iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Matt Leacock @mattleacock.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

I'm heading to PAXU for the first time and will be their Keynote / Storytime Speaker! I hear many good things about the show. Looking forward to seeing folks there and spending some time in Philly.

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Matt Leacock @mattleacock.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

I sat down with Le Point de Polgara earlier this year to discuss five games that made a large impression on me. When I started, I didn't expect 10-Four Good Buddy to make the list. @polgara.bsky.social

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Tabletop Game Designers Association @ttgda.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

Today TTGDA released what we believe is our most important effort so far - our Licensing Contract Rubric. This is an objective scoring metric that can be used to partially evaluate the quality of a contract. We applied it to a huge swath of the industry, and this chart shows how they scored. 🧵 🎲✂️

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Our Family Plays Games @ourfamplaysgames.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

Our Tabletop Spotlight series continues with more incredible guests! Check out the NEW lineup including the one and only "evil bowtie man," Dr. Reiner Knizia, along with many other notable creatives from across the tabletop gaming industry! Sunday 11:00 AM CST www.youtube.com/@OurFamilyPl...

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Matt Leacock @mattleacock.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

Newsletter is out! This month: breaking news about Flickering Stars, upcoming appearances, life imitating art, and more.

mattleacock.substack.com

Flickering Stars Update

Coming at you in 2027!

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Matt Leacock @mattleacock.bsky.social · 27/06/2026

Excellent visualizations by ProPublica making the case that CCS is a dead-end solution. You may want to remove that card from your Daybreak set. daybreakgame.org/card/1121

daybreakgame.org

Carbon Capture & Storage

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Dan Thurot @danthurot.bsky.social · 10/06/2026

Gosh, I love this poem. I keep returning to one of my favorite Chesterton quotes. "If something is worth doing, it's worth doing badly." Please Use AI, via open.substack.com/pub/shawnsmu...

open.substack.com

Please Use AI

Be sure to use AI when making

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Matt Leacock @mattleacock.bsky.social · 09/06/2026

The Eighth Annual Uganda Village Boardgame Convention Crowdfunder is Now Live! The event is incredible, their needs are modest, and the money goes far! And Donna and I will match the next £1,000 that are donated to their crowdfunder.

crowdfunder.co.uk

Uganda Village Boardgame Convention 2026

This project brings a range of boardgames to rural children in Uganda for four days, helping develop planning, creative skills and much more

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Katharine Hayhoe @katharinehayhoe.com · 30/05/2026

I’m a climate scientist. Let me fix this headline. “Nearly a century ago, scientists showed that burning fossil fuels warms the planet. Today, we know human emissions account for over 100% of the warming. Yet dark money and disinformation still work to keep Americans addicted to fossil fuels.”

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Matt Leacock @mattleacock.bsky.social · 12/05/2026

The Lord of the Rings: Fate of the Fellowship won Cooperative Game of the Year, Thematic Game of the Year, and Medium Game of the Year at the Golden Geek Awards! Congrats to the whole team at @zmangamesofficial.bsky.social.

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Johnny Chin @gamemarketwest.bsky.social · 18/03/2026

Excited to welcome our special guests for Game Market West Spring 2026, a tabletop game market where independent designers showcase/sell their newest games: @mattleacock.bsky.social @dodecadonuts.bsky.social @themisplay.com SumLilThings #boardgamesky #ttrpg #cute

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Shut Up & Sit Down @shutupshow.bsky.social · 09/03/2026

Animal Rescue Team (the first game in our SU&SD Presents line) has been nominated for an Origins Award in the Coop/Solo category! Thank you to the panel!

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Matt Leacock @mattleacock.bsky.social · 04/03/2026

My March update is up: Forbidden Legacy announced, Fate of the Fellowship availability info, The Four Doors design diary, Flickering Stars update, and more!

mattleacock.substack.com

Leacock’s Lab: Forbidden Legacy Announced!

Plus: Fate of the Fellowship Availability Update, The Four Doors Design Diary, and more

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Matt Leacock @mattleacock.bsky.social · 25/02/2026

Matt Riddle and I have posted our Design Diary documenting the strange and circuitous history of The Four Doors. Development was a gauntlet: five different themes, four different publishers, four contributing designers. Includes: Goonies! Disease! Flooding! Vermin! and Meddling Locals!

leacock.com

The Four Doors – Design Diary — Matt Leacock Games

Matt Leacock: The design of The Four Doors followed a long, meandering route. It was the result of four different designers working alongside four different publishers to produce no fewer than five...

