Sometimes the next move is a bajillion cards. Cool to contemplate stuff you may find in an attic in the meantime, though.

It seems we will have our advance review copies of Inkwell soon. I have a list of who needs ‘em, but if you are into covering the game and I don’t know that, let me know?

COZY TIME DVC EDITION

In order to aid the folks struggling in Minnesota in the fight against our fascist government, we'll be adding a stretch goal to our Kickstarter campaign that launches on 2/10. We'll be sending aid through one of the charities at Stand With Minnesota. www.standwithminnesota.com

Not the busiest January but glad to have a smattering of new things to fiddle with.

Five classes in university/college (Jono edition) 1. The Gnostic Gospels 2. Developmental Psychology 3. Chinese Calligraphy 4. Quantum Mechanics / Physical Chemistry 5. Ballet

"Our standing rule is: If one of us brings up using GenAI in any of our work, then it's safe to assume we've been assimilated by The Thing and should be burned alive by Kurt Russell," said a game design consultant in the US.

Trouble naming something after a set of magic words. Pretty much all are taken by published games... Presto, Presto-Change-o, Tada!, Hocus Pocus, Abracadabra, and so on...

Contemplating intentionality today. Why that mechanism to tell that story? Why that rule? That behavior? I encounter a lot of design that has not dug deeper, even as an intellectual exercise. What is the lore behind all your choices as a designer? What is its infinite soul?

Reforming ICE is like taking Tylenol for cancer. Abolish. Eliminate. Prosecute.

It may be very snowy, but we are celebrating the release of Pacts!

Production has wrapped up on upgraded mats for all our previous games. If you have Pacts, you know what we mean; richer color, softer, better grip, lays flatter, loses creasing easier. Lovely stuff. They will be available for $1 - $4 based on size, and Karnak’s will be free.

Okay yeah it’s all quite nice but especially since Jono beat Ben by 2 points 👍

Playing old and new characters at the same time to see who gets played more (Here Lies vs Here Lies II)

Very fun and frantic testing of Here Lies II with the new decks.

Wow!!! Heck yeah!

One catch about being a publisher with so many game designer friends is I often get to see pretty neat designs, but also have to admit that they may be good, even great, but not whatever-they-need-to-be for us to publish. We will only make so many games as DVC; doesn't mean other things are bad.

Inkwell is gonna likely arrive closer to our preferred schedule. Happy dance!

Here Lies 2: 2 Here 2 Lies Or at least that is what Julia is calling it.

I have not felt authentic fear in a board game until now.

*sicko meme voice* YeS eheheheheh YESS

Had s good game design 🎲✂️ chat with @enzyshade.bsky.social about how pro-social emotions play into our games and that we try to accentuate them. Here are the notes:

First play through of Pacts by @dvcgames.bsky.social A thinky little 2-player area control dueler that has solid components & gorgeous Celtic artwork. I played as the Kelpies, but there are many factions of the seelie & unseelie courts (all with different powers) we can’t wait to try! #boardgames

Well I guess that’s it. No more games. Shelf is full.

A fun request: A master’s student asking for a copy of Pacts to be sent over to them to play with the Celtic Studies folks at Oxford. Neat! Bonus points since Jess used several of that department’s texts for selecting creatures and notes on their appearance.

Going from Syracuse to St. Louis is like tine traveling to late spring. I am overdressed for this.

I am trying to stay organized, but sometimes it is tricky! If you are a reviewer interested in covering Pacts, let me know? Message us, email, whatever you'd like.

Okay these are dice? Insane dice??? Uneven wacky dice? Rolling bones? Rolling fortunes? Yes?

Guess it is not too soon to try out expansion ideas.

A Sentimental Saturday Night Special: The Top 25 Games of 2025 youtu.be/bacmZ1L0t0E?... @bitewinggames.bsky.social @tricktaking.bsky.social @shreesh.bsky.social @dvcgames.bsky.social @bbornmueller.bsky.social @dnlnwmn.bsky.social @marcelineleiman.bsky.social @cmyk.games #boardgames 1/2

Something playable to playtest is all I can really ask from a stressful day.

My #8 #boardgame of 2025 is Pacts! @dvcgames.bsky.social got a ton of (beautiful) game into a small box. "I split you choose" is one of my favorite mechanisms and it drives this game more than I've seen in any other. The game plays quickly, which makes every decision seem especially crucial.

Okay yeah love this vibe.

Like okay, at the end of each quarter I get to sit and check royalties (we do royalties for designers and artists). And I feel authentically proud that we are doing well enough to generate actual anything; that we made it work well enough that our success is their success.

Peace, love, knowledge, and joy. Here’s to working for a bright future together. Also, play games and stuff.

💜 💜 💜

After some annoying delays, the rest of the pre-orders (and orders) of Pacts are finally hitting the road (including mixed orders with Pacts). That was a LOT of tension to hold in my shoulders, let me tell you.

Making new things. What do you do when nothing seems to hit right? Maybe 2025 gotta go. New year, new perspective, new games.

This has been an amazing year. I am still not sure how to process so much of the love we have seen, except to make ten new games, of course. Thank you for the space, Dan!

I have enjoyed settling down with Andrew’s reviews this past year- someone we got to know because of posts like this one, and now I try to keep up with each new one. I recommend you do the same!

Some Christmas Day games with pagan creatures. Happy Merry everyone!

10. Here Lies I played a ton of games by @dvcgames.bsky.social (they had a staggering number of bangers released) and this is the best one! A murder mystery game where you actually feel like Sherlock Holmes! A game mastered experience where all players get to feel creative. Soooo cool.

Pacts is here! Or, rather, at the warehouse. Currently getting all pre-orders fulfilled before letting any other orders through the system. Enjoy, folks!

@dvcgames.bsky.social Did @littlebigthumbs.bsky.social just add one of your games to their 2025 stocking filler video? youtu.be/WFDQekgsMN4

🎲✂️ I am in a bit of a rut so I am processing what is getting me stuck on games being 'not finished'. So I typed up those thoughts, for what they are worth. Which is not necessarily much. Here is how we hope to make games that Hook, Flow, and Twist: dvc.games/blogs/news/g...

The incredibly wacky bonus faction, the Fomorians. Likely first of two bonus factions to tackle onto other game orders or get from our event booths. These should be here in a few months.

😳

Lots of digital playtesting today.

Playing IGNM games today by @drawnonward.bsky.social and @ericdittmore.bsky.social ! Adulting + Fold and Fly!

I could shed a tear at simply what Dan says about my favorite faction (the Banshees), but for the time and kindness to love what we loved about @enzyshade.bsky.social ‘s lovely design? An ocean.