iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Absurdist Productions ➡️ 🎆 SkasdiCon 🎇 @absurdistprod.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Our Origin Award trophy finally arrived! It looks great next to Winter Rabbit. We've also ordered some stickers to slap on all the copies we sell from our website and at Cons.

Photo of a copy of Winter Rabbit from Absurdist Productions. With its Origins Award statue in front of it.

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Absurdist Productions ➡️ 🎆 SkasdiCon 🎇 @absurdistprod.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

After we do this first batch of testing we will definitely put something together to share with you. We'd love to have you back for the art when we get there. Assuming you are available and interested.

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Reposted by Absurdist Productions ➡️ 🎆 SkasdiCon 🎇

David Thomas @tentagil.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

9 years ago today, I was spreading the word about Churrascaria, gearing up with the Kickstarter that would essentially start my company, @absurdistprod.bsky.social. It's been a wild 9 years. Also, I miss having all that hair.

Photo of David Thomas at a game shop called Loot & XP in 2017, showing off Churrascaria on a live stream for the shop. David can be seen holding a copy of Churrascaria above a copy of the game Bonk and a copy of Star Wars - Destiny.

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Absurdist Productions ➡️ 🎆 SkasdiCon 🎇 @absurdistprod.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Does anyone else plan their Con booth layouts by setting up their furniture in the driveway? Neighbors look at us funny, but we have a new layout plan for PAXU this year.

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Absurdist Productions ➡️ 🎆 SkasdiCon 🎇 @absurdistprod.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Winter Rabbit is an honorable mention, and our fellow Zenobia Award finalist, Molly House from @miasmacorp.bsky.social, is a finalist for the Summit Award. Very exciting. sdhist.com/2026-summit-...

sdhist.com

San Diego Historical Games Convention announces 2026 Summit Award finalists – SDHist

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Absurdist Productions ➡️ 🎆 SkasdiCon 🎇 @absurdistprod.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

We recently moved our website to Shopify, and as part of that, we have started slowly revising and updating our old blog posts. And writing some new ones. If there are any topics you'd like to read about, please let us know. absurdistproductions.com/blogs/game-d...

absurdistproductions.com

Blogs

Game design, crowdfunding, community things, and other musings from the Absurdist Productions team.

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Absurdist Productions ➡️ 🎆 SkasdiCon 🎇 @absurdistprod.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

@willmthompson.bsky.social is running a playtest of a new card and dice game at MiracleCon. No name for this one yet, but folks seem to like it so far.

Will Thompson running a playtest of a new prototype game at MiracleCon.

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Absurdist Productions ➡️ 🎆 SkasdiCon 🎇 @absurdistprod.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

We are at MiracleCon 2026 with a bunch of other local Oklahoma boardgame companies in support of the Children's Miracle Network.

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Absurdist Productions ➡️ 🎆 SkasdiCon 🎇 @absurdistprod.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

It's because the Brits had silly bricks of tea and refused to use bags like civilized people.

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Absurdist Productions ➡️ 🎆 SkasdiCon 🎇 @absurdistprod.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

Our friends at @mintybeans.bsky.social launched their Kickstarter. We've watched this one develop for years. Play as rival Hollywood producers buying scripts, recruiting stars, and fighting in the tabloids as you try to create award-winning films. www.kickstarter.com/projects/min...

kickstarter.com

Executive Producer: Filmmaking Fun for 2-5 Players 12 and Up

Drive your studio's success in Executive Producer, where 2-5 movie moguls build hits, manage chaos, rule the box office and win awards!

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Absurdist Productions ➡️ 🎆 SkasdiCon 🎇 @absurdistprod.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

PAXU is our favorite con. We travel from OKC to Philly for that one. Though admittedly since we always have a booth we don't see much outside the vendor hall.

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Absurdist Productions ➡️ 🎆 SkasdiCon 🎇 @absurdistprod.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

For the purpose of research, what are some solid GM less RPG one should look at these days?

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Absurdist Productions ➡️ 🎆 SkasdiCon 🎇 @absurdistprod.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

I really wish that one would get a rerelease somewhere. It's an amazing adventure game.

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Absurdist Productions ➡️ 🎆 SkasdiCon 🎇 @absurdistprod.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

We fully support the TTGDA push to have all publishers, media, etc., give credit where it's due by listing game designers. We also believe the artists should always be listed. irp.cdn-website.com/2b6905d0/fil...

irp.cdn-website.com

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Absurdist Productions ➡️ 🎆 SkasdiCon 🎇 @absurdistprod.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

A lot of first time designers/publishers seem to skip the rulebook testing phase of development, but even established companies seem to do it sometimes and it always amazes me. The rule book is the game, the rest of is really just the props you use to play the game.

