iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Caitlin Ernest. @caitlinernest.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

Rock Hard: 1977 is such a fun worker placement game! The theming is 10/10 - You really feel like a struggling musician trying to make it big. I love the player boards, too! My Dad used to be a drummer, so I HAD to be Bam Bam! 🥁 @jackiefox.bsky.social @jginer.bsky.social @devirgames.bsky.social

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Caitlin Ernest. @caitlinernest.bsky.social · 05/10/2025

Shota & I had a super fun day filming a playthrough video with @esperbgs.bsky.social for their upcoming game, 'Eldertide: A Thousand Lights'. You'll have to tune in to see which of us came out on top! #ボードゲーム #Eldertide

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Caitlin Ernest. @caitlinernest.bsky.social · 12/09/2025

I've been quiet on here for the past few months because on July 25th '25: WE GOT MARRIED!💍🥰 Planning two weddings, one week apart, in two different countries was INTENSE & it meant we weren't getting any board games to the table. But we're looking forward to jumping back in! 🎲

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Caitlin Ernest. @caitlinernest.bsky.social · 14/06/2025

Jisogi: Anime Studio Tycoon is brilliant! It's a worker placement game that really captures the essence of struggling to keep an anime studio afloat. And gosh, just look at all the stunning artwork & components. SUCH a fun game! @esperbgs.bsky.social

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Caitlin Ernest. @caitlinernest.bsky.social · 03/06/2025

I'm SO EXCITED by The Slasher, a co-op trick-taker! The Item Acquisition phase is the real meat of the game. Cards in tricks you've won affect: how many item cards you reveal, damage you prevent & damage the killer deals if drawn. Get five escape items before he gets you!

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Caitlin Ernest. @caitlinernest.bsky.social · 28/05/2025

Slambo! is a fast and super fun sumo wrestling game! You're knocked out if the card you play brings the sum of the played cards above 10 or below 0. Manage your hand carefully to ensure you can counteract your opponent! @allplay.bsky.social @saibep.bsky.social #ゲームマーケット2025春 #ゲムマ2025春

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Caitlin Ernest. @caitlinernest.bsky.social · 28/05/2025

Last Sunday was my bachelorette party! My friends & I did a photo-based scavenger hunt race in both Japan & Australia. Next was a sip'n'paint of special places for Shota & I; one friend painted Tokyo Game Market's mascot, Koro! 🎲 The last 3 stragglers & I then played some wine-fuelled games of Ito🥂

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Caitlin Ernest. @caitlinernest.bsky.social · 24/05/2025

For a small box, BACHIxBACHI! has so much fun gameplay! It's an abstract chess-like game of honeybees vs giant hornets🐝 To win: The bees must collect 8 nectar or kill every hornet; The hornets must kill and collect 8 bees. #FurukawaAtelier #ゲームマーケット2025春 #ゲムマ2025春

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Caitlin Ernest. @caitlinernest.bsky.social · 23/05/2025

I adore Ukiyo-e! Build up ukiyo-e collections & hold exhibitions, ensuring you play more cards than have already been played for that artist. Only scoring the smallest number in a set causes a fun little pause before playing cards! #ToshikiSato #MichaelSchacht #ゲームマーケット2025春 #ゲムマ2025春

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Caitlin Ernest. @caitlinernest.bsky.social · 22/05/2025

Extreme Mission is great! Be the first to complete one mission from each difficulty level. I love the five Informants acting as wild cards. But! Having to ensure they're flipped face-up again before you can win adds some fun tension 🐕 #HisashiHayashi #ゲームマーケット2025春 #ゲムマ2025春 #TokyoGameMarket

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Caitlin Ernest. @caitlinernest.bsky.social · 21/05/2025

I had a lot of fun playing Explorers of Navoria & it looks GREAT! 🩵💚 I also think it's lightweight enough that it'd be great for introducing someone into the world of worker placement/set collection games. This game sold out on both TGM days! #QilingBoardGame #ArclightGames #ゲームマーケット2025春 #ゲムマ2025春

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Caitlin Ernest. @caitlinernest.bsky.social · 20/05/2025

How fun is Saashi & Saashi's The Great Evening Banquet! 😊 Simple rules, but tough decisions that get trickier each round! Do I put my old man here for end-game scoring or over there to ensure I can fully score the table?🤔 #saashiandsaashi #ゲームマーケット2025春 #ゲムマ2025春

