PunchedCon 2026 was a delight. We debrief the games we played there with bean farmer @candidrum.bsky.social, solo mom @joedewhurst.bsky.social, babyface @pierrevj.bsky.social, radicalised @ericvulgaris.bsky.social and ASMR voice @blinks.itch.io youtu.be/8177PhxrJCE?...

Big PunchedCon debrief coming soon featuring @candidrum.bsky.social @blinks.itch.io @ericvulgaris.bsky.social @pierrevj.bsky.social and @joedewhurst.bsky.social

First night at PunchedCon 👀👀👀👀👀

Loved playing this in San Diego, excited to be able to get my hands on a copy. 🎉🎉

2026.02.25 Found a new vocal stem and coping mechanism today!

Love the moment pretty early in here where Jeremy goes to talk and is interrupted by the module's slow feedback gain -- this thing is a creepy monster. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oiir...

Taking a look at Marengo.

“Why one small American town won’t stop stoning its residents to death,” an AO3 fic in which Isaac Chotiner interviews the guy who runs the lottery in Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery”, is astounding. archiveofourown.org/works/73396436

Gallerist suffers in comparison to Kanban (same day), even though I've played Gallerist and had a gallery full of masterworks by the end -- something about the flow... Or maybe 10 hours of gaming is too much for a valid critique?

The classics.

My Modular Nights set with Greymadr on Dec 14 finally hit YouTube! (Link is timestamped to our set, the third of the night @ 43:36.) youtu.be/KQomwQKNsRg?...

A few games played this year; plays is such a weird stat for wargames, but I'm terrible at tracking playtime so it'll have to do.

I recently released a 20th anniversary episode of Board Games with Scott. In this show, I talk about what I've been up to and Critical Games. You can watch this episode here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2Xg... #boardgames

🚨 ALERT: New Copyright Laws Going Into Effect January 1st, 2026 🚨 Starting in the new year, if you play a #ttrpg on a streaming service or write about folks streaming #ttrpgs and you fail provide links to those games for your audience, you will be legally considered an absolute poopy-butt.

I work in board games, and what makes my work in the form good is my genuine interest in books, in film, in music, in dance, in cooking, in woodworking. Cultivating curiosity & a voracious appetite for different works in different forms is so incredibly important.

What’s a traditional card game you know you’ve got at least 100 hours playing? Anything you can play with a standard pack of 52. Preferably something you still enjoy. Easily Cribbage for me, but Spades was also big in our family growing up. I usually preferred to play without sandbags if allowed.

Keep thinking about this term "pre-digested" that Kojima used to describe art that's instantly gratifying. And how it's better when people grow to love something instead. I've gravitated, as player and designer, toward the latter, but that term "pre-digested" is new and feels very strong.

Our set started around 1h30 at Substation's "Modular Seattle" night (I played with my friend "Greymadr"): www.twitch.tv/videos/26441...

Loading up to head to the show!

Prep for Sunday concert: got to build my instrument.

Excited for @candidrum.bsky.social 's new chapter! youtu.be/Ny1JDfcHHSc?...

I solved the daily Clues by Sam, Dec 11th 2025 (Tricky), in less than 9 minutes 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩 cluesbysam.com

One time we were out to dinner with the team who'd translated Apocalypse World into Italian. The project lead signalled for quiet and they all raised their glases. "Vincent," he said, and then they all as one: "fuuuuuck yoooouuu."

“There’s more to historical board games than just hex-and-counter WWII”: Candice Harris on turning her video talents to making historical wargaming more accessible after her surprise BoardGameGeek exit: boardgamewire.com/index.php/20... @candidrum.bsky.social @gmtgames.bsky.social

Had a great time talking with @beyondsolitaire.bsky.social about design, development, and science fiction: beyondsolitaire.buzzsprout.com/1091807/epis...

Comparing two games just bc they both score majorities is akin to compare Pictionary and Empire Builder because both use "drawing" as a mechanism

Opposite a Christmas tree farm.

for many who have come to my work from #crossbronxexpressway this may seem a bit jarring, but december is for #ortona @gmtgames.bsky.social www.gmtgames.com/p-1072.aspx?...

Queen of Spies is live! Go back my first game with @djackthompson.bsky.social to make it to print. We are so proud! @saltandpeppergames.bsky.social gamefound.com/en/projects/...

www.speculativeinsight.com/extras/lecki... Thanks for the link, @srabbelier.bsky.social ! Great interview of two great authors.

For this latest Space-Cast!, I sat down to chat with Paolo Mori and Alessandro Zucchini about their collaborative project, Battlefields of the Napoleonic Wars, and why they decided the world needed another (and better) hex-and-counter wargame. spacebiff.com/2025/12/03/s...

Autolabelling service that tells you if a poster needs a wellness check or if they are watching sport

I don't know how to introduce this one. After three titles about opium peddling, I figured the rest of SDHistCon would be breezy by comparison. I was wrong. The next day, I experienced one of the toughest board games I've ever played. Perhaps *the* toughest. spacebiff.com/2025/11/24/u...

re: roblox dude's interview crashout. the thing he wants to say but can't is "at scale, kids are gonna get hurt. that is the price for scale." the thing nobody wants to say out loud is "maybe scaling to a level where harm isn't manageable is bad, and scale should be contained"

I think a lot about “default” expectations in our time — how often they are of very recent construction. (We have dates for when umpires were introduced to kriegsspiel) If I do my job right, my students don’t assume roleplaying games have a “master” — any more than that games have a win condition.

And we've now hit 1,000 backers! Thanks all for the interest in roleplaying history! (The first character I ever made was an elf, written out on the green character sheets for Basic D&D.)

Cross Bronx Expressway -- my public sector was too quick to build housing and it left us in a rough budgeting spot. Community and I survived through the 40s, 50s, and 60s to get to the end with Private sector's win. Lots learned for next time though.

In no particular order: - Here I Stand - Cockroach Poker - Spades - Combat Commander - The Gang - Crokinole - Leaving Earth - Innovation - Can't Stop - Slay the Spire: TBG

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...

That thing where you've got a Big Task to complete, but you're not feeling it and you can't find a way into it, but you can't settle to do anything else because the Big Task is looming over you? That.

Apocalypse World has had a bigger impact on my life than any other roleplaying game. It's just a phenomenal game, designed by phenomenal people. You should pick up a copy of the new edition!

A productive demo of Echo from the Dark yesterday at #SDHistCon

Leek & potato soup (leeks, butter, potatoes, water) is pretty excellent if you have time. You use pretty much everything -- the greens make a great broth even by themselves -- and it's filling like crazy.

Did ether of us say T minus 1? Today was T minus 1. Launch in under 24 hours. Probably under 12. See you there, dearies! www.kickstarter.com/projects/lum...

Good gaming in October.

🚨 Programming alert: Concordia, Formula D, and Roll Through the Ages: The Bronze Age are now all in beta on Board Game Arena 🚨

I solved the daily Clues by Sam (Oct 30th 2025) in 03:53 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩 cluesbysam.com