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Catacombian Games

@catacombian.com
101 followers 785 following 31 posts

Board game publisher in NYC Colossi (card game): catacombian.com Social Game (digital): thesocialgame.gg Created by @johnrudolphdrexler.com

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Catacombian Games @catacombian.com · 22/09/2026
David Gordon gave me an insight into why it's so much harder than it looks to design simple games. catacombian.com/blog/why-simple-gam…
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Catacombian Games @catacombian.com · 10/09/2026
A great design tool to steal from Valve catacombian.com/blog/game-mechanica…
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Catacombian Games @catacombian.com · 01/09/2026
Codenames is hard. catacombian.com/blog/codenames-mech…
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Catacombian Games @catacombian.com · 27/08/2026
Suspension of disbelief is a skill. Listen / Read Watch: catacombian.com/blog/suspens...
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Catacombian Games @catacombian.com · 25/08/2026
Frank Lantz gave me the best unified theory of games I've ever heard. catacombian.com/blog/games-aestheti…
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Catacombian Games @catacombian.com · 11/08/2026
I deleted ⅓ of my game, and it made it way better. catacombian.com/blog/heck-yes-or-no…
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Catacombian Games @catacombian.com · 05/08/2026
My first Gen Con was like the opposite of doom scrolling catacombian.com/blog/gen-con...
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Catacombian Games @catacombian.com · 15/07/2026
Egregious wordle today. Unjust. Uncouth. Undignified.
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Catacombian Games @catacombian.com · 14/07/2026
My new game has a deviously difficult design problem. But I think I just had a breakthrough solving it. catacombian.com/blog/canticl...
catacombian.com
Relic Density: Solving a Hard Board Game Design Problem - Catacombian Games
I cut 20 locations from Canticle to fix a sorting and player experience problem. Here's how relic density became the answer.
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Catacombian Games @catacombian.com · 17/06/2026
You can have the same player action in 3 different form factors, and you’ve essentially got 3 different games. catacombian.com/blog/form-fa...
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Catacombian Games @catacombian.com · 09/06/2026
I really enjoy Rules of Play. It is a bit dry and academic. But it’s comprehensive and rigorous. It helped me build a vocabulary for game design, in a way that led to a lot of cool ideas. And you can jump around to the chapters that interest you.
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Catacombian Games @catacombian.com · 09/06/2026
I heard someone say, “you don’t want another Star Wars. You want something to make you feel the way Empire Strikes Back made you feel.” And I feel that every time the discourse about remakes and reboots comes up.
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Catacombian Games @catacombian.com · 08/06/2026
If you’re at Gen Con, I’d love to say hi in person and play a game with you. I’ll do some sessions of Colossi too, if you’d like to learn. Shoot me a message!
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Catacombian Games @catacombian.com · 05/06/2026
An incredibly kind write up about Colossi. Thank you for playing Dan!
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Catacombian Games @catacombian.com · 22/05/2026
Don’t be chintzy with great ideas catacombian.com/blog/the-tro...
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Catacombian Games @catacombian.com · 14/05/2026
Everything I learned from selling my games a convention. Most importantly: art sells games. catacombian.com/blog/first-b...
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Catacombian Games @catacombian.com · 05/05/2026
Board Game Geek featured a design diary on Colossi today! boardgamegeek.com/blog/1/blogp...
boardgamegeek.com
Designer Diary: Colossi | BoardGameGeek Blog
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Catacombian Games @catacombian.com · 30/04/2026
I got to play test my game with two great game designers I really respect last night. My brain is absolutely reeling right now. It's such a gift for talented people to give feedback.
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Catacombian Games @catacombian.com · 29/04/2026
I've spent so much time in the software world, it took me a while to wrap my head around how much physics matters in board game distribution. Here's what I learned. catacombian.com/blog/how-boa...
catacombian.com
How Board Game Distribution Actually Works - Catacombian Games
I had no idea how board game distribution worked until I started calling retailers and distributors. Here's what I learned about margins, street dates, and consolidators.
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Catacombian Games @catacombian.com · 24/04/2026
2026 goal: figure out what Catacombian really is. Do I sell directly to retailers? Fight for a distribution deal? Skip retail and go DTC? Should I pitch to publishers? Curious how other indie publishers approach this. Running experiments to answer each: catacombian.com/blog/indie-g...
catacombian.com
Indie Game Publishing Strategy: A Product Manager's Approach - Catacombian Games
I'm treating Catacombian Games like a product problem in 2026 — running structured experiments across game design, publishing, distribution, and direct sales to figure out where I actually fit.
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Catacombian Games @catacombian.com · 22/04/2026
The best narratives in games are the ones that emerge from gameplay. catacombian.com/blog/embedde...
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