Varamu

Raamatukogust

The library is a shelf for everything tabletop - the systems, the tools, the podcasts, the creators and the communities people actually use. This page covers what is on it, what an entry can do for a project you have made, and how to get yours onto it.

What the library is

It is a reference shelf, not a storefront.

The hobby is enormous and most of it is invisible. There are hundreds of game systems past the three everyone can name, dozens of virtual tabletops (software you play on instead of a physical table), character builders, dice rollers, map makers, podcasts, actual-play shows and communities - and almost nowhere neutral that puts them side by side. The library is our attempt at that place.

Every entry is written so somebody who has never heard of the thing can work out whether it is for them. No jargon without an explanation, no assumed knowledge, no gatekeeping. If a reader arrives knowing nothing, they should leave knowing what your project is and whether they want it.

Nothing on the shelf costs money to be there and we do not sell placement. Entries rise in their category because readers recommend them.

Why an entry is worth having

People read the library when they are already looking for something.

That is the whole value of it. A post on social media reaches people who happen to be scrolling. A library entry reaches somebody who has opened a page called "virtual tabletops" and is deciding which one to try tonight. The first is noise. The second is a person with their wallet half out.

Sure, we are biased here - it is our library. But the honest version is this: if your project is small, an entry is one of the cheaper ways to be found by the people who would like it, and it keeps working long after a launch post has scrolled away.

Found through search

Entries are public, indexed, and written to answer the question somebody typed. A lot of the traffic arrives from outside Groupfinder entirely.

Found through browsing

Readers who came for one entry go through the category it sits in. Being on the shelf next to the big names is most of the point.

Lifted by your own people

Every Recommend your fans press moves you up the category. Put the badge on your site and they can do it from there.

What an entry can hold

An entry is not a directory listing with a name and a link. It is a full page, and most of it is yours to fill. You do not have to use all of it - a one-paragraph creator entry is a perfectly good entry - but here is everything on the table.

Overview

The long description, in your words. Aim for at least 200 words - what the project is, who it is for, and how it actually plays or works.

Key features

Named blocks with a line of explanation each. You choose the heading, so it can read "What's inside" or "Why play this" instead.

Cover and gallery

One cover image plus up to six gallery shots. Screenshots, spreads, cover art - whatever shows the thing rather than describes it.

Links

A tidy list of everywhere the project lives: the storefront, the Discord, the itch page, the SRD. Each one gets a readable label instead of a raw URL.

Updates and news

A dated post log at the top of the entry. Announce a release, a patch, a crowdfunder, a convention appearance. Each post takes up to three images.

Followers

Anyone can follow your entry. When you post an update, every follower gets a notification. No mailing list to build, host or move.

Recommendations

The Recommend button is the library's vote. The more recommendations your entry collects, the higher it sits in its category.

Ratings and reviews

Players leave a star rating and a written review. Honest ones are worth more to you than a page of five stars, and readers can tell the difference.

Details panel

Category, tags, languages, publisher, supported platforms and the official site, all in a sidebar somebody can scan in two seconds.

Videos, articles and episodes

Embed an actual-play video, link a review somebody wrote, or hand us a podcast RSS feed and the episode list keeps itself current.

Active games and players

If your entry is a game system, it can show the live game and player posts running on Groupfinder right now, with a link straight into them.

Events

Date, venue, price, age policy and a registration link. Visitors can drop the date straight into Apple Calendar, Outlook or Google.

Your own badge

Generate a badge for your site or storefront. It sends your fans to your entry, where they can press Recommend.

Sharing

Share buttons for Bluesky, Reddit, X and Facebook, and a generated preview image so the link looks like something when it is pasted.

See it filled in

The example entry

We keep one entry with every block switched on, and the text inside it explains what each block is doing. If you are wondering how much to write, or what a feature block looks like on the page, read that one first and copy the shape.

Use it as your project's home page

One link that never goes stale.

Plenty of projects have no website and do not need one. A domain, hosting, a newsletter tool and the afternoon it takes to wire them together is a lot of overhead for a game you wrote in a month. An entry does the same job: a permanent address, a description, your links, your images, and somewhere to post news.

The update log is the part people underuse. Every post you make goes out as a notification to everyone following the entry. That is a mailing list you did not have to build, host, or move when the platform you were on changed its mind.

A release note, a patch summary, a convention you will be at, a stretch goal hit - it all lands in front of the people who asked to hear from you. Then the badge on your own site sends new visitors back to the same page, where they can follow it too.

Post an update

Title, text, up to three images. It appears dated at the top of your entry, newest first, and readers can comment on it.

Followers hear about it

Everyone following the entry gets a notification. They chose to be there, so they are the people worth telling.

Edit it whenever you like

Managers edit the description, links, images and details from the entry itself. An editor checks changes before they go live, which is what keeps the shelf worth reading.

Take the badge with you

Generate a badge for your site, your itch page or your Discord. It points home and collects recommendations while you are busy with something else.

How to submit your project

Made a game, a tool, a podcast, a show, or started a community? Send it in. There is no fee and nothing to pay your way past. One form, a handful of fields, and a person reads it.

You do not have to be the creator to submit something.

If you love a project and it is missing from the shelf, send it anyway. We credit you as a contributor on the entry and the creator can claim the page later.

1
Pick a category

Game system, tool, creator, podcast, community, event, or one of the others. Not sure which fits? Pick the closest and say so in the comments box.

2
Name the project and drop your links

The name it is published under, and every link that matters - the store page, the site, the Discord, the socials. One per line.

3
Write the overview

Third person, the way it would read on the shelf: "Nightfall is a rules-light horror RPG ...", not "My game is ...". A couple of hundred words is plenty to start with.

4
Add a cover image

A wide image reads best, because it is used both at the top of the entry and on the cards that link to it. Logo on a flat background works fine if that is what you have.

5
Leave a contact e-mail and send it

We use it to come back to you with questions. If you are logged in when you submit, you are set as the manager of the entry automatically.

What happens next

An editor reads the submission, checks the links, tidies the text into the house style and publishes it. We write to your contact address if something is missing or unclear.

We do not publish everything. A dead link, an empty project or a page that is only an advert gets turned down, and we will tell you why.

Who can edit it afterwards

Submit while logged in and you become the manager of the entry, so you can edit it and post updates from day one.

Submitted while logged out, or found your project already on the shelf? Open the entry and press Claim it. Tell us who you are and we hand you the keys.

Something listed is wrong

Every entry has a Soovita muudatusi button. Corrections, dead links and missing releases are all welcome, whether the project is yours or not.

Still have a question

Ask before you write a whole entry, not after. The editors are on Discord most days and answer e-mail on the rest of them.