Update to this chart that I share a lot. Not breaking news: Game design teams are still OVERWHELMINGLY all men. About 7% of the top 500 games have a woman or non-binary person credited as a designer. A 🧵of related charts: (1/6) 🎲✂️

Check out Tiny Towns: Underground, several other lovely micro expansions, and a new game from Kasper Lapp—Live now on Kickstarter! www.kickstarter.com/projects/ald...

Very exciting! A year ago @senfoonglim.bsky.social interviewed me for the Ludology Podcast about my unpublished game, Shanghai Noir, and narrative in games, and the episode is out! Here's the sell sheet for Shanghai Noir. If you're interested in playing/playtesting it, I have it on TTS. Let me know!

From the designer of Tiny Towns, @peterlmcpherson.bsky.social, we are proud to present Lodge! Draft room tiles and place them on matching floors to attract guests and construct amenities to keep them happy. Coming to Kickstarter January 2026! www.kickstarter.com/projects/cam...

We're cooking up something really special for our upcoming game, Lodge. I don't think you're ready for it...

Here's a glimpse at what Leslie Herman is cooking up for Lodge with @pickpocketgames.bsky.social !

I’m doing victory laps in my kitchen right now!!!! 💃🏼 CGE just announced they are going to be giving away 100% of the profit from their Harry Potter game to pro-trans charities!! www.instagram.com/p/DNG48n-IVP...

Tiny Towns is officially out on BGA today! Right now you can play with the base game cards in Master Builder, Town Hall, or Solo modes, but the expansions are on their way as well!

The leadership of the Tabletop Game Designers Association was disappointed to see the publisher CGE touting Codenames: Back to Hogwarts, a new Harry Potter-themed version of Codenames.

The complaint was why are you supporting somebody who is pouring her money into crushing trans people. CGE's reply is we are changing the world with the magic of every codenames version we make. Can't you be respectful. That's because they don't care because this is all about money.

OMG... Flip 7 is so complicated, Asmodee UK decided to let AI take a crack at the rules... (the screenshot is only the start of this.. this... this.) #Boardgames AI will screw us all www.asmodee.co.uk/blogs/news/h...

👀 Shiny updated prototype ✨

In case you missed the news from @alderaceg.bsky.social, Tiny Towns: Underground is coming to Kickstarter this August, along with a bunch of other expansions for AEG games!

In 2020, Josh Wood had to cancel his Japan trip, and while the world was locked down, we all got to travel with him through Let’s Go to Japan. Today, we found out where he’s taking us next. Get your passports ready. #boardgames #AEG30 #LetsGoToJapan #LetsGoSeries

HEY!! YOU!! Yeah, YOU!! You think you’re not a “real” designer? That BULLSHIT 🐄 Indie Games Night Market is the perfect place for making and/or selling games for the first time! Take it from me—my game High Tide sold there last year, got signed, and is releasing at Gen Con!! Give it a shot!! 🎲✂️

ICYMI: Issue 19 is out now! In which @beneetakaur.bsky.social reveals what’s been sitting on her Shelf of Shame... And plays it! Go to senetmagazine.com to order a copy or subscribe. #boardgamesarebeautiful

🚨 Programming alert: Tiny Towns (designed by @peterlmcpherson.bsky.social) is now in beta on Board Game Arena 🚨

Hi friends—I'm starting a playtesting server for my games! I have a handful of projects I'm actively testing, and any feedback is always appreciated. Come play some games, or feel free to just join to see what I'm working on! discord.gg/hvSuTk3XJF

Unusual to sell an art book without listing a single artist on your page. gamefound.com/en/projects/...

City of Six Moons is a board game with a rulebook entirely written in an alien language… and it is FASCINATING. Tom lost his mind a bit, playing this one, and you can watch the results right here: www.shutupandsitdown.com?post_type=vi...

Tiny Towns is in beta on BGA! 🟥🔨🟦🔨🟨🔨🏠

New comic! Breaking news: Local gamer hears ‘12-player real-time’ and spirals into an overambitious planning frenzy. 🗞️🚨 You can read this week's blog post at www.semicoop.com/comic/fit-to... #boardgames #fittoprint @alderaceg.bsky.social @peterlmcpherson.bsky.social

Game design is so much about coralling uncertainty. Constructing a little pen where uncertainty can prowl around and delight onlookers but never actually escape the confines.

Our access to COVID vaccines is under attack. It’s more important than ever to make our voices heard by making public comment to the FDA by May 23 at 11:59 PM EST. Use our template available on our substack at peoplescdc.substack.com/p/vaccine-ac...

We're super excited to announce Cascadia: Alpine Lakes! A brand new stand-alone follow-up to Cascadia! Using dual-hex tiles, Alpine Lakes takes that Cascadia puzzliness you know and love to new heights - layer tiles to create peaks and valleys and populate them with wildlife!

genAI is the extremely high interest loan that tech is betting on because they truly believe that if we worship enough, the ai god will come down and magically fix all the resulting debt and global damage. why are we letting these guys drive

✨ I FINALLY have a professional website!!! ✨ Special thanks to my amazing partner Michelle!! Now I have a quick and easy portal for connecting my work information with publishers and other industry peeps!! GO CHECK IT OUT!! www.marcelineleiman.com

My first news update since January brings details on Tiny Towns on BGA, as well as updates on some fresh designs! www.petermcpherson.com/news#h.5cqmx...

