iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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ꜱᴏᴘʜᴏɴᴛ, ᴛʜᴇ ʟᴀᴛᴇꜱᴛ ꜰʀᴏᴍ ʙʀɪᴛᴛʟᴇ ꜱᴛᴀʀ, ɪꜱ ɴᴏᴡ ꜰᴜɴᴅɪɴɢ. sophont.brittlestar.press <<ʜᴇʟʟᴏ, ᴄᴜᴛᴛᴇʀ. ᴡʜᴀᴛ ʜᴀᴘᴘᴇɴꜱ ɴᴇxᴛ?>>

the fact that you would even consider suggesting giving me an USian holiday means that you know exactly how to push the buttons that will start an unskippable, rage-filled cutscene and this is probably why we're friends

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alex v @alexvalente.fyi · 12/10/2026

this is exactly how i imagine you at all times, glad to have confirmation

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alex v @alexvalente.fyi · 12/10/2026

and a special mention to Disparateum by @rathayibacter.itch.io - which i have yet to delve into, but thoroughly enjoyed discovering thanks to @geranium.pink

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alex v @alexvalente.fyi · 12/10/2026

because i hate clickbait, the games i mention are: - Royal Blood by @rowanrookanddecard.bsky.social - Realis, by @austinwalker.bsky.social / @possibleworlds.bsky.social - Heaven in the Dust, by @wildwoodsgames.bsky.social - Ten Candles, by @cavalrygames.bsky.social

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alex v @alexvalente.fyi · 12/10/2026

last time i wrote something for the blog i said i was going to keep it healthy at one a month, and six days later here's another, but i've been ruminating on this and wanted to share! specifically: games that remove, instead of adding to your characters, chiselling you down to the essence of you

playpretend.fyi

Whittling Down

Or, four games that make you more by making you less.

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alex v @alexvalente.fyi · 12/10/2026

very late but accurate rendition of my face replicating other people's face in most social situations

a selfie of alex pretending to be hit hard by an indie ttrpg book; the book is crocheted

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P H Lee 🪬 @p-h-lee.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

gosh that is a lot of new followers! as implied by the thread that brought you here, i'm a fiction writer. my most famous stories are Just Enough Rain in Giganotosaurus: giganotosaurus.org/2021/05/01/just-enough-rain/ and The V*mpire in Reactor: reactormag.com/the-vampire-...

reactormag.com

The V*mpire - Reactor

The vampires aren't even the worst part about being a teenage trans girl on tumblr.

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alex v @alexvalente.fyi · 10/10/2026

there are some very good echoes of one of my favourite pratchett passages - the one about elves - and reinforces how language changes and shifts its meaning, becoming at times more dangerous we don't need magic systems, we need the ebb and flow of words trickling, rushing, pouring into the world

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alex v @alexvalente.fyi · 10/10/2026

the river has roots getting all of this attention is great actually, the book is very good, the writing is exquisite, and @amalelmohtar.com really *understands* fairytales in how she writes the story and that opening page is incredible

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Umar Ali @speedfreak01.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

This isn't easy for me to say, but Sushi is in trouble right now. We're doing everything we can for her, but she needs your support. Please donate if you can, and share if you can't. Thank you. gofund.me/a5d60fe83

gofund.me

Donate to Sushi's Heart Treatment, organized by Umar Ali

Hi, I'm Umar, and Sushi is my cat. Recently, Sushi has had trouble breathing… Umar Ali needs your support for Sushi's Heart Treatment

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Stephen Green @stephengreen.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

I reviewed Masks: A New Generation by @magpiegames.bsky.social as part of the Quinns Quest discord review jam. I loved the way this game pushed the narrative forward with every move. Read what I think made this game sing at the table here: timetoplay.bearblog.dev/a-review-of-... #masks #ttrpg

timetoplay.bearblog.dev

A review of Masks: A New Generation (1st edition)

This is my submission to the Knowledge Knight Review Jam which you can find on the Quinns Quest Discord Community, accessible by joining the Quinns Quest Pat...

