCon and beyond! 

On this episode of the Proud to Gayme podcast we talk with Robert Freeman Smith & Josh Kemper of PopHaus Collective. They discuss Queer journeys and marriage traditions, as well as the journey behind PopHaus Collective. Formed in the early days of the pandemic, PopHaus Collective is the team behind the party game 'It's Kind of a Fun Story'. A party game about telling stories and getting to know each other, 'It's Kind of a Fun Story' now has a number of expansion sets, including a Pride Deck. They also give us a special sneak preview of a new game in development, 'Bacon Lettuce Throwdown'.

We kick off the second season of Proud to Gayme with Arwen Kathke, the host of the Cardboard Time, a youtube channel turned podcast. She talks about her gender transition and no longer feeling comfortable making video reviews. Months later after ending the youtube series, still seeking a creative outlet to talk about games, she released the first episode of the Cardboard Time podcast on November 3, 2020 and has been releasing biweekly episodes since. She reviews games as well as interviews guests hoping to bring a bit of visibility to the human side of the industry with interviews and discussions with the publishers, artists, and designers of the games we play.

Rina Amaranthine, a TTRPG designer, writer, and trans rights advocate, joins us for this episode of Proud to Gayme. Rina is one of the lead organizers behind the TTRPGs for Trans Rights bundles, which have raised thousands for trans mutual aid. She talks with Danielle about the power of games to uplift marginalized voices, the challenges and joys of building a massive community bundle, and why inclusive, safety-first storytelling is central to the future of tabletop roleplaying.
Together, they explore how games can be both a refuge and a form of resistance—offering trans folks not just survival, but belonging, celebration, and joy.

Adrian Collier a game designer, publisher and community builder, joins us on this episode of the Proud to Gayme podcast. Originally motivated by needing playtesters and a space to play games Adrian founded Amsterdam’s biggest LGBTQIA+ Board Gayming community. This community holds 4+ events a month and has become a welcoming space to queer gaymers in the area. His love of games and wanting to explore adult queer themes lead him to design "Gay Sauna" and other designs. He and Danielle talk about the reactions his games have inspired both positive and negative. But how the negatives have only fueled his creative endeavors to continue to explore other outside of the box themes.  
 

Kassidy Norman a lesbian gamer and former live-play RPG cast member for Ink-U-Bus, joins us on this episode of the Proud to Gayme podcast. Kassidy discusses how the show began and being the only non-tattoo artist cast member. She and Danielle talk about tattoos, lesbian stereotypes and how Kassidy is revamping the Ink-U-Bus brand. They will become a traveling tattoo service that will go to gaming conventions starting in 2025. Their hope is to do flash sales that will partner with non-profits like Tabletop Gaymers at Conventions! So if you're looking to get a tattoo in between gaming visit Kassidy's former co-stars!

Amanda McKnight, a content creator, cosplayer, and all-around nerd, joins us on this episode of the Proud to Gayme podcast. We discuss her queer and nerd journeys. From making a living doing nerd content from comic book reviews to being on a weekly RPG stream she spends all her time engaging with various fandoms. On the "Lies You'll Enjoy" RPG stream the group has focused on promoting indie one-shots that are typically queer themed. They like promoting stories the average person may not find as easily when moving away from Dungeons & Dragons. Her and Danielle discuss how making queer media more mainstream may have helped people get the space to explore it as an identity for themselves. Also, how labels are meant for yourself. Definitions can be interchangeable and it's better to ask a person what their interpretation is rather than making assumptions.