A short 🧵 on what I'm using for print on demand and why the print copy of SPINE is so darn affordable:

Amazing episode! @diceexploder.com and @car0mur.bsky.social, given the discussion of bleed... are there any play experiences you know of that are unapologetically about the player exploring their own identity and sense of self (rather than doing so through the mediation of a character)?

Sounds like someone needs to write an indie game about critiquing indie games...

Hey game designers! Do you remember playing interesting games while you were at school (like, actually AT school)? Or were there other formative experiences in the classroom that helped set you on the path to creating games?

Tlingit artist Nicholas Galanin, “Architecture of return, escape (The British Museum)”, a deerskin map a floor plan of the British Museum and possible escape routes for various Indigenous cultural belongings held there.

'You Will Die In This Place' (@liz-shrikestudio.bsky.social y.social) and 'City of Six Moons' (@amabel.bsky.social) are both intriguing, challenging artefacts with a game at their heart. It occurs to me that I don't think I'll ever actually play either of those games... and that's perfectly okay.

Couldn't resist any longer - I can pretty much guarantee I will never play a 'nihilistic survival-horror dungeon crawler', but this is an amazing piece of work.

Just squeezed in before the gates of BackerKit clang shut!

My second interview in the SPINE design series is about book design with @explorersdesign.bsky.social. He discusses how designs can ground play, how book formats engineer expectations and use, and how books emulate other genres and objects. We also open the floodgates on the book design for D&D 3E.

This is very cool - some provocative thoughts and examples in here. I've always been fascinated with books - even more so with the intersection of books and play. Now, as I ponder turning a classroom game (schoolhouse.games/terra-fabula/) into a 'book', I'm wondering how the game changes as I do so.

So excited to crack open my shiny new copy of 'Cardboard Ghosts' by @amabel.bsky.social. I'm keen to see how her ideas on metaphor, immersion and agency might translate to classroom play experiences... particuarly with her commentary on several of @colewehrle.bsky.social's historical games.

My hacked-together copy is much less beautiful than the physical version I already covet, but it's enough to excite me about the experience that is Spine. Diegetic AND ergodic? Sign me up! Straight onto my list of games to steal ideas from, to use in the classroom. schoolhouse.games/games-im-goi...

Just backed this gorgeous project on Kickstarter. I'm intrigued by the potential of GM-less TTRPGs in the classroom, as they remove the need for the teacher to act as GM, enabling students to play in pairs or small groups. I could already see this scaffolding creative writing in an English class.

Love this so much! So many educational games completely ignore the way board games can create meaning... and how this potential can be used to achieve powerful learning outcomes.

Sometimes complex character creation can be a barrier to getting players into a game. I was amazed how enthusiastically our Year 5 students took on roles based on super-simple pre-made character cards, in our Victorian gold rush game Ararat. schoolhouse.games/ararat/

A neat mechanic from a game we playtested this year, bringing 'class' to life for Year 5 students. Events befall them at sea, en route to the Victorian gold fields. Depending on whether they are in an 'upper class' cabin or 'lower class' steerage, the same card can have different consequences.

This is one of the best pieces I've read/heard/scene about games in the classroom. It inspired me to actually put down some of the thoughts I'd been having about the different roles play can have in schools. schoolhouse.games/a-taxonomy-f...

How do you encourage Year 4 students to appreciate the impact of colonial first contact on Indigenous communities? We've been exploring the potential of an immersive, thematic game. It's free to download, for any teachers keen to try it in their classroom. schoolhouse.games/terra-fabula/

COMING OCTOBER 20th! Tune in for a TWO HOUR discussion about teaching games through actual play featuring an absolute POWERHOUSE panel. Ft. @friede.bsky.social @itsquinns.bsky.social @brennanleemulligan.bsky.social Subscribe to Talk of the Table wherever you get your podcasts.

BFF is back and better with age, Follow us on Kickstarter! 💅 www.kickstarter.com/projects/ros...

Strollplaying Games is three MicroRPGs for you to play on a walk! Check it out on our website #ttrpgs #ttrpg

Excited to see the re-release of brilliant TTRPG 'Dog Eat Dog' by @thoughtfulemoji.bsky.social, as part of a new series from the Center for Learning through Games and Simulations (CLGS). Helmed by @timhutchings.bsky.social, I'm keen to see what's next in the series. www.backerkit.com/c/projects/c...