iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Marco A. Torres @monarcwriter.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

With it being October, I’m going through my gaming backlog and playing games with a Halloween vibe. Just finished “Man of Medan”, which started off slow but got the horror-film tension down in its second half. It didn’t grip me like “Until Dawn” did, but still was fun.

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Marco A. Torres @monarcwriter.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Zach Cregger’s “Resident Evil” was a great time! A good mix of moments of creepy silence, jump scares, over-the-top body horror, and humor. So many of the big set pieces felt genuinely terrifying while also feeling exactly like segments from the video games.

Movie poster for “Resident Evil.” A lone figure walks away from a car’s headlights in a snowy road. The car’s rear lights project a red glow over the film’s title.

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Marco A. Torres @monarcwriter.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

A Name For Nobody print-and-play is the Deal of the Day on DrivethruCards! 80% off! The deck contains rules to play with only the cards, and a link to play on Tabletop Simulator! The game book is also 60% off for the Solo September sale on @drivethrurpg.com! www.drivethrucards.com/en/product/5...

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Marco A. Torres @monarcwriter.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

Slowed down on mini painting, but here at the ones I finished over the summer: Spider-Man 2099, Peni and SP//dr, Morlun, Maestro, and Loki; all from Marvel United.

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Marco A. Torres @monarcwriter.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

Finished another summer book: “We Burned So Bright” by T.J. Klune. An old gay couple takes a road trip during the end of the world. Episodic chapters about the people they meet on their journey make for a quick read. The overarching story behind their trip hit me hard as a parent. Highly recommend.

Cover to “We Burned So Bright” by TJ Klune. An old RV travels along a grassy road. Above it, a giant moon with cracks across it shines in the night sky.

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Marco A. Torres @monarcwriter.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

Been using my local library’s summer reading challenge to finally catch up on some reading. I just finished “Vampires of El Norte” by Isabel Cañas. Really fun read. I loved the combination of telenovela tropes; monstrous cryptid-like vampires; and the premise of vampires=horrors of colonialism.

Cover of Vampires of El Norte. A woman in a a flowing red Mexican dress strolls across a darkened desert, lightning striking in the distant background.

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Marco A. Torres @monarcwriter.bsky.social · 15/06/2026

Finished painting another batch of Marvel United minis this week. Did the last of the World War Hulk box, completed the Guardians of the Galaxy characters, and progressed through more of the Spider-Geddon minis.

5 painted miniatures from the Marvel United board game: Groot, Ronan, Star-Lord, Ares, and Rocket Raccoon.

5 painted miniatures from the Marvel United board game: Ares, Rocket Raccoon, Scarlet Spider, Silk, and Spider-Punk.

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Marco A. Torres @monarcwriter.bsky.social · 04/05/2026

The games from this year’s PocketQuest are now live and available on @drivethrurpg.com! Check out all the wonderful games from this year’s event, including my latest release: “Calamity Reprise,” a musical solo-game about averting disaster in a time loop! www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/5...

Cover to "Calamity Reprise". A woman sings into an exploding microphone, while colorful silhouettes of her fade into the background.

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Marco A. Torres @monarcwriter.bsky.social · 25/04/2026

Watched “Mother Mary” (2026) today. It is a very good ghost/love story about artists and muses, and I loved how the process of making art (fashion and music) and relationship between artist and muse is so critical to both the intimacy and horror of the story. Hathaway and Cole are amazing in this.

Movie poster for “Mother Mary”. Anne Hathaway drifts down in a fall, a red cloth drifting upward out of her body against a black backdrop.

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Marco A. Torres @monarcwriter.bsky.social · 31/03/2026

Spent the weekend painting more of my Marvel United miniatures. I’m currently finishing up the World War Hulk and Spider-Geddon boxes, and I find this to be such a satisfying way to pass the time.

4 painted miniatures from “Marvel United: World War Hulk”: Gladiator Hulk; Hércules; Sentry; and Doc Samson.

4 painted miniatures from “Marvel United: Spider-geddon”: Superior Spider-Man; Spider-Man Noir; Anti-Venom; Symbiote Suit Spider-Man.

