iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Ryan S. Dancey @ryandancey.com · 24/09/2026

Do you think your cat knows it has a name? In other words does your cat associate some set of sounds that you make with "me"?

picture of a grey cat sitting on a windowsill looking at the camera

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Ryan S. Dancey @ryandancey.com · 24/09/2026

What happened in your most recent TTRPG session and how does that compare to thousands of other sessions? #sessionkeeper has some insights you can use to compare what happened at your table with what happens across a large cross-section of tables! table.sessionkeeper.ai/p/the-five-s...

table.sessionkeeper.ai

The Five Shapes of Combat in D&D

Trace the fighting across a session and it takes one of five shapes.

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Ryan S. Dancey @ryandancey.com · 16/09/2026

#SessionKeeper's data shows that despite many different "shapes" of TTRPG sessions the odds are about 28% that the table is engaged in a major combat encounter in the final 40 minutes; and that holds true almost regardless of how long the total session is. table.sessionkeeper.ai/p/the-night-...

table.sessionkeeper.ai

The Night Builds to a Fight

Combat climbs all night and is highest about forty minutes before the end.

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Ryan S. Dancey @ryandancey.com · 11/09/2026

I divide my life into "before 9/11" and "after 9/11". The before seems like an impossible utopia. The after reads like apocalyptic fiction. 25 years on the clean division of before and after has never been more clear.

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Ryan S. Dancey @ryandancey.com · 09/09/2026

@edzitron.com writes: "the AI bubble is based on the whims of maybe a few hundred companies spending money on two companies to justify five companies spending money with one company." www.wheresyoured.at/concentratio...

wheresyoured.at

Concentration Risk

If you liked this piece, you should subscribe to my premium newsletter. It’s $70 a year, $18 a quarter, or $7 a month, and in return you get a weekly newsletter that’s usually anywhere from 10,000 to ...

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Ryan S. Dancey @ryandancey.com · 08/09/2026

It doesn't surprise me that the GM speaks a plurality of the time in most TTRPG sessions. #sessionkeeper has data that quantifies how much the GM is usually speaking. table.sessionkeeper.ai/p/the-dm-spe...

table.sessionkeeper.ai

The DM Speaks Half

At the typical table, the DM talks as much as every player put together.

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Ryan S. Dancey @ryandancey.com · 31/08/2026

#sessionkeeper's data shows that when gamers play really long TTRPG sessions almost a quarter of those really long sessions have NO COMBAT. table.sessionkeeper.ai/p/the-fight-...

table.sessionkeeper.ai

The Fight Needs Runway

Sessions under 90 minutes skip combat half the time.

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Ryan S. Dancey @ryandancey.com · 27/08/2026

It was my pleasure to appear on Justin's Think Like a Game Designer podcast! We delved deep into the ancient history of my career in gaming and the industry's reaction to the arrival of AI. I hope you enjoy listening as much as I enjoyed participating in the conversation!

justingarydesign.substack.com

Ryan Scott Dancey — From Fake Mail Order to Legend of the Five Rings, the Power of Self-Belief, and the Future of AI (#109)

Think Like A Game Designer Podcast

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Ryan S. Dancey @ryandancey.com · 24/08/2026

Greg from #SessionKeeper has published a new blog about data from real tabletop RPG sessions! table.sessionkeeper.ai/p/in-search-...

table.sessionkeeper.ai

In Search of the Roleplay Table

The fighty table and the talky table are mostly the same table.

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Ryan S. Dancey @ryandancey.com · 18/08/2026

#SessionKeeper is an amazing way to make your tabletop RPG sessions more fun and help you GM the best game you can. To build awareness they've launched a Substack that explores the anonymized and aggregated data from real game sessions. table.sessionkeeper.ai/p/surprising...

table.sessionkeeper.ai

Surprisingly Little Stabbing

28% of TTRPG sessions never roll initiative at all.

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Ryan S. Dancey @ryandancey.com · 14/08/2026

Sad to see that Count Binface the Recyclon didn't win the by election last night in Clapton. Apparently the Claptonians would rather be represented by an unrepentant fraud than a comedian.