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Absurdist Productions ➡️ 🎆 SkasdiCon 🎇 @absurdistprod.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

We are looking forward to this game designed by a former fellow Oklahoman. Helped playtest this a ton before the moved to the West Coast, and looking forward to some fun film making craziness. www.kickstarter.com/projects/min...

kickstarter.com

Coming soon: Executive Producer: Where Box Office and Buzz Collide!

Drive your studio's success in Executive Producer, where 2-5 movie moguls build hits, manage chaos, rule the box office and win awards!

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Absurdist Productions ➡️ 🎆 SkasdiCon 🎇 @absurdistprod.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

One reason we haven't published any games we haven't designed ourselves, is because we don't feel we can effectively give them the push they need yet. We are talking to a few folks whose games we want to get out there, but it's just a hard industry right now.

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Absurdist Productions ➡️ 🎆 SkasdiCon 🎇 @absurdistprod.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

For us really small publishers, even for our "hits" it can be hard to afford any post launch marketing. Shifts in social media and Internet usage are also just making marketing harder in general.

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Absurdist Productions ➡️ 🎆 SkasdiCon 🎇 @absurdistprod.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

We won't be at GenCon, so if you feel like bringing Transformation or Seven Murders Til Midnight, we wouldn't mind. Some amazing games on that list already, so we understand if there isn't room.

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Absurdist Productions ➡️ 🎆 SkasdiCon 🎇 @absurdistprod.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

People underestimate the level of special effects film makers were capable of that far back. Matte painting and double exposure are lost arts in the modern era.

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Absurdist Productions ➡️ 🎆 SkasdiCon 🎇 @absurdistprod.bsky.social · 19/07/2026

That sounds like the problems you've seen come from bad GMs, not system. A GM has the power to push around players no matter the power level of the game because ultimately they are the arbiters of the rules. They can railroad things regardless of how powerful your characters are.

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Absurdist Productions ➡️ 🎆 SkasdiCon 🎇 @absurdistprod.bsky.social · 18/07/2026

Constraints and failures are what breeds interesting RP. Call of Cthulhu, for instance, is a system where you know going in that you can't win in a fight against most things, so instead you have to be a lot more creative in how you deal with situations.

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Absurdist Productions ➡️ 🎆 SkasdiCon 🎇 @absurdistprod.bsky.social · 18/07/2026

Even in those other systems though, it tends to get harder to RP those powerful characters. The same is true in most fiction. The best Superman stories focus on his humanity , the worst just have him punching other super powerful people with very vague motivations.

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Absurdist Productions ➡️ 🎆 SkasdiCon 🎇 @absurdistprod.bsky.social · 18/07/2026

But there is a reason that the average campaign of D&D tends to stall out around level 10-12. It's when mechanically your characters are getting really interesting, but it's also when they and the things they are dealing with start becoming more alien.

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Absurdist Productions ➡️ 🎆 SkasdiCon 🎇 @absurdistprod.bsky.social · 18/07/2026

Some DMs will deal with this by just making the threats feel more familiar, which begs the question of what does your power level matter since it's the same things you dealt with at lower levels. Some DMs and groups will have the ability to really lean into the weird and powerful.

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Absurdist Productions ➡️ 🎆 SkasdiCon 🎇 @absurdistprod.bsky.social · 18/07/2026

It's just easier to roleplay at lower power levels because it's closer to loved experience and thus easier for most people to imagine. As you go up in power in D&D and similar games the threats you face become less and less familiar, and thus harder to interact with outside of the rules.

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Absurdist Productions ➡️ 🎆 SkasdiCon 🎇 @absurdistprod.bsky.social · 18/07/2026

Men raised by apes who run around in furry loin clothes are serious business. He didn't go to 12 years of Jungle School to not be taken seriously.

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Absurdist Productions ➡️ 🎆 SkasdiCon 🎇 @absurdistprod.bsky.social · 18/07/2026

Most of the Tarzan books actually predate Nazis. Tarzan Untamed was 1920ish I think. But there was a lot of anger at Germans and the German soldiers still from WW1.