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Matt Leacock @mattleacock.bsky.social · 16/02/2026

Grab your jetpack, Forbidden Legacy will premiere at Gen Con this year! Designed with Rob Daviau. This one unfolds over seven chapters. www.wericmartin.com/forbidden-le...

wericmartin.com

Forbidden Legacy to Debut at Gen Con 2026

Matt Leacock and Rob Daviau join forces once again

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Happy Camper @happycampergames.bsky.social · 08/12/2025

Rhado calls The Four Doors "A miracle of design." @mattleacock.bsky.social

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Amabel Holland @amabel.bsky.social · 29/09/2025

when I worked on This Guilty Land, and immersed myself in antebellum primary documents, the thing that really struck me is how incrementalism today is just the same shit it was then, responding to the same kind of bad faith arguments by evil fuckers, & treating real change as impossible & infantile.

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Matt Leacock @mattleacock.bsky.social · 22/09/2025

We were happy to join the first Sun Day day of action at San Jose City Hall today. Hope and expect this day to become bigger and bigger each year.

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Matt Leacock @mattleacock.bsky.social · 04/09/2025

My September update is up! New and upcoming release info, appearances, trivia results, our trip to Middle Earth, and more. This is also a great time to subscribe if you haven't yet.

mattleacock.substack.com

Leacock’s Lab: September 2025 Update

Upcoming releases and appearances, trivia results, our trip to Middle Earth, and more

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Elizabeth Hargrave @elizhargrave.bsky.social · 26/08/2025

I try to keep my feed mostly positive, but this is worth a read. My plea to you is to get involved locally, not just in yelling into the void but in building community. Human connection is (hopefully) one way through. We are so much better than all of this.

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Dominic Crapuchettes @dcrapuchettes.bsky.social · 11/08/2025

My daughter and I played The Four Doors designed by @mattleacock.bsky.social and published by @happycampergames.bsky.social. The first was phenomenally good. I can’t wait to play more.

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Matt Leacock @mattleacock.bsky.social · 17/06/2025

Excited and honored to hear that Daybreak is up for the Diana Jones Award along with @charliehall.bsky.social, @rascal.news, and Rose Estes!

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Matt Leacock @mattleacock.bsky.social · 04/06/2025

Happy Camper has just announced The Four Doors – a new cooperative card game by me, Matt Riddle, and Ben Pinchback coming this August. The Shadow Veil threatens to cover the land in darkness. Can you collect the relics and light the beacon in time? Lots of cooperative goodness in a tight package.

boardgamegeek.com

Break on Through The Four Doors, and Welcome to the Jungo | BoardGameGeek News

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Manuel Correia @gamesbymanuel.bsky.social · 29/04/2025

Yesterday there was a massive outage in Portugal. No power, water, internet or phone signal from 11h30 to 00h30. We were prepared. What better time to crack open our copy of Daybreak, a co-op game about dealing with climate change? We finished it by candlelight, and won! @mattleacock.bsky.social

Me and my partner playing Daybreak in the dark, by candlelight.

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Matt Leacock @mattleacock.bsky.social · 26/04/2025

Lisa and I did our first interview about Animal Rescue Team!

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Matt Leacock @mattleacock.bsky.social · 20/04/2025

Boardgamers, do yourself a favor and check out Illuminating Games. Chris Farrell provides in-depth analysis of a surprisingly wide variety of games every week. This week: Molly House, Slay the Spire meets AI, and more.

chrisfarrell317.substack.com

Molly House, Up Front, general Sturm und Drang, Slay the Spire

Week of April 14th, 2025

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Matt Leacock @mattleacock.bsky.social · 19/04/2025

Had a fun conversation with Keepers of Fun about the 5 games I'd select to restart my collection. The premise: "Inspired by Turkey's strict import restrictions, this series explores what games truly matter to collectors." On the day of the interview, Turkey announced even more severe restrictions.

youtube.com

Five Board Games to Restart Your Collection: Matt Leacock

YouTube video by Keepers of Fun

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Elizabeth Hargrave @elizhargrave.bsky.social · 13/04/2025

The @newyorker.com piece linked below is worth a read. The factoid that sticks with me: when at least 3.5% of the population participates in nonviolent opposition, movements are successful. (And you get there not just through yelling but also shared joy)

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Matt Leacock @mattleacock.bsky.social · 02/04/2025

Just posted my April update! Information on new releases including The Lord of the Rings: Fate of the Fellowship and Animal Rescue Team, upcoming appearances, and more.

mattleacock.substack.com

Leacock’s Lab: April Update

Upcoming releases, appearances, and more for 2025

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Matt Leacock @mattleacock.bsky.social · 11/03/2025

Amabel continues to make thought-provoking and persuasive arguments about the ability of boardgames to express and advocate for ideas. I imagine a future where we wonder how we were so dismissive (frivolous, toys, etc.) but then one remembers comic books, film, and even the novel. Recommended!

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Hank Green @hankgreen.bsky.social · 02/03/2025

We are experiencing an assault on science unparalleled by anything I’ve seen in my life. It’s not one issue or another anymore, the entire institution is under attack by the most powerful individuals in the country. This Friday, where will you be? standupforscience2025.org

standupforscience2025.org

STAND UP FOR SCIENCE

March 7, 2025. Washington DC and nationwide. Because science is for everyone.

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Mehdi Hasan @mehdirhasan.bsky.social · 28/02/2025

Per Dr Atul Gawande, ex USAID: “All malaria supplies protecting 53 million people, mostly children, including bed nets, diagnostics, preventive drugs, and treatments – terminated.” There are no words that sufficiently describe this level of cruelty and sadism.

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Matt Leacock @mattleacock.bsky.social · 17/02/2025

Joined over 500 folks in Palo Alto (including Joan Baez!) and over a hundred in Sunnyvale to protest Musk and Trump's illegal dismantling of our government. Keep calling, keep protesting, keep the pressure on.

Protesters outside a Tesla plant holding signs that read, "This Car Runs on Fascism" and "Musk: Stealing our $$$, Lining HIS Pockets."

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Dan Thurot @danthurot.bsky.social · 12/02/2025

Molly House is a strange and meaningful beast, at once a celebration of queer love, a critique of imperial power, and a call to solidarity. More than that, it is a game that can't help but be personally meaningful to the lonesome and tired. My review: spacebiff.com/2025/02/12/m...

spacebiff.com

Love and Heartbreak in Georgian London

As a second-grader, I despised recess. Not because I enjoyed class — it was boring and tedious, hemmed in by schedules and busywork — but rather because I was lonely. Some people don’t unders…

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Matt Leacock @mattleacock.bsky.social · 06/02/2025

Just finished Cardboard Ghosts by @amabel.bsky.social If you're into understanding systems or helping other people understand systems—especially systems of oppression, you should definitely check this one out. Highly recommended. She throws the gauntlet on page 102. Let's pick it up!

The cover of the book, Cardboard Ghosts by Amabel Holland showing a roll-and-move game board featuring a pawn, cogs, a tank, the iconography found outside many bathrooms, and US dollar signs.

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Matt Leacock @mattleacock.bsky.social · 05/02/2025

Honored to learn that Daybreak has been awarded the Lizzie Magie Prize for 2024! The award aims to highlight what board games bring to society as a cultural object. Also should note that Lizzie Magie was a cooperative game designer herself, filing her patent in 1903.

rennesenjeux.fr

Prix Lizzie Magie - Rennes en Jeux

Le Prix Lizzie Magie Présentation Le Prix Lizzie Magie récompense l’engagement social, politique ou environnemental mis en œuvre lors de la création, la fabrication ou la diffusion de jeux de société....

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Matt Leacock @mattleacock.bsky.social · 04/02/2025

After watching @nopunincluded.bsky.social 's great preso covering dodgy skin conductivity tests, I suggest checking out this preso I did on tracking emotional reactions using remote playtesting with video. I don't get faces in frame as much as I'd like, but even good audio is super helpful.

youtube.com

Tabletop Network 2019 - Matt Leacock - Designing from the Inside Out

YouTube video by Tabletop Network

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Cole Wehrle @colewehrle.bsky.social · 03/02/2025

This is such a great video. And, sadly, the conversation about rules and arousal is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to publishing (and design) best practices which are couched in half-cocked studies and which often try to cover for far bigger issues. Short 🧵

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