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Marco A. Torres @monarcwriter.bsky.social · 02/03/2026

Played our second cat-themed board game (that we checked out from the library) last night with our kid: Calico by Kevin Russ. Easy to learn and play, and was impressed that kiddo was strategizing her moves several turns ahead to make sure she got the cats she wanted!

Box art for the board game “Calico.” An orange cat sleeps on a patchwork quilt.

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Marco A. Torres @monarcwriter.bsky.social · 21/02/2026

My local library system has a robust board game collection, and the kiddo and I are using it to try out new games. She is currently obsessed with cats, so we are going to check out many cat-themed games. First up: “Isle of Cats” by Frank West.

The box for the board game “The Isle of Cats.” Multi-colored cats crawl around stone blocks that spell out the title, with a ship sailing towards an island in the background.

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Marco A. Torres @monarcwriter.bsky.social · 27/01/2026

I finished painting my first set of Marvel United miniatures last weekend. It’s a lot of fun and very relaxing. My kiddo even helped with some of them! Yeah, this is my new hobby…

Painted miniatures of X-Men characters from the Marvel United board game. From left to right: Beast, Jean Grey, Cyclops, Mystique, and Wolverine.

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Marco A. Torres @monarcwriter.bsky.social · 17/01/2026

I got a few board games with minis as Christmas gifts over the holidays, so I purchased some Speed Paints to color them and I guess I have a new hobby now.

A box of Army Painter Speed Paint 2.0 Most Wanted set, a can of White matte primer, a set of brushes, and a set of Speed Paint pens.

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Marco A. Torres @monarcwriter.bsky.social · 15/01/2026

My local library has a maker space with free 3D printing. I have been having way too much fun printing up organizers and mods for my tabletop games over the last few weeks!

A 3D printed organizer for tokens from the board game “Marvel United.” Slots are shaped to fit each of the unique tokens from the game.

A 3D printed organizer for the board game “Final Girl”. It is divided into sections to hold dice, cards, tokens, and meeples.

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Marco A. Torres @monarcwriter.bsky.social · 25/11/2025

Black Friday Sale at DrivethruRPG! All of my original games and card decks are currently at 30% off as part of @drivethrurpg.com’s Black Friday Sale! Pick up a copy of Good Nature, Into the Starlit Sky, Vanity, GEMS, or A Dream of Thorns and Roses! www.drivethrurpg.com/en/publisher...

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Marco A. Torres @monarcwriter.bsky.social · 18/11/2025

You can help me support Team Feed and donate to Feeding America here: teamfeed.feedingamerica.org/participants... I committed to releasing previews of my game, “A Name For Nobody,” for every $50 milestone of donations. With over $100 raised so far, here are the first two previews!

A playing card for the game "A Name For Nobody." The 3 of Hearts, titled "Mushroom Forest." Text box on the left reads: "The fungus bursts through the earth, growing tall as the trees. Their brightly colored domes occassionally crackle with sparks of neon lightning." On the right is an image of large red mushrooms growing in front of trees. The bottom has two boxes: one labeled "Forgetful" and the other labeled "Recollection".

A playing card for the game "A Name For Nobody." The 9 of Spades, titled "Frolicking Fairies." Text box on the left reads: "They dance among the flowers in the fields, prancing through the light... And as the insects pollinate, so too do the pixies spread chaos and delight..." On the right is an image of a faire holding a book in one hand and a pink flower as big as its body in the other hand. The bottom has two text boxes: one labeled "Forgetful" and the other labeled "Bargain".

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Marco A. Torres @monarcwriter.bsky.social · 07/11/2025

The first week of the Feeding America fundraiser has brought in over $100 of donations! Here's a preview of the game I'm writing for donations: A Name For Nobody “Explore a realm of folktales in search of your stolen name, while bringing hope to the forgotten by granting them names of their own.”

Cover image for the game "A Name For Nobody". A shadow figure filled with specks of starlight plunges down form a darkened rain into a white ocean, with the faded text of many names behind them.

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Marco A. Torres @monarcwriter.bsky.social · 24/08/2025

Took my kid to a K-Pop Demon Hunters sing-along showing today. We already loved the movie, but watching it with such an energetic crowd who sang along to every lyric with their whole heart was such a joyful experience!

Sven from K-pop Demon hunters. Mira, Rumi, and Zooey angrily shake their shoulders to the beat of a song, while Mira says “It’s infectious.”