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Ryan S. Dancey @ryandancey.com · 03/08/2026

At #gencon I presented two panels A discussion of AI and how it will impact the gaming industry and society in general A discussion of how copyright interacts with games I've made the Keynote presentations for both panels available. www.widepacifichorizon.com/2026/08/03/g...

widepacifichorizon.com

Gen Con 2026 Presentations

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Ryan S. Dancey @ryandancey.com · 27/07/2026

There are still a small number of tickets left for my Gen Con panel 5 Minutes to Midnight, which is going to explore the impact of AI on the tabletop gaming industry. The panel will be at 4pm on Thursday www.gencon.com/events/302293

gencon.com

Gen Con | Gen Con Indy 2026

The Best Four Days in Gaming

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Ryan S. Dancey @ryandancey.com · 13/07/2026

Congratulations to Reiner Knizia, the first "Grand Slam" Spiel winner. He's won the Kennerspiel ("complex games") category for his design Rebirth. There are few better days in tabletop gaming than the day you win a Spiel. Congratulations to all 2026 winners! boardgamewire.com/index.php/20...

boardgamewire.com

JinxO wins 2026 Spiel des Jahres, Rebirth secures historic triple for Reiner Knizia -

JinxO designer Martin Ang's victory underscores the growing internationality of the venerable German board games award, which until last year's success for Hishashi Hayashi's Bomb Busters had never be...

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Ryan S. Dancey @ryandancey.com · 10/07/2026

If Count Binface is elected, does Parliament have a rule against his attending in costume? Also, I hope he exercises his right to wear a sword.

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Ryan S. Dancey @ryandancey.com · 09/07/2026

It is the most on-brand thing ever that McConnell is faking his own aliveness to control the election that will select his successor.

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Ryan S. Dancey @ryandancey.com · 05/07/2026

Happy Birthday USA! 🇺🇸

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Ryan S. Dancey @ryandancey.com · 30/06/2026

If Amy Coney Barrett were not a good person Birthright Citizenship would be dead. Today's decision isn't a win for stare decisis. It is a posted notice that says "try again later".

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Ryan S. Dancey @ryandancey.com · 23/06/2026

The "Norwegian Row" is my new favorite thing. ROW! ROW! ROW! The Vikings Are Coming! Proud Grandson of Norway! 🇳🇴🇳🇴🇳🇴

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Ryan S. Dancey @ryandancey.com · 19/06/2026

Juneteenth. A moment to remember two important things about the United States: 1. We've made incredible progress in addressing systemic inequality; to celebrate it we must teach where we started and how we got here. 2. Work still needs to be done. The job is not finished.

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Ryan S. Dancey @ryandancey.com · 19/06/2026

Next year we'll be as far removed from the year Austin Powers was released as Austin Powers was from the point when he was frozen in the 60s. Yeah Baby!

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Ryan S. Dancey @ryandancey.com · 08/06/2026

I've noticed that since leaving Facebook and Twitter I take a lot fewer photographs. I don't take pictures at events. I'm not trying to take pictures of what I'm doing or seeing to post on social media. I'm probably taking 10% as many photographs as I was while I was very online in social media.

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Ryan S. Dancey @ryandancey.com · 30/04/2026

"Never talk about Goblins" is generally good advice.

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Ryan S. Dancey @ryandancey.com · 06/04/2026

“Double Haters” — voters who hold a negative view of both parties, roughly a quarter of the public. That group currently prefers Democrats in the midterms by 31 points. For comparison in 2016 and 2024, they broke for Trump. I think Double Haters determine elections.

cnn.com

CNN Poll: Trump’s approval rating on the economy hits a new low | CNN Politics

President Donald Trump’s approval rating for handling the economy has fallen to a new career low of 31%, according to a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS, reflecting growing pessimism among Americans ove...

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Ryan S. Dancey @ryandancey.com · 26/03/2026

Excellent snapshot in time of tabletop designer opinions about AI. I hope the @ttgda.bsky.social keeps running this survey annually. irp.cdn-website.com/2b6905d0/fil...

irp.cdn-website.com

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Ryan S. Dancey @ryandancey.com · 23/03/2026

I just wrote 17 pages of advice on why founders should use C Corporations, not S Corporations or LLCs for their ventures. And this is a book where each chapter is supposed to be short and breezy! Did you know that the personal capital gains rate on dividends up to $94k is ZERO PERCENT?

