iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Phil, Ziapelta Games @gruefodder.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Lavender Hack kickstarter is live here: www.kickstarter.com/projects/lav... It's a short campaign, running for 10 days. Check it out for an interesting take on handling resources in fantasy exploration games!

kickstarter.com

Lavender Hack RPG: Grindcore Edition — Book #1 (Core Rules)

You are not limited by your imagination. You are limited by crushing levels of debt.

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Phil, Ziapelta Games @gruefodder.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Messed with a reinforcement learning algorithm (PPO) to teach my computer how to play a trick-taking card game I'm working on. RL is definitely a pain - you have to do a good job of crafting intermittent rewards which help the model learn the game. Here's the win rate % graph. 🎲✂️

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Milkboy Games➡️ PAX Unplugged @certifydmilkboy.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

Get ready for a bittersweet aftertaste the kickstarter for the print run of Let Me Be Your Thrall: Aftertaste launches soon! www.kickstarter.com/projects/mil...

kickstarter.com

Coming soon: Let Me Be Your Thrall: Aftertaste

A duo game about vampires in love

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Will Munn @ Adept Icarus @adepticarus.com · 25/08/2026

All RIGHT! The Arium: Evolve & Arium Complete Box Set Kickstarter is LIVE. You know what to do. Thanks for helping spread the word. It means so much to a small press games publisher. www.kickstarter.com/projects/ade...

kickstarter.com

Arium Complete Box Set

3x Ennie-Nominated Collaborative Tools for Any RPG Group.

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Phil, Ziapelta Games @gruefodder.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

Fields of Fire by @gmtgames.bsky.social got a lot of mileage this past month! It has a steep learning curve, but generates evocative narratives. Plenty of difficult decisions. First Normandy mission went really well - second one went off the rails terribly. Snipers are rough!

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Phil, Ziapelta Games @gruefodder.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

Final editing is done for Lil' Lavender Book #1, just sent for proof copy. Writing is done for Lil' Lavender Book #2.

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Phil, Ziapelta Games @gruefodder.bsky.social · 19/07/2026

Does German have a word for "your boardgame production is taking a long time so you incessantly fiddle with mechanics even when the game is working fine and you really should do other things with your time like working on a different design but you can't stop thinking about it"? 🎲✂️

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Indie Game Reading Club @indiegamereadingclub.com · 18/06/2026

Against my better judgement and on something of a dare, I ran a fantasy adventure 3-shot for visiting friends last week. Is fantasy adventure Good, Actually now? Read on! My new favorite frankengame from two of my favorite creators: @fuseboy.bsky.social and @gruefodder.bsky.social .

indiegamereadingclub.com

Two Great Tastes etc: Lavender Hack + Trilemma Adventures

IGRC Global Operations had gamer visitors from California recently. We knew we’d be playing something while they were here, but we never quite nailed down what it’d be. So over beers, Phil Lewis’ L…

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Phil, Ziapelta Games @gruefodder.bsky.social · 12/06/2026

Got in a playtest of Monster Wasteland! this week - a fun sandbox game of crafting and carnage! We had a good turnout this week at our playtest meetup, enough people to have 3 playtests going at the same time. I love seeing designs develop over time. #boardgamesky

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Phil, Ziapelta Games @gruefodder.bsky.social · 28/05/2026

I keep seeing AI described as a drunk toddler. Even a drunk toddler has an internal model of the physical world light-years beyond what any AI has or will ever have. No, AI is more like a savant with dementia.

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Phil, Ziapelta Games @gruefodder.bsky.social · 27/05/2026

Skate Summer has really thematic graphic design, and I love the "don't fall" push your luck mechanic for performing tricks. It does feel a little disconnected to have the trick phase separate from the "ride around the park" phase, though, but I can see why they went that direction. #boardgamesky

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Phil, Ziapelta Games @gruefodder.bsky.social · 27/05/2026

Blocking out some new #Oldhammer halflings to go with my previous crew. This update includes a couple Old School Miniatures halflings and four from @badsquiddogames.bsky.social. I just undercoated these straight white and used Speed Paints, next I'll layer highlights with acrylics.

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Phil, Ziapelta Games @gruefodder.bsky.social · 27/04/2026

Played Decorum recently - a collaborative puzzle game where everyone passive-aggressively tries to decorate a house the way they want. Really immersive and unique theme! Comes with quite a few scenarios. #boardgamesky

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beQuest Miniatures @bequestminiatures.bsky.social · 06/03/2026

My Shambling Bones 2 Kickstarter is now live: www.kickstarter.com/projects/beq... #warhammer #warhammerfantasy #oldhammer #oldworld #aos

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Phil, Ziapelta Games @gruefodder.bsky.social · 06/03/2026

Played the 1996 X-Files CCG recently. Also a product of its time, during the great late 90s CCG wave. The mechanics are a more complex version of "Guess Who?" where you try to guess what secret X-File card players have by playing Sites and investigating them. #boardgamesky

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Phil, Ziapelta Games @gruefodder.bsky.social · 04/03/2026

Basked in some 1982 glory this past weekend. You roll two dice each turn, and assign one to your pac-man and the other to a ghost. Very much a product of its time, but do appreciate that the pac-man(s) "eat" marbles! #boardgamesky

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Phil, Ziapelta Games @gruefodder.bsky.social · 20/02/2026

This is a fascinating looking game. Always interested to see designers take on more niche historical subjects.

