iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Boards Alive @boardsalive.bsky.social · 13/10/2026

Benji and I used the holiday this afternoon to try out Trials of Maya It's a MOBA-style arena battler We were trying to destroy each other's home base There's a lot going on and lots of depth to explore Don't love the colour palette, though More coming in the next episode!

My player board in Trials of Maya. It's a lot of red with some cards and tokens

The arena game board for Trials of Maya with miniatures and stacks of chips with the sun coming through a window

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Boards Alive @boardsalive.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

I pretty much never cover crowdfunding stuff anymore I hate the time pressure and I feel the same way about their side of the coverage

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Boards Alive @boardsalive.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Yeah, I can see that being the reaction. There isn't anything really innovative or unique to it, so it doesn't have that thing to bring you back other than a solid combo-y euro

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Boards Alive @boardsalive.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

We're playing Lorenzo il Magnifico with the Houses of Renaissance expansion The guys have told me there is going to be a new version that's fancier and refined? I mean, this version is very solid already, but okay

Lorenzo il Magnifico on a blue table top

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Boards Alive @boardsalive.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Brendo and I played a 2p game of Circadia today It felt better than the first time we played I think there are some more interesting choices than I thought But it's still kind of just a fine card game

Circadia cards on a table with hands trying to win the game even though we know he won't be able to

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Boards Alive @boardsalive.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

We played Gunsen The Battle for Toshi Ranbo last night This was the site of Brendan's downfall His lab of re-rolls cost him the battle, which allowed me to win by controlling Toshi Ranbo It was another fun game of this quick playing area control game

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Boards Alive @boardsalive.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

It was a fun watch, but also terrible, haha It was more fun talking about it with you

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Eric Michael Summerer @ericsummerer.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

And second is my guest appearance on the Cult Classic Callback podcast, where we watched the film and picked it apart. I think I had a fonder reaction than Aaron and Linsae did. @boardsalive.bsky.social boardsalivepodcast.com/2023/09/05/c...

boardsalivepodcast.com

Cult Classic Callback – The Transformers: The Movie with Eric Summerer

Episode 51 – Eric Summerer Eric Summerer can be found on Twitter @EricSummerer, on the Right Brain Rollers Podcast, on The Dice Tower, and on his website. Support us on&nbs…

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Eric Michael Summerer @ericsummerer.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

The first is my narration of Flint Dille's memoir The Gamesmaster. Flint was instrumental in the direction of Transformers and G.I. Joe during those early days, and discusses the challenges of killing off an entire line of toys to make room for the new ones. www.audible.com/pd/The-Games...

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Eric Michael Summerer @ericsummerer.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

So, this weekend sees The Transformers: The Movie hitting theaters for its 40th anniversary (saw it last night, I was gleefully chair dancing to Dare to Be Stupid during the Junkion scene). Thought I'd bring up two projects of mine that relate to this momentous occasion...

static.klipy.com

Transformers G1 Starscream Falls

ALT: Transformers G1 Starscream Falls

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Boards Alive @boardsalive.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

We tried out Gunsen The Battle for Toshi Ranbo this week It's the latest from @officedoggames.bsky.social It's an area control engine builder where you're racing to get 7 achievements But each clan is fairly different, so you don't know what other players can do Everyone really liked it!

Gunsen board game pieces on the board on a table with Brendo in the background

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Boards Alive @boardsalive.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

The newest @officedoggames.bsky.social Gunsen The Battle for Toshi Ranbo arrived today Excited to see what Ben Rosset and Matthew O'Malley have cooked up in this one

The box cover of Gunsen The Battle for Toshi Ranbo on a counter

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Boards Alive @boardsalive.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

So you're just adding to the piles you already have because the shelves are too full? Haha

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Boards Alive @boardsalive.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Oh that is such a fun one There's a really expensive baseball one that I would love if I had way more money, haha

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Boards Alive @boardsalive.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

I taught the guys Thunder Road Ignition this week and it went over really well Scott really enjoyed the amount of chaos due to cars coming back on the track all game long @restorationgames.bsky.social

Cars from Thunder Road Ignition on the race track with other pieces on the table and some hands in the background on the table

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Boards Alive @boardsalive.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

I would talk about less stupid things for way less money...

