you gotta understand the layers of marketing sheen on astro bot feels like taxidermy gone awry but the game itself is fun! sucks

This year's stream is over now, but don't worry! You can still support PCRF by purchasing our bundle for another 11 days (itch.io/b/3531/roll-...) and you can view the stream VODs on our YouTube channel at youtube.com/@rollplusbon...

I forgot to post before the block that I played in but the stream is going for about another day playing a bunch more cool games, so you should go tune in and donate!!!

IT BEGINS!!! Starting off day 1 of the stream on twitch.tv/rollplusbond are Mitchell, Remus, Cindy, Jenna, and Motion playing To See with Eyes Unclouded by Hate (waytooshiny.itch.io/to-see-with-... ) by waytooshiny

I have spent a *lot* of my life being insufferable. In a way, game design is kind of an outlet for that. But I don't think I would've gotten up here at all if it wasn't for folks enthusiastically telling pulpy stories.

I didn't catch this update until tonight, but a friend and I had a great time getting owned by the first new major area as we figure out how to contend with its nonsense. I truly adore how much this game has invited me into a style of play that I would NEVER have the patience to reach in an MMO

I wanted to write about my impression of running Mothership for the first time, and my aversion to the general ideas of OSR philosophies, and I wrote... a lot.... thoughtsabout.games/blog/posts/d...

Finally got around to publishing a Monster of the Week mystery that I wrote and ran almost 3 years ago now about an evil tech company building an evil AI (among other things). ...yes, it's a little on the nose, but I had fun running it and you might too! thecastlebuilder.itch.io/malcontent-a...

I reviewed Space Warlord Baby Trading Simulator. It’s a great game and you can trust my opinion of it because im really good at the game

The schedule for this year's 7th anniversary stream is here! Tune in February 27th - March 1st for 72 hours of TTRPGs, benefitting Palestine Children's Relief Fund! (Note: All times in EST.)

I have a lil game in this bundle and so do a whole bunch of very cool designers. It's an important cause and a massive collection of awesome work, so it really deserves your support itch.io/b/3484/no-ic...

"But I do think culturally we are back to brunch." This month in Dialogue, @austinwalker.bsky.social goes long on craft, industry, and doing the work.

For my blog this week, I wrote about the relentlessly stylish rhythm adventure game Unbeatable. The storytelling in this game does a lot of things that bewilder me but it's built on so much loving and lavish art and music that it's hard not to come around on. thoughtsabout.games/blog/posts/g...

For my blog this week, I wrote about the relentlessly stylish rhythm adventure game Unbeatable. The storytelling in this game does a lot of things that bewilder me but it's built on so much loving and lavish art and music that it's hard not to come around on. thoughtsabout.games/blog/posts/g...

Democratizing the arts looks like universal income, low-barrier grants for both emerging and working artists, well-funded municipal arts & recreation programs, vibrant third spaces, and a well-funded public school system with progressive curriculum. Not a free pass for corporate-owned slop engines.

I'd like to add that like in all industries, when we stop understanding how our tools work, we become entirely dependent on the corporate entities that own the mold. We are trading the ability to build and repair for the convenience of being permanent tenants in someone else's infrastructure/subs.

If there's a word I wish I could banish from all design discourse forever it'd be "immersion." Nobody can agree what it means or uses it in an easily understood manner and yet there's also a vocal subsect of players for whom it is the most important thing and a ton of arbitrary things can "ruin" it

Responses and reposts around this are interesting because while there ARE definitely hopeful avenues to help individuals, we are still in a climate that's wildly hostile to funding education and wide open to ever greater intrusions of tech and advertising upon our daily lives and basic cognition

I think, on reflection, my ultimate point with this is that in a time when people are very happy sacrificing the livelihoods and careers of artists on the altar of techno-feudalism it might be worth thinking very hard about the value the work those artists create brings to your work.

Yesterday I wrote about Unbeatable and getting past your own expectations. noescapevg.com/unbeatable-a...

As another newbie walking into the proverbial parlor, it always interested me why "does system matter" is a question but "does table/group/culture" matter is undeniable, because they feel like the two major forces of play outside of the ""flavor"" or set dressing (which is also not to be downplayed)

Öoo is one of the most inventive and satisfying games I've played in years. Full of my favorite genre of puzzle: The puzzle that looks impossible at fire, but invisibly leads you towards the only possible solution, teaching you a whole new mechanic. Feels incredible. And the best soundtrack ever.

Artists, I think we're all too comfortable sharing our imposter syndrome. I would love to see you step out of your comfort zone and confidently state what you think you're actually really good at. No self deprecation, just what you think you're the strongest at Is anyone brave eniough? 👀

I am productively discomforted by how difficult this prompt is for me... I think I'm pretty good at thinking about game mechanics in TTRPG design and what they convey thematically, and building out mechanics that push themes further. It's a chicken and egg thing but the connection is important.

During some holiday video game backlog delving, I was really drawn into Dread Delusion, an RPG that got me thinking about what makes impactful choices in open world RPGs of this style and scale thoughtsabout.games/blog/posts/g...

In an era where corporations are actively pushing for IP law to be bypassed entirely so they can regurgitate plagiarized material to sell back to the world, I'm increasingly of the opinion that making fangames, romhacks, etc the old-fashioned way is cool/punk/a minor act of resistance.

Time for more Menu Cube posting 😌

The people with the power to act (and who.aren't) have been really getting a lot of mileage out of saying "don't take the bait" and "don't give him what he wants" while seemingly bending over backwards to give him exactly what he wants all the time.

In Tabletop Roleplaying Games the idea of royalties is still relatively new; more of us at the publishing level need to be thinking about ways to undermine the existing paradigm and build to sustain our comrades and collaborators in the long term and give them the fruits of their own labor

Final blog post of the year is my reflection on my year with TTRPGs as I've dug my heels into game design and continued to explore the hobby with friends old and new. It's a bit rambling, but it was nice to revisit my favorite things from a year of work, play, and analysis that I'm really proud of

My last PC Gamer piece for 2025 just went live! Silksong might be the juggernaut that everyone's talking about, but if you like your platformers full of exploration, here's six alternatives (one of them free!) that each do something different with the formula.

Jackson and Erin probably come off a little harsher on this game than I feel but their critique of the baffling ending is SO vindicating. It's basically a funnier, deeper, and more eloquent version of my blog post from a month ago

Happy holidays! Enjoy a little holiday one-shot about sharing photos with friends and family. thecastlebuilder.itch.io/photomancers

Honored to write another Giant Bomb GOTY list: this time, the top 10 games from 2025 I'll be furious you didn't play you have one year you've been warned giantbomb.com/articles/xal...

10 TTRPGs I want to play in 2026: - City of Winter - Mothership - Slugblaster - Orbital - A Land Once Magic - Fabula Ultima - Mythic Bastionland - Dialect - Gravity RIP - Alice is Missing

Did you know that you can talk as much as you want if you put it in a blog post? Unrelated, here's my top 10 games of 2025 thoughtsabout.games/blog/posts/g...

I've signed the @nogamesforgenocide.com pledge and I encourage others to do the same and take the suggested actions. nogamesforgenocide.com/take-action/...

you already know what's up (steam sale rec thread is what's up) as always, i focus primarily on older, obscure, and just plain weird games, as big name titles don't need the help. so, onwards!

didn’t post about the VGA at all but i’ll do this anyway. fuck it 🧵

For this week's blog post I wrote a (kind of meandering) little exploration of atypical resolution mechanics in tabletop games. There's a lot of cool stuff out there that uses more than just cards and dice, and it's something I've been curious about in my own design

Okay with the "old games count too" rule this is very doable. Gonna do this gradually but I accept the challenge...

expedition 33 is going to win every single category at the geoff keighley game awards, but dont let that fool you, its not actually that bad

Also worth noting that even if you don't actually blog regularly, it's pretty trivial to find a place to post a blog somewhere with your own awards or top 10 or whatever. if you're the sort of person who's really thinking about these things, your friends probably want your recs!

☕I've been privately making little moments for the Liminal Cafe, a story about 2 baristas serving to lost souls in an ever-changing cafe. If you like eldritch cottagecore, tea, queer stories, and a personal touch, you can follow along here. More news in 2026~ Thank you for giving me the push❤️

new drawing: "for once" #art #artsky #artpost #digitalart #painting #scenery #scifi #イラスト #illustration #ringworld

Got to playtest a really silly one shot game today and I was pleased to find it's got potential, it was great goofball fun and now I'm really excited to make some improvements and clean it up

I haven't finished it yet, but I wrote a bit about how Indiana Jones and the Great Circle handles stealth, melee, and guns in a way that feels true to the campy action-adventure tone of the original movies

I find it so much more rewarding to dig into smaller books than bigger ones, partly because they simply take less time, and partly because so few big RPGs are actually all that fun to read end to end (even if there's plenty of cool stuff in them)

“AI is clearly sticking around so you have to get used to it” wrong. I don’t have to get used to shit. I am a practiced hater and I can keep this going for decades if I am required to