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Fan Club Video #9: Yazeba's Bed & Breakfast (Patreon)

Published:
2025-09-17 14:51:55
Imported:
2026-06
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Content

What's that smell from downstairs? Why, it's only Quinns in the bed & breakfast kitchen, cooking up a hot batch of waffles & thoughts.

If you've not heard of Yazeba's Bed & Breakfast, you might not think it, but it actually makes a pretty perfect pairing with the Triangle Agency review. Both games have contemporary settings, both innovate to the point of being countercultural, both games have spoilers, and both games have an unseemly amount of fun being weird.

But also, apparently I've started using these Patreon bonus videos as a place to bare my heart, so this video is also an excuse for me to talk about my bias as a reviewer, and where I might be letting the TTRPG community down.

Let me know if you agree with my conclusions, folks! Am I overthinking this job? Or underthinking it? If so, it's probably best if you lot do some thinking on my behalf in the comments.

xox Quinns

Files

Previews only

Fan Club Content: Yazeba's Bed & Breakfast

In this fan club video, Quinns takes a long-awaited tour of Yazeba's Bed & Breakfast! And in addition to talking about this fabulous game, he reflects on his bias as a reviewer, and whether anything can be done about it or if he's just going mad Quinns' interview with Jay Dragon: https://www.patreon.com/posts/designer-6-jay-132453044 Quinns' article on Jay's next game, The Seven-Part Pact: https://www.patreon.com/posts/fan-club-blog-18-132092185

Comments

Tom Collett

Hey Quinns! I found this video really profound and also actually one of my favourites you’ve done. I think its great that you can recognise your biases and i really liked when you mentioned that you could have found yourself in that book if you had tried to play it, its something that really resonated with me as someone who seems to be always having some kind of identity crisis. I think that sometimes its okay to try something even if its just a piece of you and not fully you and thats definitely helped me try some new/different things. I think what you’re doing is great though and I always think its a win when someone gets to have their “best job ever”.

Wulfenris

Hey Quinns, I've been playing ttrpgs for 30 years and being a GM for a few years now. And I'll be honest with you, the first time I saw/discover you on my youtube algorithm, I thought you were just crazy for doing a 1 hour review of a ttrpg... Turns out this is something I always wanted but I didn't know! I just love your enthusiasm and your passion about trying different games and being honest about it. To me this is a step up from all the reviewers I know, it feels passionately professional and profound and it looks like it covers every aspect of a tabletop roleplaying game. Thank you, please keep doing this great work and take the time you need to, to give us those amazing, funny and charming quality reviews.  Phil   

Jennifer Peeters

I agree with some others that I would like to see you cover this if it comes back into print. (Note for anyone interested giving it a read, the link currently goes to a $12 big ichio fundraiser bundle. Haven't looked at any of the other 200+ things included, but it's for a good cause.) As chapters of Yezeba's are shortish, I imagine pairing it up with 1 or 2 other games that are designed to run quickly, maybe a breath of fresh air between darker or more actiony titles. It might make picking a good table of players for disparate games tricky. You know what works for you best. I'm happy to hear you're not ruling out the possibility.

woahdomino

I feel like I had time to watch this video late so much of what I want to say has already been said. Still. Gonna say it anyway. The TLDR is that I think you should be kind to yourself. 1. I appreciate you taking the responsibility of being a high profile reviewer seriously. It makes me trust your reviews more to know how much intentionality you're putting into the process. 2. While you do have power in guiding the conversation, you're not the only voice in the room. This doesn't sit all on you 3. Taste is a inherent part of review. I, as a viewer, always watch reviews with an awareness of what your tastes are. I take your tastes into account when deciding whether your jam and my jam will overlap. 3. Even if biases in a review were some bad thing, the ability to recognize "good" from "to my taste" is more important. And I generally feel you do a good job of clarifying that in your writing.

Andrew Shierlaw

My technique for self doubt is based on this comic. It works(?) for me. https://www.qwantz.com/index.php?comic=538 At the end of the day you aren't responsible for decisions people make in designed-for-QQ, but having said that being conscious and self aware enough to explore things just outside your wheelhouse is one of the reasons your reviews resonate with me, personally.

Julian Leventhal Hicks

It’s so interesting watching this and remembering the Walt Mossberg story where he told a gadget company founder “I don’t give a fuck about your stock price”. Obviously gadgets and ttRPGs are very different but I do think your responsibility for a company’s sales is very limited. I appreciate your honesty and sense of responsibility but I think at the end of the day your most important responsibility is to give an honest, thoughtful review of what interests you. Trust that others will stand up to fill the gaps and, if they don’t, encourage them to.