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Boards Alive @boardsalive.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Benji and I just played back to back games of Innovation by @asmadigames.bsky.social I love this game so much! I took the 1st game, just a base game battle Then he took the 2nd when we threw in the Cities expansion It's just stuff a fun, chaotic card game with wild swings

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Boards Alive @boardsalive.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

I love the word cromulent so much I use it all the time It's like the word mid, but for olds!

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Boards Alive @boardsalive.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

We tried out Thunder Road Ignition as a family tonight One simple change to this version is no car elimination, they get moved to The Pit Stop and come back next round No more player elimination 1st player to get 2 cars across the finish line wins We had fun with it! @restorationgames.bsky.social

Cars from Thunder Road Ignition on the board with hands in the background

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Boards Alive @boardsalive.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

I mean I am pretty sure I always sit in the same spot when I come to your house, haha

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Boards Alive @boardsalive.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

Elsie really wanted to learn Hacienda, so we played it tonight Benji took home the win, but it was very close Elsie was in last, only 4 points behind him and 1 behind me @pandasaurusgames.com

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Boards Alive @boardsalive.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

I love his competitive nature and his constant search for improvement Makes me feel more comfortable with the big contract He is always working

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Boards Alive @boardsalive.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

Brendo taught us Discordia tonight It's a unique euro where you're trying to get rid of your workers first You draft dice to trigger actions to build a setup so you can get rid of them faster Interesting, but probably better at 3 than 4 due to down time

Game pieces from the Discordia board game on a game mat on a table with some hands in the background

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Boards Alive @boardsalive.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

And I haven't played the original, so we are not helpful, haha

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Boards Alive @boardsalive.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

Yeah Daryl did a bunch of work on it I think

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Boards Alive @boardsalive.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

I taught the guys Hacienda by Wolfgang Kramer and @boardgame.bsky.social The guys compared it to Through the Desert but with more variety in the pieces you play, so a little more complexity @pandasaurusgames.com

Hacienda with pieces all over the table on the game board on top of a play mat

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Boards Alive @boardsalive.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

Matt just got this one I'm interested to try such a unique experience

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Boards Alive @boardsalive.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

We tried out The Game Makers last night It has some interesting timing vibes and tons of fancy bits I only built one type of board games the whole time and built a machine to help with it and I won by 10 It's a solid one but also nothing mind blowing

A whole bunch of pieces from the game The Game Makers all over a table

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Boards Alive @boardsalive.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

We tried out the latest Hisashi Hayashi card game Circadia You connect sets of cards to cash in for scoring cards But the sets you collect need to ascend It's got a nice wrinkle to the flow of it

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Boards Alive @boardsalive.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

The outrage culture that is big right now is maddening I blame it on the click hunt

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Boards Alive @boardsalive.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

Oh, I've had their coffee before thanks to @425suzanne.bsky.social It's so delicious

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Boards Alive @boardsalive.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

Oh hello Gen Con hotness Happy to have this arrive today Can't wait to try out how they have made this even more accessible

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Boards Alive @boardsalive.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

Just read that! Such a fun idea

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Boards Alive @boardsalive.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

We're trying out a 2p game of Hacienda by @pandasaurusgames.com while camping to get a feel for how it all works

Animal wooden tokens on a hexagonal board of Hacienda pieces

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Boards Alive @boardsalive.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

And scenario 4 was slightly longer, but not harder... Still a cake walk to the finish

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Boards Alive @boardsalive.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

Scenario 3 was more challenging, but still snowballed into an easy win On to adventure 4 to see if there's a challenge

More LEGO Ninjago Destiny's Bounty Adventures characters on a board on a picnic table

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Boards Alive @boardsalive.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

Scenario 2 was just as easy... We're trying the 3rd adventure to see if it's more... Adventurous

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Boards Alive @boardsalive.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

Benji and I played a head to head match of Azul with my travel edition It's honestly such a great version of the game Sure, the pieces aren't big chonky starburst candy, but they work great on a windy picnic table Also, he beat me by like 30 points....

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Boards Alive @boardsalive.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

We played the first LEGO Ninjago Destiny's Bounty Adventures scenario while camping today It was pretty simple, with some leveling up Benji wasn't super enthused about it Elsie was more into it We will see what the 2nd scenario brings

LEGO Ninjago Destiny's Bounty Adventures board game on a picnic table

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