There's never been a video that so perfectly summed up the 3 archetypes of the Democratic Party: 1. The Compromised 2. The Confused 3. The Courageous

"[GAME]: The Dice Game" are the cover songs of the board game world

I've just finished my @cardboardedison.com judging, and here's my final 🎲✂️ observation: The competition is strong. Nearly every game I reviewed was competently designed. How do you stand out? HOOKS! Make sure you have crystal clear and awesome theme, mechanic, and/or component hooks.

The Game Boy Geek just reviewed Soothsayers! "Overall, this game's fantastic!" "It's pretty simple mechanically, but man, this has tons of depth" "Lots of player interaction" "Very tense at the end"

Soothsayers is holding strong at an 8.2 on BGG after 75 ratings. Most recent: "Banger hidden in this little box. This has great inspirations, you can feel the love for classic games the designer has. The direct interaction is spicy af! I just love it."

Observation on Day 3 of 🎲✂️ @cardboardedison.com judging: Keep your core gameplay loop as close to "Do 1 Thing" as possible. This is particularly true for family-weight games, but even heavier games can deliver a lot of depth with just "play 1 card" or "place 1 tile."

Today's 🎲✂️ observation after judging 10 @cardboardedison.com entries: Strive for high coherence across your components, mechanics, and theme. When all 3 align, the mechanics are easier to learn, it's satisfying to use the components, and players feel immersed in the world.

A new Soothsayers review is up, and it gets a Seal of Approval! Between this and Positano, I'm apparently now the designer of games that are mean but don't actually feel mean. www.youtube.com/watch?v=fl-a...

I'm a judge for Cardboard Edison this year. After every 5 entries that I review, I'll post an observation. Here's the first: Get specific with your theme. Set your game in a particular time, place, and/or culture (which may be fictional) and give it an overarching tone.

How many publishers do y'all pitch to simultaneously for the same game before receiving feedback (or assuming you've been ghosted)? I've been going with 5, when I force myself to do the pitch thing. 🎲✂️

Can @mst3kofficial.bsky.social do the Melania movie, please?

Very enthusiastic review of Soothsayers on @thesecretcabal.bsky.social podcast: thesecretcabal.com/episodes/epi... It starts at 06:28. A couple quotes: "You know how much I like tableau-building games. This one has shot to the top." "This is just a fabulous game!"

Double top ten day! Dice Tower reviews for my games today: 🦊 Outfox the Fox: #2 Party Game of 2025 www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIuX... 🍨 Positano: #5 Family Game of 2025 www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7Jk...

From @liegeofgames.bsky.social's review of Soothsayers: "If you want something like Arcs in card form or a meaner Res Arcana, this will be up your alley ... It looks like an engine builder; it plays like a knife fight." www.youtube.com/watch?v=RP2C...

In honor of the @cardboardedison.com 🎲✂️ contest, here are my 2-min. pitch video tips: 🪝 Push the hook(s) from the beginning 🧀 Be cheesily excited about your game 🫴 Show and tell, but mostly show 😲 Highlight the emotional highs 🪝 Keep everything connected to the hook(s) Script template below...

🎲✂️ I'm thinking about making a personal website showcasing my game designs. If you have one, or if you know of a good one, share it! I'd also like to hear opinions on what's worth including, as well as hosting recommendations.

2025 game design accomplishments: 🟢 1st year of published games! Positano, Monkey Mayhem!, Outfox the Fox, and Soothsayers all hit shelves and got some excellent reviews. ✒️ 2 signed games. Not bad, but hoping for more. 🥇 Ion Awards: Magmapunk - not yet signed! 🥉 Cardboard Edison: Branching Out

My top movies of 2025: 1. Flow 2. I'm Still Here 3. Warfare 4. Sinners 5. KPop Demon Hunters 6. Frankenstein 7. Memoir of a Snail 8. Mickey 17 The rest don't belong on a best of list. What movies am I missing?

Positano landed amongst great company on Game Informer's best of 2025 list gameinformer.com/tabletop/202...

How is it that the post office can run out of stamps? They're basically like printing money and take up essentially no inventory space.

Positano was just named #1 Family Game of 2025 by the Game Boy Geek! It's been a crazy good month for reviews coming out about my games. I feel like the hard work of the past 4 years is suddenly starting to culminate in some meaningful recognition. It feels really, really good.

@decisionspace.bsky.social I love the shout-out to Timesplitters 2 in your video game episode. What I particularly liked about that game was the built-in level designer. Finding that I enjoyed designing levels more than playing the game should have been a clue to get into game design earlier.

