Rumor confirmed! This game is GORGEOUS 🤩

This Indie & Local Tabletop Game Fair is fully operational NOW thru 5pm People's Book, Takoma Park MD

Packing up for the big event!

Rumor has it from a very reliable source that we might see the worldwide debut of Thief's Market, a 2025 re-implementation of the 2016 classic "I cut, you steal" game of greed, tomorrow at the Indie & Local Tabletop Games Fair!

Provocative and thoughtful interview by @backwardsttrpg.bsky.social with @explorersdesign.bsky.social. Here's Clayton on a topic dear to me, "keepsake" games: "I'd do everything I could to make the unplayed artifact feel incomplete and unprecious to the user..."

It's been a long time since I shared the Starter Pack for Tabletop Designers of the DMV. There's an astonishing amount of game design talent here in DC / Maryland / Virginia -- just take a look! And if you should be on this list*, let me know. go.bsky.app/4iZLcCc 1/▶️

TOMORROW! 🦈 @davethegame.bsky.social 🚓 Angela Bell 🃏 @looneylabs.bsky.social 👽 + over a dozen weirdo indie game folx Locally-crafted games for our DMV neighbors Find a game that's right for you OR YOUR MONEY BACK* * this event is free 1/▶️

ANOTHER wild Bonsai Diary appears! These were spotted in Pandemonium Books & Games in Cambridge MA, which blows me away because that was my FLGS decades ago... (🤓 well akshully they were in the Garage and the space they're in now was a Warhammer shop) ...back when I had just discovered Catan. 🕧🪽

New to the #SoloRPG List: The Bonsai Diary by @stickydoodler.bsky.social Grow your own tree with just pen & ink. #Journaling #SoloTTRPG CLICKY: solorpglist.com/search.html?...

saturday Saturday SATURDAY! The Indie & Local Tabletop Games Fair features DMV-based game designers and others who contribute to our local game scene. Emma is a veteran game master who runs Dungeons of Columbia, which can help you put on an amazing tabletop game experience. 1/▶️

A wild Bonsai Diary appears! A friend attending Gamehole Con dropped by I'm Board in Madison WI and spotted this -- wow! If you're in the area and hankering to grow a little tree, it's there waiting for you!

Get hype - just THREE DAYS until the Indie & Local Tabletop Games Fair! Experience the journey home after an epic quest and/or steal from the Devil in these tight -- dare I say soulful? -- zine RPGs by Cloven Pine Games. 📆 Sat, Oct 18 🕛 12-5pm 📍 @peoplesbooktakoma.com

The Oct-Nov ♦️🎲 Designed in the DMV email is out with upcoming events featuring your favorite local game designers. All info, no fluff -- sign up to get it delivered straight to your inbox: dmv-designed-games.beehiiv.com/p/tabletop-g...

Let's admit it: the last few months have been heavy, especially here in the DC area. Find a moment of peace and come grow a little tree with me as we play a special version of The Bonsai Diary! 📅 Tue, Nov 11 🕡 6:30 pm 📍 @fantomcomics.bsky.social, 2010 P St NW, 2nd Floor 💵 FREE

Come see the Exeunt Press Head Skeleton In Charge (me) in person at the People's Book Indie & Local Tabletop Games Fair this weekend in Takoma Park, MD. Details here: omnes.exeunt.press/p/peoples-bo... #boardgames #ttrpg #solorpg #gamedesign 🎲✂️

@davethegame.bsky.social is a big reason why the DMV is such a vibrant place for tabletop game design. He's the award-winning designer of Get Bit!, Thunder Road: Vendetta, and other titles. He's ALSO on the board of @unpub.bsky.social, a global nonprofit supporting tabletop design that... 1/▶️

There are so very few games that accurately capture the challenges of self-governance because they take either extreme of total conflict or total cooperation. By contrast, Ben Hammer's "We All Take From the River" gives each player agendas that create conflict and collaboration organically. 1/▶️

Imagine folk arcana rituals for the modern-day witches and hedge mages. Imagine the inevitable end of the universe. Jump into the imagination of @tomahawkbunny.bsky.social at Indie & Local Tabletop Games Fair 📆 Sat, Oct 18 🕛 12-5pm 📍 @peoplesbooktakoma.com

If you're at Congress of Gamers tomorrow, you've got to check out Period Party by ThunderDay Games. The team has been polishing the heck out of this "period positive trick-taking game" for some time now (I playtested it almost a year ago at PAX Unpub): www.instagram.com/p/DPoM5DqDmpi/

IRL, Deb Fuller has a dream job: game-based learning designer for K-12 education. But if "learning" isn't your thing, @bigpuffingames.bsky.social's journaling games and zines are full of heart and compassion... 1/▶️

If you want to register for Circle DC, now is the time to do it. We are going to send an email to our entire customer list (14000+ folks) that will include, among other discussions, a link to the registration at circledc.com. The dates are April 10-12, 2026. We only have 102 badges left.

Trying to deal with the horrors of the universe through a little solo journaling with Bonsai Diary by @stickydoodler.bsky.social

@games.mothspire.com creates games for transformation. I love "The Old Ways Must Go," which asks us to reexamine our rituals, refresh those that still matter, and to let go of those that do harm. And "The Optimist's Guide to Tarot" just speaks for itself! Meet the Samphire half of this team... 1/▶️

In The Bonsai Diary, you grow a tree and tell its story over the course of decades and then centuries. The Kickstarter for this journaling game exceeded my hopes, and the first print sold out on @ipr.bsky.social last month. Luckily, it's back in stock in time for our upcoming event: 1/▶️

Check out these tiny, hand-assembled zine games over at Knave of Cups on Friday!! This is the first time physical copies of these have been available online

Be a pioneer of joy. You can fight over the scraps of a developed market, or create a new one. The second isn't easier than the first -- it strikes me as much, much harder -- but the rewards can be so much greater. I think of it as discovering new ways to bring joy to more people.