Tiny Towns is in Alpha on BGA 🎉 Seeing a digital version of this game has been a dream of mine for years, and the developers and the team at @alderaceg.bsky.social put in so much work to test all 116 buildings. All expansions will be in the full release—couldn't be more excited! #tinytowns

We're playtesting Memento Mori live in just a few minutes! Come watch us play a cozy game about cemeteries 💀🪦⚰️

Sorry I missed yesterday's stream. I had to cancel so that I could catch up on sleep and errands. But we are back! @phantommeeple.bsky.social & I will be joined by @peterlmcpherson.bsky.social to do a live playtest of his game Memento Mori! I am excited to check out what has changed.

I am excited for the week even while exhausted.😂Happy Earth Day! @peterlmcpherson.bsky.social joins @phantommeeple.bsky.social & I for Ep 108! Sunday will be a double header! Nestlings then @bookofnerds.bsky.social & Jose joins me in person to play Butt themed games! @tabletopafterdark.bsky.social

Thinking over a game designer patreon as a concept, mulling over what I could offer to patrons. - Monthly games via PNP/free online service? - Going over sellsheets? - Playtesting of patron's prototypes? Consultations? - General Q&A? Do any of these sound enticing? Is anything obvious missing?

I finished the 4th piece in the Lord of the Rings cross stitch book mark set I've been working on! I love how much this one captures.

Attention LGBTQIA+ board game industry folks! I am creating a GeekList for LGBTQIA+ Publishers, Designers, Artists, and more. If you fall into one or more of these please consider filling out this form by 4/27/25 (for yourself, no outing anyone please). Thank you! 🥰 forms.gle/iaH5Z9giYyDi...

Would it be a sustainable option for me to have my own game designer patreon? Like if I offered exclusive access to my current and ongoing prototypes/pnps, make videos talking about process, answering q&a’s each month Would that be something people would be willing to support someone through?

The whole US tabletop industry is in shock and disarray right now. Many of us are mourning the loss of our future as we imagined it. Those of us, like Drayer Ink, with projects in motion, are doing some hard number-crunching and trying to stay calm. What else can we do? ✂️🎲🧵🎲✂️

Thank you to everyone who joined @tokengaymer.bsky.social, @connievdc.bsky.social and me for our Game Design Advice Column panel at Unpub! Wonderful questions 2 years in a row. Always looking for more questions for the TTGDA newsletter! Submit them here: forms.gle/g4oET37gQkpH...

Let’s talk playtesting, shall we? After playtesting dozens of games for tabletop, PC/console, and installations, I've learned a thing or two about how to test well. So I figured it's a good time to remind folks about playtesting best practices while we're all hyped up with inspiration from GDC. 🧵

Here's another thing I learnt from my other careers: FACILITATE your play-testing session What that means is: - run it like a meeting or a workshop - use a light touch to steer - set and maintain expectations - follow a clear structure ✂️🎲🧵🎲✂️

I recently had a chance to play @drawnonward.bsky.social's amazing game Walkable City again. It's a cooperative game about providing people with alternatives to cars with asymmetric player roles. I was the light rail player and Taylor was the bike path player. Love watching our network grow.

🎲✂️ related. Will you be at Unpub Festival this weekend? I want to play your game! Schedule some time with me to chat about your game's graphic design, designing with manufacturing in mind, and game design in general! unpub.pandagm.com/9?panda=10315

Who likes Cribbage and is going to Unpub? Indiana and I have designed a little combo-building game we're calling Voyage, and we're so excited to playtest it with folks in Baltimore!

One aspect of playtesting I feel is under discussed is feedback. Not receiving it, but giving it out and some best practices for doing so. Learning how to give a designer feedback on their game is a skill, and I've seen too many designers just be very not good at this seemingly fundamental process.

@sirjoshwood.bsky.social and I are working on a spatial puzzle game that features polyominoes with no consistent unit scale or placement rules. It's gonna be WONKY.

Pirates of the High Teas is LIVE on Kickstarter! Now's your chance to back this game and bring it to life! Thank you to all of the folks out there who have found and loved this game 💜🏴‍☠️☕️🧁💜 let's do this! www.kickstarter.com/projects/pin...

Took a trip to my public library wearing @danielsolis.bsky.social's incredible t-shirt! Can confirm the extra soft option really is EXTRA soft danielsolis.threadless.com/designs/publ...

Hey Folks! I'm a kid lit illustrator who favors whimsical scenes, strange worlds, and expressive characters. See more of my work at griffinillustration.com #kidlitartpostcard #kidlitart #kidlit #picturebooks #childrensbooks #illustration #kidlitartist #kidlitillustrator

fwiw I got to play a friend's preview copies and really enjoyed both of these. Point Galaxy is a solid evolution of that system (Point Salad) and Propolis is engaging and upleveled by the most delightful illustrations of beehives ever. Plus beeples. 🪐🐝