iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

By the way, I'm also adding the audio tracks to Wordpress, so folks who love to confuse themselves with multiple inputs can listen while still having access to all the links and footnotes. lookingglance.com

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If you at all appreciate these personal and philosophical reflections on boardgames, it would mean a lot to me if you would comment, share, and subscribe. I pivoted from academic writing because I wanted to directly engage with the gaming community, so you all are the ones who keep me going.

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YouTube video by The Looking Glance

And we're kicking off with a double-header! Some post-pandemic thoughts on playing the Medic in Pandemic.

youtube.com

I, Medic

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Through the Looking Glass?

As much as I love writing on #boardgames, I don't want my love of the written word to prevent me from exploring other media. So, I've started re-releasing my essays as new and (debatably) improved *video* essays.🎬 See where it all started . . . now with moving pictures!

youtube.com

YouTube video by The Looking Glance

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As a writer, I love how Rodney explains why we can't outsource our core purpose. As a gamer, I love how this taps into a playful spirit that has never been all about efficiency. IMO that's why no capitalist content mill will ever be able to speak to play the way a human can.

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One of my favorites! If I hadn't gotten distracted by the whole play thing, this would have been a central part of my research.

J. Rey Lee @jreylee.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

I'm still not sure what an "agony aunt" is, but the vibes are all warmth and playfulness for me. I appreciate that they get into the sticky questions around play instead of just profiling games. So, I'd give this a try even if you're burned out on other bg podcasts.

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J. Rey Lee @jreylee.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Hey all! For the last 18 months, I’ve somehow managed to put out new material every month. With the new school year starting, I won’t be able to keep up that pace in the coming year. But stay tuned because in a week I’m launching the next new experiment for The Looking Glance!

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J. Rey Lee @jreylee.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

There's also the simple fact that BGG is a terrible platform for writing or reading longform text.

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J. Rey Lee @jreylee.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

I've actually just been recording using my built-in laptop camera and using the screen like a teleprompter. It's dead simple to do and IMO the video quality is good enough.

Also, you really only need to unite a subset of the pieces. I solved one of my biggest blocks in my first book simply by taking an idea that I was tying myself in knots trying to fit in and simply publishing it as a separate article.

I don't know if I'd go so far as to say "nothing" uniting the pieces, but I agree that it could be something like a loose question that links the various pieces.

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Sometimes the "later" comes later than you might think. I wouldn't assume the moment has passed already.

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Agreed. I don't think people who use this term mean to imply "moral transgression" or "moral failure." This use doesn't sound negative to me, just like calling a workout "grueling" doesn't sound bitter to me. (fun fact: "grueling" apparently derives from slang using porridge to mean "punishment")

I did have to cut one of the spacers from the inside insert, which I used to make the dividers in the expansion box. Not a big deal, but it seems easy enough for publishers to plan for this possibility without needing modifications.

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J. Rey Lee @jreylee.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

It makes me irrationally happy when an expansion box fits inside a #boardgame box. It's like a free, thematic organizer!

The inside of the Creature Caravan box packed with the Wanderers expansion box inside.

The inside of the Wanderers expansion box with dividers for organizing all the different resource tokens.

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Didn't mean to make it sound like a big deal. Just agreeing with Dan that the system is flawed even if it doesn't really matter.

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J. Rey Lee @jreylee.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Personally I don't care about the gold, but I wish I was allowed to share writing that falls outside the very narrow confines of a "review."

J. Rey Lee @jreylee.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

There's a thread somewhere where folks donate to newbies who are starting their profile. We shouldn't have to rely on individual acts of generosity within a broken system, but it's nice to know we can.

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J. Rey Lee @jreylee.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

You likely already know @amabel.bsky.social for her innovative game designs and sharp video essays, but do you know about her book? Either way, you're in luck because Amabel came by to drop wisdom on Cardboard Ghosts, how #boardgames model and critique systems, and more!

lookingglance.com

Amabel Holland on Cardboard Ghosts

Amabel Holland is a prolific and innovative game designer who has published games like This Guilty Land and City of Six Moons under her publishing imprint Hollandspiele. And, in the last few years…

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J. Rey Lee @jreylee.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

I spent way too long trying to figure out this strip before I saw the heading 🤦

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J. Rey Lee @jreylee.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

IMO one of the most pressing social issues for contemporary boardgames is how eurogames imagine capitalism. And Worker Placement games are an especially fascinating way to reflect on the labor question.

