iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Joe

Ashley @huddyrx.bsky.social · 15/11/2025

UK Age of Steam Con day 1: England, Powerhouses of the North (con map), Aiaia.

The final map of Age of Steam England in the Warfrog style art with acrylic tiles and deluxe discs.

The final map of Age of Steam Powerhouses of the north with deluxe edition pieces.

The final map of Age of Steam Aiaia with deluxe pieces.

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Joe @joecomotive.bsky.social · 28/10/2025

Never a frown with golden brown.

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Joe @joecomotive.bsky.social · 12/10/2025

Step into the Nineties! Highest Klaxx score on this machine in the world ever.

A screen from Klax.
"Play Klax klean. Klaxxers don't need drugs!"

An on-screen advert for the official Klaxx t-shirt, available when ordered before Dec 31 1990.

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Joe @joecomotive.bsky.social · 26/09/2025

I've heard so much hype for this from various social circles over the past 10 years, I'll finally give the new edition of this game a chance. (And probably sell it when it doesn't live up to expectations.)

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Joe @joecomotive.bsky.social · 13/09/2025

And she was awarded 2nd place in the National Best Hat Awards.

View of Dogs of War miniature with big hat, the board game in the background.

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Reposted by Joe

Scarred For Life Books @scarredforlife.bsky.social · 07/09/2025

Happy 38th birthday, KNIGHTMARE, the hardest game show on television! In 1987, Treguard the Dungeon Master welcomed the first team of adventurers to his blue screen labyrinth. Losers didn’t just fail, they 'died': blades, spikes, and bottomless pits abounded. "Ooh, nasty..."

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Joe @joecomotive.bsky.social · 07/09/2025

Stopped this "classic" by "Martin Wallace" from being sold too cheaply on eBay by buying it myself. There's some logic to this, I'm sure. At least it encouraged a post-storm walk to the post office in the sunshine.

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Joe @joecomotive.bsky.social · 26/08/2025

La politique des trains.

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Reposted by Joe

Ashley @huddyrx.bsky.social · 23/08/2025

Lots of folding today.

A stack of cardstock folded on half. A tan hex map with black trees and cliffs in some of the spaces on an orange background. There are waves surrounding the map and a geometric black border on the edge of the paper. What could this be?

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Joe @joecomotive.bsky.social · 07/08/2025

Pink Digestive biscuits are disgusting.

The board game, Metroplys, with a packet of McVities Digestive Pink in foreground.

The board game, The Speicherstadt, with a half-eaten pink Digestive biscuit amongst the components.

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Joe @joecomotive.bsky.social · 03/08/2025

A solid argument for beige.

The board game Citrus. Board at the beginning of the game: nothing but beige.

Citrus, at the end of the game, covered in brightly coloured orchards.

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Joe @joecomotive.bsky.social · 17/07/2025

The 'new' game from Francis Tresham. I'm hoping it's as ridiculous as it sounds. boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/26...

Side of the box. "This game is not a matter of getting into prison. It's a matter of getting out again and into the next one."

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Joe @joecomotive.bsky.social · 17/07/2025

Instantly Forgettable Civilisations.

Bird's-eye view of the board game Mosaic.

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Joe @joecomotive.bsky.social · 06/07/2025

"I'm sorry, Charlie Brown, but I guess I'll quit, too. It's hard to play on a team that always loses. It's depressing. I'm the kind who needs to win now and then. With you, it's different. I think you get sort of a neurotic pleasure out of losing all of the time." Charlie Brown's All Stars! (1966)

The Peanuts baseball team, angry at Team Captain Charlie "Blockhead" Brown.

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Joe @joecomotive.bsky.social · 06/07/2025

Lots of people complain about the size of the Chicago Express box, but it has enough empty space to store a few extra cube rail games inside.

Chicago Express box cover on the side of a wheeled suitcase.

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Joe @joecomotive.bsky.social · 30/06/2025

Summer's here and what better time to promote the PnP files for Santa Claus Takes the Intercity? It’s a fast, fun, and free card game the whole family can enjoy, using the board from Dutch InterCity—that cube rail game no one ever wants to play with you.

boardgamegeek.com

Available as a PnP expansion to Dutch InterCity | Santa Claus Takes the Intercity

Han Heidema's daughter has generously agreed to the rules and cards necessary to adapt Santa Claus Takes the InterCity to play with a copy of Dutch InterCity being released as print and play files. Yo...

