Newsletter & Community

Join us on Discord

You’re invited to join the Heart of the Deernicorn Discord! The Discord is a hub for all things Deernicorn. Discussion about our games (sharing hacks, fan art, questions, actual plays etc). Organizing play and cultivating design community. Come hang out!

Thursday Night Story Games

Join us on Thursday evenings at 5:30 for story games at The Mystic Game Shop in downtown, Olympia.

Everyone is welcome and no prep or prior experience is necessary. We will teach you everything you need to know right there at the table, so whether you’ve never tried a role-playing game or played ’em all, this meetup is for you!

Can’t make it in person? Follow us on tiktok or twitch to watch games streamed live from our studio!

Artist-In-Residence Program

Game designers are invited to Olympia to spend time at the Heart of the Deernicorn workshop. They are provided with housing, space in the workshop, and time to design and work on projects. The residency culminates in a series of public events and programs to showcase the designers work.

Previous Residents 

Jason Morningstar  – Fiasco and Night Witches
Jason’s games are a masterclass in tabletop and live action design techniques and the use of games to interrogate and reimagine history. He is a generous contributor to the gaming community and has worked hard to mentor the next generation of indie designers, both through event organizing, through his publishing company, Bully Pulpit Games.

Jeeyon Shim – The Snow Queen and Field Guide to Memory 
An award-winning game designer, multimedia artist, and outdoor educator based in California. Jeeyon is known for her prolific body of work with lyrical prose, innovative mechanics, and a consistent ability to create transformative connections between players and the world around them.

Kathryn Hymes and Hakan Seyalıoğlu  – Dialect and Sign 
Much of their work centers on the power and playfulness of language. They love games that let people see new things about the world and how we communicate. Their backgrounds are a mix of design, math and linguistics. They make immersive games that are affecting, persuasive and fun.