RICK RUBIN on why Hollywood keeps making soulless movies: "So many big movies are just not good because they're being made by people trying to make something they think someone else is going to like. That's not how art works. That's commerce."

I don't think I shared this interview yet

Sanibel is a beautiful game about taking a stroll down a beach with friends. With intuitive gameplay and some great invisible guides it's a delight for all.

🎉

During the pandemic we became hooked on Wingspan (and expansions of course!), a boardgame by @elizhargrave.bsky.social We just completed our 1000th play 😁

ok i chuckled www.epicfurious.com

Omg the piece on me is SUCH SLOP. Tropes.fyi counts 7 cases of tricolon abuse and 4 negative parallelisms. We also get nonsense phrases like "the birds were the math," "the research is not a costume," and "Hargrave did not simply remake Wingspan." WTF

I’m thinking about a dialectic between ‘slop’ and ‘care’ as two opposing orientations toward the manner in which we do things (like work, tasks, creative acts, interacting, etc); and how different ways and uses of automation can be influenced by, evince, or further drive a sloppy or caring attitude.

Ugh my godkids gave me a cold and it is peak migration season. I have been in bed with a fever while my husband racks up bird lists with 60+ species 😭😭😭

@elizhargrave.bsky.social 's thread about The Diligent Girl as Master of the House sparked something in me and I spent some of today putting together a lightly modernized version. Changes include: replacing blank tokens with effects (as simple as "draw again" to much more complex), adding (1/3)

Sanibel has been nominated for best Family Game by both the UKGE Judges' Awards and the Mojo National Play Creators Awards 🎉 Congratulations to everyone on these lists!

Anonymous’s account may speak for me. 👇

Great thread. Now I'm wondering, would we have different *feelings* about our periods if we had grown up calling them "the sacred river" or even "strawberry week"? Or does it just feel like the Red Army has invaded your pants no matter what you call it?

On art, genius, joy, being human, and how UBI increases all of them...and contributes to the economy at the same time.

Two amazing interactions around my game Sanibel in the last couple days: 1. A young girl (I'm guessing 11ish?) came to my event last night. She sat in the front row and shot her hand up with one of the first questions for me. After playing, she came over to talk more...

Amazing day yesterday: I got to hang with friends from Avalon Hill, tour part of the Smithsonian's mollusk collection with the delightful zoologist-curator Chris Meyer, be on a panel with him and another awesome curator, then sign games while ~95 people played Sanibel in the Ocean Hall. 1/

the Sacramento zoo has 6 BABY CAPYBARAS

It's fun to leave for a week and have a whole different set of flowers in bloom when I come home

there is going to be years of your life in the future where you dont hear or read a post of someone doing a donald trump impression. you are never going to see a political cartoon where he is a squat little orange guy with the long red tie again. green grass and blue sky stretching on forever

The afternoon rains are my favorite time of day at Paraíso Quetzal Lodge #CostaRica When the temp drops, the little beasts get hangry. I think these are all Fiery-throated Hummingbirds, but I think there is a single Talamanca behind. #birds #hummingbirds #nature

Yup. Quarter billion birds in flight! I think I’m gonna do my first gökotta of spring in the morning. #birds #spring #migration #LightsOutForBirds

I'm not joking when I say mRNA technology is more important than "AI" and it's a tragedy we're throwing billions into one while our government is aggressively defunding the other.

I want to be a better steward for the Human Made icon. If you have any ideas on how I can get the word out for it more please let me know. Do you think game retailers would be interested in stickers they could pass out? folks interested in pins? What can I do to support you using this icon? a zine?

Update: The Diligent Girl as Lady of the House now has a BGG page! boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/46...

TIL that Ancient Egypt in Cleopatra's time had egyptologists who studied what was to them, ancient Egypt. Because Cleopatra was born closer to the moon landings that to the building of the pyramids.

Spring just keeps on springing

I posted on @boardgamegeek.com a little more about why different shells in Sanibel score the way they do. A lot of the scoring rules relate to how I think about the shells when I'm actually collecting them on the beach!

Seen this morning in Takoma Park MD

I don't even believe in hell and yet I find myself capable of wishing these fuckers will end up burning for eternity

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of going through some of the boardgames in the Library of Congress collection. We found a game not in @boardgamegeek.com: The Diligent Girl as Lady of the House. More below, but: Can anyone help me figure out the publisher? Can't make a BGG entry without one! 1/

Whatever else is going on in the world, it is SPRING here. Show me your flowers!!

GAMA members: You should have an email from GAMA offering the opportunity to comment on GAMA's dues structure. Please consider taking time to comment on the fact that individual creators should NOT pay the same membership fee as a large publisher. (That's the current structure. $300 each.)

Lovely artist diary for Sanibel over on @boardgamebeat.bsky.social. It was such a delight to see this game come together!

“We always underestimate what people are capable of – and we're always surprised.” www.iflscience.com/its-somethin...

People keep asking me if I use AI to make writing easier. And I keep telling them: I do not want it to be easier. Whenever I have done any good work, it's because I either thought about it a LOT or I have inadvertently spent ten years thinking about it so it comes easy. The thinking is the point.

We're sending people to the moon in a few minutes. If you'd like to see humanity reach for the stars, there's a live stream going right now.

@elizhargrave.bsky.social prepare for a shout-out in this week's upcoming episode

Keep making cool stuff in the world please

I'm off to Labyrinth for a Sanibel party!

I have been trying to learn how to solve cryptic crosswords. The level of satisfaction I just got from solving the Guardian's quick cryptic in 15 minutes is off the charts. Their regular cryptics, though? Oof. I've got a long ways to go... Recommendations welcome. I do have Minute Cryptic!

I asked designers what the ideal online game submission system would look like. Here’s what I've got so far: ✅ Be specific: the publisher should state exactly what it is (and isn't) looking for. ✅ Prep upfront: list all required materials and file sizes for submission up front. 🎲✂️(1/3)

Happy birthday @wmata.com! I rode the very early Metro as a kid. Now I am watching the construction of the new Purple Line through my neighborhood with great anticipation. Public transportation is one of the things that makes the DC region great.

Update:

We conducted a survey of our members about their experiences and thoughts on AI usage in tabletop game design. 🎲✂️ The full report can be found here: irp.cdn-website.com/2b6905d0/fil... A few takeaways: 🧵

Looking forward and inward... #hope #illustration #kidlitart #illustrator #art

No budget? No problem! Free art from dead people for your games: www.skeletoncodemachine.com/p/public-dom... #ttrpg #boardgames #gamedesign #publicdomain #freeart #art

Uh huh

This is your reminder that if you are a class member and have NOT yet filed a claim in Anthropic v. Bartz, the AI copyright lawsuit, you have 9 days to do so.

Y'all know I was in a documentary about boardgames called the Hobby. The soundtrack was by Green-House. The Hobby's director just sent me this track off Green-House's new album! The whole album would be a nice ambient soundtrack for playing my game Sanibel. 🐚 open.spotify.com/track/3wDEiE...

It's a great day for the beach. Well, not on Sanibel today, but here's the next best thing. www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJyx...