iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Jay Vowles @etgoat.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Come join Game Makers Guild Philadelphia for playtesting this Sunday 10/4 5-10pm at The Philly Game Shop 🎲✂️ fb.me/e/58XZT6wR5

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Sarah McAnulty, Ph.D. @sarahmackattack.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

If you care about keeping the Academy of Natural Sciences open to the public in Philadelphia, I need you to read and share this thread. Trish Wellenbach was sent from the mayor's office to oversee the Academy of Natural sciences situation. She needs to hear from us. Here comes the action item:

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Jay Vowles @etgoat.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

Come join Game Makers Guild Philadelphia for playtesting this Sunday 8/23 5-10pm at The Philly Game Shop 🎲✂️ fb.me/e/4H7pHRYR0

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Jay Vowles @etgoat.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

Come join Game Makers Guild Philadelphia for playtesting this Sunday 7/19 5-10pm at The Philly Game Shop 🎲✂️ Note that this is a week earlier than usual. fb.me/e/7gakxicW8

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Jay Vowles @etgoat.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

Come join Game Makers Guild Philadelphia for playtesting this Sunday 6/28 5-10pm at The Philly Game Shop 🎲✂️ fb.me/e/21jbdOGIwf

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Pretty Khemyst @prettykhemyst.blacksky.app · 02/06/2026

The comment period ended yesterday. Now its time to call YOUR US Representative and BOTH of your US Senators. I don't care if you didn't vote for them, CALL THEM NOW!!!!!!! Then tell a friend that will tell a friend...you know how this works.

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Jay Vowles @etgoat.bsky.social · 18/05/2026

Come join Game Makers Guild Philadelphia for playtesting this Sunday 5/24 5-10pm at The Philly Game Shop 🎲✂️ fb.me/e/5IbRUkhZw

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Jay Vowles @etgoat.bsky.social · 21/04/2026

Come join Game Makers Guild Philadelphia for playtesting this Sunday 4/26 5-10pm at The Philly Game Shop 🎲✂️ fb.me/e/9W8eeNoIq

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Jay Vowles @etgoat.bsky.social · 14/04/2026

Congratulations GMG Philly member @perryjon.bsky.social on his game Hot Streak winning the American Tabletop Award in the Casual Games category!

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Jay Vowles @etgoat.bsky.social · 18/03/2026

Come join Game Makers Guild Philadelphia for playtesting this Sunday 3/22 5-10pm at The Philly Game Shop 🎲✂️ fb.me/e/61wSWdwXn

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Elizabeth Hargrave @elizhargrave.bsky.social · 17/03/2026

Q for boardgame publishing folks: What's your estimate of volume and/or % for each of these in your company, per year? A. How many pitch requests get to pitch? B. How many pitches result in you taking a prototype for review? C. How many prototypes under review get a contract? 🎲✂️

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Jay Vowles @etgoat.bsky.social · 11/03/2026

Game Makers Guild Philadelphia will have a bunch of designers coming to @unpub.org! We’ll be at table F1 all weekend. Look for the red tablecloth. Here are just a few of our designers and their games: 🧵

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Jay Vowles @etgoat.bsky.social · 11/03/2026

Final stage of Unpub prep! This is a smattering of blank and filled player sheets for Roll the Stars, a trilogy of roll&write games where the map produced by one game is the starting point for the next game. Look for it on the red tablecloth at the Game Makers Guild Philadelphia table (F1). 🎲✂️

Many sheets of paper of different sizes spread across a table, filled in with different colors of pen to varying degrees, comprising the Roll the Stars trilogy of roll&write games.
In Seed the Stars players are Cosmic Creators, rolling dice and using those numbers to create galaxies of stars.
In Rule the Stars players are spacefaring Civilizations, using templates to draw lines on the galaxy map created in the previous game.
In Sail the Stars players are Starsailer Captains hauling cargo between the civilizations of the previous game, trying to store up enough credits and see the sights one last time before retiring to a quiet corner of the galaxy.

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Claire Willett @clairewillett.bsky.social · 09/03/2026

NO NO NO YOU DON’T GUYS LET ME PLEASE SPREAD THE GOSPEL OF FREE TAX USA federal is free, state is $16, handles even my chaotic freelancer taxes just fine, same step-by-step “designed for normies” kind of interface as TurboTax but NOT EVIL tell everyone you know www.freetaxusa.com

freetaxusa.com

FreeTaxUSA® - Free Online Tax Filing for Federal Returns

100% free federal tax filing. E-File your tax return directly to the IRS. Prepare federal and state income taxes online. 2025 tax preparation software.

