iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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Bonhomie Games @bonhomiegames.bsky.social · 7h

Dice on the Borderlands 2027 is now booked at Chepstow Castle for April 23rd-25th - back for our 4th year running. PM me if you want to play ttrpgs in a medieval Welsh castle at a small community event. Free! (£ donation only) (This year we have a second room beneath the Earl's Chamber) 🎲🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🏰⚔️🐲🛡🎲

The Earl's Chamber at Chepstow Castle with 8 gaming tables and players between 12 and 60-something years old playing ttrpgs

Front view of Chepstow Castle showing the gatehouse and Marten's Tower. The oldest post Roman stone castle in the UK.

Kaye's excellent artwork depicting a small boat of fragile heroes approaching Chepstow Castle. Tentacles energe from the river Wye, bats fly overhead, and a demon sits atop the castle

The castle main gate open a crack to reveal medieval shields and spears on a rack inside the entrance

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Rob Harper @harperrob.bsky.social · 9h

Rob, not knowing what an indeed profile is

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Rob Harper @harperrob.bsky.social · 10h

Nik, when the dataset was corrupted

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Witchy Annie 🏳️‍⚧️ 🔞 @possmom.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

"JK Rowling is already a billionaire and everyone already knows about Harry Potter, what's the point of boycotting?" Nobody thinks boycotting will bankrupt her. We know she's gonna die rich. We're just asking you to show a shred of solidarity with trans folk. Absolute low bar bare minimum shit.

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Emily @emilydawn.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

@hockeyviz.com I found some beautiful data viz for you

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Rob Harper @harperrob.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

I'm making stew for dinner and have made some suet dumplings to go into it. The recipe on the suet packet says to divide the dough into 8 balls to cook. I made double the quantity, but still 8 balls for the size of dumpling I usually make. Thinking about the implications of this makes me a bit sad.

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Dave Vetter @davidrvetter.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Happy Kicked In The Head By A Horse Day, to all who celebrate. It's the 7th anniversary of this absolute banger.

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Geek Native @geeknative.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

UK Games Expo has banned generative AI art, text, and merchandise across all NEC exhibition halls, bringing the convention in line with broader British tabletop standards. Standholders face removal or bans if their products aren't made by humans. #UKGE

geeknative.com

UK Games Expo bans generative AI art and text across all trade halls

UK Games Expo has introduced a mandatory policy prohibiting generative AI art and text across all NEC trade halls, requiring exhibitors to sell only human-made games.

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Malcolm Craig @malcolmcraig.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

17) Oh, as an addendum: Lots of academic work is frustratingly hidden behind journal paywalls. If there's an academic article that you've found out about and want to read, but can't access, just ask the author! 99 times out of 100 we'll be delighted to send you a PDF of the piece.

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Malcolm Craig @malcolmcraig.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

1) So You're A Game Designer Who Needs Advice From a Historian? Games with historical/historically inspired settings/themes are great. Occasionally an email pops into my university inbox from someone seeking advice, feedback, consultancy, and so on. As the advice-seeker, what's the best approach?

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Rob Harper @harperrob.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Wasn't v0.1 December 2020? 😁

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Bethany Black @bethanyblack.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

“AI could destroy humanity, it keeps jumping from computer to computer and has escaped. The only way we can stop it is if we get another trillion dollars in investment to figure something out, because if we do the value of the company will be more than Google, Apple and Amazon combined”

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Tabletop Games Blog - board game reviews and discussions @tabletopgamesblog.com · 16/09/2026

So far in 2026, we raised £128.65 for @trusselluk.bsky.social, the UK food bank #charity. Thank you so much to everyone who bid on or bought a game on eBay and added to the fund. You are amazing! The auctions are still going, so please have a look and reshare: tabletopgamesblog.com/charity-auct...

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Tim Maughan @timmaughan.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

ok so just so we’re clear on the concerns that are taken seriously ❌ it’s terrible for the climate ❌ it’s fuelled by stolen data ❌ it threatens jobs/entire occupations ❌ it’s often just wrong ❌ it’s literally caused actual suicides ✅ one day it might extinct everyone by bioengineering a plague

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Rob Harper @harperrob.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Ah, that's a Cornish pierogi, right?