Once you start going to local tabletop design events you start realizing how many people make games, some right in your own hometown. @playsamovar.bsky.social is someone I'm delighted to share a neighborhood with. Come check out his love letter to Ursula Le Guin's Hainish cycle: 1/▶️

I'm giving an online talk for Mass Audubon on Wednesday. Register for free below, and check out their very cool fall lineup!

Two Raw Morsels a journaling game by Paul Czege They shackled Prometheus, the embodiment of foresight, to a mountain as punishment for aiding humankind and giving us fire and its secrets, where Zeus' eagle comes and eats his liver and tongue each day at dawn. It tears into him voraciously...

The Bonsai Diary hums on a different vibe than many other solo games: it's contemplative, meditative, and in the end, full of joy and hope. And now it's back in stock at IPR - find out for yourself!

I first met Angela Bell at Unpub this past March and was swept up in her vision and drive. Like many federal employees, including myself, she loved serving her country and was frustrated by how little people understood our work. So she did something about it -- by designing a tabletop game... 1/▶️

I started my career in civil legal aid, and there is never enough money to serve most of the people in need in eviction, unemployment, debt, and immigration cases. As the DMV region suffers from the government shutdown, those needs will just grow. Please give this games bundle your consideration.

I watched "The Hobby" last night with a group of tabletop game designers, and what a treat! The film looks affectionately at board games from the perspective of pro and amateur designers, players, and influencers. It captures how much game design has itself become a hobby in the story of... 1/▶️

I just love that people are playing The Bonsai Diary, getting something out of it, and sharing their stories. I want to see your little trees and hear how they grew and endured through centuries. Thanks, Ben, for sharing your experience. I'm touched by your spending time with my creation 💚

Ordinary cats protect the world against eldritch horrors. Come learn about this beloved game by @misterjoel.bsky.social, now in its 10th anniversary edition! 1/▶️

I'm in the DMV now, but as a child of the 1980s on Long Island NY, malls are my native habitat. So @greenintern.bsky.social's "Tiny Mall Wizards" hits me in my cold, consumerist heart. Get your copy at our game fair...

Last year's games fair started as a simple question: how do we get more game zines into my local bookstore? To be more specific, why aren't the incredible games by @junkfoodgames.bsky.social available in our area for people to experience? Come find out why I'm so love with these games! 1/▶️

Fluxx is the quintessential DMV-designed tabletop game: 🚀 @looneylabs.bsky.social was founded by two NASA engineers ⚖️ It's a game all about constantly-changing rules 👨🏽‍👩‍👧🏼‍👦🏼 It's a worldwide phenomenon that's still run by a small business Meet designer & co-founder Andy Looney, after the jump 👇

I've been promoting our next DMV tabletop game event, but this morning it feels wrong to post without comment. 🌸 Local communities belong to a place, and our place contains Washington, DC. Many game designers are federal employees or contractors by day. During a government shutdown, many of us 1/▶️

I got hooked on Vantage last weekend. @stonemaiergames.com's labor of love nails the right balance for an open-world tabletop game, letting mechanics do (most of) the storytelling. I was immediately immersed in building a little world-within-a-world, which also happened to be my engine. 1/▶️

Indie & Local Tabletop Games Fair! 📆 Sat, Oct 18 🕛 12-4pm: Indie game market 🕓 4-5pm: Panel discussion: "Small Games, Big Fun" 📍 People's Book, Takoma Park MD RSVP: peoplesbooktakoma.com/event/indie-... 1/▶️

NEW (FREE) GAME FORTHCOMING: SPINE is a dark solo ttrpg about losing yourself in a book. In SPINE, you are a researcher who has inherited a strange book from an estranged relative…

I'm sure he doesn't remember this, but I once chased @dcrapuchettes.bsky.social down at a con to get him to sign my beloved copy of Evolution. I never dreamed I'd be discussing game design with him, @binarystar.games, and @junkfoodgames.bsky.social. What an honor! youtu.be/p2BovAUtIw4 1/▶️

French competition which has celebrated unpublished board game designs for almost 50 years unveils 2025 winners: boardgamewire.com/index.php/20...

Yesterday's Indie Tabletop Day was exactly what a local gaming event should be: welcoming and warm. We brought together game designers and enthusiasts at a friendly local retailer. As it turns out, it was also the 1-year anniversary of the game fair that started it all! 1/▶️

Wow! I'm grateful and amazed that The Bonsai Diary is already sold out at @ipr.bsky.social after just one month in stock. This is beyond what I'd ever imagined. I've already ordered another printing so hang tight if you're looking for a copy!

There's nothing more fun early Sunday than setting up for a game festival

SUNDAY!!! SUNDAY!!! SUNDAY!!! 🤘 Indie Tabletop Day 🎲 Pure Panic Comics & Games 📍 Silver Spring, MD 🕙 10am-8pm

Today we’re talking with Paul Czega again about his zine The Ink That Bleeds. We talk about how exactly you “write to find out” in order to play solo journaling games more immersively. #ttrpg #indiegames #journalinggames #journaling

#IGM25 @lymerpg.bsky.social is the writing and game design of Lyme, who really likes orcs, fantasy, and talking about TTRPGs. He is offering both print and downloadable copies of his game, Dawn of the Orcs, an Ennie-nominated GMless dark fantasy game to libraries registered for IGM. Thanks, Lyme!