Literally I mean this seriously This project is like the confluence of some of the coolest brains people should be paying attention to in the boardgame space right now! I’m so so excited to be able to properly support this project once it launches!!

You've got one month left to submit your application to be a vendor at the Indie Games Night Market! Submissions close on August 1! Get to it! www.newmillindustries.com/ignm-app

I'm so excited that the ColorJam Kickstarter page is LIVE! 🖍️ The goal is simple: "Color a nice picture." 🧩 The puzzle is elegant: satisfying for gamers, easy enough for kids. 🤔 But the experience is deep: What, really, is a "nice picture?" I would love if you followed along to learn more! 🩷💚🤎🩵💜💛

Make your next work of art in Color Jam, a cozy, print-and-puzzle coloring game launching on Kickstarter later this year. Grab your favorite crayons and play solo or with friends. Follow along here for when the project goes live: www.kickstarter.com/projects/lun... The night is for creativity. 🖍️

I'm moved by Marceline's call to make games that "fit seamlessly" into more lives. I see so many descriptions like "[Game X] meets [Game Y]." What might we achieve if we took that formula out of media space? What's "Dance meets press-your-luck?" (Not the THEME of dance, but DANCE!). 🎲✂️

I think a weakness of a lot of RPG spaces is that they're too generalist. Reddit is one example: it's like going to a space called "music" and asking for advice (I think G+ was a focused enough community to be very worthwhile.)

Why would board games be different than any other human endeavor? (I originally intended that question as rhetorical snark, but overnight it mellowed into genuine curiosity)

Midnight Muscadines is a cozy, yet dark, tabletop role playing game that’s full of whimsy. Play it in a group or solo! Available now on our website. #ttrpg #storygame #tabletopgames #indiegame

Maybe this statement explains my current state of existence, but: winning is overrated

NEW REVIEW: @meghan0n.bsky.social wrestles with their creations in Death of the Author from @goblinmixtape.bsky.social Discover how this solo journaling game uses tarot cards and prompts to weave a tale of confrontation, allowing you to more deeply explore and understand your own creative impulses

I'm not 100% sure I get what Phoebe Bridgers is saying about fantasy and make-believe in this song, but I do 100% appreciate how the video can seamlessly cut over into a Quinns Quest review @itsquinns.bsky.social youtu.be/4KXnboPN1p4

Hey boardgame media people, Stonemaier will start talking about our small-box Wingspan game on July 1. And Sanibel is widely available now too (game of the month in Walmart!). Hit me up if you want to chat: www.elizhargrave.com/interview-re...

Next month will be the 50th anniversary of the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum at the National Arboretum in Washington, DC. In 1976, Japan gifted many precious bonsai to the United States for our bicentennial. It was a remarkable gift just 41 years after the end of World War II.

I played Catan with my mother-in-law tonight for the first time since 2008... that's EIGHTEEN YEARS ago! She demolished Big Sticky and me, snagging Largest Army and Longest Road. It was like watching someone remember how to ride a bike... then mow you down.

Backed and pumped!

Goshdarn it these photos are so cute and I don't care if I'm patting myself on the back because Brian was the one to think of using this toy at a conference, where it makes so much sense 😌

Late Fathers Day post Years ago I suggested Big Sticky remake Conway's Game of Life to include Mendelian genetics. I was trying to get him more engaged with his computer science class, but he wasn't interested. Well, turns out he actually made the game in THIS year's CS class. And it works!

I had three goals for running a booth at Origins Game Fair: ✅ Break even (YES: I made $19) ✅ Have fun (Hell YES) ✅ Learn stuff... ... so here's the stuff that I learned: stickydoodler.beehiiv.com/p/lessons-le...

Many thanks to everyone for chatting with us! @guyintheblackhat.bsky.social Jim Crocker jimlikesgames.itch.io @brianflaherty.bsky.social @moreblueberries.bsky.social @vidityavoleti.bsky.social @sccreatives.bsky.social @stickydoodler.bsky.social @lumpley.bsky.social @theothertracy.bsky.social

I valued Adam's feedback in early playtests of The Bonsai Diary. One of my regrets in the game's design process was not keeping a more careful record of playtesters because I didn't have a clear plan for what I would do with the game. Anyway, I'm flattered that he'd buy a game that he already owned!

TIL Spiel des Jahres does more than run the world's most prestigious board game award program: they advance the role of board games in society, especially their capacity to build a more civil and tolerant society. What an inspiring mission that deserves an analog in North America!

Not a haul, but treasures from Origins: 🛐 Keep the Faith by @gregisonthego.bsky.social 🪨 A Perfect Rock by @deepdark.games 🤖 A Construct's Nature cards and book gifted by @ttrpgkids.com 📞 Keeper's Call gifted by JP Coovert 🫟 Wabi Blobi by Coccoon Studies

Spoiler alert for PAXU

I'm looking for an artist who can really nail the 1990s collage zine feel, along the lines of Riot Grrrl. Any suggestions?