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J. Rey Lee @jreylee.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

This Labor Day, remember that meeples are people too! ✊ ...okay, not really. But neither are corporations.

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J. Rey Lee @jreylee.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

fwiw, I find this still true even though I haven't the foggiest idea what I'm doing.

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J. Rey Lee @jreylee.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Also worth noting that this is an inherently gamelike way of thinking. When we create competitive environments defined by winners and losers, it's very natural to see 1 VP for me and -1 for you as the same thing.

J. Rey Lee @jreylee.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Sadly true, although it also seems like these folks sometimes measure their personal good in relative terms, so the ideas of others suffering and their lives improving become all muddled together.

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J. Rey Lee @jreylee.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

I write more on boardgames and less academically than I used to, but I'm happy to contribute to the nerdery if you're casting a wide net.

J. Rey Lee @jreylee.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Yup. I'd say most eurogames not only model capitalism, but actively try to make capitalism feel fair.

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Reposted by J. Rey Lee

Dead Man's Online @spadetheskeleton.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

Heads up windows 11 users, microsoft now has this setting enabled by default. Be sure to disable it :]

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J. Rey Lee @jreylee.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

"Ever since I’d heard that there was a viable starvation strategy in Stone Age, I’ve had a morbid curiosity about it." So, here are my personal and philosophical reflections on feeding my people in #boardgames 🍽️ How do you feel about these games? What games offer interesting twists on the genre?

lookingglance.com

Feed Your People (ft. Stone Age, Agricola, Sleeping Gods)

Ever since I’d heard that there was a viable starvation strategy in Stone Age, I’ve had a morbid curiosity about it. So, when I was learning the expansion at a meetup and the first few turns playe…

Liverpool Distribution Services at Liverpool University Press @lupdistribution.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

Reposted by J. Rey Lee

⭐️ "Their System, Our Game" explores how #Pathfinder's open design ethos fuels TTRPG homebrew. Discover interviews, two free campaign downloads, and a celebration of player creativity at the table. 🎲📖 Out now!: bit.ly/4g13dg2 @uofmpress.bsky.social @scottdejong.bsky.social @marclaj.bsky.social

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I often write on single plays of games--not as single data points from which to extrapolate an *objective* review, but as memorable incidents to reflect on. Sometimes "that one time when X happened" is more interesting to write on than "how this game usually plays."

Pandemic is incredibly easy to access, but that's entirely besides the point. My students hadn't played it and likely never will. But I like to think my writing gave students access to the conversation in a way that didn't depend on access to the game. That's the access that really matters.

For instance, my students have great discussions of my "I, Medic" piece even though most of them have never even heard of the game. Even the guy who mistakenly thought I was talking about a videogame had interesting things to say.

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We very much agree about wanting to engage in dialogue rather than monologue. I just think that we can have interesting discussions about things that not everyone has equal access to.

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We read memoirs, histories, travelogues, fantasies, and fictions of places we'll never experience. And we read philosophical accounts of ideas that connect experiences. Most of my writing raises broader questions that can be discussed without needing to play a single game.

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Sure, it's annoying to read something that boils down to "I recommend you go out and buy this game you can't buy."

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There are lots of ways to write things in a way that starts conversations without requiring people to buy the game.

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J. Rey Lee @jreylee.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

It's worth writing what you think it worth writing. Instead of asking you whether your writing is worth writing, readers should ask themselves whether they find it worth reading about a game that isn't available to buy. If they don't, that's a them problem not a you problem.

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Just had my first play of Creature Comforts by @robertataylor.bsky.social and I managed to nab all three boardgames! Very satisfying but I fear I have nothing left to strive for now 🙃

A tableau of cards from Creature Comforts showing a stack of 3 Board Game cards between the Hearth and Quilt.

J. Rey Lee @jreylee.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

Thanks to @neveahfs.bsky.social for a lovely review of Unsettling Catan in the American Journal of Play! (click link and scroll down to read)

museumofplay.org

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J. Rey Lee @jreylee.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

All this is spot on! I'm happy that boardgames are starting to make their way into academic teaching and scholarship, but I can't imagine we'll ever sniff the infrastructure that film has (or even videogames tbh).

J. Rey Lee @jreylee.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

The main issue is the media ecosystem for boardgames is nothing like the media ecosystem for film. Whatever this might look like for boardgames, it won't look like what you're asking for.