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Caitlin Ernest. @caitlinernest.bsky.social · 19/05/2025

We didn't get photos with everyone, but these were some of the other lovely people we saw at #ゲームマーケット2025春. It was so fun catching up with you all! 🥰 1. Rodrigo (Esper Game Studio) & Yofiandhy (designer of Biohack). 2. Saashi & his wife Takako. 3. Bajir (designer of Trickarus). #ゲムマ2025春

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Caitlin Ernest. @caitlinernest.bsky.social · 19/05/2025

The people we spent time with made #ゲームマーケット2025春 much more fun & special for us! Shout out to @mikedilisio.bsky.social: he was incredibly kind to take the time to come hang out with Shota & myself (+ @missmerc.bsky.social!). We had a great chat & he couldn't have been nicer! 😊 #ゲムマ2025春

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Caitlin Ernest. @caitlinernest.bsky.social · 18/05/2025

14,600 steps, 26 tokens, 13 games, 3 expansions, 2 Mikes, & too much ¥¥¥: #ゲームマーケット2025春 was amazing! ✨️ Here's our game haul. Now we've gotta find space on our board game shelves... 😅 #ゲムマ2025春

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Caitlin Ernest. @caitlinernest.bsky.social · 17/05/2025

How was your day at #ゲームマーケット2025春 today? 😊 Tote Mike, Shota, & I are looking forward to attending tomorrow. If you see us around, please say hello! 🥰 #ゲムマ2025春

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Caitlin Ernest. @caitlinernest.bsky.social · 16/05/2025

I adore the tumbling & weaving of Trickarus. Such a great idea to use the tale of Icarus as a trick-taking theme! The way the 5s figuratively & literally flip the game around is wonderful. And the art is gorgeous. What a fun game! #ゲムマ2025春 #ゲームマーケット2025春

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Caitlin Ernest. @caitlinernest.bsky.social · 16/05/2025

This Bed is Mine has a 🐱+🐶 fighting to control bed space. So cute! Use number tiles to form bordered areas, ensuring the sum of your numbers is higher than your opponent's: the higher sum wins an area. A pretty strategic game! #BroadwayToys #ゲムマ2025春 #ゲームマーケット2025春

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Caitlin Ernest. @caitlinernest.bsky.social · 15/05/2025

Our first ever Tokyo Game Market purchase was Gold Rush. It's a pretty quick, yet enjoyable game! The dilemma of trying to decide which mines to claim is a lot of fun. I love @saibep.bsky.social's gold-embellished artwork, too; it's gorgeous! #ReinerKnizia #ゲムマ2025春 #ゲームマーケット2025春

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Caitlin Ernest. @caitlinernest.bsky.social · 15/05/2025

Manekinecollection/まねきねこれくしょん has the strategy of poker w/ the coziness of cats & kotatsu! Play poker with cards + cats to win points hidden under the cats' zabuton. So cute & simple! And those angry cats 😍 #ReinerKnizia #StudioMundi #ゲムマ2025春 #ゲームマーケット2025春

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Caitlin Ernest. @caitlinernest.bsky.social · 14/05/2025

I made contact information cards for Shota & myself! I'd love to collect business cards from everyone I meet at TGM. So if we meet this weekend, let's exchange cards! 😊 #ゲムマ2025春 #ゲームマーケット2025春

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Caitlin Ernest. @caitlinernest.bsky.social · 14/05/2025

Rock, Paper, Spirits is a shedding game that mixes head-to-head battles & activating abilities. When you do either, your card's # or 🪨/🗒/✂️ symbol must beat your opponent's. Looking forward to the new cards at #ゲムマ2025春! #SmartApeGames #Nakamura326 #ゲームマーケット2025春

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Caitlin Ernest. @caitlinernest.bsky.social · 13/05/2025

How incredible does Pizza Zombie look!?🍕🧟‍♂️ When one friend becomes a zombie after eating bad pizza, the other friends do their best to hide around a diner! Play a hiding place card & try to avoid matching with the zombie. #BoardbullGames #ゲムマ2025春 #ゲームマーケット2025春

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Caitlin Ernest. @caitlinernest.bsky.social · 12/05/2025

Saashi & Saashi's 1 A.M. Jailbreak/午前１時の大脱走 is a light & delightful shedding game! I love the satisfaction of using the Shoot Ahead mechanic to play a HEAP of cards. As always, Takako Takarai's artwork is wonderfuI! 😊 #ゲムマ2025春 #ゲームマーケット2025春

