iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Always Awake Games (Connor) 🔜 PaxU @connor.alwaysawake.games · 02/10/2026

Kicked off October with a quick cover for a pun first game idea. Now I just need to make the game…

A card game box cover titled A Bit Much. There’s a silhouette of a vampire with an annoyed look looming over some stick figure people celebrating and running away. The background is a pink/red starry sky

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Lunarpunk Games @lunarpunk.games · 28/09/2026

Color Jam has funded! We're so, so excited about making this coloring game a reality. Thanks to everyone for sharing, supporting, and helping this exist! And a major thanks to the incredible game designers Gene Koo and Joe Kell, as well as artist Erin Laue. You all made this something truly special.

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Sticky Doodler 🖍️ Color Jam @stickydoodler.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Let's go! Just one dollar 💵 Who's got a Washington and an itch to COLOR?!

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Lunarpunk Games @lunarpunk.games · 27/09/2026

This is absolutely incredible.

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Exeunt Press 💀🎲 @exeunt.press · 25/09/2026

The artists are still dead. Their art is still free.

skeletoncodemachine.com

Public domain art resources

Using public domain art in tabletop game design

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Tim Clare @timclare.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

The new podcast episode of But Why Vikings? is our first guest episode! @ava.foxfort.net answers your questions with Dr Emily Friedman @ecfriedman.com - they talk about finding fellow gamers when your local community feels hostile, & games in education settings. podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/d...

podcasts.apple.com

Dr. Emily Friedman - Teacher at Large

Podcast Episode · But Why Vikings? · 25 September · 1hr 26min

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Always Awake Games (Connor) 🔜 PaxU @connor.alwaysawake.games · 23/09/2026

Well that’s a wrap on the campaign! I went to sleep early and woke up to us crossing 300%! Thank you so much to everyone who backed, supported and talked about the game. I can’t wait to get the games into your hands!

A screenshot from the ks page of out of sorts showing the final tally. 246 backers pledging $6196 of a $2000 goal.

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Always Awake Games (Connor) 🔜 PaxU @connor.alwaysawake.games · 23/09/2026

Only a few hours left to back Out of Sorts! www.kickstarter.com/projects/alw... And checkout the ks video! It’s got all of my favourite moments from the playthrough.

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Lunarpunk Games @lunarpunk.games · 22/09/2026

The Color Jam Kickstarter is now live! 🖍️ We're very excited by the design work Gene Koo and Joe Kell put into this game, along with the beautiful art by Erin Laue, and are honored we get to share it with you. We can't wait to see the incredible art you make through this cozy, puzzle-y game.

kickstarter.com

Color Jam: A Print-and-Puzzle Coloring Game

Enjoy cozy and clever coloring at your next game night. Craft the story of each hand-illustrated picture with creative color choices!

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Dan Thurot @danthurot.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Because it is preview season, here are some gentle reminders. First, Color Jam is on Kickstarter now. www.kickstarter.com/projects/lun...

kickstarter.com

Color Jam: A Print-and-Puzzle Coloring Game

Enjoy cozy and clever coloring at your next game night. Craft the story of each hand-illustrated picture with creative color choices!

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Reposted by Always Awake Games (Connor) 🔜 PaxU

Ted Mann Schaller @tedmannschaller.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Go buy this game! www.kickstarter.com/projects/alw... 🎲✂️👽📚

kickstarter.com

Out of Sorts - Second Edition

Work together to sort the strange books in an alien's library

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Aysha U. Farah @ayshaufarah.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Players actually love it when you tell them No. They think they hate it but they don’t.

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Always Awake Games (Connor) 🔜 PaxU @connor.alwaysawake.games · 18/09/2026

Oh that would be interesting! Honestly I don’t think most players mind if it’s there for a reason. Feels like these complaints are coming from the people with incurious ideas of what “good game design” is.

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Always Awake Games (Connor) 🔜 PaxU @connor.alwaysawake.games · 18/09/2026

And while we’re here: shameless plug for my game where I designed in a bunch of friction that usually turns people off (memory, real time) but makes it all the experience that it is www.kickstarter.com/projects/alw...

kickstarter.com

Out of Sorts - Second Edition

Work together to sort the strange books in an alien's library

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Always Awake Games (Connor) 🔜 PaxU @connor.alwaysawake.games · 18/09/2026

Yeah it’s a fine line sometimes. If the friction you’re removing is stopping people from having the experience you intended then that’s worth fixing. But sometimes the friction is the experience. Board games are nice though cause players can usually patch what they need to make it work for them.