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Jay Vowles @etgoat.bsky.social · 21/02/2026

Protospiel Philly starts today! I’m excited to finally get my roll&write Sail the Stars to the table, a game I’ve been thinking about for YEARS but only just made the prototype this week. 🎲✂️

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Kickstarter United @kickstarterunited.org · 18/02/2026

Despite being back at work, Kickstarter is retaliating against our teammates for our legally-protected strike action from last year. Tell Kickstarter’s CEO this is both ILLEGAL and UNACCEPTABLE

Reinstate our teammates now!
Kickstarter is retaliating against our union members for our legally-protected strike action in October 2025.
Four union members have been laid off or forced to leave our union by leadership, despite clear business needs for these members' roles.
Email Kickstarter's CEO and tell him this is illegal and unacceptable!
e@kickstarter.com

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Jon Perry @perryjon.bsky.social · 14/02/2026

Really nice article by @gengelstein.bsky.social on one of the most fundamental tools of game design. I'm constantly doing these kinds of EV calculations while designing, at both early and late stages of the process. gametek.substack.com/p/great-expe...

gametek.substack.com

Great Expectations

Mathematical modeling for game design

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Jay Vowles @etgoat.bsky.social · 12/02/2026

Come join Game Makers Guild Philadelphia for playtesting this Sunday 2/15 5-10pm at The Philly Game Shop 🎲✂️ fb.me/e/ccH7FRidA

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🥧 suzanne 🥧 @425suzanne.bsky.social · 20/01/2026

Finished my daily calls (voice mails this morning) begging my reps to not fund the group that could haul me off the street with impunity for "looking Asian". Now to my regular begging people on social media to please make the calls too. It takes 5 mins. Get over your anxiety - people are dying.

5calls.org

5 Calls

Spend 5 minutes. Make 5 calls. Make your voice heard.

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Jay Vowles @etgoat.bsky.social · 20/01/2026

Come join Game Makers Guild Philadelphia for the first playtesting event of 2026 this Sunday 1/25 5-10pm at The Philly Game Shop 🎲✂️ fb.me/e/3RHfI8nnW

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Unpub @unpub.org · 15/01/2026

Want to make the most of Unpub Festival? Worried about late-night FOMO? Stay onsite to maximize the fun! Book by Feb 11th for attendees-only discount: www.marriott.com/event-reservations… 🎲✂️

UNPUB Festival hotel room block closing soon. Discounted rate for attendees, book by February 11th to stay onsite at the convention.

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Daniel Wynter @boardgamefeast.bsky.social · 24/12/2025

It's the final stretch till Christmas. Here's my gingerboard creation for 2025. May those risky gift requests pay off. @cmyk.games

Gingerbread version of the hot streak box, topped with fondant versions of the racers, Mom replaced with santa

Top down view of the box included Hot Streak written in icing on candy ribbon

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Jay Vowles @etgoat.bsky.social · 23/12/2025

Come join Game Makers Guild Philadelphia for the last playtesting event of 2025 this Sunday 12/28 5-10pm at The Philly Game Shop 🎲✂️ fb.me/e/42jIZgELn

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Jay Vowles @etgoat.bsky.social · 27/11/2025

I’m thankful for an excellent #PAXUnplugged this year: Game Makers Guild Philadelphia had a table in the @unpub.org room and we had local designers testing their prototypes there all weekend. I got to play a couple of cool games from @jakekbarnhart.bsky.social and @jamesfirnhaber.bsky.social

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Jay Vowles @etgoat.bsky.social · 20/11/2025

Finished prepping my prototypes for #PAXUnplugged! I’ll mostly by playtesting in the Unpub room, but I also have a couple of pitches lined up and hopefully I can get a few more.

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James Barnhart ➡️ UnPub 26 @jakekbarnhart.bsky.social · 17/11/2025

Game Designers! We will be hosting our monthly in person playtest w/ @breakmygame.com at Redcaps Corner tonight at 6:30pm. Designers! Sign up with the link below! www.eventbrite.com/e/break-my-g... Testers! Come support your local design community! 🎲✂️

eventbrite.com

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Jay Vowles @etgoat.bsky.social · 12/11/2025

Come join Game Makers Guild Philadelphia for playtesting this Sunday 11/16 5-10pm at The Philly Game Shop 🎲✂️ Note that this is a week earlier due to PAX Unplugged - hope to see you there too! fb.me/e/6oD4NTUDq

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Jay Vowles @etgoat.bsky.social · 11/11/2025

Metatopia was excellent as usual. I had 3 very productive playtests of Smash Dash and got to play an interesting variety of games, the best of which was Look Into My Eyes from @nickmajorbowden.bsky.social. Elegant 2-player battle of wits with multiple juicy decisions every turn. Incredible game.

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Matthew Dunstan @matthewdunstan.bsky.social · 07/11/2025

"Game designers will routinely fail at making something fun. When the game of making games is played right, it is always right outside the edge of what the designers know how to do." Incredible quote from an amazing article. Something I'm only beginning to understand 10+ years in to designing.

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Jay Vowles @etgoat.bsky.social · 07/11/2025

Once again, woke up way before my alarm at Metatopia with my brain buzzing with game ideas.

