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?...

Hello world! We are pleased to announce the founding of Hawk and Dove, a new historical game studio. We're just getting started on this journey, and we invite you all to follow along as we navigate the incredible world of board game publishing! Check us out here: www.hawkanddovegames.com

While I love my niche stupid hobby of historical board gaming, sometimes it does just make me want to scream. Take the latest example, a board game about the Irish Potato Famine where you get to compete with friends to see who survives best (?) www.kickstarter.com/projects/com...

@pierrevj.bsky.social and I are back on our ACW bullshit, finally playing Dissimula Edizioni's Give Us Victories. Initial impressions are this is an overlooked gem. We're not entirely convinced by the combat resolution, but it's okay and everything else has been wonderful.

Tomorrow at 5pm GMT, @joedewhurst.bsky.social @pierrevj.bsky.social will be discussing their recent mega campaign of Prospero’s Dream Mothership module (I think...), with 1600 players with guests @lukegearing.bsky.social and @seedlinggames.bsky.social - Sounds insane www.youtube.com/live/2DpZ_ks...

I almost forgot @pierrevj.bsky.social 😑 who did a very excellent historical context for the rule book.

In 3 hours I'll be live with @pierrevj.bsky.social and @beyondsolitaire.bsky.social to celebrate reaching 8k subs. They will ask me all the most serious questions we gathered on from viewers. You can also ask your burning questions live! Expect some pretty deep stuff 🧠 youtube.com/live/7y2n9Ew...

If anyone has any questions they want me to ask Fred, just let me know. Hard hitting, deeply personal questions only xoxo

🎲✂️ Historical board game idea: a collection of games published as an anthology or edited volume, similar to what you see in academic treatments of complex topics. Like 5-6 designers take on a beefy historical topic or era and each make their own game about one part of it.

This year at Punched Con, @pierrevj.bsky.social and I got to play a super deluxe version of C&C: Napoleonics, and it was EPIC! We highly recommend this version of the game from @gmtgames.bsky.social, such a unique experience. youtu.be/y9YggCbLdk8

Check out our latest InsideGMT article from designer Pierre Vagneur-Jones: "Ermine Design Process & Historical Look at The Battle of Champtoceux" @pierrevj.bsky.social insidegmt.com/ermine-desig...

If you are interested, you can order my book now at www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Castillon-Ha... It should be available from other online shops soon and in the US in September.

This week as part of their ongoing ACW series @pierrevj.bsky.social and @drcrossbows.bsky.social discuss The U.S. Civil War, Simonitch's classic from @gmtgames.bsky.social open.spotify.com/episode/40Oo...

@cube4me.bsky.social , is there any possibility of stocking tokens of small wooden shields? Say roughly 12mm x 15mm x 10mm in your usual colours.

it's new game day buy my game please if I sell enough of them today, I will buy myself a treat hollandspiele.com/products/a-b...

We are now taking orders for a game whose title doesn't play nice with bluesky's character limit! 24 scenarios both famous and obscure - Bouvines! Hastings! Agincourt! The Battle on the Ice! Celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Shields & Swords series. hollandspiele.com/products/a-b...

Fresh out of PunchedCon, with @pierrevj.bsky.social @ericvulgaris.bsky.social @joedewhurst.bsky.social we did a video debrief featuring awesome games such as Napoleon's Triumph, @gmtgames.bsky.social The Pure Land, Merchant of Venus, and many more... 🤩 youtu.be/Z8WVrNMBjps?...

A few snippets from a very unexpected commission to work on a COIN game. Total freedom to come up with a map for the next volume in the COIN Series: The Ōnin War, Muromachi Japan. A game by Joe Dewhurst. A tribute to Kisai Risshō (Hiroshige II). @volko.bsky.social @joedewhurst.bsky.social

Since I started a new job this month I haven't been as active on my website but I am at least back this week with a rare review of a book I didn't finish: The Burgundians by Bart Van Loo www.stuartellisgorman.com/blog/the-bur...

This Sunday at 9pm, 3pm EST, @pierrevj.bsky.social will teach me Eylau 1807 from @soundofdrumsgames.bsky.social - looking forward to discovering this new napoleonic system! www.youtube.com/live/DivcV-P...

Vijayanagara by @sespagnolie.bsky.social and friends is now out for RTT! A thousand thank yous to Joël Simoneau for programming it. rally-the-troops.com/vijayanagara

Big news for those of you that miss me talking about and playing big crunchy boardgames! I'm streaming with the ingenious @fredserval.bsky.social this Sunday, playing 1989, my favourite CDG. www.youtube.com/live/8PB5Cqd...

Important announcement: As you may know, we had plans to shift some of our printing services to China in order to reduce our costs and produce games at more affordable prices. Unfortunately, due to the current tariff situation, we have had to pause those plans. ... /2

Thanks to @pierrevj.bsky.social for playtesting The Iron Triangle, my Vietnam themed design last night. It's really beginning to feel like a proper game now after some streamlining.

Today’s research for Ermine!

It looks like we're going to Gascony with a full host, leaving Brittany and Flanders without any reinforcements. But what's this? The Lord of Monaco approaches???!!!!?? Whatever shall we do next? old.reddit.com/r/AskHistori...

A lovely piece about the urgency of Molly House in our current times. Thank you Luis.

For @unwinnable.com, I share some thoughts on @wehrlegig.games' Molly House and talk with the game's co-designer @miasmacorp.bsky.social.

