New today on the HGN blog - the first post from our event panellists! Izzy Bartley explores the coloniality of collecting in museums and Western boardgames. www.historicalgames.net/parallel-play/ #gamestudies #historicalgames #gtp #skystorians

Our Analogue theme event will take place online on Tuesday 19 May, 16:00-17:30 UK time - just 2 weeks away! We're joined by the excellent Izzy Bartley, @beyondsolitaire.bsky.social, and @theoldkingscrown.bsky.social. Tickets here: www.tickettailor.com/events/histo... #gamestudies #skystorians #gtp

(I make a "mouth" with the side of my hand and draw little eyes above it) Richard Dawkins: hmmmm (I put lipstick around the "mouth") Richard Dawkins, suavely: well hello

This is very exciting news -

The robots have colonised my local park over the past month and the discourse has been incredible. nowthenmagazine.com/articles/why...

I’m going to be in Bristol next week (Monday to Wednesday) for the Festival of History Heritage in Games! I’ll be speaking about my research and locating longer histories of play, and I’m also on a panel discussing the use of history in digital games 🎮 www.tickettailor.com/events/brist...

it's that time of year again...are you a historical videogame player living in the Netherlands? do you want to contribute to player-focused research on past-play? come sign up for a gameplay session so i can watch you 👀 for science! check out edu.nl/cd849 to learn more 🏛️🎮⚔️🎲

Hi! I'm a scientist studying artificial stuff in animal nests, and I'm looking for a #Pokémon expert. 🌍 Yup, I found some Pokémon in a nest!! 😲 Specifically, the question concerns dating pieces of packaging, which might be tricky. Who knows EVERYTHING about Pokémon? Who can I send a DM to? 😅

The first post for our Analogue theme is up! @malcolmcraig.bsky.social explores depictions of armed American masculinity in a Cold War context across Tabletop Role-Playing Games like Delta Force: America strikes back!, Twilight: 2000, & The Price of Freedom: www.historicalgames.net/manly-men-wi...

New post on the HGN blog: for “Fictions,” Christopher Gerteis discusses HashimaXR, an immersive heritage project that grapples with the blurring of historical fact and fiction, contested historical and political memory & the meaning of “historical play” www.historicalgames.net/island-that-...

New FUNDED PhD opportunity with me, @doktornick.bsky.social, and @bomlab.bsky.social on 'Playing in Public: Game-Based Interventions for Sustainability, Community and Environmental Engagement' as part of the CreaTech Frontiers CDA scheme! Deadline: 10 April Details: www.bcu.ac.uk/research/our...

🚨NEW ARTICLE OUT🚨 My most recent paper on historical agency & games is available in open access! It deals with environmental studies, posthumanism, fantasy, the 'ontological turn' in the philosophy of history & my upcoming video-game, Galar. Quick thread on the contents 🧵1/6 #gamestudies #gtp

Sorry I know the world is in a terrible fix but I've been laughing at this for ten minutes now

We're announcing our new theme: Analogue. It's an open call, and full details are available on the HGN blog here: www.historicalgames.net/call-for-con...

Okay, this is quite outstanding from Bedford Council.

If you need evidence that the HGN blog is the place to go for quality #historygames writing, look no further than this piece. Absolutely fantastic dive on the complexities of video game time - even in historical games that may look very simple on the outset.

New on the HGN blog, the next post in our Fictions theme. Sara Morini explores how Raid on Taihoku reworks time to create narrative fiction and rewrite history. Enjoy! www.historicalgames.net/raid-on-taih... #gamestudies #gamingthepast #skystorians

A bit of weekend listening/watching to brighten your Sunday!

On the HGN blog: an interview with @drandrewsneddon.bsky.social & Dr Victoria McCollum @ulsteruni.bsky.social on the amazing Witches of Islandmagee project. Huge thanks to Kirstin Mitchell (HGN Research Assistant Extraordinaire) for leading this conversation! www.historicalgames.net/interview-wi...

Do I know any South Asian game writers/narrative designers looking for a full-time contract?

First post of the year, new paper out today: we present possibly the biggest case of systematic Measurement Schmeasurement in tech use. It seems that most studies on gaming (videogame) addiction/disorder haven't measured gaming after all. This research took years, so long 🧵 doi.org/10.1098/rsos...

New HGN blog for our “Fictions” theme: Marie Rodet writes about USAWA - an Afrofuturist game co-created with Kenya-based game studio Jiwe. The post explores the use of fiction as historiographical method, the “problem of representation”& ethical game design: www.historicalgames.net/fiction-as-h...

