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After I took a look around: at least half a dozen games of Baltic Empires with its glorious @zweigefuhle.bsky.social art were afoot, + Rebels Against Rebellion with @djackthompson.bsky.social was going down a storm. A surprise treat was seeing Merv @flopiano.bsky.social, maybe my surprise of HistCon

One of many games of baltic Empires- large central map is being contested by all player's. Cardner (as Poland?) Is ready to strike

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Sunday kicked off with a personal intrigue highlight- A More Perfect Union. The creation of the constitution is a pet topic for me, & to play out ratification in the framework of a Twlight Struggleesque cdg was a ball @pushingcardboard.bsky.social has a fresh interview on the it at shorturl.at/Fmb99

Week 2, and the anti-Federalists are already undermining progress in every state. The board shows a map of the east coast, with red (anti) and blue (pro) ratification cubes dotted state to state

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An interlude for the England-Norway game at the excellent Barrel Theory was then prelude to perhaps THE event of the Con, the John Company Mega Game run by the @wehrlegig.games crew. I couldn't have wished for a finer family to plunder, scandalise, & be clueless with than my fellow Larkins. (Pt 4)

A glass of seriously Hazy murk, with fine lacing in a barrle theory glass. Held in front of a TV with a blurry Jude Bellignham looming.

The Riverview room, packed out as Cole, Drew, Cardner, and Matt prepare to put us all through our paces. The Larkins family were an independent firm, and so had our own table. All the other families are gathered on the long conference table. At the end of the room is a white board, beyond which lies India.

My first two characters, enthusiastic but naive military officers to be dispatched to Bengal and write useless letters about their own ineptitude. On the table behind we see two fellow family members furiously engaged in letter writing

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After lunch I filled in on a game of Shakespeare's First Folio (@fortcircle.bsky.social), which is light but lovely, as well as gorgeously illustrated (my own photo didn't do justice). Then a speedy impromptu playtest of Hell Raisers- testing a company coal/bidding idea from a test on Friday (pt3)

The map for First Folio, locations (on the left) form spaces for workers placement, and on the right is a market for persons and plays

The cards and people all have fabulous illustrations, this one is from A Midsummer Nights Dream, I think. It shows a humanoid horse in pantaloons, being acosted by green haired fae, and is charming

Hell Raisers on the table, a looooong cars market is accompanied by a small board covered in sticks (at work or striking). Cole, David, and Guy sit at the table, helping me test!

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I then had a blast with @yoyoni.bsky.social's Nights of Ludd. All mills wrecked, all oaths kept, but certainly not all objectives met. Coordinating actions & dodging the authorities is very much the game- but you individual priorities (for Studham, Baines, Byron, & co) risk tearing you apart (pt2)

The 4 of us conspire, sitting to the left and overlooking the table.

My board as Elizabeth Studham, aiming to minimise deportations. Towards the top of the image is the main game board, with red cubes showing idle mill workers and the back chess pieces representing the army and militias on our tail

The main game board is center table, and I seem to be gesturing at an icon (I think 'Militia advance') Thank you again to Yoni for the photo!

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Luke Evison @lukeevison.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

A personal #SDHistConNorth2026 recap- Day 1 Morn: We kicked off in the stately (and mercifully well-cooled) Union Depot, with @ryanschneider.bsky.social manning the greeting desks. I sat in on an immediately spicy Night Witches demo from @beyondsolitaire.bsky.social, who pulled no punches! (pt1...)

Union Depot is a grand collondaded turn of the century railway station, seen here dwarfing its gardens on a blue sky day.

This is the hall which the Red Cap room overlooked. Lovely lighting, grand curves, and marble all round.

Night Witches on the table, a plane can be seen with two failures out, 1 bomb gone, and on the map book next to it many aa guns sit around the plane.

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PunchedCon was excellent as ever, so many awesome games on Duncan's list. Photos attached of my first game of each day (plus honorary sneaky train game of Pacts on the way in)

Habemus Papem, 5 players is good. A hilariously tumultuous game for the Thursday eve

A morning start of Onwards Christian Soldiers, the true OCS.

MEGA- COMMAND AND COLOURS: NAPOLEONICS. Was an excellent Borodino with all the bells and whistles. Huge hexes make 4m long map, with fresh forces arranged nearby.

