iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Jack Rosen @jackrrosen.bsky.social · 25/02/2026

It’s such an honor to be a finalist for the Cardboard Edison award this year! Some great games are on this list, I wish everyone the best of luck!

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Jack Rosen @jackrrosen.bsky.social · 30/12/2025

Echo those saying Friday Afternoon Tea (for a great indie tea store) and Adagio Teas (for a very affordable way to expand your collection). I’ll add Plum Deluxe since I think they specifically have good white and rooibos/honeybush blends. Happy to let you borrow/take anything next time I see you!

Elizabeth Hargrave @elizhargrave.bsky.social · 04/09/2025

Reposted by Jack Rosen

Update to this chart that I share a lot. Not breaking news: Game design teams are still OVERWHELMINGLY all men. About 7% of the top 500 games have a woman or non-binary person credited as a designer. A 🧵of related charts: (1/6) 🎲✂️

Gender of Game Designers: Board Game Geek Top 500, January 2025

A pie chart:
92% of the pie is Designed only by men. They made 461 of the top 500 games.
6% of the pie is Designed by a mixed-gender group. They made 28 of the top 500 games.
1% of the pie is Designed only by women or non-binary people. They made 5 of the top 500 games.

Data are for January 1, 2025, using the names in the Designer field on BGG. Not shown are 6 games in the top 500 that have uncredited designers.

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Jack Rosen @jackrrosen.bsky.social · 25/07/2025

I think excitement in sports is defined and optimized around being a spectator, while in board games you are often actively participating. Imo exciting board games seem to correlate with dramatic moments. This can come from anywhere (cleverness, luck, etc), but too much drama can lead to frustration

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Jack Rosen @jackrrosen.bsky.social · 31/03/2025

Though I didn’t get to play this one, I’m glad at least got to watch a round of this game at the end of unpub. It was really fascinating and I hope to play it in the future!

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Jack Rosen @jackrrosen.bsky.social · 29/03/2025

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it, and congrats on being part of the first group of the weekend to NOT explode 🎉💥

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Reposted by Jack Rosen

Tony Tran 🔜 Home @tonytran.bsky.social · 29/03/2025

For anyone at unpub I would highly recommend playing Jack's "Down to the Wire". It's a tense coop where you difuse a bomb. It's the tightest game I've played so far. He's got a table on Saturday at noon. Don't miss it, especially if you like games like Hanabi, but wished for more communication.

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Reposted by Jack Rosen

Sticky Doodler 🔜 PeopleCon 3 @stickydoodler.bsky.social · 27/03/2025

Down to the Wire is a super engaging, cooperative deck-burning game by @jacktose.bsky.social. Really enjoyed playing it with @dcrapuchettes.bsky.social, @imamagnet.bsky.social, and @shadowobsessed.bsky.social. #Unpub2025

Board with a dedcending track, two sets of cards beneath

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Thank you Connie 😁! This means a lot coming from you (a person whose games are great)

If you want to play any of these games, please come find me at Unpub this weekend!! I’ll have at least 2 out of them during my 12-4 block on Saturday, but the rest I’ll save for open playtesting. Excited to see everyone! 🧵(5/5)

And finally, I will have Rome: Reconstructed. An archaeology game about reconstructing the past. This has always been the one to live beyond my comfort zone as a designer, but I’ve been managing thanks to guidance from the lovely designers of my design group. Excited to see how it goes! 🧵(4/5)

A whole bunch of cards, tiles, boards, and other board game pieces on a table that are all related to archaeology

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Third, I’ll have Puzzling Potions. The driving mantra of this one has been “how can I take a weird and unfamiliar tile shape and make it feel natural?” and I’ve had a fun time taking on that challenge! Plus, I personally love the way the end product looks on the table. 🧵(3/5)

Potion shaped tiles aligned together with different colors and symbols on them. Nearby is a scoreboard with cubes on top and some stacks of spell cards.