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Always Awake Games (Connor) 🔜 PaxU @connor.alwaysawake.games · 18/09/2026

Yeah that’s what I meant by “thoughtfully designed”

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Always Awake Games (Connor) 🔜 PaxU @connor.alwaysawake.games · 18/09/2026

Out of Sorts has the twenty minute timer so that you make mistakes. But then those mistakes are where the creativity comes from. Being stuck with some bad decision from a few minutes ago but somehow making it work? That’s such a cool feeling.

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Always Awake Games (Connor) 🔜 PaxU @connor.alwaysawake.games · 18/09/2026

Thoughtfully designed discomfort is what makes a game sing. As artists we already know that limitations breed creativity. Same thing for players.

Text blob from the article that says “The flip side of this is that gamers need to start getting comfortable with the idea of being uncomfortable. So much of why everything sucks right now, especially with regards to genAI attempting to take over every part of our creative lives, is that we’ve somehow become conditioned to hate friction”

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Lunarpunk Games @lunarpunk.games · 18/09/2026

It's almost time to Color Jam! This cozy, puzzle-y coloring game by @stickydoodler.bsky.social and Joe Kell launches on September 22nd. Trying to get your favorite colors in the right spots is harder than it looks! We can't wait to see your cool art. 🎨 www.kickstarter.com/projects/lun...

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Always Awake Games (Connor) 🔜 PaxU @connor.alwaysawake.games · 17/09/2026

Yeah I love Signal! It’s definitely one of the touch points for this game. Although this is less puzzley and a bit more like it’s all a big prank. So a bit more Taskmaster-esque.

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Always Awake Games (Connor) 🔜 PaxU @connor.alwaysawake.games · 17/09/2026

Took a break from Out of Sorts stuff last night and had a great test of some scenarios for Lost Controls. Turns out it works great as a sort of spectator game where you get to watch the alien players struggle to figure out what nonsense rules the robot is operating under.

There’s a dpad setup in the middle of the table that someone is about to press and in the background another player has their finger above a grid of dice.

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JC @jcw.gay · 16/09/2026

Heya Bluesky! 🔥 🎲 I'm JC! I'm a freelance creative in the #boardgames industry looking to fill up my fall/winter season this year with cool projects! Hit me up! Check out my latest sizzle reel with the sick custom track I made 🔊

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🥧 suzanne 🥧 @425suzanne.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

@kovray.bsky.social I just have to say - your overview and how to play videos are some of my favorites. You two are great together - such a lovely energy. And the pace and flow you provide info at is perfect for me. Really glad you make these vids.

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Always Awake Games (Connor) 🔜 PaxU @connor.alwaysawake.games · 16/09/2026

Just a week left on the Out of Sorts Kickstarter and we just passed 200%! (also, I feel like I dodged a bullet with everyone else’s launches this week) www.kickstarter.com/projects/alw...

kickstarter.com

Out of Sorts - Second Edition

Work together to sort the strange books in an alien's library

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Emily Vincent 🔜 BostonFIG @emilykeepskitties.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

I'm so excited to share that Perennial is now live off Kickstarter! It's been a lot of hard work with the team from @flatoutgames.bsky.social , including @peterlmcpherson.bsky.social . Check it out: www.kickstarter.com/projects/fla...

kickstarter.com

Perennial

A puzzly build-your-own polyomino tile-laying game of prairie gardening from the team that brought you Calico, Cascadia, and Verdant!

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Chris Lawrence 🔜 PAXU @chris.eternalstudios.com · 10/09/2026

Now that I've attended every (in-person) indie game market at least once, I wanted to share my thoughts on each of them. I sold Propaganda, Coupon Clipper, and/or Tricked Out at each market. Coupon Clipper is a more typical game, while Propaganda and Tricked Out are more out there.

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Jonathan H. Liu @jonathanhliu.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Do you love organizing? Have I got the game for you: Out of Sorts by @connor.alwaysawake.games is about putting an alien library in order even though you can't actually read the language. geekdad.com/2026/09/kick...

geekdad.com

Kickstarter Tabletop Alert: 'Out of Sorts'

Help an alien organize their library!

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Always Awake Games (Connor) 🔜 PaxU @connor.alwaysawake.games · 09/09/2026

New Out of Sorts review from @jonathanhliu.bsky.social ! “I really enjoy Out of Sorts—it’s very much my sort of game. Finding specific books in a huge pile and getting a library in order? I’ve been training for this for years” Check it out: geekdad.com/2026/09/kick...