iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by jo kelly 🔜 spiel essen

Pax Playground is about childhood, but not in some simplistic sense. Between its challenging cardplay and open-ended victory conditions, it captures the ups, the downs, and the apprehensions of having your whole life ahead of you. My review: spacebiff.com/2026/10/07/p...

spacebiff.com

Tantrums in the Sandbox

Of the handful of things I appreciate about Pax Playground, the most significant is the way it reminds me of recess. Its very existence is playful — this is, after all, a Pax game that lasts twenty…

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United Wizards of the Coast - CWA @uwotc-official.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Day 1 of our campaign has been a critical hit! Thank you so much for your support, we'll share more news as it develops! Sign our petition to encourage Wizards to voluntarily recognize our union! 🎲🐉🏰 actionnetwork.org/forms/uwotcp...

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Sam Francis (Samphire Games) @tzartzam.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Over the last few days I've had a series of playtests for Dwarf Union with a variety of designers. Last night's was a 2-player with my friend @miasmacorp.bsky.social and they were pleased to see the Owner/Coinkeeper has been aggressively slimmed down to a rondel of just four actions.

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Cole Wehrle @colewehrle.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Here it is, at long last: the second edition of An Infamous Traffic. www.kickstarter.com/projects/col...

kickstarter.com

An Infamous Traffic: Second Edition

A new edition of the acclaimed game of cutthroat capitalism in the nineteenth century opium trade.

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Cole Wehrle @colewehrle.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

In today's diary, I get into one of my favorite subjects: agency in historical games. Did the Opium Wars have to happen? Were the player's historical counterparts in a position to prevent them? It's a big subject, and a place where the 2e differs sharply from 1e. boardgamegeek.com/thread/37746...

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Cole Wehrle @colewehrle.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Starting this week, we're releasing weekly designer diaries for the new edition of An Infamous Traffic. These will usually go live on Mondays and will continue until launch. In today's entry, I write about the production difficulties that come with its subject. boardgamegeek.com/thread/37654...

boardgamegeek.com

Designer Diary 2 - An Infamous Production | An Infamous Traffic: Second Edition

This week we’re launching the first of several designer diaries for An Infamous Traffic. Often, when I write these diaries, I move between describing the aspirations of the present design and describi...

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BoardGameWire 🔜 Spiel Essen @boardgamewire.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

From 1968 Chicago protests to queer life in Georgian London: Summit Award continues to celebrate designs that broaden historical gaming: boardgamewire.com/index.php/20... @sdhistcon.bsky.social @colewehrle.bsky.social @fgradaille.bsky.social @miasmacorp.bsky.social @yoyoni.bsky.social

Red and blue cubes on a game board representing the city of Chicago, in green and beige and blue/grey. Board and components from the board game Chicago '68, designed by Yoni Goldstein.

Game board, yellow and white components and four cards from the board game Onoda. The game board is a map of a green island with blue water surrounding it. The yello components are triangles with a black exclamation mark, and the white components a Japanese soldier from WW2 and what looks to be a sword in a rock. Components from the Onoda board game, designed by Francisco Gradaille.

The words Molly HOuse in elaborate pink script, on a darker pink background which on inspection is a line drawn scene of polite society below, and a masked ball above. Box cover for the board game Molly House, designed by Jo Kelly and Cole Wehrle.

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SDHistCon @sdhistcon.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

We are thrilled to announce the finalists for the 2026 Summit Award, the fifth such award. They are Battlefields of the Napoleonic Wars, Chicago '68, Molly House, and Onoda, with The Bell of Treason and Winter Rabbit as honorable mentions. More details: sdhist.com/2026-summit-...

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The Verge @theverge.com · 02/09/2026

As a new Harry Potter trailer makes the rounds, it bears repeating that there’s no way to watch this show without supporting J.K. Rowling’s bigotry and the structural violence she’s inflicting on the trans community.

theverge.com

There is no ethical consumption of HBO’s Harry Potter series

You can’t without supporting Rowling’s transphobic bigotry.

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Tim Clare @timclare.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

What boardgame / card game has, in your opinion, the best competitive scene? By whatever metric you judge 'best' - could be largest, most dynamic & interesting meta, most welcoming & diverse, most interesting to watch, etc. I have some reflex answers but they may not be terribly well-informed.

