Jeffro Johnson - In Memoriam

With Jeffro Johnson, the bombast is real. But so is the legacy. Let’s unpack it.

If Jeffro Johnson died today his detractors would celebrate. But really, if he died today (and I certainly hope he does not), then he will have left behind a gaming legacy that is hard to undo. I’ve spent the morning looking at many of his past blog posts. There was a frenzy of activity that began in 2021 and seemed to culminate in 2024.

If we needed to re-invent Jeffro, what are the ingredients?

• Someone who reads the rules and tries to play them as written in an honest effort to play the game as intended by the game designer.
• A person committed to documenting this journey of discovery through session reports and blog posts.
• A master organizer who drives the campaign forward whilst also managing to create a clubhouse, establish its culture, and prune its members.
• Someone who shares back to the gaming community at large and is willing to defend hard won territory against the naysayers and ankle biters.
• An innovator and experimenter who is not content with a stagnant hobby, but rather who explores new ways of playing the game to extract maximum enjoyment.
• Someone who values being frank over being liked.
• Someone who will bang the drum loudly to cut through the sheer volume of noise in our online spaces.

I was going to distill down the “secrets” which he has freely given away. I suspect many of these appear in well-polished form in Winning Secrets (which I have yet to read). But that which is achieved too easily is rarely valued. Do your own homework. Blog readers deserve less!

I will give you a “treasure map,” at least to start you on your way . . .

Jeffro Johnson, Fifty Years of Fantasy Gaming and You Still Don’t Get It, Jeffro’s Space Gaming Blog, April 17, 2021, available at https://jeffro.wordpress.com/2021/04/17/fifty-years-of-fantasy-gaming-and-you-still-dont-get-it/.

Jeffro Johnson, Patron Play and High Level Characters, Jeffro’s Space Gaming Blog, January 10, 2022, available at https://jeffro.wordpress.com/2022/01/10/patron-play-and-high-level-characters/.

Jeffro Johnson, To finish a thought…, Jeffro’s Space Gaming Blog, May 3, 2022, available at https://jeffro.wordpress.com/2022/05/03/to-finish-a-thought/.

Jeffro Johnson, A Sandbox Adventure that Encourages Empire-building, Jeffro’s Space Gaming Blog, March 27, 2023, available at https://jeffro.wordpress.com/2023/03/27/a-sandbox-adventure-that-encourages-empire-building/.

Jeffro Johnson, “Patron Play” Considered Harmful, Jeffro’s Space Gaming Blog, March 29, 2023, available at https://jeffro.wordpress.com/2023/03/29/patron-play-considered-harmful/.

Jeffro Johnson, Trollopulous Adjusted Session 48: The Charge of the Douche Brigade, Jeffro’s Space Gaming Blog, November 17, 2023, available at https://jeffro.wordpress.com/2023/11/17/trollopulous-adjusted-session-48-the-charge-of-the-douche-brigade/.

Jeffro Johnson, Straight Answers to Honest Questions: Braunstein Edition, Jeffro’s Space Gaming Blog, February 16, 2024, available at https://jeffro.wordpress.com/2024/02/16/straight-answers-to-honest-questions-braunstein-edition/.

Jeffro Johnson, Braunstein Play is Fundamental to D&D, Jeffro’s Space Gaming Blog, April 19, 2024, available at https://jeffro.wordpress.com/2024/04/19/braunstein-play-is-fundamental-to-dd/.

Jeffro Johnson, Braunstein Was the First Braunstein, Jeffro’s Space Gaming Blog, May 15, 2024, available at https://jeffro.wordpress.com/2024/05/15/braunstein-was-the-first-braunstein/.

Jeffro Johnson, Falling Short of 1:1 Time and Braunstein Play in 1986, Jeffro’s Space Gaming Blog, May 19, 2024, available at https://jeffro.wordpress.com/2024/05/19/falling-short-of-11-time-and-braunstein-play-in-1986/.