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Rob Harper @harperrob.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Feels to me more like the outsourcing of curiosity in most cases. Reminds me of the electric monk.

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Gail Simone @gailsimone.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Trans people are not the cause of any of your problems, and only assheads want you to believe they are.

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River @riverlorien.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

'Not long ago, Just Stop Oil activists were given long sentences for simply discussing blocking infrastructure. In contrast, the balaclava-wearing gangs now do much the same with apparent impunity. One could almost call it two-tier justice.'

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Scott - Minerva 🦉 @minervatabletop.co.uk · 11/09/2026

Playtesters are the most important part of any playtesting event. I run weekly playtesting sessions which are almost exclusively attended by designers, so Playfest London is a fantastic opportunity for games to be tested by members of the public. But how do we encourage it? We make everything free.

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Rob Harper @harperrob.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

A refreshing change from making criminal acts sound like criminal acts.

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The Empty City @davidallengreen.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

Seems the difference between ‘protestors’ and ‘terrorists’ is that protestors wear balaclavas while terrorists hold placards.

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Rory Muldoon @rorymuldoon.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

If your Kickstarter game has AI art and an AI trailer with AI music, then there’s no way I’m going to believe the game design isn’t AI generated as well.

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Amabel Holland @amabel.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

In 1990, an elementary school teacher won $16,500 on a game show, and used her winnings to publish a board game about the Exxon Valdez oil spill. This is her story. youtu.be/r1g7C0o9Oqc

youtu.be

Tracia Newman's Board Game: Oil Spill & Amateur Art

YouTube video by Hollandspiele

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Rob Harper @harperrob.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

Any boardgame (current or future) friends who are in, or fancy a trip to South Wales in October? Here's a nice, chilled, play-focused convention I'll be going to. You can buy day tickets or residential self-catering. cwestcon.wordpress.com

Poster image for "Cwestcon 2026", Llanelli tabletop games convention. 15 to 18 October. www.cwestcon.wordpress.com

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Rob Harper @harperrob.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

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Yaroslav Barsukov #NoToWar #НетВойне @barsukov.com · 17/08/2026

AI RANT Following the cancellation of three major debut book deals over AI suspicions, I decided to put my own (needless to say, 100% human-written) prose to the test. My detector of choice was Originality AI, and the results proved to be jarring, to say the least. 🧵1/5

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John Bull @garius.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

The biggest selling comic of all time is One Piece. The second biggest is not from the US or UK. It's French. DELIGHTED to welcome @juliekalman.bsky.social onto Untitled History Pod to talk origins of Asterix the Gaul and how it made modern France. Listen below, Youtube or your pod app of choice

open.spotify.com

Episode 27: The history and cultural impact of Asterix the Gaul

The Untitled History Podcast · Episode

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Rob Harper @harperrob.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

🎵DUN DUN LOPPPPPP....🎵

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Rob Harper @harperrob.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

I thought I saw a faint, green flash from that direction last night

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Kip Williams sort of @kipwilliams.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

In Weller's classic text*, SCIENCE MADE STUPID, we get the bottom line on eclipses. * HE PUT THE BOOK ONLINE FOR FREE BEST BARGAIN EVER

ECLIPSES (illustrated with bland, generic line drawings, as science should be)

"An eclipse of the moon occurs when the sun passes between te earth and the moon."

"An eclipse of the sun occurs when the shadow of the earth falls on the sun." (helpful diagram includes labels on the shadow: UMBRAGE, UMBRELLA, and COROLLA)

"An eclipse of the earth occurs when you put your hands over your eyes."

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Rob Harper @harperrob.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

Giving side-eye is probably valid

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Buckinghamshire Archives @bucksarchives.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

slow day in the office so we're starting beef with archaeologists

One of those 'STOP DOING X' memes, ripping into archaeology. It has images of soil stratum, a trowel, and a flint shard. The text mocks archaeologists for digging for pottery sherds and saying everything has a 'ritual purpose'.