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Luke Evison @lukeevison.bsky.social · 25/04/2026

Back-to-back 5p games of Container, last night. The game's as good as they say- and it's a lovely edition from @allplay.bsky.social

2 tankers arrive at container island (the main board), which is dotted with brightly coloured containers.

A wide shot of a table, players boards in each corner, bright colourful plastic ships abound, some stacked with little containers in their slots.

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Luke Evison @lukeevison.bsky.social · 14/02/2026

A lovely start to a Saturday afternoon- huge congratulations on the debut fulfillment to @sapperstudio.bsky.social !

A copy of the new board game "Battlegroup Clash: Baltics", with scenario book and some glossy maps out on a table.

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Luke Evison @lukeevison.bsky.social · 16/10/2025

It's a pretty great feeling when a game you are this excited for turns up looking oh so sharp. Congrats to @yoyoni.bsky.social, @joedewhurst.bsky.social , @thedietzfoundation.bsky.social etc al! Im going to have to call an emergency pre-Essen call of the grogs.

The board game Chicago 68, a collage of faces and characters form a striking pillar of colour against a jet black background. Part record sleeve, part sci-fi film

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Luke Evison @lukeevison.bsky.social · 24/07/2025

Tornado Splash is a hoot, A+ table presence, as long as your table is big enough!

A fox meeple can be slid into a little speedboat meeple. 'Sena' boards hops on the flying fish.

The first corner, a collection of jetski meeples, hare around , leaving wake cards behind them

One meeple has gone wide, skirting the table edge. The others bomb down a straight

Thr final bend, those who've gone wide are setup for the finish. Others careen off the table

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Luke Evison @lukeevison.bsky.social · 12/07/2025

If "Zachtonics Solitaire x The Roottrees Are Dead" isn't gobbldeygook to you, then you already know I'm telling you Occlude is great. For everyone else: if you want calm deduction with spooky vibes wrapped in a classic card game shawl- then OCCLUDE from @tributarygames.bsky.social is great.

A Game of Occlude, cards are in columns gathered by suit descending. Some coins indicate the game state in the top right. The Punchcard level is shown.

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Luke Evison @lukeevison.bsky.social · 16/03/2025

I dunno, look at the action- wooosh, that's card play!

A Molly house card, blurred as it snaps to the table

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Luke Evison @lukeevison.bsky.social · 16/03/2025

A Molly House (from @wehrlegig.games) double header (with Condotierre as a filler). First game 5p, Community Infiltration, but a loss even for the hated informant (me). Second game, community survival and joy at 3p, thanks to a gin-soaked violin-fuelled final festivity at the last!

Molly House, cards and boards. A hand laden with trouble

A festivity, kicking off in fine fashion

Embarrassingly, this was a 6 player game 3 rounds in. Blast those bishops.

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The game ends and the Republic survives! SPD win with 66 points, Zentrum in second with 60. But both the KPD and DNVP set up councils/regimes either the KDP a single roll from take over. A very narrow line was walked, and a good time had by all!

End of turn 6, the Republic makes it. But the Zentrum have only 1 seat left.

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Turn 6 dawns, Black Friday hit hard- the DNVP saw its support base collapse thanks to inviting in the brownshirts, unrest and poverty returned and the KDP capitalise with 3 councils. Now the people turn to the old, fragile coalition of SPD and Zentrum, promising economic improvements and stability.

Turn 3 ended with a rush for parliament, and resulted in a DNVP-Zentrum coalition. Turn 4 saw the KDP mass for coups and demonstrating, but made poor progress. And so turn 5 dawns with the DNVP opting to collaborate with the brownshirts, Germany is stable. For now!

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End of turn 2 and the Zentrums attemps at economic stability have been met with contempt. The KPD is in government and the DNVP have a regime in Berlin...

End of turn 2 of Weimar. Not pretty for the Zentrum.

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Saturday of Vanguard is kicking off with Weimar. I feel I may have drawn the short straw as Zentrum, but we have narrowly surived turn 1. Twice being at 6 DR and rolling for a potential 7. But München is lovely this time of year?

The board of Weimar at the end of the first turn

Zoom in on Munich, where there are police, prosperity, and no radicals. An oasis of calm... for now.

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And some more from Friday eve!

Judean Hammer, the crusader player apparently likes their chances

Luke Evison @lukeevison.bsky.social · 06/02/2025

The warm-up evening of board games at Vanguard, was excellent: BIG Plantagenet, 1960, Burning Banners, No Peace Without Spain, Arrancourt and more!