A joke for the history buffs: Germany’s satirical newspaper @der-postillon.com titles: “Vienna Academy of the Arts offers Trump admission as a student — They don’t want to get blamed again“

Can I submit this impact narrative to REF 2029?

MICROSOFT TEAMS: hey, something just happened in the Department channel. ME: is it that message I saw before? TEAMS: no. ME: because I read that message when it popped up. TEAMS: it's not that. ME: *(opens the Department channel)* TEAMS: ... ME: ... TEAMS: okay don't get mad.

hi everybody! I'm urgently looking for full-time game writing/narrative design work. I'm a 6-year industry pro working with both AAA and indie studios on titles like Borderlands 4, Endoparasitic, and [REDACTED]. I also edit and consult! Updated portfolio is live on my new site: www.nessacannon.com

Heading into 2026, I'm still looking for fulltime or contract work as a senior writer or narrative designer. If you need someone who can write sharp characters, poetic prose, and emotional stories, I'm available! You can find my portfolio here: www.hazelmonforton.com

Grimm news.

this stupid menu does absolutely fuck all. useless.

60 minutes CECOT segment. Recorded through my browser. HD quality. Not phone. Spread it around. If you're press, it's yours. Go nuts. It's streaming on a Canadian website, but there is no telling for how long. www.filemail.com/d/wkcdttnacp...

14 two-year postdocs for academics of any nationality who cannot continue their research due to US politics. Do share if you know of such.

In addition to being a stunningly beautiful cover, choosing an image from a video game that remediates classical board game aesthetics illustrates the balance the volume tried to achieve between digital and analogue approaches. I'm super eager to put my hands on this book!

And now, Writing Game Histories (2026) with cover art (courtesy of @murthynikhil.bsky.social’s Syphilisation) www.bloomsbury.com/uk/writing-g...

🚨 The UK Video Games Industry Census closes 19 Dec. Run by Ukie & Dr Mark Taylor, it’s the most comprehensive survey of the UK games workforce, exploring: 🔹 Industry mood & outlook 🔹 Layoffs, visas & training 🔹 Careers of women in games Open to all UK games workers. Take part: zurl.co/yfMwu

Lovely evening field trip to Game Guru board game cafe for the Game Cultures research cluster! We played Feed the Kraken, me and co-pirate @harriresearches.bsky.social scored a victory against @doktornick.bsky.social @andrewbell.bsky.social @eugeniotriana.bsky.social (+ Will & Mark, non-bskyers) 🐙🏴‍☠️

For those who enjoy ebooks on Kindle, it seems that 'Star Wars: The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire' is *massively* discounted today down to $1.99 in the US and £7.99 in the UK. Which feels like a pretty good deal really. US: www.amazon.com/Star-Wars-Ri... UK: www.amazon.co.uk/Star-Wars-Ri...

I'm the English localization editor for HORSES, and if you want to play it, you can't buy it on Steam ❤️

Indie game developers have a new sales pitch: being ‘AI free’

Some Sunday ready over on the HGN blog! Today’s new post from @xurvermilion.bsky.social explores the potential of videogames as a way of engaging students with historical research, and key skills in critical analysis: www.historicalgames.net/students-his...

Just a reminder that this call is open if the overlap of history, fiction and games is your thing!

Reminder that from the beginning of next year I’m available for work! Writing, narrative design, historical & narrative consultancy, research, teaching. I’m particularly fond of applying historical approaches to worldbuilding & storytelling in interactive mediums

such an honor and a joy to be included in this volume, talking (inter)disciplinarity in historical game studies and the importance of putting "current" methods in context. ain't no party like a @times-new-roman.bsky.social @docrandom.bsky.social cowriting party ‼️

Really enjoyed working on mine + @doktornick.bsky.social co-authored chapter "Autoethnography as Historical Method: A Plague Tale and Authentic Experiences of the Past" for this collection, we presented the work at DiGRA25 + loved discussing the themes + methodology. The ToC for the book looks ace!

A project that started with a DiGRA23 workshop is finally, nearly out in the world! Coming May 2026 from Bloomsbury’s Writing History series, Writing Games Histories is a collection of essays on historical game studies methods&approaches. Find the ToC here: www.bloomsbury.com/uk/writing-g...

Hoping this helps our colleagues across the industry

Literally one of the greatest soft power brands on planet earth driven into the ground by successive British governments that embrace failure, decline and irrelevance. on.ft.com/3Wq1XIT

Yes, that was a strange noise. No, we’re not going to check.

“A similar hammer blow has just struck @fullfact.org, the exceptionally valuable UK factchecker whose word is a gold standard for honesty. Google has pulled its £1m funding. Along with the ending of sizeable donations from Meta, the charity tells me this amounts to a loss of a third of its funding.”