So very excited that one of my last remaining PhD students, Mikael Sebag, successfully defended his dissertation—titled "The Magic Systems of Modern Games"—today! I'm so proud of him and so thrilled that people are finally going to get to read this work!

Hssssss

Jonathan’s amazing book on Catan is out now!!!! The best part is that you can read it for free online, too. Spread the word and if you like it, why not grab a copy, too.

Want to read it? It’s free!

🎉🔥🎉ANNOUNCEMENT 🎉🔥🎉DAY🎉🔥🎉 Jonathan Rey Lee’s book on CATAN is almost out. It’s the first in the Tabletop Gaming series that Paul Booth and I have been hard at work editing this past three years. Anyway, the book is fantastic. Please consider it and share with the right people.

The Time We Have: A Conversation Between Brothers is NOW AVAILABLE A tragic two-player zombie roleplaying game played on opposite sides of a closed door. A game about what it means to be a brother. Want to learn more about the game? It's time for a megathread ⬇️

Hello folks, I am in need of non-fiction recommendations for: + Indigenous histories (esp from Canada & the Philippines) + Black history + Black Studies + Queer histories (esp from Canada and the Philippines) + Radicalization + Critical Race Theory Signal boost pls.

Can cultural criticism convince cardboard consumers to challenge colonialism and capitalism in Catan? Find out in my newest design diary. CU there! #boardgames @pbooth81.bsky.social @aarontram.bsky.social @uofmpress.bsky.social @beyondsolitaire.bsky.social @nopunincluded.com @stonemaiergames.com

Wish I was there with everyone this week!!!! Also stay tuned for my awesome chat with Chris!!!!!

BOOM!!!!

Had an amazing conversation with @rowanzeoli.bsky.social @rascal.news during Gen Con! Thanks for hosting me and asking such interesting questions ❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️

More great stuff on Jonathan’s upcoming book!

It’s true!!! Hope to see some of y’all here!!!!

Come PUNK with us!! July 17th is Generation Analog 2025 "PUNK" with keynotes by @aarontram.bsky.social and @gamefiend.bsky.social A full day of analog games scholarship and design thinking from around the world. Register NOW: www.eventbrite.com/e/generation...

Had so much fun chilling with Mandi! I hear you can catch the episode on YouTube if you missed it. Thanks for having me!!!!

Looking forward to chatting with @saltandsass.bsky.social about the origins of analog game studies. Please come join if you’re at all interested in how tabletop games fit into the academic world.

analoggamestudies.org/about/analog... Curious about where to start with Analog Game Studies? We’ve got a handy guide you can check out now. If we missed your book or article please DM. This is just a start and we intend to update it moving forward!!!!

🔥🔥🔥

I don’t post much these days but I wanted to share the good news. Was just promoted to Full Professor at UCI!!!! Thanks to all of the colleagues and friends who supported me along the way. I love you all and promise that I won’t let this make me crappy ;) ❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️

Jonathan writes some great stuff!!!! I'm looking forward to many more excellent posts on his site.

Hands down the best critical analysis of CATAN I've ever read! I'm really excited to see Jonathan's book hit the shelves!!!!

🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 I had a wonderful time talking to the Pop and Play team on their podcast!!! It’s hot off the presses—-please listen in .

🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 Are you talented and up and coming game designer looking to figure out how to get your work out there? Please submit to this year’s DJA Emerging Designer Program. We want you!!!! 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

Such a pleasure to read this!!!! 🔥🔥🔥🔥

Really good.

Hey sickos!!! Generation Analog is back and we’re all in on punk. Send us your best talk ideas, we want to hear from YOU!!!!

As of this weekend, this Geeklist broke 900 games. And I bet there are some newer ones missing. Can you think of any that should be on here? (To check if something is already there, click the "901 items" button under the description and it will pull up the full list in searchable format.)

Nicely done, New Jersey! 📖 publishingperspectives.com/2024/12/usa-...

We'll be announcing the 2025 Mentorship Session dates in early January! Our email newsletter is the best way to stay up to date: www.unpub.org/newsletter-s... (Thanks Suzanne for the shout-out ♥️ 🎲✂️)

451. BLACK GAME STUDIES: AN INTRODUCTION TO THE GAMES, GAME MAKERS & SCHOLARSHIP OF THE AFRICAN DIASPORA 👉 www.thevideogamelibrary.org/book/black-g... #GameStudies #Gaming #Booksky @aarontram.bsky.social @professorgrace.bsky.social @lamontharrell.bsky.social #GameDev #GameHistory

Oh yessssss!

Available Open Access (FREEE) from @mitpress.bsky.social which is having a great week in TTRPG Nerd Media.

Listening to @ckunzelman.bsky.social and @ztul.bsky.social talk about the work of @aarontram.bsky.social just reminds me of how much I loved this book so much when I first read it! Read OA now and forever mitpress.mit.edu/978026254527...

Excited to listen in! We loved the critiques of the big "canonical" play theories (Huizinga, Piaget, Caillois) in this book. www.gamerswithglasses.com/reviews/repa...

Thank you for reading and sharing!!!!! Will be an excellent beer when we debrief eventually. For now: phenomenology because I agree with the conceit that play is prelinguistic. A grammar would imply language is our ontological anchor, I think.

Grad students sometimes ask me: how useful is Reddit for getting answers to questions about academic writing and publishing? It's... not great, Bob. And here's why. 🧵

In this week's Academic Writing Talk podcast episode, I was privileged to interview my good friend and games researcher @aarontram.bsky.social. We discuss how to scope a book's argument, "recuperative books," and why we can be our own worst critics! www.indeliblevoice.com/podcast/acad...

I'm going to be on DC Public Radio (Pacifica/WPFW) in five minutes talking hobbyists. Tune in!!! wpfwfm.org

Two of my favs together on one podcast! Check out Steven Dashiell talking to Liz Davidson on Beyond Solitaire!!!! www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-Eu...

This is awesome!!! I’m glad that the book inspired one of your kiddos!!!!

Very cool stuff. Looking forward to reading when you publish/link us if it is published!!!

@aarontram.bsky.social posted that MIT Press has "made a massive push to make it's catalog free and open access." Which means you can check out their book Repairing Play: A Black Phenomenology

🎲🎲🎲 Are you a fan of RPG streams? 🎲🎲🎲 The wonderful Emma Leigh Waldron, Mandi Hutcheonson, and a few others are gonna roll some dice in pony-world this weekend!!!!!

🎊🎊🎊🎊🎊🎊🎊🎊🎊 HUGE congratulations to Shelly Jones for pulling this amazing compilation of essays on MtG together. Bravo, Shelly!!!!!! I got to geek out with Mark Rosewater, lead designer of MtG, for a two hour interview. The best bits are all here!

💫💫💫💫💫💫💫 I'm putting the finishing touches on my "Games and Representation" syllabus (for mid-level undergraduates) and I'm looking for some great think-pieces to assign them. Looking for material from popular publications over scholarly publications at the moment.

Wonderful to join Liz on her podcast!!!! Please please listen in 🥰

Had an awesome chat with Dale on his podcast last week! Please tune in and check it out.

@fredserval.bsky.social and I are chatting about old issues of Avalon Hill's The General at 4:00 PM EST today! Come hang out. :) youtube.com/live/mz8TQdc...

I’m so bad at cross promoting, but YES PLEASE CHECK THIS OUT!!! Just download and read!

The Zenobia Award competition/mentoring program opens again on Oct 1. Pls help pass the word to: ➡️people from underrepresented groups, who have designed ➡️unpublished boardgames about human history. I'm not directly involved but I ❤️ efforts to diversify the pool of designers & topics for games! 🎲✂️