We Intend To Move On Your Works is back! Episode 13 covers John Prados' Army of the Heartland from 1996. A in depth exploration of what looks like an amazing game. Another amazing release by @pierrevj.bsky.social and @drcrossbows.bsky.social creators.spotify.com/pod/show/hom...

It’s finally here! Mechanisms as Metaphors: How Board Games Create Meaning takes a look at how board games make persuasive arguments, how they might move us emotionally, and how the ways we talk about the form might hinder its development. www.youtube.com/watch?v=wG4z...

We tried something new with the Homo Ludens community: have everyone collaborate to pick the 10 best historical games of last year. The top 3 will get a Golden Luddite, a prize rewarding excellence in historical game design. Video coming soon 👀

I'm off to Brussels for a cheeky mini-convention with @pierrevj.bsky.social, @fredserval.bsky.social, and some other miscreants from the Homo Ludens family! The organisation is predictably chaotic, but I'll hopefully be running a game of Baltic Empires using all the near-final art.

Mandatory accountability post - after an extended interlude due to life getting in the way @pierrevj.bsky.social, Alexandre and I have recorded the latest episode in We Intend to Move on Your Works. It is edited and ready, it all depends on @fredserval.bsky.social now.

Very excited - my demo of Battlegroup Clash: Baltics at @sdhistcon.bsky.social Online this Saturday will see @sebastianbae.bsky.social playing the Reds against @letsplayhistory.bsky.social as the Blues. USMC vs Bundeswehr (kinda!). Sign up to watch the fireworks! tabletop.events/conventions/...

Tonight, with @beyondsolitaire.bsky.social @pierrevj.bsky.social and @joedewhurst.bsky.social we will be officers of the French Revolutionary Army ! Join us for this live session of Legion of Honour: www.youtube.com/live/tC-MJG2...

I have been working with @trevormbenjamin on our first ACW game (Rebels Against Rebellion), which is about Southern loyalists in East Tennessee battling against the Confederacy. Join me at @SDHistCon's Winter Quarters for the first public demo! tabletop.events/conventions/...

I got a chance to review the excellent Documenting Warfare: Records of the Hundred Years War, Edited and Translated in Honour of Anne Curry edited by Rémy Ambühl and Andy King for De Re Militari. I'm happy to report that it's excellent! deremilitari.org/2025/01/remy...

Publication day! Pas d'armes and Late Medieval Chivalry edited by Rosalind Brown-Grant and @mariodamen.bsky.social is available now. Discover more about this Open Access book here ⬇️ www.liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/doi/book/10....

Game design organization tip 🎲✂️ To keep different versions straight so you can return to a project easily, give files easy-to-follow names like this: Cards (old).png Cards v1.0.png Cards (new).png Cards (current).png Cards 1.27.25.png Cards (working ver).png Cards v2.0.png Cards (new)2.png

This Sunday at 9pm French, 3pm EST, I'll have a chat with @pierrevj.bsky.social to talk about his first game with @gmtgames.bsky.social, volume VII in the Men of Iron series: Ermine. I mean it's not every day that we get to talk about the War of Breton Succession! www.youtube.com/live/vwuH7f4...

Tonight at 9pm French, 3 pm EST, I'll be playing Legion of Honor with @pierrevj.bsky.social and @beyondsolitaire.bsky.social. We'll also discuss about the thin frontier between RPGs and Wargames. JOIN US! www.youtube.com/live/JG3kT1q...

Add another one to the list, though it's probably wishful thinking to think this will come out in 2025 when Purgatorio is still grinding away at its P500. Either way, it's Men Of Iron, and I'm all in. @gmtgames.bsky.social

Delighted to announce that my game Ermine has just hit @gmtgames.bsky.social p500! www.gmtgames.com/p-1153-ermin... It’s the latest entry in Richard Berg’s Men of Iron series, and I hope my entry lives up to his previous entries!

For @unwinnable.com I covered PAX Unplugged 2024. I had a great time meeting friends, playing games, and talking to designers. A lot of great games coming out in 2025. Special shoutout to @miasmacorp.bsky.social @beyondsolitaire.bsky.social @wehrlegig.games @afischergames.bsky.social

This took a while to come together, and is weirder than usual as a result: a joint review of Halls of Hegra by Petter Schanke Olsen/@tompetgames.bsky.social and Lanzerath Ridge by @djackthompson.bsky.social, @zweigefuhle.bsky.social www.stuartellisgorman.com/blog/halls-of-hegra-and-lanzerath-ridge

I'm so delighted this is now Fully Offical; Drew, Joe, and Cole have already been doing so much awesome work, Matilda and I couldn't ask for a finer team!

2024 Bobby Nunes Memorial Award finalists: - @amabel.bsky.social, video essays - @beyondsolitaire.bsky.social, interviews - @danthurot.bsky.social, Space-Biff work - "We Intend To Move On Your Works" (@drcrossbows.bsky.social, @pierrevj.bsky.social, @fredserval.bsky.social, Alex Fontaine-Rousseau).

Continuing my journey through books on historical tabletop games, I really enjoyed @writegameread.bsky.social's book Paper Time Machines, published by Routledge. Time will tell how useful I found it, but I'm optimistic. www.stuartellisgorman.com/blog/paper-time-machines-by-maurice-w-suckling

🚨 EuroWarGames is live on Kickstarter! 🚨 Explore 17 chapters diving into the unique world of European wargaming, with insights from designers, scholars, and practitioners. Support the campaign and help us celebrate this rich tradition! 🎲✨ www.kickstarter.com/projects/nut...