John Curtin @curtinwrites.bsky.social · 13/09/2026So first: the bag is nearly unopenable, one of those Forever Plastics that requires superhuman strength Once opened, you receive The Odor, which smells like someone poured hot sauce into a bag of gummies, which is as unsurprising and unpleasant as it sounds The small servings may be a blessing. 100 0
John Curtin @curtinwrites.bsky.social · 13/09/2026Dear internet I am going to eat the Franks Red Hot Spicy Halloween gummies so you don't have to 142 0
John Curtin @curtinwrites.bsky.social · 21/04/2026I'm sure I'm not the first person to consider a KPop Demon Hunters face tattoo but based on my initial research, I do think that I would wear it the best 010 0
John Curtin @curtinwrites.bsky.social · 08/04/2026GAP-TOUCHED! THAT'S THE ONE!! Fun @starfinderfacts2e.bsky.social : the [GAPPED] portion of the manuscript was submitted in Wingdings. I've also already made a gap-touched character, a synthetic gnome that is a clone of an old character, so I sprang this badly-photoshopped character art on my GMs 062 0
John Curtin @curtinwrites.bsky.social · 17/02/2026I've been playing a little bit of Wildermyth every night as my bedtime story and it is truly a treat 110 0
John Curtin @curtinwrites.bsky.social · 26/11/2025I got to spend a lot of time playing games with @comedianmtg.bsky.social and @luastardust.com - they recommended @doomlings.bsky.social, kicked my ass at @riftbound.riotgames.com, and we all tried to date all the same monsters in @paizo.com's Monster Match. Great people and great games! 1102 0
John Curtin @curtinwrites.bsky.social · 24/11/2025My biggest lapse in purchasing restraint was finally grabbing the Eldamon book from @rollforcombat.bsky.social . I get my son a plushie at the cons I go to and he was so thrilled for his Squirrelash - we'll see if my players respond as positively! Plus my copy is signed by @markseifter.bsky.social ! 130 0
John Curtin @curtinwrites.bsky.social · 24/11/2025Still slowly unpacking my head from PAXU: my second biggest lapse in purchasing restraint came at the @ipr.bsky.social booth. I couldn't walk away from Orbital Blues and Jukebox when they were right there. They're both beautiful in very different ways and I'm already salivating to play them. 191 0
John Curtin @curtinwrites.bsky.social · 23/11/2025Multiple other people expressed dismay that I got to talk with @gamefiend.bsky.social and they didn't, but you should still be able to find him over at the @turtlebun.com table to talk games, art, and human connection - plus check out some of the excellent games he and his friends are making! 180 0
John Curtin @curtinwrites.bsky.social · 23/11/2025Some of my favorites: @paizo.com Monster Match! was a ton of fun. I demo'd it in the morning and then kept dragging friends back to the demo table so we could fight over who got to smooch oozes, dragons, and cat folk. I had my heart repeatedly broken by a mustachioed frog and couldn't be happier. 2101 0
John Curtin @curtinwrites.bsky.social · 22/11/2025Morning update: had my heart broken at @paizo.com 's Monster Match, had a lovely conversation and demo of class-lite dungeon crawler Mythcrafters, and a lot of staring at beautiful @carlosatscg.bsky.social and his perfect hair as we talked the @nightvaleradio.bsky.social RPG 351 0
John Curtin @curtinwrites.bsky.social · 22/11/2025Slow-moving for day 2 (my final 🥲) of PAX Unplugged! I'm interviewing @carlosatscg.bsky.social about his experiences as a game designer on Welcome To Nightvale and more, want to try some of the @paizo.com new board games, and try to see as many new and old friends as I can find on the floor. Say hi! 290 0
John Curtin @curtinwrites.bsky.social · 22/11/2025Chihuahua foster puppies, if anyone in the Philly region is in the mood to adopt wiggly little meerkat 010 0
John Curtin @curtinwrites.bsky.social · 22/11/2025I don't think I'm coming back to PAX, I got a better offer 130 0
John Curtin @curtinwrites.bsky.social · 21/11/2025This skeet brought to your by my PAXU flight being 5.5 hours delayed Taking edibles and dissociating in the airport, AMA 181 0
John Curtin @curtinwrites.bsky.social · 02/10/2025Took myself on a date to @sidequestbooks.bsky.social 's live D&D game with Anjali Bhimani tonight. It's pretty awesome seeing a busy D&D event in the middle of a trendy hotspot. Can't wait for the game! 1101 0
John Curtin @curtinwrites.bsky.social · 29/09/2025Game tip - Clover Pit is a brand-new rogue-like gambling game that blends Balatro and Inscryption for a new addictive game where you play slots for your life. Review coming soon, but great job to @panikarcade.bsky.social and @futurefriendsgames.com on this store.steampowered.com/app/3314790/... 030 0
John Curtin @curtinwrites.bsky.social · 25/09/2025I played this game back at PAX East and it was an immediate favorite. I counted down the days until it's summer release. Once I got it, I played for about an hour before I went and bought the soundtrack. It's chockful of energetic hits across pop, metal, and hip-hop, and there's no duds at all. 110 0
John Curtin @curtinwrites.bsky.social · 24/09/2025"My turn." "Do you want help? Daddy's turn?" "No." *fumbling button presses.* *hands me controller* "...thank you daddy." "Do you want help now?" "Yeah." 000 0
John Curtin @curtinwrites.bsky.social · 11/08/2025Anyways, if you also suspect that the devs had inside intel on the coming zombie apocalypse, go practice your zombie-slaying skills on @killingfloor3.com and get ready for the coming Zed-picalypse! 000 0