Jeffro Johnson, Braunstein is the Least Interesting Thing About Braunstein, Jeffro’s Space Gaming Blog, May 25, 2024, available at https://jeffro.wordpress.com/2024/05/25/braunstein-is-the-least-interesting-thing-about-braunstein/.

Jeffro Johnson, Tips on Setting Up a Session Braunstein Within a Continuing Campaign, Jeffro’s Space Gaming Blog, May 28, 2024, available at https://jeffro.wordpress.com/2024/05/28/tips-on-setting-up-a-session-braunstein-within-a-continuing-campaign/.

Jeffro Johnson, Gygax Took Braunstein Play as Axiomatic in 1979, Jeffro’s Space Gaming Blog, May 31, 2024, available at https://jeffro.wordpress.com/2024/05/31/gygax-took-braunstein-play-as-axiomatic-in-1979/.

Jeffro Johnson, The Origins of the Fake Tabletop RPG Folk Game, Jeffro’s Space Gaming Blog, June 8, 2024, available at https://jeffro.wordpress.com/2024/06/08/the-origins-of-the-fake-tabletop-rpg-folk-game/.

Jeffro Johnson, Classic Traveller and the Zero Prep Campaign Setting, Jeffro’s Space Gaming Blog, June 26, 2024, available at https://jeffro.wordpress.com/2024/06/26/classic-traveller-and-the-zero-prep-campaign-setting/.

Jeffro Johnson, An In Depth Q&A on Running a Traveller Braunstein, Jeffro’s Space Gaming Blog, July 6, 2024, available at https://jeffro.wordpress.com/2024/07/06/an-in-depth-qa-on-running-a-traveller-braunstein/.

Jon Mollison, Trick Your Players into Playing a Braunstein, The Joy of Wargaming, July 10, 2024, available at youtube.com/watch?v=2OTJyNSlpbI&t=2s.

Jeffro Johnson, Are You Waiting for Permission?, Jeffro’s Space Gaming Blog, July 10, 2024, available at https://jeffro.wordpress.com/2024/07/10/are-you-waiting-for-permission/.

Jeffro Johnson, Session Downtime and the Braunstein Turn, Jeffro’s Space Gaming Blog, July 16, 2024, available at https://jeffro.wordpress.com/2024/07/16/session-downtime-and-the-braunstein-turn/.

Jeffro Johnson, How Do You Do Patron Style Play in D&D?, Jeffro’s Space Gaming Blog, July 17, 2021, available at https://jeffro.wordpress.com/2021/07/17/how-do-you-do-patron-style-play-in-dd/.

Jeffro Johnson, Microscenarios Versus Solitaire Downtime Play, Jeffro’s Space Gaming Blog, July 18, 2024, available at https://jeffro.wordpress.com/2024/07/18/microscenarios-versus-solitaire-downtime-play/.

Jeffro Johnson, The Four Hour Session Braunstein, Jeffro’s Space Gaming Blog, July 27, 2024, available at https://jeffro.wordpress.com/2024/07/27/the-four-hour-session-braunstein/.

Jeffro Johnson, Disrespecting the Pioneers of the Hobby, Jeffro’s Space Gaming Blog, August 5, 2024, available at https://jeffro.wordpress.com/2024/08/05/disrespecting-the-pioneers-of-the-hobby/.

Jeffro Johnson, We Moved the Needle, Jeffro’s Space Gaming Blog, August 10, 2024, available at https://jeffro.wordpress.com/2024/08/10/we-moved-the-needle/.

Jeffro Johnson, An Observation About Braunstein Play Dynamics, Jeffro’s Space Gaming Blog, August 11, 2024, available at https://jeffro.wordpress.com/2024/08/11/an-observation-about-braunstein-play-dynamics/.

Thank you Jeffro (and the BrOSR).

Fin.

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Originally published on Substack on August 9, 2026.