iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Mark Johnson @boardgamestogo.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Episode 259 is posted, with my anticipation for Essen Spiel’s new titles. Or at least, I have something to say about ten of them. BoardgamesToGo.com

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Mark Johnson @boardgamestogo.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Podcast episode 258 is a thorough discussion about whether any of our boardgames are ELEGANT. What does that even mean? Is it all subjective, or are there some common qualities of special games? Is Azul elegant? For Sale? Pandemic? Brass (just kidding)? BoardgamesToGo.com

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Mark Johnson @boardgamestogo.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

One of the best aspects of a longer game con is the chance to play old favorites AND try some new titles. But THE best aspect is meeting up with old friends.

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Reposted by Mark Johnson

Geoff Engelstein - The Universe Explained with Cookie out now! @gengelstein.bsky.social · 08/05/2026

So sorry to hear about the passing of Ken Tidwell. For those who don't know him, in addition to being a fantastic human he also started the Game Cabinet website in the 90's, which hosted rules for European games being imported into the USA.

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Mark Johnson @boardgamestogo.bsky.social · 08/05/2026

Ken Tidwell was SO important to our boardgaming hobby. I encourage everyone to listen to this interview he gave me in 2023. I wanted to talk about how he helped us all get started in the 90s. He wanted to talk about how he was still so excited about new games. :) boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/309...

boardgamegeek.com

Boardgames To Go Season 19 (2023)

Last year I set out to post a show on the first of each month, and it worked! That will be my plan again for 2023, the nineteenth(!) year I've been doing the Boardgames To Go podcast. Thanks for list...

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Mark Johnson @boardgamestogo.bsky.social · 16/03/2026

We're now on Round 2 (with 32 games) in my podcast's annual Mark Madness voting/predicting contest. It's about individual designer "versus" designer teams of various types. Predictions are now closed but EVERYONE can vote for the games they want to win. Please do! boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/375...

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Mark Johnson @boardgamestogo.bsky.social · 08/03/2026

My boardgame podcast's own version of March Madness is up. This year we've set it up around pairs & teams of designers: Kramer & Kiesling, Moon & Weissblum, Cathala & Faidutti, Luciani & others. Make a prediction or just vote for favorites in the upcoming rounds boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/370...

The 64-boardgame "bracket" for this year's Madness-style single elim prediction & voting contest. Each division of 16 titles has games centered around Germany/Kramer, America/Moon, France/Cathala, or Italy/various

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Mark Johnson @boardgamestogo.bsky.social · 26/02/2026

The Kansas legislature passed new laws that persecute transgender citizens by invalidating their driver's licenses. That leads to many problems. It's targeted cruelty, plain & simple. Neighbor state Colorado has good people helping others to leave Kansas. I donated. www.zeffy.com/en-US/donati...

zeffy.com

Trans Continental Pipeline-Donate to help queer relocation!

At TCP, our mission is to help Queer and 2SLGBTQIA+ people move from unsafe environments to Colorado and provide connections and resources through our relocation program.Every Cent you donate will go ...

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Reposted by Mark Johnson

Kate McKean @katemckean.bsky.social · 11/02/2026

Over on threads someone just use ai;dr and we all need to adopt that right quick

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Mark Johnson @boardgamestogo.bsky.social · 26/01/2026

Ok, Boardgame Bluesky, give me some ideas about boardgames that relate to this area of the modern, German (mostly) map. I've thought about Charlemagne (Aachen), which leads me to Carolus Magnus, and (sort of) Web of Power with its older countries/kingdoms. What else?

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Mark Johnson @boardgamestogo.bsky.social · 01/12/2025

After a month or two without as much in-person gaming, November was a good bounceback. Helped a lot by @sdhistcon.bsky.social and @geekyteas.bsky.social . Sentimental favorite was playing Hanabi with my family again after a long absence.

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Mark Johnson @boardgamestogo.bsky.social · 04/10/2025

Games played in September. It was an unusual month—these are almost all online, inc a bunch played live with friends & audio. Great to play Pergamon and Bohnanza again.

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Mark Johnson @boardgamestogo.bsky.social · 14/09/2025

Organized another online game day for listeners of my podcast. Another fun time with some great titles & friends.

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Mark Johnson @boardgamestogo.bsky.social · 02/09/2025

A lighter month of August for in-person gaming. I really loved getting to play Die Fugger and Krass Kariert again. Endeavor Deep Sea is another standout. The Hunt just barely kept my wargaming alive.

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Mark Johnson @boardgamestogo.bsky.social · 01/08/2025

And here are the games I played online in July. Mostly BGA, of course, but I’m enjoying getting back into BSW for its unique games (Tuscany, Notre Dame, Qwinto). Still some Yucata, too (eg GAH, Maori).

