The hype is real. Hot Streak is soooo good! Immediately added it to my wishlist.

Board game career paths can be pretty weird. Just learned the VP of game development at Exploding Kittens came from academia where he wrote a PhD dissertation on French colonialism in the 1600s.

Pretty much anything anyone ever cites as "always bad in game design" I will fight them on. The longer I've designed games, the more I've come to believe that context is ALWAYS King. ALWAYS. There is a situation in which EVERY "Never do X" rule for game design should be broken.

It was humbling tonight to teach one of my lighter games, Chomp, to a table full of chemists who kept getting confused about several rules and saying "this is complicated!" But also, they asked to play again 3 times in a row... so I'm calling that a win!

Back home after a fantastic (1st annual?) GDofNC game jam! We had 19 designers in 5 teams. And even the jam constraints were gamified. Each team took turns drafting components, mechanics, and themes from the list. It was a blast, and my team is going to keep working on our game, Kazoo Prodigy.

Another nice review of Beasts from Tantrum House - youtu.be/heLD69Gs7S4

I don't who else is into this specific intersection of politics and comedy, but I just learned Robert Reich is Sam Reich's father, and I am shook. 🤯

Got some video of us playing Locked Out of Heaven at the wedding reception! www.youtube.com/shorts/4jdpD...

Had a blast playing my first wedding reception gig in over a decade. Also, first time playing with a 3-piece horn section. And definitely first time playing with a Grammy-nominated musician(Al Strong)! 🤯

Periodically, I take some time to make sure I'm keeping good track of my in-print games and any royalties I'm due (an unfortunate necessity). Today while crunching numbers, I noticed that I recently hit 100k units sold across all my games. What? 🤯

There's a fun easter egg in the card art for Beasts. Each set of number cards can be laid out to form views of the same nature scene at different times. Each suit represents a different season. And whole/broken variants represent day vs night scenes. So, there's 8 card panoramas in all!

Finally got my designer copies of Beasts today, so it became the 8th unique game on my Self Shelf! 😍🎲✂️

If you missed Squirrel Away at #GenCon, here you can see a full demo from the con! youtu.be/peA72EFKMJc

A Message From the Stars made it onto the list of Top Games of 2024 from @beforeyouplay.bsky.social! youtu.be/srlSTOmI-Zk?...

Latest addition to the GDofNC library is Beasts! Designed by group member @stoichamster.bsky.social and published by @pandasaurusgames.com!

First playtest of Stupid Racing Game(working title). I guess it ended up being more of a flip-and-move than a roll-and-move?

"It feels like a modern classic" - First full review of Beasts courtesy of The Game Boy Geek! youtu.be/1W9P-uDKcTc

The last time one of my games was rated this highly after this many BGG ratings, it was #1 on the BGG Hotness (The Wolves). Just sayin'... 😉

The evolution of Uh Oh, Dino!- our cute and chaotic dinosaur co-op! The photos obviously show how the art has evolved. More subtly reflected in these images is how much gameplay iteration happened during development.

Brotherwise Games is hiring! We're looking to add a part-time Product Coordinator to our small but growing team. If you know anyone who might be interested, please share this application link: forms.gle/ZQSbcbS9emGw... Details: 💻 Remote work 🕑 ~20 hours/week 💵 ~$30/hour 🎲 Tabletop Games industry

A publisher I'll be working with just sent a very transparent 5-page Royalties FAQ. It covers types of sales, their tracking systems, reports, payment timing/method, print runs, mass market, BGA, taxes, and more. I've never gotten something this detailed before, but now I want all the pubs to do it.

I was today years old when I learned the unusual timing in the intro of YYZ by Rush is actually the rhythm of tapping out "YYZ" in Morse code. 🤯

Am I actually designing a roll-and-move? maybe... 🤨

Nice Beasts unboxing video from @iteachshewins.bsky.social that really lets you see all the gold foil accents that have been hard to see in other photos and videos! youtu.be/dBotkSayOS8

We are having some fun with the cooperative card game Beasts from @pandasaurusgames.com Check out the full play through here - youtu.be/N-2lKB6IZ3s?... #beasts #beastscardgame #cardgame #games #games

Missed this earlier, but @indymonthly.bsky.social named Beasts one of the best "non-intimidating" games of #GenCon!

Here's a nice overview video for Squirrel Away from Tito's Tabletop - youtu.be/9kDhOazN9j4

It's only been a couple weeks, but Beasts just hit 30 BGG ratings, and so it's officially ranked now! Love seeing people enjoying this one. Also, an average rating of 8.1? 😲

Far more people will lose your game than win. Make sure your game is still fun even when players lose.

Making things is my joy 💜Here’s my next public thing!

It's mail day! Excited to finally get my paws on this!

Here is a chance to pitch your tabletop game idea to Pegasus via a digital meeting! pegasus.de/UEber-uns/Ka... 🎲✂️

Looking for tabletop gaming orgs that accept donations that benefit BIPOC in the industry. @rosegauntlet.bsky.social does the foundation take donations? @ttgda.bsky.social you have a grant program, right?

"If I had to choose between the two [Sheriff of Nottingham and Squirrel Away], I'd probably choose Squirrel Away. It's faster."

Big thank you to @floodgategames.bsky.social for giving us a review copy of Squirrel Away! It's such a fun bluffing game and who can't resist all those shiny acorns?! This is a great game for all ages and can be used as a filler or icebreaker for group sessions! Quick and easy to learn too!

This playthrough was also the first time I've ever seen anyone get all the way to 999 (which, fun fact, was the original title of Beasts)

The first full video playthrough of Beasts that I've seen! Watch the Co-op Guild take on all 8 Beasts in a nail-biter. www.youtube.com/live/uLf7fHo...

Strohmann Games wird auch eine deutsche Version zu A Message from the Stars herausbringen. In Holzminden konnten wir eine Partie spielen und ein Video für Eich aufnehmen. www.cliquenabend.de/news/760110-... #brettspielvideos #strohmanngames #amessagefromthestars #spiel25 #brettspiele

Am I the only one that really hates how rare written board game reviews have become? Videos are great, but when I want to learn about a game quickly, a well-written and organized text review with nice photos, is top-tier to me.

🎲✂️ Was chatting on BGDL's FB Forum (because I'm old like that) and another designer was asking about decisions and their relation to complexity which lead me to start thinking about complexity in terms of decision space.

I totally missed this during #GenCon, but what a great action shot of the Squirrel Away live play with @banzainator.bsky.social, Grant Lyon, @ezeekat.bsky.social, @thingsgetdicey.bsky.social and @kovray.bsky.social!

Squirrel Away just got rated a 4 on BGG with part of the comment saying "People who enjoy bluffing and quick gameplay will enjoy this" and... yeah, I guess I agree with you, random reviewer 😂

Game design is incentive design, and the right incentives can make all the difference. Love this idea!

In a separate conversation, I was surprised that I couldn’t come up with many video games that you could consider a “spoof.” Arzette and Meegah Mem came to mind, but my brain dried up after that. Possibly Frog Fractions? What are the great “satire” or “spoof” games out there.

This was a bit vague and esoteric, so I want to give a more concrete example, especially for folks who don't know my design history deeply. When I used to have the "games are just a bunch of mechanisms tied to a theme" mindset, I would always be flummoxed by a familiar pattern. 🎲✂️

My games! They're real! And you can buy them today! #GenCon

Idea for a youtube channel: Invite bg designers and see if they can remenber the lines from their most famous boardgame rulebooks.

Sad to be missing #GenCon, but my #GenCant view ain't too shabby

Just one of the many games YOU can play at the BGG Hot Games Room! www.gencon.com/events/294120