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Marco A. Torres @monarcwriter.bsky.social · 13/07/2025

All set up and ready at @seatbooks.bsky.social. So excited to be a part of this Local Authors Fair!!!

The author stands at the MonarcWriter table at the authors fair.

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Marco A. Torres @monarcwriter.bsky.social · 21/05/2025

My friend and I completed our play through of Split Fiction. Such a fun game with so many jaw-dropping set pieces and mechanics designed around the mandatory co-op. It’s the closest experience I’ve had to playing Gyromite on the NES as a kid.

Cover of Split Fiction. Two women leap into action, with half the image in a futuristic, sci-fi environment, and the other half in a magical, forested, fantasy environment.

Box cover for the NES game Gyromite. Above the title, a pixelated image of a little old man standing in front of a pillar that is blocking a rocket and a green creature.

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Marco A. Torres @monarcwriter.bsky.social · 15/05/2025

Finished Visions of Mana. The game was everything I wanted it to be. Callbacks to the series history, a fun combat and class system, beautiful visuals. The world building through how the characters respond (or don’t) to the nature of their quest has stuck with me.

Promotional title card for Visions of Mana. The five heroes of the game stand in front of the mana tree, with the sun setting behind it.

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Marco A. Torres @monarcwriter.bsky.social · 30/04/2025

My LGS had a Swap Meet event last weekend to give the community a chance to sell/trade boardgames. I managed to snag “Legendary: Marvel” for a ridiculously low price, unopened and still in shrink wrap! Excited to try out this game!

The box cover for “Legendary: A Marvel Deck Building Game.” It depicts Captain America, Hulk, Wolverine, Iron Man, and Spider-Man.

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Marco A. Torres @monarcwriter.bsky.social · 29/04/2025

The PocketQuest 2025 game jam is now over. The theme for this year, "Dreams & Nightmares" inspired great stuff and saw many designers create their very first games! The games will be available on @drivethrurpg.com May 5th. Check them out, including my submission, "A Dream of Thorns and Roses"!

Two interior pages from "A Dream of Thorns and Roses." The left page is titled "Roses and the dream Window" and contains rules for using color to achieve the goals of the game. The right page is titled "Thorns and the Nightmare Mural" and has rules for responding to Thorns prompts that mark failure in the game.

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Marco A. Torres @monarcwriter.bsky.social · 31/03/2025

Those cards look so cool! Really awesome interpretations of some of those monsters. Meanwhile, my kid and I busted open Lorcana cards today and she pulled an Enchanted card… We should just have the girls open all future packs.

A Lorcana card: the enchanted foil version of “Chip ‘n’ Dale - Recovery Rangers” containing alternate art of the characters in a sketch book style.

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Marco A. Torres @monarcwriter.bsky.social · 02/02/2025

MonarcWriter is at ComicVerse Comic Con today! If you are in Sacramento, come by and say hello!

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Marco A. Torres @monarcwriter.bsky.social · 08/01/2025

All set up for my very first game of Final Girl by @vanrydergames.bsky.social. I’ve heard nothing but great things about the game! Let’s hope I survive!

A table set up with the board game “Final Girl”. The Camp Happy Trails map, Hans killer board, and Laurie card are on the right. 11 action cards are spread out on the right.

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Marco A. Torres @monarcwriter.bsky.social · 30/12/2024

You can also get a free copy of the Print-n-Play version of the Good Nature Scenario deck in the latest MonarcWriter newsletter. The free gift is available until January 5th! monarcwriter.substack.com/p/2024-year-...

A group of cards from the Good Nature Scenario deck, including a rules sheet, two award badges, two scenario cards, and two situation cards.

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Marco A. Torres @monarcwriter.bsky.social · 06/10/2024

Took my kid to check out a local Comic-Con today, and she specifically said she wanted something with her favorite X-Men character, Rogue. Found these classic issues in a dollar bin and we are both enjoying reading the stories.

Two Uncanny X-Men comic books: issue 247 and issue 185.

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Marco A. Torres @monarcwriter.bsky.social · 19/07/2024

“Christmas in July” sale is also going on over at @dmsguild.bsky.social. This includes my adventures, NPCs, and items for Ravenloft, Strixhaven, and Spelljammer! www.dmsguild.com/browse.php?a...