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Mark Johnson @boardgamestogo.bsky.social · 01/08/2025

The in-person games I played in July. All but one of these were at EsCon, since summer con season interrupted my regular game group.

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Mark Johnson @boardgamestogo.bsky.social · 26/07/2025

Small Fjords by @grailgames.bsky.social is a slick, little package. Quality packaging & components similar to Oink, but a little larger which permits more inside. I just played the solo variant to this 2-player version, but may end up liking it that way the best.

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Mark Johnson @boardgamestogo.bsky.social · 20/07/2025

I loved this entire system Leonardi invented. Still do. I’ve owned the WW1 original, the WW2 and jet fighter sequels, and then X-Wing vs TIE. Then the Lost World Series brought it down to a fun, RPG-ish personal scale. And back up to Battlemechs.

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Mark Johnson @boardgamestogo.bsky.social · 14/07/2025

I've been enjoying these whippersnappers and their newfangled podcast for a while. Now I was able to join them for a game day. Then was able to talk about a classic boardgame on their show as a guest!

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Mark Johnson @boardgamestogo.bsky.social · 13/07/2025

Had a great time at EsCon as always. Good friends, good games, and a “mini event” of our own. This time it was a focus on Rudiger Dorn games. We called it the Dornücopia! Whoever won a game was adorned The Great Dornholio

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Mark Johnson @boardgamestogo.bsky.social · 10/07/2025

Who remembers when BGG had an online implementation of Tigris & Euphrates? I’d love to find an archived screenshot.

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Mark Johnson @boardgamestogo.bsky.social · 19/06/2025

Wonderful bonus game night where we played all three Kenner noms Looot!, Faraway, and Endeavor Deep Sea. Plus the little trick-taker Prey. A friend joined us who hasn’t been available for many months (new parent!).

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Mark Johnson @boardgamestogo.bsky.social · 08/06/2025

You’re going to need a bigger boat.

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Mark Johnson @boardgamestogo.bsky.social · 02/06/2025

Mostly online gaming last month, thanks to a dedicated "mini-con" event I hosted, plus a 2-week vacation later. Besides the SdJ & Kenner nominees I get to play this way, my standouts for the month are Space Empires 4X, Thurn und Taxis, Billabong, and Planet Unknown.

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Mark Johnson @boardgamestogo.bsky.social · 28/05/2025

Spoke with a retired German couple on our vacation in Norway. They were shocked that I knew where Regensburg was. Then shocked that I knew about the Spiel des Jahres, Catan, and Bohnanza. This never happens when I travel! Their favorite card game is Wizard, inc with anniversary edition expansion.

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Mark Johnson @boardgamestogo.bsky.social · 04/05/2025

Another good episode. I agree 100% that El Grande was the designers’ “sideways” (good word) approach at a dudes-on-the-map conquest game. And though the medieval court theme was pasted-on, the result was something that bears a cynical resemblance to real-life conflicts of influence, rather than arms

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Mark Johnson @boardgamestogo.bsky.social · 04/05/2025

A great 12-hour day of games onlinewith friends, all while voice chatting over Discord. (A silver lining from our shared pandemic experience in the past.) Had folks from SoCal, Norcal, Texas, Massachusetts, Virginia, and North Carolina. Will do it again someday.

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Mark Johnson @boardgamestogo.bsky.social · 03/05/2025

Online Game Day (mini-con) for my podcast listeners is underway. So far we've played Odin, Tigris & Euphrates, Saint Petersburg, and now starting River City Glassworks. Join us on the BGTG Discord server discord.gg/8ahVR9pATh

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Check out the BoardgamesToGo community on Discord - hang out with 252 other members and enjoy free voice and text chat.

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Mark Johnson @boardgamestogo.bsky.social · 29/04/2025

I'm catching up on some boardgame podcasts, including Cult of the Old, a favorite of mine. Nice to see this dive into classic games as well as hobby favorites. Great to point out how we can overlook how polished this design is, from the tile mix to the board design to the physical productions.

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Mark Johnson @boardgamestogo.bsky.social · 20/04/2025

Great weekend of gaming. Even squeezed a couple wargame-ish titles in there.

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Mark Johnson @boardgamestogo.bsky.social · 20/04/2025

I came here to make this very point, but designer Matt Leacock beat me to the punch! I am so happy to have re-discovered Chris Farrell's substack, Illuminating Games. His writing & analysis is the sharpest I've enjoyed in the boardgaming hobby for a long, long time. 100% recommended.