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jo kelly 🔜 spiel essen @miasmacorp.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

I personally really enjoy high-level Scrabble as a spectator sport. I'm dazzled by the combination of word memorisation and strategic play, and I find it incredible that this old mass-market game has such a robust competitive scene.

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Amabel Holland @amabel.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

In 1990, an elementary school teacher won $16,500 on a game show, and used her winnings to publish a board game about the Exxon Valdez oil spill. This is her story. youtu.be/r1g7C0o9Oqc

youtu.be

Tracia Newman's Board Game: Oil Spill & Amateur Art

YouTube video by Hollandspiele

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Emoria - Aftertaste is a Horror Novel @emoria.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

Folks, Jo Kelly fucking rules and you should follow them and buy their games and music

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jo kelly 🔜 spiel essen @miasmacorp.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

This is maybe my favourite photo of me ever. My local cinema asked me, as Wendy Miasma, to play a gig after a preview screening of Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma last week.

Wendy Miasma and the Miasmettes (Tina and Owen) playing a gig in front of a projection saying 'Party at Camp Miasma'. Wendy is in a skeleton dress with pigtails and blood painted on her face. They all have their mouths open wide. They may be in the middle of singing the word 'skeleton'. But I couldn't say that for sure.

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jo kelly 🔜 spiel essen @miasmacorp.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma is such a beautiful ode to the expansive possibilities of playfulness. There is so much power in seeing queer sex and kink portrayed so joyfully, and in reclaiming the horror people feel towards us and gleefully filling the screen with it. I am in awe.

Jane Schoenbrun, director of Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, dressed all in white in front of a red background with white rectangles, alongside a quote: "I feel like my highest goal as an artist is to find the things that we don't have language for, and to use this beautiful, expansive medium to put cinematic language to feelings that exist but don't get surfaced."

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Marceline is Racing Dinos @marcelineleiman.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

Excited to share that Dino Racer is in the process of being licensed across the world! We are looking for partners in the following countries: -United Kingdom -Japan -South Korea -Italy -Greece -Romania If you have a contact or are interested in licensing Dino Racer, check the bgg thread below! ⬇️

boardgamegeek.com

Looking for international partners to localize Dino Racer | Dino Racer

Underdog Games is actively looking to expand Dino Racer into a few key markets worldwide, and we’d love to connect with publishing partners in the following places: -United Kingdom -Japan -South Kore...

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Marceline is Racing Dinos @marcelineleiman.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

✨ HOLY DINO NUGGETS ✨ A new personal record!!! Dino Racer has hit number 4 on the @boardgamegeek.com Hotness!!!

BGG

THE HOTNESS
Top 50 trending games today
MARCELINE LEIMAN'S
DINO RACER
4 - Dino Racer
A wild racing card game of prehistoric proportions.

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Deconstructeam @deconstructeam.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

Today is The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood's 3rd Anniversary!!! More than 300,000 mortals have ascended to become Witches so far. Thank you, everyone, for playing our game!! ✨ Here's a commemorative poster by character designer @garsall0p.bsky.social 🪻

purple and black poster with the whole cast of The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood and a text saying "Thanks for 300k Witches."

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jo kelly 🔜 spiel essen @miasmacorp.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

I'm honoured that a fictionalised version of my game plays a part in a pivotal plot point in the book. Thank you, Emoria, for that. I am, of course, biased, but I think if the description grabs you, you should buy a copy and Support Trans Artists 🏳️‍⚧️

pastitch.com

AFTERTASTE: A TOXIC YURI

Aftertaste: A Toxic Yuri, by Emoria Weidner, published by Past-Itch Productions.

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jo kelly 🔜 spiel essen @miasmacorp.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

@emoria.bsky.social sent me a copy of her novel, Aftertaste (A Toxic Yuri). It's pulpy and spiky and difficult to hold sometimes. It's shitposty and heartfelt and horrible when it needs to be. It is incredibly and unabashedly trans. I devoured it.

The cover of Aftertaste, A Toxic Yuri by Emoria Weidner, featuring the title on a wine bottle label held by a sharp-nailed hand, in pink and purple.