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Leckie @wraithlands.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

A lovely review that summarises the game better than I ever have

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alex v @alexvalente.fyi · 09/10/2026

thank you for humouring me!

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alex v @alexvalente.fyi · 09/10/2026

finally caught up to the last one, this was an undertaking - well done folks! also, this is all i could think of on my walk, and i made it as soon as i got back to the desk

meme of walter white from the scene where he says "i am the one who knocks" replaced by strahd's face and the text: "i am the goddamn land"

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Alder (one of them) @alder--s.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

In September, I took part in a review jam of sorts, for which I wrote about @mirror-lock.bsky.social 's Galatea. I really liked my time with the game! And like all good reviews (if you can call it that; I'd bill it as a rant), it comes in horrible Google docs form! docs.google.com/document/d/e...

docs.google.com

Galatea review

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Terminal City Tabletop Convention @terminalcitycon.ca · 08/10/2026

Surprise! 🎉Tickets to #TCTC2027 are now available! Purchase before November 30 to get in on our Early Bird sale. Get Tix 🎟️ terminalcitycon.ca/tickets/

The TCTC mascot yeti with the overlay text announcing that Early Bird Tickets to the 2027 event are now on sale.

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alex v @alexvalente.fyi · 08/10/2026

i am totally normal at this news

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alex v @alexvalente.fyi · 08/10/2026

also correct, i (the u in your typo) knew the same 😌

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watt (is making Burial Cloud) @worldsbywatt.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

It's always refreshing to stumble upon a strong and unfamiliar artistic style in a TTRPG. I interviewed Gwen Clark about her upcoming Panic Engine symbiote black ops horror game, SOPHONT. www.patreon.com/worldsbywatt...

A silhouetted operative explodes into a colorful extension of their symbiotic power. Kiln class.

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Authenticity Trip | 200-Proof Games @200proofgames.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

Ahhhh what a great writeup!!!! Every designer should be so lucky to have an Alex in their corner!!! My heart is so full!!

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alex v @alexvalente.fyi · 08/10/2026

every alex should be lucky to have all of you making games that make my synapses sparkle

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alex v @alexvalente.fyi · 07/10/2026

i have been obsessed with one aspect of Dragon Reactor ( @dinoberrypress.bsky.social ) since before it was a public-facing thing, and i must shout about what @diceynova.bsky.social and @200proofgames.bsky.social have wrought (going to keep to a healthier schedule of maybe one of these a month)

playpretend.fyi

Dragon Reactor: Embers, Ashes, Moments, Stars

Dragon Reactor - by Nevyn Holmes and S. Quinn Morris

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alex v @alexvalente.fyi · 06/10/2026

that's the infuriating part! there's SO MUCH going on on the covers, but no space for the translator?!

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alex v @alexvalente.fyi · 06/10/2026

all of these were posted and live on my games-specific blog now, where i also track the various characters i play as a way (mostly for me) to keep a record of games-as-experience as always: games are good

playpretend.bearblog.dev

reviews

...Heaven in the Dust. ...Harvest. ...Hollows. ...PRISM. ...Going for Broke. ...NOVA. ...DIE RPG....

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alex v @alexvalente.fyi · 06/10/2026

my first idea was to spotlight some of the italian RPGs in my collection that don't have a translation or body of play yet, but that only materialised in PRISM

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alex v @alexvalente.fyi · 06/10/2026

Harvest was the one that i eventually submitted to the jam proper, as a cooperative review of a cooperative game - and a game i have been thinking about since

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alex v @alexvalente.fyi · 06/10/2026

this jam did things to the way in which i think about RPGs, as i mentioned last month, and i think i have found a new groove with them too, allowing me to think about what i look for in a storytelling engine

birdmilkcafe.com

Knowledge Knight Review Jam (2026)

Quinns can’t review every game, but we can help to bridge the gap.

