"[W]e all colored it in with magic markers and – just a few short hours later – Marronopoly was born." @mattmarrone.bsky.social makes a new game with his Monopoly-loving sons:

ICYMI: "So, after all this time… I forgive you, Bioshock Infinite." @unabridgedgamer.bsky.social explores Bioshock Infinite's strange interpretation of Christianity:

There's... a lot things that Bioshock Infinite did that disappoint me to this day. However, I think with this column, I've finally got a bit of closure. Next month's gonna be a happier one, scout's honor.

"So, after all this time… I forgive you, Bioshock Infinite." @unabridgedgamer.bsky.social explores Bioshock Infinite's strange interpretation of Christianity:

ICYMI: "The game appears to want to have it both ways – 'run and hide' in tandem with 'stand and fight.'" Emma Kostopolus analyzes Silent Hill f's approach to inverted power dynamics:

"The game appears to want to have it both ways – 'run and hide' in tandem with 'stand and fight.'" Emma Kostopolus analyzes Silent Hill f's approach to inverted power dynamics:

Don't get caught in the rain. This month's Exploits includes writing on a missing player two, The Casket Lottery, My Good Side, Misery, Andor and Somerville. Buy: buff.ly/hH7iYQ7 Subscribe: buff.ly/ffBGA2W Read @vandennis.bsky.social's essay on Andor: buff.ly/MBxx1Z8

Now on the internet, as in real life, you can hear me talk at you about a Sarah Waters novel

my first article for unwinnable is about @neal.fun 's i'm not a robot!

I love dead malls - I wrote this about arcades in dying malls for @unwinnable.com : unwinnable.com/2017/12/11/d...

ICYMI: "The state of modern technology is overwhelmingly miserable, and I’m Not a Robot works so well because it laughs with you about it." @beewertheimer.com plays I’m Not a Robot, a game that puts you through an absurd CAPTCHA gauntlet:

ICYMI: "A green, velvet texture rippled across the yard, in all directions, but mostly towards the southeast corner. And the corner waved back." This Halloween, @noahspringer.com comes across a horror in his backyard:

@panic.com's Playdate is awesome and my favorite console of the 9th generation! I started 2025 singing it's praises for @unwinnable.com.

"The state of modern technology is overwhelmingly miserable, and I’m Not a Robot works so well because it laughs with you about it." @beewertheimer.com plays I’m Not a Robot, a game that puts you through an absurd CAPTCHA gauntlet:

The doctors said I got some pretty nasty poison ivy over the summer, but I wasn't quite convinced of their diagnosis

"A green, velvet texture rippled across the yard, in all directions, but mostly towards the southeast corner. And the corner waved back." This Halloween, @noahspringer.com comes across a horror in his backyard: unwinnable.com/2025/10/31/t...

ICYMI: "They become haunted by the precarity of queer desire and the persistence of the heterosexual norm." @chiltonm.bsky.social examines the link between the institution of the house and the ghost of heterosexuality in The Paying Guests and The Safekeep:

"They become haunted by the precarity of queer desire and the persistence of the heterosexual norm." @chiltonm.bsky.social examines the link between the institution of the house and the ghost of heterosexuality in The Paying Guests and The Safekeep: unwinnable.com/2025/10/30/a...

ICYMI: "Its message and prediction of imminent destruction didn’t come true. Yet, still it feels we’re approaching destruction again." Alex W. DeJong examines Barry McGuire's “Eve of Destruction” during a time where it feels all too relevant again:

this was an incredible game. the story was so fascinating. and oh boy what a climax. the tension and dread and all-out weirdness are unmatched.

ICYMI: "[E]ven if Mildred isn’t a witch, she is wise." @deirdrekoala.bsky.social digs into the historical context behind the witch hunt of Mildred Walker from The Excavation of Hob’s Barrow:

"Its message and prediction of imminent destruction didn’t come true. Yet, still it feels we’re approaching destruction again." Alex W. DeJong examines Barry McGuire's “Eve of Destruction” during a time where it feels all too relevant again:

"[E]ven if Mildred isn’t a witch, she is wise." @deirdrekoala.bsky.social digs into the historical context behind the witch hunt of Mildred Walker from The Excavation of Hob’s Barrow:

ICYMI: "Without telling you, Silksong has trained you to speedrun it." @emilyprice.bsky.social explains how Hollow Knight: Silksong trains players to master it:

"Without telling you, Silksong has trained you to speedrun it." @emilyprice.bsky.social explains how Hollow Knight: Silksong trains players to master it:

Great write-up of just a fascinating movie that still feels impactful today.