Emmy Tomulet

Coming to this late so I’m not sure if this has been said, but I think what made/makes SUSD so good at reviewing so many different types of games is that there are different types of gamers/reviewers making the content. I remember I used to watch all SUSD videos for the fun content, but I’d pay more attention to Matt’s videos for potential purchases because his playstyle and taste in games seems more similar to mine. So maybe sharing some of the burden of QQ with a small team of reviewers might help broaden the scope while keeping your mission as central as possible.

Grant Colby

I never comment, but because of the ask for advice (also sorry for the wall of text, it seems like you might actually read this based on your ask so I wanted to make it worth while): Thank you for all your content, your work has really gotten me out of the D&D rut myself and the whole world of TTRPGs is more colorful and fun because of it. My friends and I get to expand our experiences in ways that we did not previously predict. For advice about Yezeba's and games like it (also this is just if you *want* to so it'll lean mostly one way probably), you know far more than I likely ever will, but I wonder what it would look like from a players perspective? I know you typically review from a campaign, running perspective, but given your swings at more non-heiracrchal games with players, I wonder if that could solve part of it. You dont have to make the scenario, its there, but you can sit down at the table and see who is feeling troublesome that day and who would like to play the character that leverages that the most? Im very curious what it would be like for you to have to find out resolutions and play catch-up rather than creating the struggle and if that could help create the tension you seem to crave and keep you on your toes? I am also curious if you feel there is something there for you in terms of mechanics and what the system can take? like playing it to see how dark it can get while still working, what *types* of conflict are conducive to stories you like. Yazeba's seems like it could bem if not an interesting campaign for you, an interesting test environment given its semi-self contained nature per episode. (i know you vaguely talked about this already) another approach might be to try playing when in a different emotional state. How often do you play games at mid day when youre at highest energy, or evening when you need something exciting or else it might be more tempting to nap? What if you played it in the morning, when you may not be in the mood for something so intense? What if you went to brunch with friends even and made a thematically similar experience? How does how you feel affect the games you want to play and how does your environment contribute to that feeling? Theres a lot of hypothetical assumptions here, I do not know your life, but while i find myself in the same boat often in terms of genre, I know for me at least doing things at different times of of day or when im in a differnt state, thing will click in a way I may not expect. Another thing I like to do and why I love game reviews and such is that it emotionally primes me. I may not care much until I manufacture that excitement for myself, and then from there the wheels start spinning. Finding people who love it makes me excited and gives me a new frame from which to appreciate it. That leads me into my last thought... Sometimes I like to try something new (i know, my tone is shifting more towards personal experiences), that I dont expect to like. Recently I tried Arc Raiders (obligatory apologies for contributing to semi-predatory AI use, was not aware within refund window), a videogame i was deeply frustrated with during the demo, but I wanted to be able to understand everyone elses excitement. Hour after hour I softened up to it, understood how the mechanics worked, even if not apreciating it on a gameplay level, I grew to like the systems that worked together. As I played more I was able to appreciate it and enjoy it more. Similar with the incredible game "and Roger" that I expected to be soft and not my thing, and just another game like Florence, but wanted to know and understand what others saw and was incredibly pleasantly surprised. I like to use media not just as a tool for self enjoyment and self exploration, but whether it be movies, books, games, or what have you, as a tool to understand other people who like those things, and for me that shift into curiosity has helped me push through some pieces of media that I may not have loved originally, into extremely rewarding experiences. How does X piece of media expand my understanding of my friends and why they like it? What resonates with parts of their past? What personal experiences of theirs have I not considered before and why these moments are special to them and resonate in game? It expands my view and gives me new eyes to look at the world even if it isnt my every day go-to. You may have thought about all this already (infact I know you have by the way you talk about games and get to be surprised by them and what your table feels. Youre a very smart and thoughtful guy, but just incase, I hope this was helpful. Regardless, I deeply appreciate your mission and the way you highlight new games for us to learn about and love. All that said, sometimes things just dont click. I have never met a farming sim I particularly liked to farm in. I'll try it, fall off, and move on. You're a person and you have your own tastes, and theres no shame in that. If something seems cool but not for you, even if its *Quinns* Quest, theres nothing wrong with bringing in someone to collaborate with, to bounce your script off of, and host the video too. Follow what you love, highlight things where it fits well, and keep the passion alive. One of the reasons I care about your reviews so much is the level of thought and care put into them, any review you decide to post so long as its handled with heart, no matter the perspective, are words worth saying for you, and worth listening to for us as your audience. No matter who says it, if you switch up the format, if you rebrand or move around, choose one game over another, the number one thing you bring is heart, and thats what makes the channel so special and why you are able to have such an impact in the space. Thank you for making all your passion, work, and play public so we can share in the joy :)