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Reposted by Joe

Ashley @huddyrx.bsky.social · 28/06/2025

Once again I have ordered a bunch of cubes and can no longer remember what they were for.

Cubes and locomotives of various colors and sizes in a pile in the floor.

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Joe @joecomotive.bsky.social · 21/06/2025

The Lego Batman Movie is still the best Batman movie.

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Joe @joecomotive.bsky.social · 21/06/2025

I pulled off 3rd place in Giro Galoppo. Look at my cheery face.

Giro Galoppo box with yellow wooden jockey on horse. The jockey is smiling.

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Reposted by Joe

Ashley @huddyrx.bsky.social · 19/06/2025

Made it to Origins and got in a game of Power Grid. It was close with a 4 way tie powering 14 cities, but Craig got the win with the most money.

The end game of Power Grid on the Quebec map.

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Joe @joecomotive.bsky.social · 18/06/2025

But I'm not shutting down, I'm shutting up. So you won't hear me when I say, "Everything's okay, I'll see you around."

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Reposted by Joe

Ashley @huddyrx.bsky.social · 16/06/2025

We took a scenic train ride in Leadville, Colorado today.

A green, white, and dark red train travels around a sharp curve surrpunded by pine trees while the locomotive blows smoke.

A view of rhe snow covered peak of Mount Massive with a green valley in front which is surrounded by mountains with pine trees.

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Reposted by Joe

Scarred For Life Books @scarredforlife.bsky.social · 14/06/2025

Programmes for Schools and Colleges brought the fear in the Scarred For Life era. BIOLOGY (1975) gave schoolkids the ominous intro from Pink Floyd's 'Time' before confronting them with their own mortality, all in 60 seconds flat.

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Joe @joecomotive.bsky.social · 14/06/2025

All the Cool Kids are wearing an Arado 234 from the hot card game, Panzerzug. Are you?

Holding the Arado 234 card up to the camera.
"Play on Opponent during your turn. Arado 234 spots you! You lose the initiative. Lose your turn!"

It's me, holding the PanzerZug clamshell game in a ridiculous modelshot pose. I'm wearing a t-shirt that uses the text from one of the cards.

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Joe @joecomotive.bsky.social · 11/06/2025

Gulf Mobile & Ohio: Germany increases the value of Presidential Expansion by decreasing the distance between cities and increasing the number of non-charter locations. But when players cannot charter a new railway company without first performing a suboptimal build, who will construct the track?

The board game Gulf Mobile & Ohio, with cubes across a hex board. A few share cards visible.

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Joe @joecomotive.bsky.social · 09/06/2025

I was swept away by The Code (2024); a chaotic, dark romantic comedy which, in every element of its production, reflects the cluster bomb personality of its central protagonist, Celine.

A screenshot from the movie, The Code. A photo sphere with the 2 main characters standing on top of it.

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Joe @joecomotive.bsky.social · 08/06/2025

Pax Planting and Ave Horsey.

A view of cards from the board game, Vicious Gardens, blurred board in the background.
The card shows an image of a man with bees making up his beard.

The board game, Giro Galoppo, a racing game featuring toy racers.

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Joe @joecomotive.bsky.social · 04/06/2025

Another time, Another Place.

The board game,Brass. View of the coast from Blackpool to Liverpool.

A satellite view of the coast between Blackpool and Liverpool.

A photograph of the artwork Another Place, which features iron sculptures of men standing on the beach, north of Liverpool.

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Joe @joecomotive.bsky.social · 30/05/2025

Mobsters on the Transsiberian Railway. Rackets, theft and duels in the corridor coaches. Businessmen becoming ex-businessmen. All that kind of thing.

Transsib board game. The board and player sheets, metal washers for tokens.

Close up of Transsib board game. There are boxes for sold goods and ex-businessmen. Two ex-businessmen are in the ex-businessmen box.

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Joe @joecomotive.bsky.social · 28/05/2025

And it's all over. The 3rd Annual Winsome convention wrapped up at midnight, with one final game of Riding Through England to take me home. Expect a convention report? Maybe at some point. Give me a year to recover. A little more detail found in the link below. boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/356...

Setup for Rebel Rails. Many hands over the map.

A card from Rebel Rails. It reads: ELIMINATE Memphis & Little Rock Railroad, Vicksburg, Shrevesport & Texas Railroad.

Prussian Rails. Cubes and a card on the board.

Australian Railways. A card in focus, it reads: Wagga Wagga & Tumbarumba.

