I'm a bit confused. Why even make a "more faithful" Running Man if you're going to pull back from the very things that make the book worth considering?

In which Dan describes three very interesting and unsettling games, all of which I am very sorry not to have played at the convention...

This past weekend, I was delighted to attend @sdhistcon.bsky.social, where on Saturday I played not one, not two, but three games about selling opium. It was quite the day. Read about it here: spacebiff.com/2025/11/13/s...

I've been on Windows 11 for all of two weeks, and it's such a baffling step backward that I just might switch to a new OS. Sorry, just had to complain. Blarglblargl.

my personal mantra, “Always Bet on John Clowdus”, remains a fundamental truth of the universe.

A personal favorite in playtesting and one I'm excited to snag at PAXU.

Dan’s review beautifully articulates my intent behind Adulting. I’m so glad it resonates. “Adulting holds up a mirror to our own busy lives... The stolen moments of joy amid the bustle. The relief of a helping hand from somebody sitting beside us. What a warm, inviting, comforting game.”

HELL YEAH THIS GANE IS AWESOME!!!!!!

Adulting is another forthcoming Indie Games Night Market title, this time tackling the stresses and self-care of an ordinary weekend. It is warm, inviting, and does the multi-victor thing without feeling like a cop-out. My review: spacebiff.com/2025/11/06/a...

In the Shadow of Atlas is another single-deck game by John Clowdus, and it finds him in familiar territory: the lane-battler. This is a smart and self-contained game that recalls some of Clowdus's earliest experiments. My review: spacebiff.com/2025/11/05/i...

Dan Thurot has cost me so much fucking money (complimentary)

CogDrive Neon is another John Clowdus lane-battler. But it's also a deck-builder. And a set-matching game. And it does all these things in its own way, making it both fascinating and a little hard to approach. My review: spacebiff.com/2025/11/04/c...

Honored and tickled by Dan Thurot’s review of Rowin, to be sold at IGNM at Pax Unplugged. “There’s no small measure of hate-drafting...” “There’s the pleasant whiff of press-your-luck…” “It has that classic feel, like something you’d dredge out of an old monastery’s archives.” “I dig it.”

Rowin by @aveknots.bsky.social merges abstract determinism with chancy roll-a-thons, producing a lovely little game that's more than the sum of its parts. My review: spacebiff.com/2025/11/03/r...

It was a slower week round these parts, but hardly a bad one. What did you get to the table?

Only two days left to back Club Spooky and That's the Spirit!, two indie games by @connor.alwaysawake.games.

Bohemians puts you in the worn-down shoes of a poverty-stricken artist, wandering Paris and working dead-end jobs in your pursuit of great art. It might not look like much on the outside, but it's a masterwork in how to elevate a game through a vivid setting. My review: spacebiff.com/2025/10/30/b...

Very good review! Thought provoking.

A stunning bit of writing that is simultaneously about cardboard bits & bobs, but also the messiness of Christian history and the even messier reality of making sense of it, and peace with it, individually and together.

What a powerful review from Dan. This is what board game criticism should be.

Another fantastic board game review/essay from Dan!

I was delighted to chat with Liz about The Great Commission, a game that I broadly enjoyed, but also felt quite a few feelings and thought quite a few thoughts about.

This is the kind of review that makes me respect Dan so much. Who else writes about board games in a way that feels revelatory?

“Here’s what I do believe: we can make this world a beautiful place. We can feed the hungry. We can clothe the naked. We can visit the prisoner. And we never needed a Rapture to do it.” Dan’s got me crying reading a review of a board game.

Appreciating Dan's kind and thoughtful analysis of space I find myself in. Somewhere in between not believing and a church that don't really care to create space for people to doubt.

I haven’t read a piece of Dan’s criticism that I resonated with quite as much as this one. I sometimes wonder why I still call myself a Christian and identify as religious in spite of all of the bullshit it entails. Dan captures the feelings of doubt and hopefulness that drives my faith.

A wonderful, if heavy, read

A moving read if you've ever had spiritual doubt, no matter where you ended up.

This is one of the most remarkable pieces of writing I've read in a while, and it's especially incredible that it started as a board game review: spacebiff.com/2025/10/29/t.... Well worth reading even if the game in question isn't of interest to you. Excellent stuff from @danthurot.bsky.social.

The Great Commission strives to tell the story of early Christian evangelists. I have complicated feelings on it. My review: spacebiff.com/2025/10/29/t...

I'm not sure I can publish this review. For... a lot of reasons.

And if you need a little extra convincing, check out @danthurot.bsky.social ‘s review: spacebiff.com/2025/10/15/c...

It's that time of year again... time for my quarterly update! And only a month late. That's why my middle name is Punctual. Open to everybody, backers and slackers alike: www.patreon.com/posts/142258...

From Normandy to the moons of Jupiter, @ospreygames.bsky.social's Undaunted is one of the best wargame series of recent years For WS7 @danthurot.bsky.social spoke to @djackthompson.bsky.social, @trevormbenjamin.bsky.social's & Roland MacDonald about its evolution shop.wyrd.science/products/wyr...

CMYK has released two more titles in their Magenta series, aggressively pink big-box versions of small-box classics. The pair, No Thanks! and I'm Out, also happen to be my favorite Magentas thus far. My review: spacebiff.com/2025/10/27/n...

In terms of board games, I had a great week! What did you get to the table?

Ah yes, definitely what I wanted to read today: the National Review's take on One Battle After Another, which declares it out of touch. LOL. Even verily LMAO.

Dan's take on the excellent game, March of the Ants: Evolved Edition, which we also discuss in our latest episode at 54:40.

Storyfold: Wildwoods is many things: an intriguing way to tell a story, an excellent card-management and dice-chucking game, a tremendous storage and game-saving solution, a middling narrative. My review: spacebiff.com/2025/10/24/s...

Personally, I care about your indie game and will treat it with the same care and respect that I would give to any title from a big publisher. (And, usually, more care and respect.)

The new edition of March of the Ants is smoother and better developed, but still retains the original game's intertangled turns and canny eusocial atmosphere. For a 4X that doesn't take all evening, this is the good stuff. My review: spacebiff.com/2025/10/22/m...

Chasing Shadows is David Spalinski's follow-up to last year's Torchlit. This is an uncommon trick-taker that uses its setting as more than spackle — and it's one of the best examples of the genre I've played in years. My review: spacebiff.com/2025/10/21/c...

I will miss Adam, @akramer16.bsky.social, who passed away last weekend. I don't know if I have much more to say than that, as his death is hitting me hard right now.

It was a nice week! What did you get to the table?

Estimated 11,000 here in SLC.

Plenty of board games have tried to bottle the lightning that is the auto-battler. Tag Team is the first one that has succeeded for me. My review: spacebiff.com/2025/10/16/t...

It’s always lovely getting a review from Dan (especially when he likes them) ☺️ Checkout his review of Club Spooky and That’s the Spirit! 🪩👻

Let's Go!!!!! Dan knows em when he sees them! I'm so proud of my friend, Connor. I'm so grateful for folks like Dan taking time out of their schedule to take chances and risks with the indie scene! Much respect <3

After last year's Out of Sorts, I've been looking forward to seeing what @connor.alwaysawake.games would come up with next. Turns out, the next thing is two very different board games about the afterlife: Club Spooky and That's the Spirit! My review: spacebiff.com/2025/10/15/c...

Leaders is an abstract-ish game about drafting heroes mid-action. Also, the box has this really great little drawer. But for all its good ideas, the game struggles to generate drama. My review: spacebiff.com/2025/10/14/l...