The layoffs across games and games journalism have been disproportionately affecting the women in the industry, and even more so, black women. Support the indies that champion their voices before it's too late (& please share more in the replies) @aftermath.site @mothership.blog

Sorry I can’t this weekend man I have to wander around my home like a tormented ghost for a couple days

Finally, the full vision of @newmadras.bsky.social's audio project is on display. It's not a reading club without a Q&A section!

I don't know who keeps doing this but you have to stop I'm begging you

we live in the ruins of a greater civilization

Despite the tragic nature of Polygon under Valnet, writers such as Sam are still holding out space to talk about games as art created by and for people. Perennial call: read these stories. Tip the needle away from the grind of MTG spoiler astonishment and regression to the mean.

Friends'n'pals – there is today a new @neverpo.st! In which Snr Producer Hans asks why Safe For Work content is rising in popularity on Porn Hub. He looks at the data; he talks with other folks who have looked at the data; and we are lead to ask: what does all this say about desire, online, in 2026?

On the one hand, this deal landing one week after @tolariancommunitycollege.com hosted a $600,000 fundraiser for Trans Lifeline highlights a cavernous gulf between executives and MTG's community. On the other hand, a stated goal of Universes Beyond is flooding the TCG with endless new customers.

Considering the previous "draw down" was purely symbolic, I'm skeptical about what this will functionally mean. That said, for the sake of the people of Minnesota, I pray it's true and that this campaign of terror will soon be over.

Great solo crawl game, and the horizontal A5 is the correct format. Hinokodo's small iterations on layout shine here.

"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.

Last year, @samsorensen.bsky.social developed Over/Under, a @mothership.bsky.social-inspired megagame. When he asked @lincodega.com to be one of the bosses, they had no idea what they were getting into. But they knew that they needed to write it down.

The one joy left to me when writing about Hasbro's c-suite is watching at least one new person discover/joke about the CEO's name.

Whenever some grinning racist from the GOP calls Texas "business friendly," this is what that means

When Hasbro's CEO says choice, he refers to the length of time they may protest c-suite directives. Chris Cocks is fully bought in, and generative AI is capturing a growing amount of invisible labor inside the company.

Mothership now has 2,000 paid subscribers!!! To say we're thrilled is an understatement. We're proud to say we've been able to significantly increase our freelance budget thanks to this support. Keep on pitching, writers! 💜✨

Got another tear-jerker here for you all on this fine Tuesday morning. Joseph Wales' first for Mothership: www.mothership.blog/dungeons-and...

"When it comes to publishing Harry Potter, it’s pretty simple: don’t." Members of a grassroots movement are pressuring Upper Deck Entertainment to not put tabletop money in the hands of a powerful transphobe. So far, they've been met with silence.

Final sock count: two No details on the direction of D&D, even as a bucket for licensed partnership beyond the obvious fact it will happen. It remains the forgotten child in Hasbro's house.

a great article you should read instead of the Washington post one: theracket.news/p/the-most-a...

Watch it Played’s Rodney Smith cuts ties with Game Night Picks, accuses owner of unethical advertising practices towards publishers: boardgamewire.com/index.php/20...

6/ The Post has lost over 375,000 subscribers in just over a year. If 10% of those readers subscribed to The 51st instead, we could hire 10 reporters and five editors, dramatically scaling our coverage of the city at this critical time. 51st.news/signup

At a certain point, phrases such as "fastest growing Magic set" and "revenue up more than 140% YoY" stop meaning anything. Magic printed money hasn't been a meaningful headline since the pandemic.

Cocks says teams at Hasbro will "have a choice" whether to use AI in their projects, but the company will not take a wide stance. He calls himself an "avid AI user" and cites 1 million of workflow hours saved by AI implementation.

I'll eat one sock for every time Hasbro mentions Dungeons & Dragons outside of the context of video games during this investor call. Confident I will eat zero socks.

Hasbro's multi-year licensing deal with WBwill reportedly focus on "dolls, role play, action figures & collectibles, interactive plush, board games and more" based on the Harry Potter franchise. The Magic: The Gathering team has been pretty mum on the threat of HP in Universes Beyond, so far.

[Update] This piece has been amended to add new details from Jay Dragon, along with other corrections and clarifications, including the removal of all pull quotes.

I've waited a long time to be able to say this, but we're hiring a full-time Film Critic for @avclub.com! Details are in the job listing, but you should send application materials to [email protected] www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/43...

I have no clue what TSR was going for with these Dungeons & Dragons ads, but whatever it was, I dig it.

lfg

JUST KING THINGS embarks upon a new era today, with the full emergence of 'Crime Fiction Steve' by way of the BILL HODGES TRILOGY. It begins with MR. MERCEDES, a 2014 novel precision-targeted to enrapture and terrify grandparents everywhere. rangedtouch.com/2026/02/09/m...

Our 2026 Pledge Drive continues and so here's more of our work, now un-paywalled forever as a gift from our subscribers. In February last year, we reported on a troubling new war game based on the Jan 6th insurrection. www.rascal.news/red-hats-red...

Extremely pleased to bring The Games Press back today with Mothership's @midimyers.com & @zoehhannah.com! We talk about the current state of feminist writing in the games media, whether "subscription fatigue" is real & how they've processed what happened to them & their former coworkers at Polygon.

The No ICE in Minnesota Charity Bundle has officially LAUNCHED! There are 1,439 games to discover for a $10+ donation to Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota! Purchase the bundle here: itch.io/b/3484/no-ic...

Apparently tabletop culture is at risk of having OSR meaning recolonized as Old School Runescape.

Certified MTG nerd AND certified anime nerd? Amber sounds awesome.

Something incredible is happening in the Magic: The Gathering community. The prolific MTG Youtube channel Tolarian Community College has raised $450,000 and growing for Trans Lifeline. Read our writer S. Baum's story here and go pitch in! www.erininthemorning.com/p/magic-the-...

Rowan and I survived a crucible together, and I'll never be able to repay her camaraderie and friendship during the past two years. I am gutted to be losing her voice on the site, but I'm so excited to see what comes next and have no doubt it will involve kicking ass.

JUNJI ITO PINBALL is lying on the internet, but fun and collaborative. And it's already a frontrunner for my favorite games of 2026.

Put Jared Harris in githyanki makeup and pay him to act his ass off.

This sounds like an iteration of what makes every @sandypuggames.bsky.social RPG whip ass: unapologetic style and politics synthesized around a satisfying loop.

It looks like Scott has found a Kickstarter bottom feeder who created shell companies to distribute a slew of AI-generated RPG supplements without raising suspicion with the platform.

Love seeing Mollie carry a torch for smaller crowdfunding projects during Feb's zine initiatives! It can be thankless work and poison for news placement algos.

Luke's headline game and Being Professionally Angry is a constant pleasure to read.

Play a (mostly) RPG-themed crossword developed by our own @newmadras.bsky.social as a special anniversary month treat!

I was laid off today, among hundreds of others at The Washington Post. I loved covering games here, and I am so proud of our international coverage. My colleagues — those who lost their jobs and those who didn't — are rockstars. It was such an honor to work alongside them.

another day of relentlessly convincing myself that journalism must outlast billionaires.

independent media or bust.