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Caitlin Ernest. @caitlinernest.bsky.social · 11/05/2025

Peas is 100% on the unique trick takers list! 🫛 Take turns placing your cards anywhere along the line of pea/bug (+/-) cards. When hands are empty, go through & score every trick; the previous trick's winner leads the next trick! #ゲムマ2025春 #ゲームマーケット2025春

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Caitlin Ernest. @caitlinernest.bsky.social · 09/05/2025

My and Shota's wedding is in August, so this Dice Tower video was a fun watch! 👰🏼‍♀️ 🎲 🤵🏻‍♂️ Now I have some ideas 😏 'Top 10 Games to Play at a Wedding'. www.youtube.com/live/R2pWtRi...

youtube.com

Top 10 Games to Play at a Wedding

YouTube video by The Dice Tower

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Caitlin Ernest. @caitlinernest.bsky.social · 09/05/2025

Mini Dinoasaur is an adorable dinosaur racing game! 🦖🦕💨 You have a mix of private & open bets about the final number of dinosaurs in the groups. The added challenge: You can't reorder your hand & can only play/discard the left-most card! #ゲムマ2025春 #ゲームマーケット2025春

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Caitlin Ernest. @caitlinernest.bsky.social · 08/05/2025

Viking See-Saw is a great dexterity game! Figuring out how to stack the different weighted pieces so the ship doesn't tilt & the pieces don't fall off is a lot of fun. I'm TERRIBLE at it 😅 I love seeing the giant version at #ゲムマ2025春! @itten-games.bsky.social #ゲームマーケット2025春

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Caitlin Ernest. @caitlinernest.bsky.social · 07/05/2025

Cavy'n'Cavy has the three Ms: Memory, maths, & morumotto/モルモット/guinea pigs! It's adorable, yet slightly tricky (especially as my memory is bad 😅). We'd only played it co-op, so we played the competitive version & had a lot of fun. @okazubrand.bsky.social #ゲムマ2025春 #ゲームマーケット2025春

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Caitlin Ernest. @caitlinernest.bsky.social · 06/05/2025

Lazy Bellboys is SO interesting! A card's value = its symbol + where it sits in your hand. Eg: X² sitting 3rd from the left = 3² or 9. If it becomes 2nd from the left, it's now 2² or 4. Such a fun trick-taking game! 😊 I'm pretty sure preorders for the reprint are sold out. #ゲムマ2025春 #ゲームマーケット2025春

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Caitlin Ernest. @caitlinernest.bsky.social · 05/05/2025

Maskmen is a great climbing/ shedding/wrestling game! I like that you have the potential to affect the strength of your hand by who you pit your wrestlers against. I'd LOVE chunky stackable wooden versions of the wrestler tokens! @oinkgames #ゲムマ2025春 #ゲームマーケット2025春

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Caitlin Ernest. @caitlinernest.bsky.social · 04/05/2025

I adore Atelier with Jinnees!💎 You buy raw gems to cut/polish so as to increase their value to sell (for money) or give as offerings (end-game points). Plus I love having a secret end-game scoring goal. A fun, fast-moving game! #Yanoman #ゲムマ2025春 #ゲームマーケット2025春

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Caitlin Ernest. @caitlinernest.bsky.social · 03/05/2025

Short Zoot Suit is BRILLIANT. Trying to maximise your score via the number of tricks/shorts is so fun. And the cards! 🥰 The suits on them getting shorter/longer is wonderful (I 💛 the 2s!) SO happy I got a copy at TGM Dec. '23. @tricktaking.bsky.social @saibep.bsky.social #ゲムマ2025春 #ゲームマーケット2025春

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Caitlin Ernest. @caitlinernest.bsky.social · 03/05/2025

A booth I visited many times at TGM was With Token. I couldn't resist the chance to get cute tokens/meeples in their lucky dip game & was SO happy I got the koala 🐨🥹 They're at TGM on both days, so I'll definitely be going back for more! #ゲムマ2025春 #ゲームマーケット2025春

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Caitlin Ernest. @caitlinernest.bsky.social · 02/05/2025

I bought Q's Games' Dot Zombie at Tokyo Game Market in November & loved it! It's a tile placement game where survivors try to escape before a zombie horde consumes them all 🧟‍♂️ I'm so happy Playte love it as much as I do and are releasing a new version! #ゲムマ2025春 #ゲームマーケット2025春

