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Nice Game @nicegamepub.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

And also: Should the tech be judged separately from those who currently own it? Because certainly the tech bro billionaires are causing lots of harm... but that's a slightly different problem? Finding our answers to questions like this seems relevant to us.

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Nice Game @nicegamepub.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

Can we maybe use the tech, even while advocating for reducing the harm associated with it? Might using the tech properly even be a way to reduce these harms or overall harm? Is really all AI bad? What about AI that helps discover new maths? What about AI that helps finding cures for illnesses?

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Nice Game @nicegamepub.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

Happy to consider that view But: What exactly are the immense harms? Are these harms really caused by the tech - or by wrong use of the tech? Are these harms really fundamentally different from all the other harms we accept as part of living in our civilized society or are we being hypocritical?...

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Nice Game @nicegamepub.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

That being said, AI is definitely a powerful tool in the hand of experts. Look at recent developments in maths, if you doubt that...

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Nice Game @nicegamepub.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

I think the expectation that it should autonomously produce results that withstand expert scrutiny in every (or any) field is kind of "buying into the hype" that we think should be avoided (And of course the AI companies are fueling that hype every way they can)...

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Nice Game @nicegamepub.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

Well, we wrote about that in the replies. The gist is: AIs are undeniably powerful tools and it may be that using them in a good and proper way is preferable to not using them at all (if it is possible to use them in a proper and good way).

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Nice Game @nicegamepub.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

That sounds horrible and we don't want to defend that in any way. That being said: Maybe this is an illustration of a misunderstanding along the lines of what we wrote above: The thinking that AI is this super-human superweapon - rather than just a powerful -but risky- tool for humans to use?

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Nice Game @nicegamepub.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

Danke fürs Teilen! Nur zur Klarstellung: Wir nutzen im Moment keine KI in unseren Spielen. Wir denken aber intensiv nach, wie wir uns in dieser Frage in Zukunft verhalten sollen. Daher sind wir dankbar für jeglichen Input!

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Nice Game @nicegamepub.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

The use case was making a prototype, not generating a complete product in the way you describe. But even if that were the case, wouldn't that be great news for software engineers then, because, rather than being replaced, they will be more needed than ever?

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Nice Game @nicegamepub.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

Take "vibe coding", for example. Sure, I don't want nuclear reactors to run on AI-generated code. But is it a bad thing that someone with a good idea can just describe it to an AI agent and have a prototype of that thing within minutes-hours? How in the world could that be a bad thing?

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Nice Game @nicegamepub.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

Do the thing humans always do: be innovative, creative, shape the future rather than fearing it. And that's where I think these tools, properly used, can actually unlock a lot of potential. Because one thing that the AI may do is actually lower the barrier of entry for people with good ideas.

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Nice Game @nicegamepub.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

It could be competition for the craftsmanship, but that's something different. Because there it's not different from the competition that people of all other professions face. And I think the solution is similar in all professions, too: Use the new tools to your benefit.

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Nice Game @nicegamepub.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

I used to think the same way. But I think there's a problem with this position. I think it's underselling what humanity and art actually is. I think that simply creating images with AI is not art. And therefore it cannot actually be competition for real art.

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Nice Game @nicegamepub.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

AI Hot-take No.2: Are we buying into the hype too much? Are we just feeding our insecurities by assuming it will easily replace us? If we truly believed in ourselves and our humanity... Shouldnt the focus be on wielding and mastering this tech (+ its creators), rather than trying to wish it away?

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Nice Game @nicegamepub.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

So you are saying, we, as a publisher, should flat out reject an author who used AI to illustrate their prototype? You also seem to rely very strongly on your ability to distinguish AI from human art. What is your approach in a world where one cannot?

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Nice Game @nicegamepub.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

What about prototypes? Many use AI art made by the author. Allowed? What if a proto or candidate has very good AI illustrations?Have an artist recreate it? Thats still AI art - just redrawn? Have them make it intentionally different? But why, if it is exactly the authors vision? And so on...