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Russ Jones @russincheshire.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

#TheYearInReform Look, it's very simple. Nothing to see here. Move along. Reform UK is a party - sorry - a company built around British Patriotism and being frank with the public, and it is led by straight-talking anti-elite Nigel Farage.

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Ava Foxfort @ava.foxfort.net · 06/08/2026

To those who see this and wonder if a better life is even possible. I promise you it is. And it starts with you. Step into your own light, glow as bright as you ever can, and share it widely. It might be all we have.

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Rob Harper @harperrob.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

Wow. There are no words sufficient...

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Mike Harrison-Wood @mikeharrisonwood.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

Last day of work before gig season aw yeah! It starts with a busy weekend with lots of driving: Friday 7th - Redeemon - Bloodstock Saturday 8th - The Dreadnoughts - Brakrock Then a 3 day mini tour around Europe with The Dreadnoughts. I fucking love tour!

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Rob Harper @harperrob.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

How about Abandon All Artichokes? 😁

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Rob Harper @harperrob.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

I was playing this with my son aged about 7 or 8 and found that the Cornucopia expansion was a fantastic addition. My kid's instinct was to Collect All The Things, and Cornucopia cards can make that a valid strategy.

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Rob Harper @harperrob.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

But old school (shared deck) or new school (personal deck) rules for preference?

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John Scalzi @scalzi.com · 03/08/2026

I think "AI" plumpers should be happy I'm focusing mostly on the nonsense it's doing to my field, rather than how it's very clearly designed as a tool for the capture of wealth and capital by a bunch of accelerationist weirdos enthusiastically huffing their own farts from the depth of their K-holes

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Matthew Dunstan @matthewdunstan.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

In this week's video I reflect on the last 5 years of being a full time game designer, how I made the decision to go full time, and the various pros and cons of that career choice! youtu.be/1G_jXgo7CKQ Thanks to @eanderssonsunden.bsky.social and @connievdc.bsky.social for inspiration :) 🎲✂️

youtu.be

Reflections on 5 years of being a full time game designer

YouTube video by Matthew Dunstan

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HappyToast @happytoast.co.uk · 31/07/2026

This has really pissed me off, if you're in the area and can afford it go and give the cafe owner some money to help fund the kids meals. And if he refuses buy yourself a nice coffee and tip him as much as you can. Fuck Reform taking food from kids in need. www.mirror.co.uk/news/politic...

mirror.co.uk

Reform council chief threatens to report café boss who fed kids for free to cops

EXCLUSIVE: Barry Ashley, who runs the Grumpy Cook café in Hastings, and Labour MP Helena Dollimore have been told by East Sussex County Council chief Andy Woolley that he plans to contact police after...

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Rob Harper @harperrob.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

Really like this... though I don't know why JJ made a song about my brain 😱

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Tabletop Games Blog - board game reviews and discussions @tabletopgamesblog.com · 25/07/2026

You put down a bowl of soft food, and moments later, there she is. As her pet dad, you just ⁠Take Cat⁠ by Gareth Edwards from ⁠Gibsons⁠ with art by Juliana Eigner. Written: tabletopgamesblog.com/2026/07/25/t... Audio: open.spotify.com/episode/5qW8... (Photo courtesy of Gibsons) #boardgames #reviews

tabletopgamesblog.com

Take Cat (Saturday Review) | Tabletop Games Blog

You put down a bowl of soft food, and moments later, you hear the jingle of her collar. Here she comes! First, she pauses at the conservatory door and watches you for a while. You eagerly point at the...

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Rob Harper @harperrob.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

I have no further questions, your honour.

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Rob Harper @harperrob.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

That's a very good point. The article is unclear on the matter.

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Rob Harper @harperrob.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

That would be adorable. But Wikipedia (the start and end of all good research) says that Apteryx Mantelli females are about 40cm tall (males, it seems, are a bit smaller), which is bigger than I thought and suggests 5cm wide is unlikely.

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Rob Harper @harperrob.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

But... but... we're here to discuss the product launch... why isn't anyone reporting on that? Why is everyone focussed on the irrelevant robot incident?

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Rob Harper @harperrob.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

Nice. Fun game, and the character names are fabulous

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