Part of the The Open Pen Novelettes, Max Sydney Smith’s ‘I, Nerd’ is a funny and warming meditation on sub-culture under threat.

Robin plays the Game in a club on the top floor of a converted warehouse. Every week Robin’s Halflings do table top battle against Daemons, Dwarves, Elves, Orcs, Humans and the forces of Undead. And every week he loses. But when the twin who collects Elves announces the club is closing and their weekly games night is on the verge of being lost forever, the seven friends decide to enter the National Masters Tournament and so immortalise the club name in the national rankings. Will Robin overcome his lifelong losing streak and how much is he prepared to risk to lead his Halfling army to victory? Set against the backdrop of a sub-culture under threat, this sharp-edged story-in-miniature is an ode to friendships and the secret languages that bind them.