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Nice Game @nicegamepub.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

You can have that stance in the abstract, but what does it mean exactly? No AI for busywork, too? (research/translation/proofreading) How can we know- if the result is good? Re: graphics: Many artists used filters/stock for textures/poses, now use AI. Allowed? If no - why? and how to even check?

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Nice Game @nicegamepub.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

We don't want to do "branding" or posturing. Neither do we want to ignore the obvious problems. We don't want flatly refuse to engage. We want to shape the future, not be swallowed by it. But we want to keep valueing creativity, art and humanism, too. How? Looking for input here.

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Nice Game @nicegamepub.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

It seems that in general, the vibe in the far east is very different. Nobody seemed to be even batting an eye. We saw AI in very unexpected places. Imagine buddhist monks handing out flyers for traditional zen meditation - aided by AI-analysis. That kind of stuff. Anyway, back to the board games..

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Nice Game @nicegamepub.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

The practical problem for us is real. We recently went to the Tokyo Game Market. We saw many great games. Lots of them were fully AI-illustrated - but looked great! In a world before AI we would never have questioned them. How to deal with this? Redo? Refuse? Just take them? All seems weird.

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Nice Game @nicegamepub.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

In our perception it's already the case that criticism is concentrated in places where AI is used very visibly i.e. sloppily. It's understandable - how could you criticise something you don't notice? And yet, there's something hypocritical or at least lopsided about this. "Just dont get caught"...

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Nice Game @nicegamepub.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

That being said: We also have no solution for this problem. We don't think, at this point, that companies like us - or consumers deciding against AI products will be that solution. Not only because AI can be so useful - but also because increasingly it will be impossible to see the difference.

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Nice Game @nicegamepub.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

What we also see now is: The social impact, the upheaval, is real. If we were to use AI to illustrate a game - it could mean our friend, the graphic artist, doesn't get the job. And this is certainly the case everywhere in the world, in many fields, today. We don't want to support this.

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Nice Game @nicegamepub.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

Large scale projects that would never see the light of day are possible -even for smaller companies like us. Historical research, Translation and Proofreading, and many other laborious tasks can be delegated. And while supervision may still be needed, this can stil unlock huge potentials.

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Nice Game @nicegamepub.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

It's wikipedia on steroids. And in the creative field, while it still has all the above mentioned problems, if one uses it properly as a tool, it can be empowering and equalizing, too. Someone with a good idea but no skill in coding or drawing can realize it, where they couldn't before.

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Nice Game @nicegamepub.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

It is undeniable that this technology is transformative. We don't believe that current AI is consciousness or even truly "intellgent" in a human way. But it does allow us to gather and concentrate and make accessable human knowledge and skill in a way that's never been possible before.

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Nice Game @nicegamepub.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

Image Gen and Coding come with their own sets of problems and dangers. AI "Art" intrudes upon a core area of human expression putting into doubt the very core of what we are. Coding takes a precise skill - and puts it into a black box we have no control over... AI Slop abounds everywhere. And yet...

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Nice Game @nicegamepub.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

What's more: The tech itself is ripe with dangers. LLMs confidently hallucinate errors. They corral our thoughts and stifle our own creativity and expression - and often we don't even notice it. They give us a false sense of security and competence - simply by mimicking the stance.

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Nice Game @nicegamepub.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

Also: the people running these tech companies seem to be, by and large, so confused, deluded and/or corrupted by their own unfathomable wealth and power, that they are completely detached from the life of ordinary human beings like us. Ok, i guess rich people were always like that. But still...

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Nice Game @nicegamepub.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

Generally speaking: This technology is based on scraping all of our data (we=the human race). We didn't consent to this, not in any meaningful way. Once again tech companies are in some way looking to socialize losses and privatise profits. Yes, it's a bit more complicated than this. But still...