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jo kelly 🔜 spiel essen @miasmacorp.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

The Kickstarter for my game WENDYBUXXX is closing to late pledges at the end of August, and should be fulfilling hopefully by the end of the year. Get in there if you want one!

kickstarter.com

WENDYBUXXX

A straight-to-VHS game of lifestyle influencers forced to shill a necrocurrency for followers, complete with a full album soundtrack!

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Cole Wehrle @colewehrle.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

Welp, that's a wrap. Buried Giant Studios has just finished its #GenCon2026 debut. What a wild ride it was. I hardly had time to post during the show, but I wanted to jot something down now. 🧵

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J from 3 Minute board games @3mbg.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

Today's video is Molly house, a game about gender, sexuality, community and persecution set in Georgian England. It has a knack for telling powerful and interesting stories, but it's also emotionally challenging at the same time. Find out more here. youtu.be/ArvyMsqQ1t0

youtu.be

Molly House in about 3 minutes

YouTube video by 3 Minute Board Games

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Dave - Need a Con Soon! @whovian223.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

The game that incorporates all this history, Molly House, is also a wonderful game! boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/34... @miasmacorp.bsky.social @colewehrle.bsky.social

boardgamegeek.com

Molly House

Create joy in a queer community in 1720s London.

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jo kelly 🔜 spiel essen @miasmacorp.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

I'll take any opportunity to talk to Liz, but this was a particularly fun one! We talked about three books that informed the design of Molly House.

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Marceline is Racing Dinos @marcelineleiman.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

📣 I’m excited to announce!! 📣 I’m partnering with Unstable Games to start a sister studio to them named… ✨ Ordinary Magic!! ✨ I’m so excited to bring 3 BRAND NEW GAMES under this new studio to you this Fall!!! 🍁

gamefound.com

Ordinary Magic by Unstable Games - Gamefound

3 New Games, 1 Extraordinary World. Explore this visionary studio partnership between award-winning game designer Marceline Leiman and Unstable Games.

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Cole Wehrle @colewehrle.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

Today we’re posting the prelaunch page for our next game: the second edition of An Infamous Traffic. There is so much to say about this game, and we’ll be talking about it quite a bit in the coming months, but I wanted to provide a little background here. 🧵 www.kickstarter.com/projects/col...

kickstarter.com

Coming soon: An Infamous Traffic: Second Edition

A new edition of the acclaimed game of cutthroat capitalism in the nineteenth century opium trade.

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Cole Wehrle @colewehrle.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

I am so honored to share this nomination for Molly House with Jo, Ray, and Ricky whose exceptional work on the game is so deserving of recognition. And, I'm beyond humbled to be in the company of the other nominees (including one of my favorite places in the Twin Cites, Mischief Toys!)

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Amabel Holland @amabel.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

Expansions are kinda weird, right? I spoke with ten game designers and a historian about one of the most unusual elements of modern board games. www.youtube.com/watch?v=v08K...

youtube.com

Expanding Board Games

YouTube video by Hollandspiele

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BoardGameWire 🔜 Spiel Essen @boardgamewire.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

New Cephalofair CEO Price Johnson, anti-ICE board game retailer Mischief Toy Store and Jo Kelly and Cole Wehrle's Molly House are among nominees for this year Diana Jones Award, tabletop gaming’s most eclectic prize: boardgamewire.com/index.php/20...

a pink and black background showing multiple people in early 18th century attire, with elaborate light pink writing in the centre which reads Molly House. Box cover for the board game Molly House.

A miniatures game figure, of a woman wearing a mask/helmet with two horn like spies, a green dress and flowing cloak. On her upraised right hand she balances an enormous bomb with a runic-style symbol on. Artillery Witch figure from the Trench Crusade miniatures game.

A pyramid-shaped award on a black base, on which can be read the words The Diana Jones Award. The pyramid is brightly lit by a blue light and is glowing almost white, while the background of the image is a deeper blue shade. The trophy for the Diana Jones Award for tabletop gaming excellence.

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jo kelly 🔜 spiel essen @miasmacorp.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

I'll be at Games for Change Festival in NY next week, where Molly House has been nominated for an award!

