Playing Hugo with 8p well into November was a good sign it wasn’t just another annual Halloween game. #SpielMas ⛄️

This morning at 09:57 am HST, the US Geological Survey lost camera V3. 🪦 It was covered in ash and cinder during Episode 38 inside in the caldera of Kilauea Volcano on the Big Island of Hawaii. #RecoveringGeologist

This Tuesday I’ll be playtesting 🎲✂️ a print display of the unofficial two-person variant I designed in 2022 for 6 Nimmt (Take 5). If this works my contribution will see time on the “local designers” portion of the shelf at Peoples Coffee in Santa Cruz CA. Rules: boardgamegeek.com/thread/28939...

Pixies, Sushi Go Party, and Challengers! Beach Party…all too much fun during #SpielMas ⛄️!

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! #SpielMas ⛄️

Eat. Play. Love.

I’ve wrapped up my college broadcast soccer season last week by then getting to attend the NWSL Championship in San Jose. Did I have a copy of #Soccer54 ⚽️ in my bag the whole time? Of course!

Drink up! 😵💀🪦

I got schooled on whether there are game jams on Itch.io which “explicitly accept physical games, including board games, card games, and roleplaying games.” This is me saying I was wrong, Courtney! 🎲✂️

Look for 🎲✂️ lessons everywhere “Whenever you observe a system or an activity think about what the incentives are and how they are impacting player behavior and emotion.”

Brought to you by #SpielMas ⛄️!

Reminder: If you have the privilege of 🎲✂️, take it and run with it. I manage care for two aging relatives, and I have to put things aside for a few months to sell a house and rent another. I’m hoping to make Game Market West in the Spring and pivot to @spielmas.com as much as possible. See you soon!

This episode is a love letter to both @protospielo.bsky.social and the Golden Gate Gamemakers. 🎲✂️

Button Shy has offered an 18-card cozy game challenge: buttonshygames.com/blogs/news-1... My timing may work to further develop #BatsOfLimekiln 🦇 after @gamemarketwest.bsky.social on 9/21. Here’s my 2022 🎲✂️ post, with video of the actual bats: www.haoleboygames.com/blog/the-bat...

I also love to teach games, but I’ve also taught high school and college. In contrast, teaching a guided play-through of your prototype is next level, and it’s a discipline unto itself that still challenges and impresses me. But it’s absolutely essential for a game designer to master. 🎲✂️

I went looking for a nice in-hand solitaire game that uses a standard deck of cards and found Blackjack Lite by Brian Kinsella. I tested it in the backseat on an hour-drive to Shakespeare in the Park. Got beat the first x3, but finally won. Joker and Black Knight are a fun addition. #boardgames

After a furious week of online playtesting, I have printed, sleeved, and made ready the current prototype of Foosball 74 for IRL playtesting. 🎲✂️ #Soccer54

After a recent online playtesting burst last week, I’m going into the Labor Day weekend with only 3/4 of my original advantage suits (🎩 @ericdittmore.bsky.social) But that made room to IRL playtest corner kicks, throw-ins, tackles, fouls, and the offside rule. 🎲✂️

Two worlds collided on Sunday. The ⚽️ season opened for my local college team where I am a play-by-play announcer. And it was @protospielo.bsky.social weekend, where I was still playtesting Foosball 74. 🎲✂️ #Soccer54

GMW Fall 2025 Countdown - Soccer 54: Premier by Greg Pool Playing soccer with playing cards! Using six cards in your hand, challenge for possession to move a soccer ball up and down a 3x3 field for the best shot on goal. Whoever scores the most goals wins! #boardgames @haoleboygames.com

I have taken the advice a recent playtester in the pub and will retheme this game to "Foosball 74. Table soccer...on your table!" The core game remains the same for playtesting this weekend at @protospielo.bsky.social but this should lower the barrier to entry a bit. #Soccer54 🎲✂️

TFW Jason at @themisplay.com drops your name at 8:36 because you wanted to find a time to playtest each other’s digital prototypes. 🎲✂️

Nominations aren’t until October, but already “High Tide” from @underdog.games & @marcelineleiman.bsky.social looks like an early candidate for recognition in the 2025 Frosties during this year’s #SpielMas ⛄️ festival. #boardgames

Very helpful discussion about sell sheets by @thedarkimp.bsky.social and @fertessa.bsky.social 🎲✂️

I heard this NPR piece on 8/13/25 and instantly thought it needs to be a #boardgameidea 🎲✂️

I would do this with a group of 🎲✂️ board game designers but to discuss the game in the context of how the it was made, what makes the gameplay unique, the quality of its components, what they would take/leave for their own designs, etc.