1960 The Making of a President, 3 turns in and the Democrats are playing to keep the south.

Burning Banners, the forces of evil mount (and win)

No Peace Without Spain, but not a lot happening in Spain (yet)

Plantagenet on an extra large custom playmat

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Age of Steam is great, but the tweaks for Denmark are 👨‍🍳🤌

The Age of Steam fan map for Denmark. The game is in its final turn of a 3p game, on a blue table with plexiglass

A shot from earlier in the game, probably turn 3, looking north.

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Luke Evison @lukeevison.bsky.social · 11/01/2025

I had to look it up. That's a game with an impressive number of themes! I think the box art for Kanagroo is charming, and though the stacking turtles are lovely too- but I agree the buffet theme seems like the strongest, it is the funniest and most relatable? I hope the gameplay suits it!

The game as Generalowsky, it shows horse mounted hussars circling Moscow on a green board.

The game and Kangaroo, its first form. Kangroos move in a circle with nicely illustrated kangroo cards

A latest version from Playte, in Korean. The box is a digital render of a car speeding away from a rampaging T Rex

Luke Evison @lukeevison.bsky.social · 10/01/2025

The fastest I've ever had a project arrive from crowdfunding AND in time for a clear weekend to read? TYVM @nutspublishing.bsky.social and editors!

A book "EuroWarGames" on the history, state, and future of wargaming in Euope. The book is a dark blue with orange hexes making an outline of Western Europe. The book is held in hand, in front of some shelves.

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Luke Evison @lukeevison.bsky.social · 31/12/2024

The park is home to a select few relocated statues created during the Hungarian post-WW2 era. Memory & history are always contested: these statues + the choices about which stay, which come down, & which to relocate- are some of the most strikingly literal presentations of that contest I can imagine

A very large statue of a man dashing forwards, banner in hand (or is it a scarf you've just left in the coffee shop?). The ground is pebbled, the bushes covered in frost, and the sky grey

Pebbled ground leads to two brick built buildings. Between them is a gate and over the gate, looming in the fog appear the just the boots of a former statue of Stalin on a plinth (reconstructed).

Luke Evison @lukeevison.bsky.social · 31/12/2024

NYE is always a major time for remembering, so Finn humoured me with a trip to 'Memento park' on the foggy and freezing outskirts of Budapest. Who says we don't know how to have fun?

A statue of Lenin, right hand extended, seen from below he speaks to a crowd. In his "new coat"

A wide shot of the parks final area, it is foggy and the monumental statues sit starkly against the grey skies and frosty ground.

2 statues against the grey sky, arms aloft.

A soviet realist sculpture, of a stoic worker stands in front of a large shattered wall. The wall has been shattered by someone passing through with great force, and their silhouette is that of a soldier.

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Luke Evison @lukeevison.bsky.social · 10/12/2024

Trains in the tree, trains on the board. The Livingroom is now Christmas Ready®️

An extra large green train carriage piece from Ticket to Ride is strung up in a Christmas tree, with fairy lights, candy cane, and a red knited string.

Ticket to ride Euope is in an end game state on a glass table. Trains like the one in the tree zig zag across the board

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Luke Evison @lukeevison.bsky.social · 05/12/2024

I did not win this game of Brass.

Espie the cat, in full business repose, stares across the fledgling landscape of a game of Brass Lancashire- her victory inevitable.

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Luke Evison @lukeevison.bsky.social · 14/11/2024

Since @thatphoenicia.bsky.social is now here, I have permission to share her Halloween costume this year. The scariest thing of all: 2004 Spiel des Jahres winner 'Ticket to Ride'

Trains, TTR style, 3d printed by a friend. To do double duty as xmas decorations.

Work in progress, crayon being used to fill route colours

Some trains attached by gluegun, and the 2004 winners symbol

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Luke Evison @lukeevison.bsky.social · 31/07/2024

My flight in was spent chatting to an off duty air stewardess flying home to Indy. Hadn't heard of Catan, exclusively referred to Gen Con as "Gen Tech- a funny dress up thing", but owns and plays 3 games: Crockinole, Pan Am (with whom she had started her career 70s), and Pit Crew!

A photo through an airplane window, on final descent into IND airport, the Indianapolis Motorspeed Way is seen, with sun low and red on the horizon.

