While the Xbox One may not have had system-selling exclusive games on the same level as anything from Sony, the few it did have are really interesting. Sunset Overdrive was...

I've always thought the internet craze about "dopamine hacking" was overly reductive. I have read enough different theories of what brain chemicals actually do that I am skeptical that our…

Like an arrow drawn from its quiver, so were the carach sent forth from their towers of dread iron. And like arrows in flight, so are the carach in their pursuit – singular in their purpose,…

Last week I said knowing too much can lead you astray. Owning a pickaxe tempts you toward the hikes that need one. But if your body isn’t ready, the pickaxe doesn’t help you up the…

Over the process of making my previous game, I thought I understood the process of making games. Step 1: you find the system. That’s where all the hard work is. You poke at nature and systems…

Kill Shots A shooter can choose to give up movement and evasion to get a +1d damage bonus for their successful hits. Attacks against shooters going for a "kill shot" are at +2 that round. Grenades…

Check out my thoughts after playing the demo of Hips N Noses, an upcoming cafe management and roguelike game.

Some tips, tricks, or tools we use when prepping or running our RPGs provide multiple benefits for minimal effort, giving us super lazy GM powerhouse tricks. These high-value tricks take little time,

The party fight against the dishonorable Shellmaster, and Inkognito (formerly Blubbub) the Octopod is slain in the battle, his story told here for all of the Reef to remember. Featuring Inkognito -…

Do you like joy? If you like joy, then you’ll probably like Denshattack! My daughter and I finished the game today and it was a blast. She did the majority of it herself, there were only a few spots…

I love brush-based mapping. I think it’s great! Lemme tell you why… Wait, what is Brush-based mapping? It’s a way of making 3D level environments. It is sometimes otherwise known…

As a little side project, I decided to put my Claude Max sub to good use and decompile Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009). The goal is to decompile the project to C++ code, as close to the…

Big Walk, 2026 GOTY, has finally released. Seven friends and I played on Monday and it’s SO fun. We had a pretty scuffed start to the session (I tried running it on my Macbook, but I guess it’s not…

I’m trying to finish those stupid DK Bananza Challenges that Nintendo added to the Switch 2 and I’d like to write up my feelings about them. I’m torn between just adding an update…

On competition for resources in MMOs: mechanical and social implications, and the creation of lasting memory

The One Page RPG Jam 2026 is coming to an end and people around me have been busy! I’m not sure if the game design community around me is growing or if I’m just meeting the right people now, but it…

GLÅUGUST challenge 5, prompt 5: a capsule game. This is a narrative duelling game, though it should work with any number of players. It owes much to the highly entertaining blogpostgame SHIZZARDS ,…

Heya! So, I was talking about this a couple blogposts ago, but I'm actually making a bearblog-based rpg currently. I still have no idea when I'll be done with it (it'll probably take quite a while…

I missed session 2 but Nathan summarised it here. Essentially the gang went south, killed a harpy in control of these derelict buildings called Harpy Towers, and took over, renaming it Delicious…

I haven’t talked about it much on here before, but my friends know I’m a big fan of fighting games, like the Street Fighter and Marvel vs Capcom series. I...

(Challenging myself to express this thought in under 500 words) What kinds of obstacles do OSR characters typically encounter? The broad categories of traps, puzzles, combat encounters, and social…

time traveling aliens

Games are about what you have rules for. This is something I believed for years, usually coupled with an argument that D&D isn't a roleplaying game since nearly all of its rules are about killing…

PP (PewPew) and PP2 (PewPew 2) haven't been compatible with modern devices for a couple of years now as I focused on PPL (PewPew Live), but the persistent stream of emails and comments from folks…

With Coil Web Monetization gone and the current version being restrictive(*), I’ve decided to discontinue it for Math Maze. Levels 26-30, which were previously locked under Web Monetization,…

Dusty Game Society July game: Brave Fencer Musashi for PS1. Lots of interesting game mechanics. The protagonist is obnoxious.

Legally Distinct Fantasy China.

Caravan SandWitch (PC) — 7/10Another one I wouldn't have played if it hadn't been free on Epic. The demo had a bad camera; the finished game has an accessibility setting (somehow off by default) for…

Gaming Science | Esports is a grueling industry for young players. The majority exists in the professional scene early. But why? What conditions are they met with that have them quit? What does their…

I did this meme for the Vargas anniversary back in February and forgot to add it to the movie page! Well it's there now, haha.

This Month on Table 46 I went to Gen Con this month and wrote up what I did there! A late addition! IsaacIsAfraid has put out a call for Indonesia-related blog posts for Indonesia's indepencdence…

A reading informed review of Troika!

When was the last time I did one of these? Last year? Here's a collection of things I've enjoyed from the last 8 months, I suppose. Video games Satisfactory I knew I shouldn’t buy this game after…

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An adventure for Universel Riche in the style of Troika's Blancmange and Thistle.

I participated in the 2026 GMTK Game Jam, my role was a pixel artist. I share the sprites I made and talk more about the project.

I've been playing Age of Empires 2 after hours and on the weekends to unwind. Ya I know, saying I play a high stress real time strategy game to "unwind" is a bit wild. The biggest lesson from Age of…

Project Sisyphus went from an empty folder to a playable roguelite on my iPhone. The best design decision was noticing that programmer art and ancient vase painting are the same thing.

THE RULES OF RETROBILITY Tips for designing games on 8-bit consoles Want to make your own classic video games? Here are some handy hints from someone who's made a few. Black is beautiful for…

I’ve always been interested in simulations. In college I would write very simple simulations, graph the output and marvel at the patterns that would emerge from things like the periodic…

From using your phone with a controller, to having a full on dedicated device. It could be android, windows, or linux, but in the end what do you choose? I share my experience with handhelds to help…

My fellow designer Caroline Hobbs has described Microscope as my Silmaril, ‘the work of my heart that cannot be remade’. And she was not wrong. For a long time cracking open Microscope…

My great friend Tori Truslow of Tooth & Shore Games is making a solo fantasy mudlarking RPG called Kraldum. I’m doing some graphic design for the crowdfunding campaign, and will also be involved…

One of the greatest temptations in any budding GM's life is the idea of building up an entire world out of nothing. We'll get into more of that in a later post, but one of the more immediate…

After about six months of play we had the first run in with starship combat in Classic Traveller. I was excited to finally get to bust out the majority of book 2 and had prepped our whiteboard for it…

This is a continuation of my entries to the GLÅUGUST 2026 challenges. You can review all previous posts here: GLÅUGUST 2026 - 1 GLÅUGUST 2026 - 2 If you want to follow along, you can read the…

MathJax.Hub.Config({ TeX: { extensions: ["color.js"] }}); Introduction In Jane Street’s Andy’s Morning Stroll puzzle we’re given the following prompt Andy the ant has spent most of his days living on…

Dissecting a web game to re implement the physics engine and train a neural network on it.