ICYMI: "From its opening credits, which play over shots of the exteriors of actual strip clubs, Death Line is a movie that feels coated in grime." @orringrey.com watches Gary Sherman’s Death Line from 1972:

Silksong isn’t just a game; it's a class in how to play itself. My October column for @unwinnable.com:

"From its opening credits, which play over shots of the exteriors of actual strip clubs, Death Line is a movie that feels coated in grime." @orringrey.com watches Gary Sherman’s Death Line from 1972:

this was a fucking vibe @unwinnable.com unwinnable.com/2025/09/02/g...

This is a fantastic read of what I genuinely think might be one of the best pieces of art of the last 5 years.

ICYMI: "This is not a write-up scolding anyone, don’t worry. Let’s just have fun for a bit." @claribel.ink ponders where the boundaries of a game's identity lie in a world of mods and extra settings:

ICYMI: "Sepulchre is, if nothing else, a game that knows its own brand identity." Unwinnable Feature Excerpt: @orringrey.com checks out Sepuchre, an eye-catching example of The Game As an Object:

as someone who doesn't like playing games with mods, this is an interesting read

"This is not a write-up scolding anyone, don’t worry. Let’s just have fun for a bit." @claribel.ink ponders where the boundaries of a game's identity lie in a world of mods and extra settings:

"Sepulchre is, if nothing else, a game that knows its own brand identity." Unwinnable Feature Excerpt: @orringrey.com checks out Sepuchre, an eye-catching example of The Game As an Object: unwinnable.com/2025/10/24/g...

This time around, I dragged my usual column about board games into the main magazine to write about SEPULCHRE and the phenomenon of "Game as Object." unwinnable.com/2025/10/24/g...

One of my favorite things about working with @unwinnable.com is helping to connect potential cover artists, and I was very happy to help get @bertsellsgraves.bsky.social on the cover of our annual spooky issue!

ICYMI: "You cannot leave the memory without facing the dissolution." Unwinnable Monthly Feature Excerpt: @jhensliterature.bsky.social delves into the grief behind the Doom map myhouse.wad:

This game affected me in such a weird way. I played the game, found out about the book, then played more. Now im terrified to go back to either. I think in many ways because of the reasons @jhensliterature.bsky.social lays out. That and my absolute fear of losing g my own memory/mind.

"You cannot leave the memory without facing the dissolution." Unwinnable Monthly Feature Excerpt: @jhensliterature.bsky.social delves into the grief behind the Doom map myhouse.wad:

ICYMI: "For Pharloom’s past, present, and future, faith functions as an omnipresent mediator, embodied and exploited in varied ways depending on the social position of its interlocutors." Christopher Spina examines the various facets of faith in Hollow Knight: Silksong:

Just re-hyping the newest issue of @unwinnable.com, with cover art by Yours Truly!

"For Pharloom’s past, present, and future, faith functions as an omnipresent mediator, embodied and exploited in varied ways depending on the social position of its interlocutors." Christopher Spina examines the various facets of faith in Hollow Knight: Silksong:

Exploits is looking for movie essays. $10 for 350 words on just about any movie you want. New writers and contributors especially welcome! Feel free to DM me with pitches. And it should probably go without saying but any use of AI will not only disqualify you but get you permanently banned.

This was a fun one to design. Yes, the design inspiration is extremely on the nose. No, there is nothing spooky in this issue.

!!! Such a big honor to be here this go round !!! Your reminder that you gotta play myhouse.wad if you haven't, esp if you're a DOOM Oldhead - or, like me, it was nonetheless a deeply formative part of your development as a nerd/gamer/whathaveyou And if you've already played it - Halloween Awaits

Stretched the theme this month: wrote about Sarah Waters’ The Paying Guests, Yael van der Wouden’s The Safekeep, and how if a hot girl is in your house for too long it is kind of like being haunted

I wrote about what really freaked me out in Alien: Earth (spoiler: it was not the cutie patootie eyeball)

I wrote about British witchcraft laws and THE EXCAVATION OF HOB’S BARROW for @unwinnable.com’s spooky season issue