Play Smart for the first time in English!

In 2019 Portal Games celebrates the 20th anniversary of the company. Today, to celebrate our roots in the role-playing world, we would like to announce the very first English release of Play Smart by Ignacy Trzewiczek, at Gen Con 2019.

Play Smart is an iconic book from A Game Master’s Almanac series. A Game Master’s Almanac line was inspired by a classic book Play Dirty by John Wick. Total of 6 books was released under that banner, and now the bestselling one is getting its first English release.

Play Smart: A Game Master’s Almanac addresses key issues of a Game Master’s relationship with players. Packed with examples, stories, and anecdotes from actual game sessions, the book also contains useful tricks and advice to overcome common problems a GM might face. A priceless resource for beginner Game Masters, a valuable reference point for the more experienced, and just an overall great read! Ignacy Trzewiczek is an experienced Game Master and co-author of the Neuroshima and Monastery role-playing games. He became known for Autumns Tales, a series of articles on running Warhammer, forever changing the way the game is played in Poland. Now, with his experience, insight, and humor, he shares a valuable guide for all levels of Game Masters.

Play Smart was released ten years ago in Poland for the first time. The Polish RPG community very well received it. It had three print runs and sold over 5000 copies. Play Smart will be released at Gen Con 2019 with 25 USD MSRP for a hardcover copy.

Welcome to PORTAL GAMES

We are bookworms. Movie maniacs. Story addicts. We grew up reading Tolkien, Howard, Herbert, Dick, Lem… We were watching Willow, Blade Runner, Never Ending Story, Robin Hood…

And yet, we don’t write books… we don’t make movies. We don’t make those things, because we make games. We make games that tell stories.