Nine months into the pandemic, major tabletop convention organizers — the Gen Cons and PAXes of the world — have failed to bring their events online in a way that approximates…
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Not everything about the Covid-times is terrible: Tabletop Wire recently launched a new podcast. If you’re a podcast-listening human, check it out. Host Andrew Long and I talk about the…
In April I gave a mini-talk at the Minneapolis chapter of CreativeMornings, where I evangelized about the magnificence of tabletop gaming, talked about how gaming is inherently creative, and shared…
I was elected to the board of directors of the Game Manufacturers Association about 14 months ago. I’ve been a fan of the organization for longer than that, and have…
This spring has seen a substantial uptick in the number of emails I get from students who’ve been assigned by their teachers to interview someone who has a job they…
My latest game design, Doctor Who Time Clash, came out in December. I wanted to write here—briefly, because time!—about how I approached the challenge of adapting the Doctor Who source…
Fast & Fhtagn, my latest design, is in stores! A standalone sequel to Cthulhu 500, the game made its way from the Atlas Games warehouse to retail stores around the world in…
My first game design aspirations were creative, but as my career unfolded I learned that many of my strengths were operational. I’m organized, I’m pretty good with detail-work, and I have…
As I wrote last week when I launched the Band or Album Kickstarter campaign, it’s been ten years — give or take — since I learned what Band or Album…
Gen Con SoCal ran from 2003–2006, which is how I know that in one of those years, I learned about Band or Album from Ken Hite. Essentially, Band or Album…
March
GAMA Expo was a big success in its new location in Louisville. I’m looking forward to returning next year. • At Adepticon, sales were up more than 20% over last year, and would have been higher if we hadn’t run out of nearly every game in our catalog. We’ll pack more games next time!
February
The Jewels for the Emperor Penguin Kickstarter campaign ended in success, at just short of 400% of its funding goal. • Con of the North saw a new World Champion for Flapjacks & Sasquatches. • The pledge manager for the three lumberjack games (the Flapjacks & Sasquatches Dice Game, Lumberjacks with Rocket Launchers, and Squatch & Seek) opened, and includes the opportunity for those who missed the Kickstarter to preorder these three games.
January
At Left Justified Studio, we launched a new penguin-themed Kickstarter for the Jewels for the Emperor Penguin board game, the Frozen Shinies: The Emperor Penguin’s Nephew card game, and a delightful plush penguin mountain climber. Check it out now, the campaign runs for a limited time.
December
Play All Day Games released Keepsakes, a game I produced for them over the course of 2023. It’s a memory game… but fun!
November
Chip Theory Games announced one of my biggest consulting projects for 2023, producing their North American debut of four high-quality kids games (not to mention their new brand, Chip Theory Kids, where I helped them work to develop a full branding package). Each game ships in a sturdy metal tin, features magnetic components, and has detailed curriculum options available to teachers as free downloads.
October
Gamehole Con was fantastic! Easy to get to, great hotel availability, plenty of attendees, devastatingly well managed — I will definitely be back.
September
We ran the Lumberjack Games Kickstarter and successfully funded the Flapjacks & Sasquatches Dice Game, Lumberjacks with Rocket Launchers card game, and Squatch & Seek card game. Thank you, backers! The rest of you will be able to pre-order / late pledge in the pledge manager soon.
June
It took about six months of hammering (or, probably more appropriately, “chopping”), but the production plan for the Flapjacks & Sasquatches Dice Game was finally locked down. There were many twists and turns for the Deluxe Edition and Collector’s Edition dice — metal? multi-color? something else? — until Andrew at Foam Brain finally suggested suspending little flapjack stacks inside clear resin occlusion dice. Concrete progress toward the Kickstarter launch can resume!
May
May was heads down and in the trenches on a variety of consulting, Left Justified, and Prolific Games projects. No much public to report, but lots of progress on many fronts!
April
I was at GAMA Expo. In addition to thanking my retail partners and connecting with industry contacts, I presented a seminar, “Game Publishing Projects Management for Aloof Visionaries and the Easily Sidetracked.”