Christmas in July banner for DMsGuild includes images of three game books: Sinister Suspects, Fantastical Field Studies, and Mines of Memory.

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Marco A. Torres @monarcwriter.bsky.social · 19/07/2024

@dtrpg.bsky.social ’s “Christmas in July” sale is now live, and all games by MonarcWriter are included in the sale! Pick up a new game or two at discount! www.drivethrurpg.com/en/publisher...

Christmas in July sale banner, with images of four game books: Good Nature, Into the Starlit Sky, Vanity Glass and Stone, and Gems.

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Marco A. Torres @monarcwriter.bsky.social · 08/06/2024

All set up for Powerhouse Comic Con in Antioch, CA!!! My first Con! So Excited!

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Marco A. Torres @monarcwriter.bsky.social · 06/06/2024

I’m going to sell my games in-person for the first time ever as a vendor at Powerhouse Comic Con alongside my friend @monoopti.bsky.social ! This Saturday, June 8th in Antioch, CA. If you are in or near the Bay Area, come stop by!

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Marco A. Torres @monarcwriter.bsky.social · 09/05/2024

My set of CoinSides dice/oracle coins by @ex1st.bsky.social arrived this week. These are really cool! Beautiful craftsmanship and I love that each coin type has unique functions in addition to dice. Looking forward to using them with my gaming group.

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Marco A. Torres @monarcwriter.bsky.social · 30/03/2024

Drivethrurpg is running the #PocketQuest2024 game jam, this year with the theme of “heists”. The games release on April 1st! My entry is GEMS, a collaborative ttrpg with lots of tactical customization and randomized heists generated by a deck of cards.

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Marco A. Torres @monarcwriter.bsky.social · 11/03/2024

I went to my first comic-con in almost 5 years this weekend. It was a lot of fun to just walk the convention floor, shop for art and toys and games, and admire the cosplay costumes. Came back with a decent stash of new things for me and the kiddo.

Collection of items including 3 art prints, a Pokémon doll, a Funko pop, and card game decks.

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Marco A. Torres @monarcwriter.bsky.social · 27/01/2024

Finally, the wonders of biology and life are explored in the courses offered by Witherbloom College: “Surviving Digestive Systems” and “Practical Introduction to Amniomancy.” (6/6 end🧵)

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Marco A. Torres @monarcwriter.bsky.social · 27/01/2024

Voice and music are the source of enchantment magic in the Silverquill College courses “Hymnology of the Outer Planes” and “Ethical Enchantment Explored.” (5/6🧵)

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Marco A. Torres @monarcwriter.bsky.social · 27/01/2024

The scientific and mathematical theorems of Quandrix College are the basis of two reality-bending courses: “Battle Fractals” and “Paradoxical Geometry”. (4/6🧵)

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Marco A. Torres @monarcwriter.bsky.social · 27/01/2024

Prismari College has two courses that allow players to get creative with art and the elemental planes in “Soul Portraits 202”, and “Introduction to Elemental Studies.” (3/6🧵)

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Marco A. Torres @monarcwriter.bsky.social · 27/01/2024

Lorehold college gets three courses/encounters that turn historical research into exciting experiences with “Research Methods: Using Every Trick in the Book”, “Advanced Dragons in Dungeons”, and “Eschatology: The Study of World-Ending Destruction.” (2/6🧵)

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Marco A. Torres @monarcwriter.bsky.social · 18/11/2023

To celebrate the holidays, I am putting all print versions of my games on sale for 50% off! Order a copy of GOOD NATURE, Into the Starlit Sky, or Vanity from DrivethruRPG before Nov. 24th to guarantee arrival in time for Christmas! #ttrpgs www.drivethrurpg.com/browse/pub/2...

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Marco A. Torres @monarcwriter.bsky.social · 16/11/2023

It’s here! The print copy of Vanity: Glass & Stone arrived! I love having a physical copy of my game, and it looks good!

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Marco A. Torres @monarcwriter.bsky.social · 29/10/2023

Finished making Halloween decorations and finally put them out! #Pokemon #Halloween2023

Three colorful pumpkins decorated to look like the Pokémon Bulbasaur, Squirtle, and Jigglypuff.

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