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Absurdist Productions ➡️ 🎆 SkasdiCon 🎇 @absurdistprod.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

Interpretation of art is a mix of both the artist's intentions and the audience's perceptions. Look at Dune, a novel the author meant as a warning against heroes and messiahs, that the audience misinterpreted so completely that he spelled it out bluntly in the sequel.

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Absurdist Productions ➡️ 🎆 SkasdiCon 🎇 @absurdistprod.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

We mentioned that WIll was playtesting 1000 Generations this past Sunday. We are still likely about a year out from launching the campaign for it, but we've got the pre-launch page up for those who want to follow along on this journey. www.backerkit.com/call_to_acti...

backerkit.com

Get Ready for 1000 Generations - Role Playing In a Time Before Empires

From Absurdist Productions - Get Ready for 1000 Generations - Role Playing In a Time Before Empires

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Absurdist Productions ➡️ 🎆 SkasdiCon 🎇 @absurdistprod.bsky.social · 12/07/2026

David will be livestreaming with our friend DCBueller today at 1:30 pm CST. They'll discuss and play several of our games, including the Origins Award-winning Winter Rabbit, the recently funded Cellblock 18, and Riposte! Hope to see some of you in the stream chat. www.twitch.tv/dcbueller

twitch.tv

DCBueller - Twitch

An asexual-demi wandering dreamer with a love of gaming across too many platforms, with a hyper active imagination. Look forward to Long Play experiences, co-op sessions with DC Senior, ramblings abou...

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Absurdist Productions ➡️ 🎆 SkasdiCon 🎇 @absurdistprod.bsky.social · 12/07/2026

Playing some Diatoms from @ludoliminal.bsky.social night. They were another game up for the Light Strategy Origin Award that Winter Rabbit won. This is such a great game.

Photo of a winning board for Diatoms from Ludoliminal.

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Absurdist Productions ➡️ 🎆 SkasdiCon 🎇 @absurdistprod.bsky.social · 11/07/2026

If you are in the OKC area, Will is going to be doing a playtest of our in development RPG, 1000 Generations, tomorrow. He'll be at Everyday Adventures, a great local game shop. They still have some open seats.

Image of a flier from Oklahoma board game shop Everyday Adventures advertising a playtest for the RPG 1000 Generations from Absurdist Productions.

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Absurdist Productions ➡️ 🎆 SkasdiCon 🎇 @absurdistprod.bsky.social · 11/07/2026

Played some Winter Rabbit and Magical Athlete last night at one of FLGS. Magical Athletes was a blast. What games are you playing this weekend?

A group playing Winter Rabbit from Absurdist Productions.

A group playing Magical Athlete from CMYK Games.

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Absurdist Productions ➡️ 🎆 SkasdiCon 🎇 @absurdistprod.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

Got a bunch of playtesting done last week on multiple different games. Sadly, I didn't get pictures from all the tests.

Folks playtesting Cellblock 18, coming soon from Absurdist Productions. Testers were testing the rulebook.

Folks playtesting Riposte!, coming soon from Absurdist Productions. Testers were testing the rulebook.

Playtesting and early prototype for Cabinets of Curiosity designed by David Thomas.

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Absurdist Productions ➡️ 🎆 SkasdiCon 🎇 @absurdistprod.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

We got stickers for Riposte! and Cellblock 18 in. These are for folks who backed as part of collaborations with other campaigns during Poketopia, or those who bought the stickers as an add-on. Though we should have some left to sell with the games at Cons next year as well.

Photo of two sticker sheets including art from the games Riposte! and Cellblock 18. Each sticker sheet has 5 stickers on it.

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Absurdist Productions ➡️ 🎆 SkasdiCon 🎇 @absurdistprod.bsky.social · 28/06/2026

Yeah, games are sort of screwed on there unless your game is under $20, it's an expensive deluxified game, or it's a well known IP. Mid-sized games are struggling.

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Absurdist Productions ➡️ 🎆 SkasdiCon 🎇 @absurdistprod.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

I think a better way of looking at it, is to find the hook, what engages players with the game. Without that, it doesn't matter what your vision is, players will just bounce off the game and never see that vision. Doesn't matter if it's a light party game or a serious educational game.

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Absurdist Productions ➡️ 🎆 SkasdiCon 🎇 @absurdistprod.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

Exactly. I run a local playtesting group here in OKC, and we get new designers showing up with grandiose ideas of self publishing their games to make millions, and I typically start with explain things like that to help them set some realistic expectations.

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