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Phil, Ziapelta Games @gruefodder.bsky.social · 20/02/2026

Doing historical research (7th Century Iran and Eastern Rome) in the age of AI Slop is such a pain. Most searches are just a massive misinformation dump. I basically have to bypass google and go straight to sources like Encyclopedia Iranica, certain subreddits, or physical books.

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Phil, Ziapelta Games @gruefodder.bsky.social · 20/02/2026

Burying the "what is this game about" text inside a Saving Throw description is the most AD&D thing ever.

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Phil, Ziapelta Games @gruefodder.bsky.social · 31/10/2025

Turns out roadrunners are big fans of the heavy euro genre (Civolution in this case).

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Phil, Ziapelta Games @gruefodder.bsky.social · 03/10/2025

Played Don't Look Back from Black Site Studios recently - a 1980s horror miniatures game. It was fun! Lots of accruing terror and running away from a maniacal killer. Very evocative theme.

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Phil, Ziapelta Games @gruefodder.bsky.social · 03/10/2025

Made some progress on the Traitor's Toll characters from @wargamesatlantic.bsky.social! Lots of customization options. This is only two of the six sprues included. These are close to builds shown on the box cover, but I may branch out more after this.

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Phil, Ziapelta Games @gruefodder.bsky.social · 30/08/2025

Picked up the base set for Guards of Traitor's Toll this week, and started the time intensive process of assembling miniatures. I've been painting more old school-ish minis for so long that I forgot how involved that could be! Plenty to work with for now, and not even 1/2 through the sprues.

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Phil, Ziapelta Games @gruefodder.bsky.social · 29/08/2025

Really hit that Gen Z demo for LH 2E.

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Jon at Handiwork Games @handiworkgames.bsky.social · 28/08/2025

Been shooting the World War Ruins Backdrop Book, with a @knucklebonesminis.bsky.social corpse frame, some DiceVerse trench shrines, and some @fenrisgames.com rubble. You can pledge for this new book at @badsquiddogames.bsky.social Resistance kickstarter, which is on right now.

A Knucklebones minis corpse frame model, some Fenris games rubble and some DiceVerse shrines in front of a new World War Ruins backdrop.

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𓇢𓆸𝑭𝒆𝒅𝒆ꫂ❀ @fsohns.bsky.social · 26/08/2025

A COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE TO TTRPG ART COMMISSIONING AND LICENSING It's done! Here is my guide to art commissioning, licensing, and art direction in TTRPGs. It's free to see, has contract and brief templates, and plenty of resources to aid in art literacy in the space. www.patreon.com/posts/compre...

patreon.com

A Comprehensive Guide to TTRPG Art Commissioning & Licensing | Araukana

Get more from Araukana on Patreon

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Phil, Ziapelta Games @gruefodder.bsky.social · 26/08/2025

Wrote up some thoughts from recent playtest of Watermelon Mountain at a local con here (Bubonicon). The TLDR: it's good to not spend much time on graphic design for prototypes. But! Sometimes you can hurt accessibility and make it unplayable for some people. boardgamegeek.com/thread/35657...

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Phil, Ziapelta Games @gruefodder.bsky.social · 26/08/2025

I also painted some Bob Olley ogres for a game called Fantasy Warlord (which I neither own nor have ever played). They do have an #Oldhammer feel, which makes sense given Bob Olley did work for Citadel as well. They have massive shields which I decided not to use for now.

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Phil, Ziapelta Games @gruefodder.bsky.social · 26/08/2025

Just about finished these #Oldhammer halflings (Old School Miniatures and Citadel Miniatures). Just in time for some more halflings to arrive and add to the unit! Really like the rabbit in the bag for the farmer-looking guy.

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Phil, Ziapelta Games @gruefodder.bsky.social · 24/08/2025

Also got into a game of _Guards of Traitor's Toll_ yesterday. It's fascinating - a non-wargame miniatures game, where you run around town solving plots, breaking up brawls, and trying to keep the peace. A confluence of RPGs, miniature games, and boardgames.

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Phil, Ziapelta Games @gruefodder.bsky.social · 24/08/2025

Tried _Fate of the Fellowship_ this weekend. It's solid. Big step up in complexity from pandemic. Instead of disease outbreaks, it's a much more complex shadow troop movement system. But very thematic and tense, thinking about picking it up.

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ndp 🔥 ndpdesign 🦄 Unwritten Earths Symposium @ndpdesign.com · 24/08/2025

New to World Wide Wrestling? You'll use all the skills you already have playing rpgs to create the high-drama storytelling of professional wrestling! Your characters? In conflict. The people in the tights? All working together to wow the crowd. www.kickstarter.com/projects/ndp...

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Phil, Ziapelta Games @gruefodder.bsky.social · 20/08/2025

Played the new reprint of Warlock of Firetop Mountain by @stevejacksongames.bsky.social last night. This wasn't one of the ones I had in the 80s (I had Forest of Doom and Scorpion Swamp). Mostly did well, but get lost in the maze. Notecards were not the best choice for mapping!

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Phil, Ziapelta Games @gruefodder.bsky.social · 18/08/2025

Current painting project is a unit of 12 #Oldhammer halflings, mostly from Old School Miniatures (www.oldschoolminiatures.co.uk), with 3 of them being old Citadel miniatures I found buried somewhere.

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Phil, Ziapelta Games @gruefodder.bsky.social · 17/08/2025

This is amazing. That 3E WFB image is etched in my brain, and I've long dreamed of recreating it.

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