Watch this tour de force by Elizabeth Hargrave on games as art at the US Library of Congress. Her talk starts at 12:00 and winds through ancient bird art, ancient games, games in America, and her own approach to creating artful games.

Li'l Doodler really enjoyed a copy of this game while at Origins. It uses journaling in an interesting way to then drive a CYA decision tree. What a great way to encourage young people to actually write!

Turns out that standing 8 hours straight hits different at age 50, so I didn't get to do a quarter of what I'd hoped to do after hours at Origins, nor see a lot of people. What I did do was spend a lot of time with my kind and generous booth mates, @thebodhanagroup.bsky.social: y'all were the best 💚

PLAYTESTERS WANTED: “Man with an Axe” is a solo poker journaling RPG inspired by the minimalist fiction of Raymond Carver. The journaling is driven by a 5 card stud variation that uses a stripper deck.

If you buy from us at a convention you can forward your Square receipt to [email protected] and we'll send you download links for the games you bought that come with PDFs. We're caught up on #Origins2026 and ready for more!

Hey! @stickydoodler.bsky.social is at Origins Game Fair and you need to go check out his journaling RPGs if you’re there! I picked up everything in the booth and have zero regrets!

SO MANY of the games I review on TTRPGkids can be found at @ipr.bsky.social, and they have a booth at Origins (1802)! Make sure to go check them out!

Today's my last day at Origins so if you want to yap about journaling games or maybe pick up your next obsession you've got 6.5 hours to come by booth 1502 🕡

Just a sample of the journaling games you'll find at the Indie Press Revolution booth # 1803 at Origins Game Fair. What's a journaling game? Come chat with me at # 1504; I'd love to geek out with you 🤘

Unleash your inner critter TODAY at 1.30 at Unpub, in the back of the main gaming hall (C) near the game library! It's a Raccoon Party Game (RPG) you'll cherish like a trash panda for whole minutes

As I sat among the audience at the Origins Award, I had time to reflect on what makes tabletop games so vital. And looking at everyone in the room, I saw how analog games offer us the chance to connect as people. In the age of AI, declaring our games "human made" is a start, but then what?

Congrats to Land of Eem, Origins Awards Roleplaying Game of the Year 2026! @exaltedfuneral.bsky.social

We're here! Let the games² begin 🤘 #OriginsAwards

I discovered @ipr.bsky.social at my first Origins, 3 years ago, and was blown away by what I saw. I vowed to one day have a game worthy of being included in their selection. So it's a dream come true to see The Bonsai Diary featured at their booth (1803). Go over and discover your next dream!

Live from Origins, I had the chance to chat with @stickydoodler.bsky.social about journaling games! If you're here, come find Gene at booth 1502 where he's featuring TTRPGs like Bonsai Diary (and A Construct's Nature by TTRPGkids)!

I had exactly one must-buy game at Origins, and I'm glad I snagged it day one because there's only ONE copy left at @ipr.bsky.social ! ( Keep the Faith by @gregisonthego.bsky.social )

My first sale at Origins Game Fair 2026 is... You Are a Muffin by @exeunt.press ! I 🥐 this game

Pro tip: you don't need to download the #Origins App to access the program or coupons, or vote for the Origins Awards fan favorite! (Btw... Do this indie designer a favor and vote for The Bonsai Diary on page 2! Yeah I know I see Daggerheart right there) ▶️

All set up and ready to go! Ready to meet new fans of bonsai diarying and journaling games #OriginsGameFair2026

Experience DUMPSTER HEIST at Origins. Of all the Raccoon Party Games you've ever played, Dumpster Heist can be one of them! I think @mistergross.bsky.social and I have made something really special here -- a storytelling game that anyone can play. What, you want me to prove it? Then take the jump -

That's this Sunday, Jun 21 folx! Bonus: it's father's day, going to this is much better than a necktie 🎲 > 👔

Some of my favorite journaling games feature drawing, which helps me get out of my head. I painted this larger-than-life bonsai for my booth at Origins to show people that you don't need "art skills" to enjoy my game. Just look at the literal warts on this tree! youtube.com/shorts/SqPgN...

Legend has it that Wingspan was hatched, or at least fledged, at Board & Brew in College Park, MD. It's only fitting that you can get your copy signed there next month! And grab a brew while you're at it ☕🍺🐣 ♦️🎲

I'll be on the Origins Game Fair at booth 1502 this Thu-Sat. Come get a copy of The Bonsai Diary, which is up for an Origins Award! You can also find The Bonsai Diary at @ipr.bsky.social's booth 1803 alongside other great journaling games...

@goblinbros.bsky.social has a classy and fun way to display zine-sized games. Ft. Anamnesis by @goblinmixtape.bsky.social and The Bonsai Diary by me! Photo credit: @staubington.bsky.social

I want people to know that playing journaling games is about expressing yourself creatively, not writing a perfect story. Preview of one of my handmade backdrops for my Origins booth: