Dan Thurot @danthurot.bsky.social · 10hI just go with it. For the first play, nothing exists but what's in my hand. Later I'll play again now that I know what to prioritize. 030
Dan Thurot @danthurot.bsky.social · 11hEnchanted Ivy is a solitaire game about building an inn to house a bunch of fussy guests. It's utterly lovely. My review: spacebiff.com/2026/10/09/e...spacebiff.comA Place for All My Fussy GuestsIt’s almost too obvious to state aloud, but there’s a lot to be said for the games we actually play. Case in point, Enchanted Ivy, the solitaire game by Sarah Joshua. When I sat down th… 1272
Dan Thurot @danthurot.bsky.social · 13hI haven't finished the second season, but the finale of the first season was one of the funniest things I've ever seen. 020
Dan Thurot @danthurot.bsky.social · 13hI adore it. No idea whether it would have been better with another publisher, but the version we got is a tremendous expression of the pains of producing history. 010
Reposted by Dan ThurotBoardGameWire 🔜 Spiel Essen @boardgamewire.bsky.social · 14hOnce again - Dan is a blazing beacon when it comes to thoughtful board game discussion and reviews. Go read his stuff, enjoy, and then support his Patreon to help keep the good stuff coming. 1151
Reposted by Dan ThurotDan Thurot @danthurot.bsky.social · 22hOnce again, my quarterly newsletter covers the best board games, movies, books, and video games of the quarter. It's on Patreon, but it's open to all. Take a look! www.patreon.com/danthurot/po...patreon.comThe Quarter Biff: Space Cadet (Q3 2026) | Dan ThurotFor much of September, I spent every morning in the hospital. I know, I know. What a lede. Short version: I was receiving hyperbaric therapy 3565
Dan Thurot @danthurot.bsky.social · 22hOnce again, my quarterly newsletter covers the best board games, movies, books, and video games of the quarter. It's on Patreon, but it's open to all. Take a look! www.patreon.com/danthurot/po...patreon.comThe Quarter Biff: Space Cadet (Q3 2026) | Dan ThurotFor much of September, I spent every morning in the hospital. I know, I know. What a lede. Short version: I was receiving hyperbaric therapy 3565
Dan Thurot @danthurot.bsky.social · 08/10/2026oh shoot this link is borked, I think. This should work: boardgamegeek.com/thread/37112...boardgamegeek.comAd denied by BGG due to religious beliefs? | BGGI saw a concerning post on Reddit from the team behind [geekurl=/boardgame/470193/possess-me-satan]Posess Me, Satan[/geekurl] that their ad campaign was denied by BGG due to and I quote: To be compl... 020
Dan Thurot @danthurot.bsky.social · 08/10/2026Not long afterward, I wrote about a game called Witch Hunt, which resulted in some nasty emails: spacebiff.com/2026/06/02/w...spacebiff.comA Crack in the WorldI wouldn’t wish to inflict board game drama on anybody who wasn’t already saturated in the stuff, so I’ll keep the details sparse, but the past couple of weeks saw a minor authori… 100
Dan Thurot @danthurot.bsky.social · 08/10/2026This was a big thing a few months back. I'm on page 11 or something. boardgamegeek.com/thread/37112...boardgamegeek.com 210
Dan Thurot @danthurot.bsky.social · 07/10/2026haha, I caught so much flak recently for writing about witches and demonic possession in a couple of board games. (Specifically, that they don't actually exist.) 4120
Dan Thurot @danthurot.bsky.social · 07/10/2026Yep. Part of adulthood is engaging in daily moral calculus. Which businesses you support. How you cast a vote. Which neighbors and friendships you prioritize. When to speak out versus when to sit down. It's bonkers to look at a historical moral decision and just go "nuh uh they didn't do that." 1240
Dan Thurot @danthurot.bsky.social · 07/10/2026maybe if I buy the cross microbadge he'll take me more seriously, haha 0190
Dan Thurot @danthurot.bsky.social · 07/10/2026But even some moral compromises are impossible for this guy to swallow. 1200
Dan Thurot @danthurot.bsky.social · 07/10/2026What's funny is that one doesn't even have to believe they were, like, huge jerks. They introduced laudanum to help the sick. Later, they stopped agitating against the opium trade because they believed it was a necessary evil to legalize Christianity. 1360