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Reposted by Joe

Ashley @huddyrx.bsky.social · 21/05/2025

I made some edits to my Aiaia map for Age of Steam. I'm hoping to get it played this weekend. It's super ugly, but I have zero art talent and getting it to this point was a challenge.

Age of steam print and play Prototype map of Aiaia.

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Joe @joecomotive.bsky.social · 19/05/2025

Nice charity shop find, Grandma.

Cute brown blob of a soft toy, large eyes.

Turned around, the toy reveals it's cape.wkth the words: "Superbug MRSA."

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Reposted by Joe

Daniel Quinn @danielquinn.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 18/05/2025

Someone built a website and hosted it on an old smartphone. Then they hooked it up to some solar panels and put it up in the attic. You can visit this absolutely #solarpunk project here: compost.party

compost.party

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Joe @joecomotive.bsky.social · 15/05/2025

The new SNCF map is really good! I joined Joshua and Hiro (Neon Comet Games), Craig and Dale (from The Train Rush), and Jon (Heavy Cardboard) to fine tune the 6 player end game trigger. I had some reservations: it adds a whole layer of rules thus making it the most complex of the expansions, but...

SNCF: Keystone Connection map and cubes on Tabletop Simulator.

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Joe @joecomotive.bsky.social · 14/05/2025

All ready for a blind playtest of SNCF: Keystone Connection. boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/44...

An extract seen of the SNCF: Keystone connection board game expansion rules sheet.

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Joe @joecomotive.bsky.social · 13/05/2025

Don't hold back, World (you're holding back) The time has come to World (you're holding back) The time has come to World (you're holding back) The time has come to Urbanise

Age of Steam map: Hungary. Track titles and track ownership discs.

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Reposted by Joe

mg @morng.bsky.social · 12/05/2025

What a joy of an episode, what an odyssey of listening. As usual, you guys prove to be masters of the podcast medium, thanks for the journey.

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Joe @joecomotive.bsky.social · 12/05/2025

Railheads: The Midwest. Some sleepy mistakes made, accidentally giving actions away, while playtesting a cube rails prototype. Stand-out features include an unique action economy and the industrial investments which provide an additional layer of decisions that affect the network-building.

Screenshot from Tabletop Simulator showing a bird's eye view of Railheads: Midwest.

Screenshot from Tabletop Simulator showing a closer look at the board with discs built across the map.

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Joe @joecomotive.bsky.social · 11/05/2025

Here are images of 'Mainline' by Francis Tresham, adapted for and played by post in the For Whom The Die Rolls zine between 2002-2003. We speak briefly about the lost game in our latest podcast. thetrainrush.com/2025/05/06/t...

A page from For Whom the Die Rolls zine, with an image of the Mainline map by Francis Tresham.

Another page from For Whom the Die Rolls zine, with an image of the Mainline map by Francis Tresham.

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Joe @joecomotive.bsky.social · 11/05/2025

New Pope, New Islands. (And a deal with the Bottle Imp, unseen below.)

Card game, '1655: Habemus Papam'
Cardinals on cards on the table, coin cards in hand.

Board game, 'Tongiaki: Journey into the Unknown'

Hex tiles making up an archipelago. Boat tokens on beaches.

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Joe @joecomotive.bsky.social · 09/05/2025

What gives a board game a soul? We answer this question absolutely and definitively in our latest board game podcast about all things 18xx.

Screenshot from a Discord server:

Lovely episode as always.

Haha. "Lovely" is an unexpected adjective, but I'll take it!

I'd agree with lovely. i havent heard most of the backlog, so im not sure if all the eps are like this one, but it was great. the constant shifts in tone, background music, flavor etc was at first a bit jarring/distracting, but man i grew to love it. it felt like much more of a visual experience than an audio one. nothing quite like it out there and of course appreciated the comments on 18india. well done

Screenshot from discord server:

It feels to me like the most serious/profound board game criticism, yet I can never really tell how serious/sincere anything is and if it’s all just some kind of parody or not.

Cover for The Train Rush episode, "The Tracks of my Tears."

Image: Pandora opens a box to unleash the spirits within.

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Reposted by Joe

Lachlan Kingsford @kingsford.bsky.social · 08/05/2025

If you're into #boardgames and/or #18xx games, you should be listening to The Train Rush. It's the most consistently creative board game podcast I've found. The three part "We are hungry men" is fantastic. You need it in your ears.

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