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jo kelly 🔜 spiel essen @miasmacorp.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

backed without hesitation! so excited for this

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Senet magazine @senetmagazine.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

ICYMI: Issue 23 is out now! Featuring @danthurot.bsky.social’s investigation into board-gaming’s most ancient and controversial mechanism: roll-and-move. With Richard Garfield and Jo Kelly @miasmacorp.bsky.social. Go to senetmagazine.com to order your copy and subscribe. #boardgamesarebeautiful

The opening spread of Senet's feature on roll-and-move games

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Tim Clare @timclare.bsky.social · 03/06/2026

I wrote a piece about attending the UK Games Expo last weekend, about feeling bad, stupid & worthless, about taking my 9 year old daughter for the first time, about the values of the market, & about pointless games. It's called 'Stupid Games, Stupid Prizes': www.timclarepoet.co.uk/stupid-games...

timclarepoet.co.uk

STUPID GAMES, STUPID PRIZES - Tim Clare - Author, Poet and Creative Writing Advice Podcaster

STUPID GAMES, STUPID PRIZES A week ago, in 34°C heat, I went with my wife and daughters camping. We deliberately chose a site only fifteen minutes’ drive from our house, near a familiar spot we’ve oft...

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jo kelly 🔜 spiel essen @miasmacorp.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

It was overwhelming. I have barely functioned today. But I am more convinced than ever that it was worth it. That in some way, I've found my place among an incredible bunch of game weirdos.

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jo kelly 🔜 spiel essen @miasmacorp.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

I felt both very connected with and really astonished by the people I'd managed to surround myself with. I'm truly grateful and can hardly believe the warmth those people have showed me. If you're reading this, thank you!

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jo kelly 🔜 spiel essen @miasmacorp.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

This year's UK Games Expo was an all-timer. Many games played and prototypes tried. Many friends met and made. A really lovely and promising pitch meeting. A gratifying response from people who played and talked to me about WENDYBUXXX. Sage advice from generous mentors and wonderful peers.

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Lunarpunk Games @lunarpunk.games · 01/06/2026

make more non-binary games

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jo kelly 🔜 spiel essen @miasmacorp.bsky.social · 29/05/2026

Send me a message and let's arrange something!

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Sam Francis (Samphire Games) @tzartzam.bsky.social · 27/05/2026

I've finally settled back on the original working title for this game as the final name... Dwarf Union is coming to Kickstarter! Soonish. A few months probably. So two belts to get notified so you don't forget to check it out! www.kickstarter.com/projects/sam...

kickstarter.com

Coming soon: Dwarf Union

Play as one of four factions in an underground city, each with their own victory conditions – some of which overlap.

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jo kelly 🔜 spiel essen @miasmacorp.bsky.social · 24/05/2026

I've only played for a couple of hours, but really loving this so far! I love how you're forced to deal with the ecological impact of expanding your city. Excited to delve further!

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Amabel Holland @amabel.bsky.social · 22/05/2026

soon

Some components splayed out: a zine, an adventure module book with some kind of puzzles on the last page, a letter, a xerox from a book, a codewheel, an envelope stamped "DO NOT OPEN"

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jo kelly 🔜 spiel essen @miasmacorp.bsky.social · 20/05/2026

I made a 'how 2 play' video and a 'playthru' of a full game of WENDYBUXXX for the WB-curious! WENDYBUXXX is now in its last week on Kickstarter: www.kickstarter.com/projects/yun...

youtube.com

WENDYBUXXX - YouTube

how 2 play and playthru videos for the board game WENDYBUXXX!

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GMT Games @gmtgames.bsky.social · 14/05/2026

Check out our latest InsideGMT article from designer Akar Bharadvaj: "Chalice of Poison: The Story and Setting Behind the Game" insidegmt.com/chalice-of-p...

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jay Dragon 🔜 Metatopia @jdragsky.bsky.social · 13/05/2026

my new article, the three secrets of making games, is all about playing your game early, quickly, and enjoyably possumcreek.medium.com/the-three-se...

possumcreek.medium.com

The Three Secrets of Making Games

Let’s say you and I are kids on the playground. We want to play a game, but we want to play a specific game. We want to play a game that…

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