Next is Understory, a 20 minute simultaneous matching deckbuilder about growing trees in the understory of a forest. This one in particular has been a labor of love over the past 3+ years and, with the recent help of other incredible designers, it’s definitely in the best shape it’s ever been.🧵(2/5)

A board with 4 tracks 0-10 and 4 tokens in 4 colors each at various locations on each track. Nearby are 5 decks of cards labeled (Dogwood, Alder, Hemlock, Juniper, and Wildlife)

In response to the kind words about my game from @roscoschock.bsky.social, I realized I should share the games I’m bringing to Unpub! First up, here is Under The Wire/Down To The Wire (name tbd) is a quick & tense co-op shedding game about defusing an actively ticking bomb before it explodes 🧵(1/5)

A board on a table indicating a timer going from 30 to 1. Near the board there is a large deck of cards, and two stacks of board (one blue, one red/yellow). There are some facedown cards with wire cutters of different colors on the backs.

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Thank you! Hopefully we can successfully *not* explode next time 😂. Backdraft was lots of fun as well!

Jack Rosen @jackrrosen.bsky.social · 10/01/2025

I usually use Notion for things like this, and I don’t think it costs too much! They likely have templates that you can use for gantt charts as well

Jack Rosen @jackrrosen.bsky.social · 18/12/2024

Any book recs as of late? Looking for some more non-fiction biology related reads

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Jack Rosen @jackrrosen.bsky.social · 14/12/2024

I do this too! Well, I recently switched to component studio, but until then I used Google slides for everything! (and I still make my icons in slides😁)

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Jack Rosen @jackrrosen.bsky.social · 09/12/2024

Had a great time at PAX! Saw some familiar faces and met some amazing new people. Also managed to sneak in a few informative playtests! Always impressed by how creative and welcoming everyone is in the board game world

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Jack Rosen @jackrrosen.bsky.social · 28/11/2024

Great thread! Love the idea of having a high benchmark for number of versions to make removing mechanics easier mentally. Thats something I used to struggle with 😅

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Reposted by Jack Rosen

Connie @connievdc.bsky.social · 28/11/2024

Over the last few years, I've learned a lot about game design (and I still have a ton more to learn!). In the interest of helping others, I wanted to share a few key concepts that I've picked up. Note that this is geared toward pitching to publishers, and as with any wisdom, YMMV. A thread. 1/ 🎲✂️

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Reposted by Jack Rosen

Sextant Studios 🐑😈 Flocking Hell is now on Steam! @sextantstudios.bsky.social · 19/11/2024

The Flocking Hell demo is now available on Steam! Flocking Hell is a deeply strategic roguelite where you defend your pastures from demonic invasion. Why are you still reading this?! Go check it out! 🐑😈 store.steampowered.com/app/3236280/... #Roguelite #IndieGames #TurnBased

store.steampowered.com

Flocking Hell on Steam

Flocking Hell is a turn-based strategy roguelite where you defend your pasture from demon legions. It blends calm exploration with auto-battler combat, offering a mix of easy-to-learn mechanics and de...

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Jack Rosen @jackrrosen.bsky.social · 18/11/2024

I find that co-op games with open information can be more inviting, but fall into quarterbacking traps. One of the few examples I’ve seen avoid that issue is Daybreak, making players focus largely on their personal board to eliminate the problem. Still has the tense co-op feel on shared board tho!

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Reposted by Jack Rosen

Sticky Doodler 🔜 PeopleCon 3 @stickydoodler.bsky.social · 18/11/2024

A lot of tabletop game designers are here in the Washington, DC + Maryland + Virginia region! Come follow us if you're interested in learning more: go.bsky.app/4iZLcCc And if you're one of those designers, whether published or not, read on ⬇️

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Reposted by Jack Rosen

Sticky Doodler 🔜 PeopleCon 3 @stickydoodler.bsky.social · 15/11/2024

The DMV (DC-Maryland-Virginia) has a thriving community of tabletop game designers 🎲✂️. Follow us, join us, but don't ask us for a driver's license! (hmu if you should be on this list) go.bsky.app/4iZLcCc