John Curtin @curtinwrites.bsky.social · 11/08/2025This is what broke me. Not the keychain bottle opener, but rather the bag. Or should I say The fully stocked first aid kit. And it hit me: Target practice? Tactical tools? Medical supplies. It's not a hype box - it's a survival kit. And preparatory. ...what does Tripwire Interactive know??? 110 0
John Curtin @curtinwrites.bsky.social · 11/08/2025It takes me a minute to figure out what this is - a tactical emergency pen! It's got an LED flashlight in the cap, ballpoint pen in the body - and a solid steel point on the end to smash glass safely in the event of an emergency. Little strange, but how practical and useful! 100 0
John Curtin @curtinwrites.bsky.social · 11/08/2025In hindsight, this is when things first started to get weird. But damn, cool knife. Immediate 'I have a toddler, highest possible shelf in the house' energy, but it's a damn good knife. 100 0
John Curtin @curtinwrites.bsky.social · 11/08/2025Also included were these high-quality stickers, and this pint glass I'm legitimately obsessed with. It's bigger than a regular pint glass and heavier too, perfect for either glassing a Zed or finding your local pub to hole up in and wait for the whole thing to blow over 110 0
John Curtin @curtinwrites.bsky.social · 11/08/2025Next up, good standard swag fare - mouse pad, limited-edition all-metal Killing Floor 3 lunchbox, even Killing Floor 3 socks for when I want to hide a little zombie carnage under my Business Professional attire 100 0
John Curtin @curtinwrites.bsky.social · 11/08/2025First thing I see: ZOMBIE FACE! Shooting range targets! With Killing Floor Zeds on them! It's been a few years since I've hit the range but it's nice to know that I have some iconic friends to bring with me next time. 110 0
John Curtin @curtinwrites.bsky.social · 11/08/2025So when the lovely @hamburglar61.bsky.social offered me a swag box I leapt for it. I love swag, I love killing zombies, Killing Floor has a great rep and a new game, match made in heaven, right? I wasn't prepared for what I found in the box tho 110 0
John Curtin @curtinwrites.bsky.social · 30/07/2025Still riding the rush of drafting two Space-Time Anomalies while trying out the new @magic.wizards.com Edge Of Eternities set, a truly brutal combo in a Limited format. I went 7-2 (got cocky after going 5-0 and got dropped by a lobster, iykyk), But you can bet that my azorius decks are glowing up 040 0
John Curtin @curtinwrites.bsky.social · 25/07/2025Coming home from vacation to quite a lot of unboxing to do - Very excited to check out each of these! @killingfloor3.com @paizo.com 030 0
John Curtin @curtinwrites.bsky.social · 04/07/2025I forgot we were playing Pathfinder so I had to fix it 020 0
John Curtin @curtinwrites.bsky.social · 04/07/2025Me: "I'm really excited to play a vampire!" Them: "Oh cool, like that Anne Rice show?" Me: "...not ...exactly." 020 0
John Curtin @curtinwrites.bsky.social · 13/06/2025My "Zero-Sugar Beef Jerky" label is raising a lot of questions answered by my label. 000 0
John Curtin @curtinwrites.bsky.social · 21/05/2025Ope just caught up on the aiuvaran (half-elf) rules in Pathfinder and: 0368 0
John Curtin @curtinwrites.bsky.social · 21/05/2025Not the entire collection and infiltrated by comics and other books too, but here's most of my Pathfinder and Starfinder things - plus some D&D (3.0 and 5.0), Call of Cthulhu, and even one Transformers TTRPG book in there 😂 Not pictured: bottom row of comics and sci-fi 000 0
John Curtin @curtinwrites.bsky.social · 13/05/2025I was today years old when I found out about Paizo's gunwitch. A witch with a gun. Straight out of NPC Core. Part of the basic rules for the game. This is why Pathfinder is the best. 412021 0
John Curtin @curtinwrites.bsky.social · 12/05/2025Fox News: "LIBERAL TEACHERS are FLOODING OUR SCHOOLS with WOKE PROPAGANDA" The Propaganda: 010 0
John Curtin @curtinwrites.bsky.social · 10/05/2025Case in point: 7 am helping out at my local plant sale 10 am hitting the convention floor 000 0
John Curtin @curtinwrites.bsky.social · 10/05/2025My pace of demos was much slower today because I stayed up late and took breaks to talk with folks, but some more great games at PAX East today #PAXEast 010 0
John Curtin @curtinwrites.bsky.social · 08/05/2025PAX East: Day 1 Ask me anything about these games. And no, that is not a typo, "Pizza Bandit" is in fact a co-op cooking shooter 251 0
John Curtin @curtinwrites.bsky.social · 08/05/2025Already spotted @cypheroftyr.bsky.social rocking the VIP badge so It Is Officially On 130 0
John Curtin @curtinwrites.bsky.social · 08/05/2025Hello it is me, Serious Games Journalist John Curtin, getting ready to hit the expo floor at PAX and cram in an exciting day of demos and conversation. Already been trying demos in prep so I'll post quick takes as I go 1130 0
John Curtin @curtinwrites.bsky.social · 23/04/2025I'm wrapping up reading the original Avengers Academy and getting myself ready to be absolutely gutted, if the finale is anything like the first 38 issues. 010 0
John Curtin @curtinwrites.bsky.social · 29/03/2025So my I've been reading :Otherscape, a mythic cyberpunk RPG legends are coming to life disguised in the noise of technology, and I can't help but feel like it's perfect for a Department Of Truth/X-Files campaign where the government is desperately invested in researching and controlling wild legends 020 0
John Curtin @curtinwrites.bsky.social · 25/03/2025Found this excellent and evocative old Wayne Reynolds art during a D&D lore deep dive. Can you name this wizard? (Full disclosure - I couldn't!) 083 0