Save the date! 🎲✂️ On Monday 8/25, Jason from @themisplay.com and I are going to host the first virtual playtesting event sponsored by Golden Gate Gamemakers.

I printed a prototype that uses a custom deck from Soccer 74, the game based on the free print and play version called #Soccer54. I tested the PK shootout using the 32 shooting and saving cards. The digital version is ready to go for @protospielo.bsky.social starting on August 22. 🎲✂️

I've been 🎲✂️ building up for the August @protospielo.bsky.social by creating a custom deck of cards based on #Soccer54 that now includes 74 cards, advantage suits, colors, and directions to move the ball after a battle for possession. This eliminates a ton of rules and speeds up play.

I have removed the link to Codenames on www.spielmas.com/play in support of the #BlacklistCGE boycott until @czechgames.com: 1) Recognizes trans lives matter as much as any life. 2) Donates some profits made from "Codenames: Return to Hogwarts" to the @trevorproject.bsky.social.

We should all start playtesting at our local library to show off our skills and get hired for the summer. 🎲✂️

The more I playtest #Soccer54 ⚽️ the more people send me recent soccer games they think might be similar. So far, they aren’t, but it’s a big ol’ goofy world of creative 🎲✂️ people with similar passions. Feel free to add your own, but here’s what I’ve found so far: 🧵

Spent much of the evening studying the tsunami warning in the Pacific Ocean. Here on the West Coast, California will be spared except for areas that get historically inundated, such as Crescent City. They are forecast to see wave heights between 3.1-5.7 ft over 36 hours. #RecoveringGeologist 🧵

Some dreams really do come true! ⚽️

I’m not sure if you played #Soccer54 followed by PK Shootout 24 that it could more dramatic than this match.

Testing a trick-taking variant of #Soccer54 at the local pub with the designer of @zphotogame.bsky.social. 🎲✂️

Episode 29 is rising with the sun! Scrub back to 5:45 HST to catch the start of the golden hour, when the oranges and blues are at their peak. #RecoveringGeologist

Happy International Chess Day (7/20)! ♟️ #boardgames

Woah!

Just like a proper game of PK Shootout 24. 💯 Rules: haoleboygames.itch.io/soccer-54 #Soccer54

Iceland is going off. 🌋 Time to dust off this meme. #RecoveringGeologist

IRL Diamant (aka Incan Gold) players avoid dangers, hit jackpot. 💎 #boardgames

Update to PK Shootout 24! ⚽️ Version 1.2.0713: After playtesting at the Protospiel event during the East Bay Board Game Convention, I've added a drafting mechanism to give players a better chance of playing with a balanced hand. #Soccer54 #boardgames 🎲✂️

Let’s go pitch a soccer game ⚽️ in Oakland CA! 🎲✂️ #Soccer54 #boardgames

Heading up to playtest in my first IRL Protospiel event at a con. It's being run by the Golden Gate Gamemakers at the East Bay Board Game Convention in Oakland CA. Prior to this I've only been playtesting at @protospielo.bsky.social and in Santa Cruz at a monthly GGG meetup. 🎲✂️

I was today days old when I first learned that Molten Lava has its own Pantone color. Actually, red is not that hot. < 800 C 💯 Orange? Hotter. 800-1,000 C Yellow? 1,000-1,200 C. Now you're cooking! #RecoveringGeologist

This needs to be accomplished at least one night during the #SpielMas ⛄️ festival.

I had two successful four-player tests of Palace: River and Stone (rules ⤵️), which exclusively uses the standard deck of cards designed by @bethsobel.bsky.social. As a result, I’m in talks to include my variant and Beth’s deck in a new playtester’s wing of a local board game library! 🎲✂️

Tonight I’m heading to Santa Cruz CA to 🎲✂️ playtest. On the drive up, I’ll listen to the latest @themisplay.com podcast. When I arrive, I’ll leave out two unguided tests: * 2p 6 Nimmt 🐂 * PK Shootout 24 ⚽️ And I’ll guide a test of: * Palace: River and Stone 🃏 All available at:

Such a beautiful game! #boardgames