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Jay Vowles @etgoat.bsky.social · 31/10/2025

“Somebody once told me His works he’d like to show me He said they’d fill me with fear and dread. He was looking kind of dumb With two legs out in the sun And nearby, a shattered stone head.” Please someone tell me they have screenshots of PateraQuetzaI’s epic Twitter thread that I’m quoting here.

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Gil Hova @gil.hova.net · 28/10/2025

My first of two reminders on this, I promise: Ferret Frenzy, the light push-your-luck card game I co-designed about the best pets in the world, is only up on Kickstarter for the next few days. www.kickstarter.com/projects/sha...

kickstarter.com

FERRET FRENZY: A Party Game of Risk, Reward & Ridiculousness

Unleash the push-your-luck thrill of Exploding Kittens, Blackjack & Uno, with the SPEED & GREED of Spoons in this wild new Party Game.

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Jay Vowles @etgoat.bsky.social · 23/10/2025

Come join Game Makers Guild Philadelphia for playtesting this Sunday 10/26 5-10pm at The Philly Game Shop 🎲✂️ fb.me/e/3BZK2WDHC

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Jay Vowles @etgoat.bsky.social · 15/10/2025

Cocoon is free on #PSPlus and I’ve been really digging it. Weird puzzles, one button, no jumping, no enemies (except bosses), and a unique and alien visual style.

Video game screenshot of the player’s little bug character carrying a glowing orange orb through an alien landscape of green globs and grey pillars.

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zintismay.bsky.social @zintismay.bsky.social · 28/09/2025

Hey board game designers I made a list of Pax Unplugged publishers: docs.google.com/spreadsheets... "Would need to ask", means website and maybe contact, but their site doesn't mention submissions. Leave a comment if I need to fix something up.

docs.google.com

Pax Unplugged Publisher List 2025

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Jay Vowles @etgoat.bsky.social · 25/09/2025

Come join Game Makers Guild Philadelphia for playtesting this Sunday 9/28 5-10pm at The Philly Game Shop 🎲✂️ fb.me/e/eFnK1Il9E

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Jonathan Gilmour-Long (he/him) @jongilmour.bsky.social · 16/09/2025

Hey friends! I have two games on KS right now! Please check out Making Monsters here www.kickstarter.com/projects/mak... And Dinosaur Island here: www.kickstarter.com/projects/pan...

kickstarter.com

Making Monsters

Making Monsters: A laugh-out-loud bag-building board game of monster mayhem.

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James Barnhart ➡️ UnPub 26 @jakekbarnhart.bsky.social · 15/09/2025

eventbrite.com

Break My Game Playtesting - Philadelphia, PA - Redcap's Corner

Come playtest board games designed by local independent game designers!

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James Barnhart ➡️ UnPub 26 @jakekbarnhart.bsky.social · 02/09/2025

Hey y’all don’t sleep on Eric’s playtesting event at The Board and Brew this Thursday! I’ll be there testing my new lane control game and you should be too! Designers sign up with the link below - testers just walk in! www.eventbrite.com/e/break-my-g...

eventbrite.com

Break My Game Playtesting - Philadelphia, PA - The Board & Brew

Come playtest board games designed by local independent game designers!

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Jay Vowles @etgoat.bsky.social · 20/08/2025

Come join Game Makers Guild Philadelphia for playtesting this Sunday 8/24 5-10pm at The Philly Game Shop 🎲✂️ fb.me/e/3ldCRtKjO

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Jay Vowles @etgoat.bsky.social · 22/07/2025

Come join Game Makers Guild Philadelphia for playtesting this Sunday 7/27 5-10pm at The Philly Game Shop 🎲✂️ fb.me/e/6NvZHdtXq

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Ruth Ann Crystal @drruth.bsky.social · 29/06/2025

Wow! Scientists engineered E. coli to convert plastic waste (PET) into pain medicine paracetamol (acetaminophen or Tylenol) in under 24 hours with up to 92% yield. www.nature.com/articles/d41... #medsky #pharmsky 🧪

nature.com

Everyday painkiller made from plastic — by E. coli

Study highlights potential for sustainable synthesis of paracetamol.

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David Burbach 🇺🇸 @dburbach.bsky.social · 29/06/2025

With this budget, ICE alone would have nearly as large a detention operation as all 50 states' prison systems combined. Bigger budget than the Marine Corps. Police-state levels of spending

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Jay Vowles @etgoat.bsky.social · 18/06/2025

Come join Game Makers Guild Philadelphia for playtesting this Sunday 6/22 5-10pm at The Philly Game Shop 🎲✂️ fb.me/e/4EkVges57

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Jay Vowles @etgoat.bsky.social · 21/05/2025

Come join Game Makers Guild Philadelphia for playtesting this Sunday 5/25 5-10pm at The Philly Game Shop 🎲✂️ fb.me/e/bvAx0Wwgp

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