Grant Colby
>>195747838

oh adding just a bit more: there will always be diverse creators in genres that you do like, so if there is someone of a marginalized identitity thats an indie creator, im sure you will find opportunity to uplift them in the kinds of games you want to play. Also I wouldnt sweat it about reviews too much and how they weigh on the success of a game. Everyone has different tastes. The problem in my eyes doesnt center on you, it centers on the lack of reviewers with the same level of impact, as well as the publishers themselves. By chasing reviews they are selling to one person instead of a playerbase as a whole, thus unintentionally sabatoging their sales in a different way by narrowing their scope and alienating more people. If more reviewers can become successful, and publishers arent blinded by chasing singular opinions, then it will solve itself. But none of that is your fault. Also regarding the print or out of print nature, if you really wanted, I personally wouldnt mind another month delay after you make a video incase you wanted to finish it, send it to the game makers, and give them the opportunity to prepare by putting a game back in print if they think it will turn out favorably, and then post it for the rest of us to see. Not neccessary, but could be a useful "warning shot" for them if you will (but like the good kind of bullet that fills them with warm fuzzy feelings). Hope this is at all helpful. Thank you again for what you do :)

Dan Heidel

[Whoops, forgot Patreon sends the reply on hitting return rather than adding a new line. Adding the rest of my thoughts as a separate message since I don't know if you see replies or edits. ] I've been grappling with similar issue as well on a much smaller and lower stakes level. I love the Call of Cthulhu RPG and it's been the backbone of the games I've run since the 1990s despite having now run games in close to a dozen systems. A while back, they released the Harlem Unbound supplement which is an absolutely amazing recontextualizing of CoC into the experience of POC in the very racist 1920s US. It's written by POC, is historically accurate and works to help balance the unfortunate racism of the original source material. Unfortunately, I will probably never get to run it. Even though I'm gen X and have a thicker skin than most of my younger bretheren, the mere thought of running a Harlem Unbound game as a white guy for what would probably be heavily POC player group makes me pucker so hard I might just implode out of existence. This is a shame since it looks like an absolutely lovely piece of work and Chaosium should be rewarded for making material like this. I guess my advice is to think about what role *you* want Quinns Quest to play as it interacts with the industry. Clearly, you want it to have a positive impact and to help promote interesting and bold RPGs like Yazeba. The fact that it's not necessarily for you is absolutely fine. You'll get nowhere trying to force yourself to get into subgenres that you just don't mesh with. Whether the origins of that disconnect are due to artistic preference, chance or simply not being aimed at a straight white guy's tastes is somewhat irrelevant in the end. It's nothing to be apologetic about on the face of it. You like what you like and you clearly try to push your limits to explore uncomfortable and new ground, which puts you above the vast majority of reviewers. Many years ago, I had a three-fold realization that made music far more enjoyable to engage with. 1) There's lots of good music that I don't like. 2) A lot of the music I like isn't very good. 3) That's fine. The fact that I don't care for grunge or blues or contemporary R&B doesn't diminish the quality or artistic value of those genres. Likewise, my liking of Journey doesn't mean they're not kind of a shit band. I can acknowledge the value of music without having to sit down and force myself to listen to hours of 12-bar blues and failing to keep myself from falling asleep while attempting force myself to engage with it. Likewise, I think that trying to force yourself to do a campaign in Yazeba's could easily end up with a lackluster review that would do it a disservice even if you like the idea of the game - and that does neither you nor the game any favors. That said, I think you should cover Yazeba's on the main channel. It's a bold and interesting RPG that I would have not heard about without having watched this video. [edit- and I would have still not heard of it if I hadn't joined the Patreon] It's the sort of out of the box thinking and innovation the industry needs more of. I can easily see your coverage of it being the reason that it gets a new print run, helping it and the team behind it to get recognition, money and possibly helping them make new games. While it's not your *responsibility* to use your platform to highlight every undervalued RPG out there, I would have severely misread your personality if a second wind for Yazeba's wasn't an outcome you would love to see. Instead, let me offer a suggestion that you might not want to hear: Stop making yourself run a full campaign of every game you have on the main channel. I know that that is