Dan Thurot @danthurot.bsky.social · 07/10/2026Some guy on BGG wants to know why Christian missionaries increase the demand for opium in An Infamous Traffic. Me: Hey, I'm a professor of Christian history! I can answer this! Guy: I don't like your answer. I don't believe it. Those missionaries wouldn't have done that. ... okey dokey 2129619
Reposted by Dan ThurotThe E-TRAIN @erickblasco.bsky.social · 07/10/2026Such great writing and such a potent finale paragraph 0162
Dan Thurot @danthurot.bsky.social · 07/10/2026Thank you for sending it my way, and more importantly designing it! 050
Reposted by Dan ThurotDavid Masnato 🔜 PAX U @davidmasnato.com · 07/10/2026When Dan asked for a copy of Pax Playground, I was just excited that someone I respect wanted to play it. This is the first time anyone has written about one of my games. And for that first outing to see the game with so much clarity and intention is a moment I'll cherish. Thank you, Dan! 3433
Dan Thurot @danthurot.bsky.social · 07/10/2026Pax Playground is about childhood, but not in some simplistic sense. Between its challenging cardplay and open-ended victory conditions, it captures the ups, the downs, and the apprehensions of having your whole life ahead of you. My review: spacebiff.com/2026/10/07/p...spacebiff.comTantrums in the SandboxOf the handful of things I appreciate about Pax Playground, the most significant is the way it reminds me of recess. Its very existence is playful — this is, after all, a Pax game that lasts twenty… 0457
Dan Thurot @danthurot.bsky.social · 06/10/2026"Scott Alexander debates Stephen Pinker!" it's the singularity of stupid 1120
Dan Thurot @danthurot.bsky.social · 06/10/2026which of you rancid hemorrhoids signed up my email address for the slate star codex newsletter 3150
Reposted by Dan ThurotPall Omen @paulowengames.bsky.social · 06/10/2026Yet another masterpiece column by Dan Thurot 1193
Reposted by Dan ThurotThomas Prowell @thekingofnorway.bsky.social · 05/10/2026I always enjoy reading Space Biff's reviews and previews, this one especially so 0121
Reposted by Dan ThurotTaylor Shuss @drawnonward.bsky.social · 05/10/2026That final paragraph is 👨🍳💋👌 1183
Dan Thurot @danthurot.bsky.social · 05/10/2026I'm relieved to report that the long-awaited second edition of An Infamous Traffic is even better than the original — in gameplay, in narrative, in clarity. My preview: spacebiff.com/2026/10/05/a...spacebiff.comAgain, Opium War, AgainWhen Cole Wehrle first unveiled An Infamous Traffic way back in 2016, it was a scrappy little devil. Not only was it Wehrle’s second design, it was also the earliest releases from Hollandspie… 612521
Dan Thurot @danthurot.bsky.social · 05/10/2026Nice to have a busy week for a change. What did you get to the table? 12300
Dan Thurot @danthurot.bsky.social · 04/10/2026Finance bro skipped his humanities courses and it shows. 3371
Dan Thurot @danthurot.bsky.social · 01/10/2026In high school, my Mormon friends were mad that Jackson's Aragorn had a beard, haha 181
Dan Thurot @danthurot.bsky.social · 01/10/2026I didn't actually post the rating because I knew someone would take it seriously. Alas. 350
Dan Thurot @danthurot.bsky.social · 01/10/2026I chickened out and said it was about an add-on or something. 170
Dan Thurot @danthurot.bsky.social · 01/10/2026Should I put up my rating of The King's Gambit or nah? 10380
Dan Thurot @danthurot.bsky.social · 01/10/2026Let's hold an anti-SaltCon at my place that same weekend. No slop. Only good times. 160
Dan Thurot @danthurot.bsky.social · 30/09/2026Satchel Quest gives you a bag of holding and asks you to go on a dungeon dive with it. The results are... mixed! Appropriately mixed, with monsters and potions all sloshing together. It's a smart puzzle that grows a little long in the tooth. My review: spacebiff.com/2026/09/30/s...spacebiff.comSatchel of HoldingThere’s undoubted utility to a bag of holding, but I always imagine everything jumbling together like loose chicken parts. Magical tomes next to tavern dinners next to razor implements, slosh… 1140
Dan Thurot @danthurot.bsky.social · 30/09/2026Another before-school session of Grabble with the 7yo. 2280