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Caitlin Ernest. @caitlinernest.bsky.social · 02/05/2025

BananaBoy vs. Uni-Cone puts fun twists on the classic card-matching genre! The double-sided cards are so cute & creating loads of fun combinations + names makes the usually monotonous task of card-matching much more exciting! @ex1st.bsky.social #ゲムマ2025春 #ゲームマーケット2025春

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Caitlin Ernest. @caitlinernest.bsky.social · 01/05/2025

Backpack Hazard is such a great idea: a game based on the struggle of organising your inventory in Resident Evil. It's wonderfully straightforward, delightfully thinky, & amazingly packaged! こげこげ堂本舗's new game at #ゲムマ2025春 is オリナシティ😊 #ゲームマーケット2025春

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Caitlin Ernest. @caitlinernest.bsky.social · 01/05/2025

Flow is the more think-y cephalopod version of Connect 4! Place your 🦑/🐙 pointing any direction, then push it (+ all pieces in front of it) in that direction on future turns. DICE Board Game Club also have a new game coming out at #ゲムマ2025春, called Wire! #ゲームマーケット2025春

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Caitlin Ernest. @caitlinernest.bsky.social · 30/04/2025

Monster Hex and its dominoes-esque tile placement is great! I love having to consider the specific rotation of my tile before placing it, as the number on every edge could affect future turns. We also used the ability & goal cards, which bring a fun challenge!

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Caitlin Ernest. @caitlinernest.bsky.social · 29/04/2025

We had friends over last night & decided to play Cabanga! for the 1st time. It's such a simple shedding game, yet it brings SO much fun to the table! Shouting, "Cabanga!" while throwing 2+ cards at another player gives such pure evil joy... I love it 😏 #カバンが

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Caitlin Ernest. @caitlinernest.bsky.social · 26/04/2025

Just finished visiting @cmonjapan.bsky.social's Game Labo. Got to see this big boy in-person! I want him SO badly! 😫

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Caitlin Ernest. @caitlinernest.bsky.social · 26/04/2025

Our #ゲームマーケット2025春 list! What's your TGM list?😊 Game Nowa: Dungeon Mahjong Itten: Hits & Outs Oink: Petiquette 8oz: Smombie Saashi & Saashi: The Great Evening Banquet Playte: Digit Code Okazu: Fantasy Rank Master/Extreme Mission Silvergun: Vroom Vroom Quokka 佐藤敏樹: Ukiyo-e Shibu: Clumsy Room Maids

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Caitlin Ernest. @caitlinernest.bsky.social · 23/04/2025

Deep Regrets is SO interesting! 🐙⚓️ The theme is wacky + enjoyable, the push-your-luck element is really fun, & overall it feels so different from a lot of the games in our collection. What a great game! I can't wait to try the co-op/solo mode 🐡🐠🦑 @tettix.bsky.social

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Caitlin Ernest. @caitlinernest.bsky.social · 21/04/2025

Shota & I are in the midst of wedding planning. Trying to finalise two weddings (one in each of our home countries) is STRESSFUL. I need a distraction 😮‍💨 So, let's chat! - How are you? - What boardgames have you played recently? - If you're going to Tokyo Game Market, how's your preparation going? 😊

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Caitlin Ernest. @caitlinernest.bsky.social · 09/04/2025

Shota bought Scythe recently & we got it to the table for the first time last weekend. I loved it (+ Anna & Wojtek 🐻) SO much that we played it THREE times in one day. So fun! It's our first 4X game & man, does it ✔️ many of the boxes of what I like in a game. @stonemaiergames.com

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Caitlin Ernest. @caitlinernest.bsky.social · 02/04/2025

Merchant's Cove is SO fun! I love that everyone has a different mini-game to attract customers: it means players all get a unique experience in the same playthrough. I'll eventually perfect being the Alchemist...

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Caitlin Ernest. @caitlinernest.bsky.social · 30/03/2025

We went to a 花見 picnic today to enjoy some cherry blossoms 🌸 Our friend asked us to bring along a board game that everyone could play, so we decided to bring Ito Rainbow to introduce to the group. It was a big hit!

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Caitlin Ernest. @caitlinernest.bsky.social · 23/03/2025

Shota & I had some friends over today to teach them one of my favourite games: Eldritch Horror. I LOVE how insanely challenging, yet incredibly satisifying it is. My boy, Silas, may not be book smart, but he gets the job done💪🏻 @fantasyflightgames.bsky.social

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