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alex v @alexvalente.fyi · 06/10/2026

because why the fuck would you, after all

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alex v @alexvalente.fyi · 06/10/2026

i guess it's okay though! you can find his name if you know to look at the inner pages! because of course you would fucking know to do that, media literacy is at an all time high!

the inner title page of invisible cities, which finally deigns to mention the translator: william weaver

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alex v @alexvalente.fyi · 06/10/2026

i'm in a bad mood, so bear with me: embarrassing behaviour from @marinerbooks.bsky.social spent so much time, effort, design, marketing on this product, i have to imagine, forgetting the only fucking reason the book exists in english: william weaver, the translator

the cover of invisible cities 50th anniversary, featuring the names of italo calvino, karina puente frantzen, anthony doerr - no translator

the back cover of invisible cities 50th anniversary, featuring the name of the foreword author but no translator

the inner cover of invisible cities 50th anniversary, featuring the names of italo calvino, karina puente frantzen, anthony doerr - no translator

the back inner cover of invisible cities 50th anniversary, featuring bios for italo calvino, karina puente frantzen, anthony doerr - no translator

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Dillin Apelyan - Bob the Builder's #1 Guy @superdillin.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

All's Fair is an erotic RPG which means that on itch it won't come up in searches or show up on the Popular games page. Which is of course bad because puritanism blah blah BUT it does mean I can delude myself into believing it's the best selling game on itch and how would you even prove me wrong

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Alex Zucker @alexzucker.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

💥 A Radical Proposal: Literary Translations as Workers Brought to you by the Literary Translators Division of @nwu.org ✊ With @jeremytiang.bsky.social @kirajosefsson.bsky.social @soleildahveed.bsky.social @francesriddle.bsky.social www.youtube.com/live/V7HS8nl...

youtube.com

2026 Day of Translation: Panel 3: A Radical Proposal

YouTube video by The Center for Fiction

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lumpley @lumpley.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

A beautiful, beautiful review of Under Hollow Hills! sparkybee.bearblog.dev/under-hollow...

sparkybee.bearblog.dev

Under Hollow Hills - A Review

Ever think about joining the circus?

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alex v @alexvalente.fyi · 03/10/2026

sparky did such a good job with this, it's so playful and a performance in itself, while also being so very clear and honest!

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Cassandra Khaw @casskhaw.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

I am not always Horny on Main but in this essay, I admit to being really into the Mimics in Edge of Tomorrow

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Grant Howitt @gshowitt.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Gemelli has played a lot of Hollows. More than me, that’s for sure. So that’s why you should have a bash on his thorough (and, admittedly, glowing) review of our game:

Sometimes things veer into record-keeping, breaking out rulers and cone templates. Sometimes you just don't feel the sense of danger right out of the gate.
Enter the Hollows grid system, which wrestles these problems to the ground and makes them squeal:

[image of the hollows tactical grid]

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alex v @alexvalente.fyi · 01/10/2026

he did pretty good, huh maybe being obsessed with this game has its upsides after all!

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alex v @alexvalente.fyi · 01/10/2026

i think @wildwoodsgames.bsky.social has a full purchase on my game soul, and i want to scream it from the rooftops birdmilk wrote most of this, i edited and tweaked, and got to dip back into more creative writing for the stasima games - as always - are so very good

birdmilkcafe.com

Heaven in the Dust

Greek tragedy in the American Great Depression.

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The Norwich Radical @thenorwichradical.com · 30/09/2026

In times like these, platforms for radical writing are essential, no matter how small. Consider supporting us with a monthly or annual donation on our Steady page. steady.page/en/norwichra...

steady.page

The Norwich Radical

The Norwich Radical is an independent, not-for-profit online publication that platforms progressive analysis of politics and the arts.

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alex v @alexvalente.fyi · 30/09/2026

this one is a brief but poignant issue, especially eve hilton's piece about the new insidious forms of medical misogyny and ableism give us a read, drop us a line, pitch something to us for next issue!

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alex v @alexvalente.fyi · 30/09/2026

your irregularly scheduled reminder that if you criticise canada and its imperial machine the government will send CSIS to intimidate you and "just ask questions" about your citizenship intentions (hi greg, hi alexandra!)

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alex v @alexvalente.fyi · 29/09/2026

chure, bro can't stop those rumours now!

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