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Jack Rosen @jackrrosen.bsky.social · 15/11/2024

Haha yes I have, but somehow that one flew right over my head when I read it ope😅

Jack Rosen @jackrrosen.bsky.social · 15/11/2024

I’d say so! Thought it depends on the season haha (not sure how I’d fare in winter 😂)

Jack Rosen @jackrrosen.bsky.social · 14/11/2024

- I’m an amateur board game designer, still figuring out where I fit in the space (and making endless prototypes) - I love Cascadia, Heat, and really any deckbuilder - Tree identification :) 🌲

Jack Rosen @jackrrosen.bsky.social · 13/11/2024

I suppose it’s just “trick-taking inspired” now, though it does borrow many of the mechanics. I found it funny how I created something which reverses the rule of “use gameplay terms rather than thematic terms”. In this case, it’s actually been more intuitive to stick to theme terms 🤷‍♂️

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Jack Rosen @jackrrosen.bsky.social · 13/11/2024

🎲 ✂️ This game was initially supposed to be trick-taking meets grid placement, but it’s really taken on an identity of its own to the point where I’ve been advised to NOT call it a trick taker since it breaks many assumptions to bring focus to the grid. Nonetheless, I’m happy with where it’s trending

A card game on a table with cards, cubes, and a board with a 5x5 grid on it, and cauldrons on the sides. There are six suits on the cards that represent the planetary symbols of metals from alchemy.

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Jack Rosen @jackrrosen.bsky.social · 13/11/2024

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Jack Rosen @jackrrosen.bsky.social · 24/07/2024

Thanks! I gotta save this to consider as a new angle for some of my designs that currently just don’t feel quite right

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Jack Rosen @jackrrosen.bsky.social · 24/07/2024

Loving all the terms in this thread! Would love to hear you elaborate more on the Golden Trio one and what the three aspects of it mean

A Man Possessed is Unverified. 🔵 @amanpossessed.bsky.social · 23/07/2024

Reposted by Jack Rosen

🚨 FREE to a good US* home: A Fake Artist goes to New York! Brand new, still in the shrink. Leave a comment to express interest; repost to spread the love. I’ll pick a random person after 24 hours. *Sorry, non-US friends. I love you just the same, but… shipping, y’dig? #boardgames

A photo of the box cover for A Fake Artist goes to Nee York.

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Jack Rosen @jackrrosen.bsky.social · 23/07/2024

Interested! This one’s been on my list for a while

Jack Rosen @jackrrosen.bsky.social · 15/04/2024

Yeah! I honestly don’t like the game as much with more players. With 2 it feels like every decision matters!

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Jack Rosen @jackrrosen.bsky.social · 15/04/2024

Agreed, it took a couple plays to grow on me, but it’s now one of my go-to 2 player games!

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Jack Rosen @jackrrosen.bsky.social · 17/03/2024

Got to play Votes for Women for the first time today at the Belmont-Paul House! Also had a lovely chat with @downtowntbrown.bsky.social about the game, it’s design, and historical context afterwards. My partner won as the opposition, but she agrees it was close till the end! We really enjoyed it!!

The initial setup of the board game, Votes for Women.

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Jack Rosen @jackrrosen.bsky.social · 18/02/2024

Forgot to add this to the 🎲✂️ thread too!

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Jack Rosen @jackrrosen.bsky.social · 17/02/2024

Oh sure! Or if you need playtesters I’d be happy to do an online playtest sometime!

Jack Rosen @jackrrosen.bsky.social · 17/02/2024

Had a great time playtesting Arbor’s Market at Labyrinth today with @breakmygame.bsky.social! Based on the feedback, I think this one is pretty close to publisher-ready!😄

The end state of an unpublished board game called Arbor’s Market. Cards with trees on them are laid out around the table along with various tokens.