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Mark Johnson @boardgamestogo.bsky.social · 12/04/2025

Tried this again with recommended house rules from BGG. Wow, the Empire steamrolled us good guys! That Death Star was operational.

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Mark Johnson @boardgamestogo.bsky.social · 12/04/2025

On May 3 I’m hosting a day of online gaming (realtime) for any of my podcast listeners. I’ll be online from 9am Pacific on BGA, as well as my Discord server. discord.gg/hQQf2Mh9gf

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Mark Johnson @boardgamestogo.bsky.social · 06/04/2025

Great turnout today at Santa Clarita #HandsOff, with lots of sympathetic drivers honking their support for us. I came away inspired and ready to do it again. Some of my favorite signs: This Is The Government Our Founders Warned Us About Embarassed. Ashamed. So Sorry World Congress DO Something

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Mark Johnson @boardgamestogo.bsky.social · 01/04/2025

Not sure how these games get sorted in this monthly BGstats report, but it’s a decent sampling of a big month of March for me. Dice Tower West to start the month, and two good local game group sessions to end it.

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Reposted by Mark Johnson

Tom Edsall @tomedsall.bsky.social · 31/03/2025

I know a number of transgender people, one of them my son, and they're all decent, kind, hard working people who contribute to society in many ways. We owe them the decency and respect that everyone deserves.

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Mark Johnson @boardgamestogo.bsky.social · 31/03/2025

On this Transgender Day of Visibility, one of the points is showing who “we” are. I’ve got a transgender daughter. If 1% of the population is transgender, that’s small but IMPORTANT. They deserve kindness, respect, and rights. Their parents should support & band together. You probably know someone.

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Mark Johnson @boardgamestogo.bsky.social · 31/03/2025

The winner of our Game Cover Art voting contest was Unconscious Mind, by artists Andrew Bosley and Vincent Dutrait. Also @omnomgmr.bsky.social won the prediction contest, and will be my podcast co-host when we do Mark Madness again in 2026. Thanks to Eryn Roston for co-hosting this year. Super fun!

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Mark Johnson @boardgamestogo.bsky.social · 28/03/2025

The voting contest for best Game Cover Art has now reached its championship round. The final two are Capital Lux (by artist Kwanchai Moriya) and Unconscious Mind (by artists Andrew Bosley & Vincent Dutrait). All are welcome to vote for their preferred artwork. boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/354...

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Mark Johnson @boardgamestogo.bsky.social · 25/03/2025

The Final Four in my Game Cover Art voting competition are Sleeping Gods - Ryan Laukat Unconscious Mind - Andrew Bosley & Vincent Dutrait Kelp Shark vs Octopus - Weberson Santiago Capital Lux - Kwanchai Moriya boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/354... Go vote!

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Mark Johnson @boardgamestogo.bsky.social · 22/03/2025

My GAME COVER ART voting contest is down to the Elite Eight. Go vote for your favorites & listen to our discussion. boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/354...

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Mark Johnson @boardgamestogo.bsky.social · 18/03/2025

The Sweet 16 for my podcast’s Madness-style voting contest for game COVER ART is now ready for voting. boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/354...

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Mark Johnson @boardgamestogo.bsky.social · 15/03/2025

My podcasts's Game Cover Art voting contest is underway. Already half the original entries have been knocked out. Now the round of 32 titles remaining is open for voting. Go vote for your favorite game cover art. Some matchups are shown below. boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/354...

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Mark Johnson @boardgamestogo.bsky.social · 13/03/2025

Time to vote for favorite boardgame cover art. This is the first round, the round of 64. Some matchups shown here boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/354...

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Mark Johnson @boardgamestogo.bsky.social · 11/03/2025

Spread the word! There’s one more day to join our voting contest for best game COVER ART. (That’s one more day to make a prediction at challenge.com/MarkMadness2025 . Then everyone can join in voting for their favorites in the cover-vs-cover matchups.) boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/352...

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Mark Johnson @boardgamestogo.bsky.social · 10/03/2025

Here are all the games I played at Dice Tower West #DTW. The five I'd like to call out most are Free Ride USA, Carolus Magnus, Mesos, Frank's Zoo, and Lowesherz. You can tell I focused quite a bit on old games (25+years) with my friends, but also tried some new titles.

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Mark Johnson @boardgamestogo.bsky.social · 08/03/2025

Rare treasures from the #DTW flea market

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Mark Johnson @boardgamestogo.bsky.social · 08/03/2025

Tomorrow it’s back to some more recent titles. Today at #DTW we played Lowenherz, Spekulation, Carolus Magnus, Industrial Waste, and Traumfabrik. Everything at least 25 years old.

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