part of the "Quinns Quest Guarantee" but sometimes a good idea can turn into an albatross around your neck. (and seeing that typed out has made me realize what an unhinged fucking saying that is) Here's my reasoning: 1) It feels like you're flirting with burnout. Not only are you going for a level of video production quality and polish that simply unheard of for RPG reviews. You make Pointy Hat and Seth Skorkowsy look like a teenager in 2006 recording on their phone in an empty room by comparison. Combine that with the requirement to play a full campaign and to be enthusiastic and positive for the reviews is a hell of a lot to put on yourself. I can only speak for myself but if QQ were to burn out due to your overwork after season 3, I think that would be a significant loss to the TTRPG community in general. Not only do you provide great and entertaining content, your combination of reach and showcasing of non standard RPGs is unique in the space. Whether you actually want to do 20 seasons of Quinns Quest is another matter but I think that pretty much everyone would agree that would positively influence the industry as well as providing us lot with an insane amount of fun and entertainment. 2) Not every game will be to your taste, even though they are great TTRPGs. Hinging the review and the visibility they would receive from your platform on only the games that you personally gel with feels at odds with the impact I think you want to have. Forcing yourself to push through a campaign on a great game you don't personally love will contribute to burnout and, as I mentioned above, do a disservice to the game. So let me not so humbly suggest the following: Find a way to highlight games that is less restrictive than how you are currently doing it. That might be highlight shorts or short form videos that you just played a one-shot in. That way, you can accurately review the game but still use your platform to give it visibility. Save the full reviews for games you've done a campaign on. Do short reviews and quick callouts for games that you haven't done the full long-form playtesting experience with and just make it clear those are not as well vetted. I (and I suspect many other people) would like to see more reviews from your perspective, even if not all of them are as thorough as your work so far. Just make it clear what sort of review it is. Save the Quinns Quest Guarantee (TM) for the 4-8 RPGs per season that you actually do that deep dive on. Perhaps you can bundle a bunch of these shorter form reviews together like how you did with the boxed RPG special. Be OK with reviews where you highlight how good the game is but that it simply wasn't for you. I think that's somewhat distinct from your Triangle Agency review where part of that was personal taste and part of it was annoying GM mechanics which is more universal than just your taste in games. As long as you're objective with how you review the game's strengths and why it didn't connect with you, I think you can give folks a good understanding of whether or not that game will work for them. Be willing to reduce the number of deep dive reviews you do per season. (see aforementioned comments about burnout) I would be fine with only getting 4 deep dive episodes a season along with a few more review collections or just a bunch of short form reviews as long as it makes the show a more sustainable process for you.

Jon Pio

Been seeing chatter online about the publisher and creator feuding with the other writers on Yazeba's concerning a 2nd printing. Also, Jay D. catching some shrapnel about being toxic as well. Blergh. https://bsky.app/profile/rascal.news/post/3mcrwelk3bc2l

Julian McAllister

i will say, as a queer person, i am also not a terribly big fan of "cozy" genres and works! and it's important to remember that many, many queer people find themselves not in those works, but in the horror genre specifically. queer horror is hugely important. and i'm sure there are plenty of diverse, queer teams crafting horror TTRPGs out there. queerness is not a genre, and coziness is not always queer, nor do all queer people find coziness satisfying or representative of their lives or tastes.

Andrew O'Ferrell

Just recently joined the Patreon and loving these bonus videos! I think at the end of the day, we cannot change how we feel about stuff. If that was the case, art wouldn’t be subjective or different. I can’t speak on the influence my content has on the community (I have no content lol) but I can say that at the end of the day, you are only one person doing what they love to do. There’s no need to apologize or feel bad about doing it. We are only here so long to focus on every response from everyone else to our actions. I think it would be more disingenuous to review stuff you didn’t want to talk about. I think the shoutouts of RPGs you did like Harvest and Going Rogue, is a good idea, because I immediately checked those out and ordered them myself because of how cool they looked. I’ve tried games you didn’t love and I loved them. We are all different and the market is out of your control, whether you make a video about it or not. Much love ❤️ and continue doing what you’re passionate about!