The Rocky Horror Picture Show opened on US screens 50 years ago today. Initially a major box office bomb, cult cinema outsiders and queer audiences quickly took up the film’s mantle and turned it into a unique and exciting way of engaging with the movies. Remember kids, don’t dream it—be it!!

It's my birthday this week, if you'd like to do something to celebrate:

* Write your representatives to tell them that trans lives matter, the genocide needs to end, and fascists shouldn't be welcome anywhere.
* Donate to relief efforts in Gaza
* Be kind to yourself

xo

They Tried to Snuff Out Hawaii's Native Board Game. Meet the Man Keeping It Alive Kōnane was once a national pastime, played by peasants and rulers alike. Now John Kaʻohelauliʻi has made it his mission to bring it back.

Really engaging read on Hawaiian cultural preservation through the lens of their ancient board game,
Konane.

DuBois knew how, in death, lives get sanitized: "Either he knew what slavery meant when he helped maim and murder thousands in its defense, or he did not. If he did not he was a fool. If he did, R.E. Lee was a traitor and a rebel–not indeed to his country, but to humanity and humanity’s God."

Today we're announcing a small change in plans on our fall schedule. I'm still busy with the second edition of An Infamous Traffic and Hell Raisers is making great progress, but higher demand than anticipated and the vagaries of Trump's stupid trade policies means we need to get reprinting!

Queen of Spies by SaltandPepper Queen of Spies is a solo, story-driven board game of espionage and daring missions set in occupied Belgium during the First World War.

I could not be happier to finally have a Gamefound landing page to call my own! Check out Queen of Spies, co-designed with @djackthompson.bsky.social and published by @saltandpeppergames.bsky.social, with art/graphics from Meeple Foundry. gamefound.com/en/projects/...

This is HUGE - now you can play Paths of Glory on #RallyTheTroops.
Check this out: rally-the-troops.com/paths-of-glory
Thank you @ccxvii.bsky.social & development team!
@gmtgames.bsky.social @tdraicer.bsky.social

YouTube video by Hollandspiele SKITTLE: the board game series that destroyed its publisher

The Aurora Plastics Corporation, later Aurora Products, was known for their slot cars and licensed model kits. But the publication of a board game would change everything.

youtu.be/TH3QT05C25w

Brandywine – Volume II of the Battles of the American Revolution (BoAR) series

Quote
The game comes with four scenarios, plus an intriguing intelligence variant. I’ve played this title multiple times, including this past month in preparation for this article

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JUDGEMENT DAY is about a masked astronaut sent to a planet of sentient robots to determine if they can join a Galactic Federation. The astronaut rejects their bid after observing they've built a hierarchy solely around which color they're painted. We only see the astronauts face in the final panel.

Brotherhood and Unity

Monthly debrief time! Go show our friends, The Player's Aid, some love!

Write-up of a college course where the final project involved making a Wingspan card!

Tickets are on sale now for SDHistCon Summit 2025, to be held from Nov. 7-10 in San Diego: tabletop.events/conventions/.... More information on the event: sdhist.com/sdhist-summi.... Hope you can join us for it!

I’m not going to the USA and neither should you.

As folks are criticizing reviewers who didn't call out the racism in Ace of Spades... and as I'm editing the next @saltandsass.bsky.social ep... I had the thought - @613mandi.bsky.social and I have been podcasting for nearly a decade together and advocating for inclusive gaming longer than that.

On this Chairteenth, we celebrate the good folks of Montgomery, especially our guy AquaMayne. Special shout out to the folks who, within 72 hours, recreated this in their apartment complex. A COMMUNITY!! 💀

The Hobbit There and Back Again board game cover.

The Hobbit There and Back Again box open and some components laid out. There is a punchboard with various resource tokens on it. You can see custom d6 dice and some dry erase pens. Then the roll and write "book" is open showing some resource tracks on the left page and a map grid on the right. This is a game in which each player gets a dry erase book of playable surfaces to play through the journey.

I'm not saying I committed larceny, violence, and general malfeasance to procure a copy of The Hobbit There and Back Again. But I would have.

The Hobbit. Roll and Write. Board Game. Knizia.

Yes. Yes. Yes. YES.

I’m honestly humbled and blown away by the 495 folks who’ve shown up with such generosity in support of the GoFundMe. Your support means the world.

Let’s keep it going, y'all!

gofund.me/6d18a4ac

squad on me! mass effect mini painting guides have just come out modiphius.net/pages/mass-e...

all pictures show painted miniatures from mass effect the board game priority hagalaz with color guides on how to paint them showing which parts of the mini use which colors

One of my favorite moments in board gaming is when I’m hosting and so many players show up that I have to sit out of the game and just watch my friends enjoy themselves at my table. It’s such a lovely experience: I have the snacks all to myself and I don’t have to learn some dumb new game. Serenity.

I don't have the luxury to separate my politics w/my hobbies b/c by drawing breath, in public, I am politicized.

Most of my labor - online or off, out there & here w/you, Brand New Bluesky Reply Guy™ - is subjecting myself to the shrugging indifference of Area Board Game Bros like you all dang day

GenCon has always been a good reminder of the privileges in being able to regularly attend such conventions. But it's doubly so now when so many aren't safe traveling to the US. I'd love to see more publishers and communities finding ways to extend opportunities for networking and accessing info.

July 2025: Movies & Games & Gen Con, oh my!

Did you know I have a (very sporadic) email newsletter that you can sign up for? In this edition, info on how to stream the boardgame documentary The Hobby and where to find me at Gen Con:

What worries me about (quote)AI(unquote) isn't that it will do a better job... it's that it will do a worse job and corporations (and audiences) will see that as "close enough".

I'm holding out hope that most of us want better than that in our books, music, movies, tv, and yes, tutorial videos too.

YouTube video by Hollandspiele Player Counts: Scaling in Board Games

New video essay! This time I'm joined by special guests @colewehrle.bsky.social , @xoe.gay , @jdragsky.bsky.social , Erin Escobedo, and @beyondsolitaire.bsky.social as I explore the impact of player counts & scaling on the types of experiences games create.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-s2...

i have written a message to the team at czech games about their recent publishing of harry potter code names. i would like you to read it and if you agree, do let them know

The Hubris Histories – Book 2: The Kings and their Courts As we have seen in the general historical overview in Book 1, individual leaders, first and foremost, but not exclusively, kings, drove the historical narrative in Ancient times. Accordingly, Hubri…

Check out our latest InsideGMT article from designer Morgane Gouyon-Rety: "The Hubris Histories – Book 2: The Kings and their Courts" @morganegr.bsky.social insidegmt.com/the-hubris-h...

YouTube video by Tasting History with Max Miller The History of SPAM

SPAM gets a bad rap, but it was instrumental in saving millions of lives during and after WW2. It’s also a great way to get your monthly allotment of salt. youtu.be/XdYjy4RENtI?...

Saratoga – Volume I of the Battles of the American Revolution (BoAR) series

Saratoga was originally published in 1998 and has seen two further editions, most recently in the first Tri-Pack from 2017. This is the version being played and reviewed.

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