Back in “Toy City” after six years for coverage of Spielwarenmesse. Today will be a short day given that I’ve just arrived…

Board Game Beat is officially launched & loaded with content...with more to come as I report on Spielwarenmesse! If you're into independent board game journalism—articles, videos, interviews, news, reviews & more—please check it out and share. www.wericmartin.com #boardgame #spielwarenmesse

Board Game Beat just opened! There's a bunch of content there already, and I'll be posting more throughout the week...including Spielwarenmesse coverage, a survey, and a video. Thanks so much for all your support!

To pre-celebrate National Puzzle Day on Jan. 29, my pal Chad Krizan is giving away 500 handcrafted wooden puzzles from his Puzzle Bomb company to U.S. residents: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F... Why? (1) Because he's a nice guy, but also certainly (2) He hopes you'll buy more puzzles in the future.

We finally got the Board Game Beat/Bluesky feed set up! To see every new Board Game Beat article in your Bluesky timeline (once the site launches, of course): Go to bsky.app/profile/inde..., then hit Follow.

I'm starting an independent board game journalism site, Board Game Beat (wericmartin.com ...passcode 9763 to preview). We received a sample of the crocheted dice bags my wife had made for subscribers at the Deluxe Edition membership tier! We wanted something different, handmade & made in the US.

We're working hard on Board Game Beat and are grateful that even before launch, we have lots of support from advertisers and members (both free and paid). Want a sneak peek? It's www.wericmartin.com, passcode 9763. (The text is placeholder and the RSS isn't live, but everything else is there.)

DW just ordered this spiffy new Tshirt (for me, not to sell). Please cross your fingers that it fits...

Starting Feb. 26, this feed will cover in-depth boardgame news, reviews, essays, interviews & more. I'll also be writing/editing rulebooks and taking consulting projects for publishers & designers. New site coming soon. Join me on Mastodon or Lemmy (see bio). Contact: wericmartin at proton dot me

Amazon is one of the biggest harvesters of our personal data, and I encourage you not to enable businesses like Amazon that are fueling techno-feudalism with our data. To find out how, join a 4-Week Escape Amazon Challenge that starts Monday, August 18: www.punchinguppress.com/post/how-to-...

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On Tyranny is a short book from 2017 by Yale historian Timothy Snyder, and I appreciate its actionable advice. I've set up a GoFundMe to bulk buy the book and distribute copies to Little Free Libraries across the U.S. If you want to donate or share: gofund.me/f3b09297 Or buy copies on your own!

Public Enemy rough draft:

Time for one last stretch goal...

The only way to start this feed is with a basil pyramid.