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Nice Game @nicegamepub.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

What's the current vibe in the boardgame world re: AI-generated content? We've recently been thinking hard about our approach. We feel a blanket rejection is not the right way. Neither is unquestioned adoption. Here's some thoughts for you to pick apart:

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Nice Game @nicegamepub.bsky.social · 21/03/2026

Shower thought: One reason board games are fun is because they give us a clean structure: a world with clear rules, visible consequences, and stable interactions. We can act, understand, adapt, and feel like the system is legible. Quite a contrast to what's going on outside the living room window.

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Nice Game @nicegamepub.bsky.social · 28/01/2026

Oh btw if you're on the Nuremberg Spielwarenmesse this week... be sure to come by our booth in Hall 10.0, G-9 and say hello!

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Nice Game @nicegamepub.bsky.social · 26/01/2026

It would have been great to have a place to pledge/register to stop using FB etc... With like a counter or something? As game people we love to see number go up, don't we... Anyway, trying to make our voice heard more, also from Europe, feels like something we should start to think about?

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Nice Game @nicegamepub.bsky.social · 26/01/2026

It seems hard: You'd need a sizable amount of people + coordination and attribution. In some cases tech/other products are hard to replace. On the other hand: The authoritarian playbook doesn't work against this. And worldwide participation is possible.

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Nice Game @nicegamepub.bsky.social · 26/01/2026

Thinking about the US from Europe. Wondering: Is refusal to consume an effective way to protest? Scott Galloway makes that argument (in this: www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFsd...). The idea is to coordinate in large numbers to send a message to (mostly) big tech participating in this regime.

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Reposted by Nice Game

Democratic Women of South Orange County @dwsoc.bsky.social · 24/01/2026

Video before it happens is showing this guy they shot in the head in Minneapolis was just standing there videoing them before and they got out to push him back and then murder him.

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Reposted by Nice Game

Kat Abughazaleh @katmabu.bsky.social · 24/01/2026

ICE just gunned down ANOTHER person, beating a man half to death before shooting him at point blank range. What the fuck are we doing? ARREST ICE NOW. PROSECUTE ICE NOW. I will not rest until every single one of these murderers is held accountable to the communities they terrorize.

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Reposted by Nice Game

Ben Collins @bencollins.bsky.social · 24/01/2026

By who? Who shot the person dead? You saw the video. We all know a federal agent shot a man dead who was prone on the ground. Also, it's not "according to officials." It's according to verified video seen with your eyes. Not saying what anyone can obviously see with their eyes is a form of lying.

NYT push alert: "A person was shot dead today during a struggle with federal agents in Minneapolis, according to officials."

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Reposted by Nice Game

Dimitri Drekonja, MD, MS @dimitridrekonja.bsky.social · 24/01/2026

Alex Pretti was a colleague at the VA. We hired him to recruit for our trial. He became an ICU nurse- I lover working with him. He was a good kind person who lived to help and these fuckers executed him. White. Hot. Rage.

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Nice Game @nicegamepub.bsky.social · 08/12/2025

Yes, stuff like that. Thanks for the recommendation. We will check it out!

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Nice Game @nicegamepub.bsky.social · 07/12/2025

Trying to find some nice riddle books - but it's too hard. Our best heuristic so far: The less smooth the layout, the more likely the the content is real. Has anyone found a good technique to avoid AI Slop in book-related christmas shopping?

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Nice Game @nicegamepub.bsky.social · 26/11/2025

A fun day talking boardgames with Rodrigo from Circotel yesterday! Turns out we envy each other. He likes Germany for the long and rich history of boardgames here. We think newer markets like his home, Chile, are exciting - and full of novel ideas. He showed us two great games, too!

A friendly man with 2 board game boxes in front of him.

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Nice Game @nicegamepub.bsky.social · 23/11/2025

Yesterday we ran out of Orapa and today a bunch of other games. Thanks Stuttgart!

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