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Luke Evison @lukeevison.bsky.social · 16/06/2024

Our guest from Chicago delivered. To be consumed in considered order...

The board games: Comet, Striking Flint, and 10 dollar words are on a table. With a bottle of infamous Jeppson's Mallort.

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Luke Evison @lukeevison.bsky.social · 10/05/2024

Now a break, to enjoy some sunshine and take in the rules to Pericles!

A pint of Guinness, the rules to Pericles, and a player aid sit on a picnic bench. In the background is are the sunlit grounds and a mock timber frame hotel

Luke Evison @lukeevison.bsky.social · 10/05/2024

Todays main course has been Weimar, which I loved. The production values are astounding, but the richness of the history, and the careful balance of structure (from seeded decks and set events) vs unpredictably (demonstrations, coups, political whims)- all very much has me wanting to play again

Left wing parliament assemble, twice the communists and SPD were in power!

Mass mobilisation pre war from thr communist party makes for a turbulent first few year

These speech bubble shaped pieces are a charming.

Late on, Communist uprisings abound, but also some worrying "monarchist" regiemes and control of Berlin

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Luke Evison @lukeevison.bsky.social · 10/05/2024

PunchedCON 3, kicked off last night for me with a game of Junta. As minister for internal security Im pleased to report significant wealth was secured internally.

The board for Junta fills the middle of a large circular white table. 7 players are gathered round.

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Luke Evison @lukeevison.bsky.social · 09/04/2024

The only true counter clipper a grog needs.

A 1955 "Round cornering" machine for rounding many sheets of paper at a time. At the National Print Museum, Dublin

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Luke Evison @lukeevison.bsky.social · 17/03/2024

Airecon Highlights. Unreasonably excellent; introducing many lovely peeps to all sorts of historical games, chilling with the Osprey crew, a preview of the excellent Molly House (I was a horrible tratior), and finally the ultimate: bluffing games in the pub. 11/10

Osprey Games playing ART project, at a demo table

Psychedelic bluffing cards, from Brett Gilbert and Matthew Dunstan

Many lovely people gathered playing games at the INTRODUCTION to Historical Games stand

Molly House prototype on the table, I was a horrible traitor...

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Luke Evison @lukeevison.bsky.social · 13/02/2024

From this day forth, all games should be on cloth. Especially if it doesn't need ironing. Dark magic, thank you @mildamatildagames.bsky.social , Pax Penning flies by every time!

A close up of Pax Penning, a pawn is about to visit Sigtuna

Sigtuna on a pub table! Coins and dice sit on the table, in the center is a white cloth "board" that can be transformed into a pouch.

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Luke Evison @lukeevison.bsky.social · 10/02/2024

Balatro is great, I wasn't certain it would be at 10:00, but now it's allegedly 14:00- AND I WAS SO CLOSE. Would highly recommend to anyone who likes card games and/or roguelikes, it is free to demo on Steam this weekend.

Just $1400 from victory (I think) on a spade and flush-filled run. Seed: QCX5X23U if anyone wants it

Luke Evison @lukeevison.bsky.social · 21/01/2024

Some morning Sankorè in the Barbican: it's a beautiful game - and I'm allowed to say that because I had nothing to do with its creation. In particular, I love the historical ties of each action, some surprise people but the care @mandelafg.bsky.social & Fabio put into it is so evident.

Sankorè board, early game, from the top right corner

Sankorè board, looking out across the desert from Zeila

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Luke Evison @lukeevison.bsky.social · 13/01/2024

Will you offer the Resistance Elephant -> Chaos Cat upgrade kit on the next JC2e run? @colewehrle.bsky.social

Bunbun the cat sits atop India, surveying his kingdom

Luke Evison @lukeevison.bsky.social · 24/12/2023

Enjoying Christmas eve with the satisfaction of fixing something (even if it took 5 attempts and 3 months to get the headband printed correctly and it looks a bit odd-IT WORKS!) Having these headphones working again is like an early present!

Taking apart the top band from the cable support

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Luke Evison @lukeevison.bsky.social · 23/11/2023

I'm rather under the weather, so had to cancel some group board gaming plans this eve. However, massively day-improving post just arrived in the UK! Cheers @danbullock.bsky.social

A copy of Dan Bullock's 'The Gods Will Have Blood' is opened!