Hot dang, Soothsayers has hit its 30 ratings on BGG and is coming in at a blistering 8.2!

My designer diary for Soothsayers is up on BGG

For the second time this week, OUTFOX the FOX has landed in a top 5 party games of the year list! This time, it's from the Game Boy Geek. www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SZL...

When you're trying to simplify a game, removing mechanics is fine and all, but removing whole components is really where it's at. 🎲✂️

Grant named OUTFOX the FOX his #1 party game of the year!!! That's absolutely bananas

Film you've seen more than 6 times. Hard mode: no Stars (Wars or Trek), LOTR, or Marvel.

My trivia party game, OUTFOX the FOX, just got Dice Tower's "Seal of Approval"! Tom Vasel liked the fun discussions and described it as "a breath of fresh air" among the sea of party games. (My game also beat out a certain controversial HP game that's earlier in the video.)

What are your biggest annoyances in BGA games? 🎲✂️ I'm developing a BGA port of one of my games, and I want to avoid the things that make the experience less than ideal at times.

MRW Trump announces the US will resume nuclear tests the same day I watch House of Dynamite

Positano got covered in this video, along with 12 Rivers, for having "insane table presence." My best 🎲✂️ tip for achieving that with your prototypes is to go 3D! Components that rise up above the table are a huge draw. Make sure that 3D is integral to the gameplay, so that it doesn't feel gimmicky.

My iPhone was running out of storage space. I found this weird hack that freed up 13GB with no downsides. I swear this is part of Apple's planned obsolescence campaign. Let's all fight it! www.reddit.com/r/iphone/com...

My Essen fomo is strong, but I love seeing the first pics of Soothsayers out in the wild. Check it out at the Play to Z booth!

1350 games are debuting at Essen Spiel, and Brettspielblog named Soothsayers as their #2 most anticipated game. "Each tarot card you capture grants you a new game-changing ability. Combine these with your leveled-up actions to create unstoppable combos. DING! DING! DING!"

YES!! Grant put Outfox the Fox in his top 5 this month, saying, "It's my favorite party game I've played in a while!"

For table hog games, how big is too big? I'd love to see some measurements of the smallest tables that you regularly play games on. 🎲✂️ This is my Arches prototype. It spreads over roughly 11 sq ft (1 sq meter).

My sly trivia party game, OUTFOX the FOX, is now on sale on Amazon and Target (online)! It'll be on store shelves soon. Rank Top 5 lists & spot the fake answer (The Fox!) It recreates the team fun of pub trivia night. The game's one-vs-many structure pits the question reader vs. everyone else.

BGA just went full Asmodee with their branding. Let's pour one out for the original janky site that brought us so much joy

Protospiel Chicago was fun and productive this past weekend. I played 25 prototypes (!) from other designers and felt like I was able to help at least a few of them unlock the next evolution of their games. I tested Arches, Pasghetti, Compass & Ink, and Food Frenzy and got helpful feedback.

Heard from a publisher yesterday: "We're looking for family weight games that after playing once, kids can teach the game to other kids." I'm going to start asking returning playtesters for any game to teach as much of it as they can to the other players. 🎲✂️

Protospiel Chicago starts today! Will any other 🎲✂️ people be there?

Here's how I've been estimating the MSRP for a game: 1. Use the Get Estimate tool from pandagm.com 2. Multiply it by 5 Does that seem right to 🎲✂️ people? Any changes you'd suggest?

I love seeing news articles like this while I'm in the middle of reading Rendezvous with Rama futurism.com/mysterious-o...

She must be doing a bit, right? Funniest thing I've seen this week.

My forthcoming Monkey Mayhem! game from @scrungo.games just won a big award! The annual Independent Toy Awards are decided based on votes from toy retailers in the UK. This game should start showing up on store shelves in international markets soon, but will be delayed in the US due to tariffs.

If we were to dissect the conglomeration we currently call "theme", what would be in it? Below, Peer mentions: - Setting - Message (he calls it "theme") I'll add: - Character (who are you) - Motivation (what's your goal) - Tone/vibes What else? 🎲✂️

One of my games will soon be released globally, except for the US due to tariffs. This is a US-based company producing a game by a US designer. America Last?

Some of the first press I'm seeing on my forthcoming trivia party game, Outfox the Fox! www.indianapolismonthly.com/arts-and-cul...

I'll be demoing Positano a lot over the next few days! If you're at Gen Con, stop by the SlugFest booth (1329) and say hi.