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Ryan S. Dancey @ryandancey.com · 18/03/2026

Watching @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social perform the rituals of his religion in fellowship with others during Ramadan has been inspiring. It's great to see someone who clearly actually believes what they espouse and doesn't see their faith as an onramp to grifting their community.

npr.org

New York City mayor celebrates Ramadan with inmates at Rikers Island

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani visited Rikers Island Monday to observe Iftar, or the breaking of the fast, with inmates. It's part of his efforts to reframe Muslim life in the city.

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Ryan S. Dancey @ryandancey.com · 17/03/2026

@bsky.app Why does the "Discover" tab show me ANYTHING from accounts I am already following? Shouldn't it be the place I go to discover new content?

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Ryan S. Dancey @ryandancey.com · 17/03/2026

When you are starting a new business the lure of X is powerful. If I just decide to support a raging edgelord performing fascism I can access my 4k followers again!

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Ryan S. Dancey @ryandancey.com · 14/03/2026

Interesting look at an AI workflow in a tabletop RPG context.

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Reposted by Ryan S. Dancey

Jonathan Tweet @jonathantweet.bsky.social · 09/03/2026

Here's a draft manuscript of the Magic: The Gathering roleplaying game from 1996, and I've giving it away as a fundraiser for Planned Parenthood, with permission from the authors. Not sure how much to ask for. Vanishingly rare. $1,872 raised so far. #mtg #ttrpg

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Ryan S. Dancey @ryandancey.com · 07/03/2026

I received confirmation today that Gen Con LLC has approved my event submissions for this year's show! This post is in regards to a presentation I will be hosting on July 30th at 3pm in Meeting Room 8 titled "Five Minutes to Midnight"

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Ryan S. Dancey @ryandancey.com · 06/03/2026

A few days ago I conducted a lengthy interview with Wargamer. Over more than an hour we spoke about a wide range of topics centered on AI and the tabletop gaming space. The results of that interview went live today. www.wargamer.com/board-games/...

wargamer.com

Board Game exec Ryan Dancey lost his job for his AI claims - but what does he really think?

The former Chief Operating Officer at AEG shares his views on the risks and opportunities of AI, and why the tabletop industry has to prepare.

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Ryan S. Dancey @ryandancey.com · 01/03/2026

If you are a member of the @ttgda.bsky.social I encourage you to complete the AI / Tariffs survey they're currently circulating. You will find information about it in their most recent email communications. www.ttgda.org

ttgda.org

Tabletop Game Designers Association

Home page for the Tabletop Game Designers Association

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Ryan S. Dancey @ryandancey.com · 24/02/2026

Launched my new company today. Wide Pacific Horizon will allow me to continue my consulting work in business analysis, strategy, marketing and podcasting.

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Ryan S. Dancey @ryandancey.com · 18/02/2026

This morning @aegjohnz.bsky.social and I talked about the aftermath of my post yesterday about the ability of AI to create ideas for games. He's decided that it's time for me to move on to new adventures.

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Ryan S. Dancey @ryandancey.com · 11/02/2026

The motion is adopted by unanimous consent.

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Ryan S. Dancey @ryandancey.com · 11/02/2026

Does Blades '68 require a copy of Blades in the Dark to play?

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Ryan S. Dancey @ryandancey.com · 10/02/2026

Congratulations to the Wizards of the Coast team at Hasbro, who exceeded a billion dollars in full-year profit for the first time. Extraordinary achievement. investor.hasbro.com/news-release...

investor.hasbro.com

Hasbro Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Financial Results | Hasbro, Inc.

The Investor Relations website contains information about Hasbro, Inc.'s business for stockholders, potential investors, and financial analysts.

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Ryan S. Dancey @ryandancey.com · 10/02/2026

This seems obvious but a private company should not be able to build a mass driver on the moon. Some amendment to the Outer Space Treaty should be made to ensure this is crystal clear. A lunar mass driver is a weapon of mass destruction equivalent in danger to a nuclear weapon.

en.wikipedia.org

Outer Space Treaty - Wikipedia

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Reposted by Ryan S. Dancey

jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 07/02/2026

🫡

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Ryan S. Dancey @ryandancey.com · 05/02/2026

I hope to see the Constitution Amended using the Article 5 process again in my lifetime.

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Ryan S. Dancey @ryandancey.com · 04/02/2026

SCOTUS declines to hear California redistricting case which means they'll use their new map in 2026 mid-term, which, paired with Texas' map which does the same thing and (and SCOTUS also refused to hear challenges to that system) means that states are now going to sort into Red/Blue monoliths.

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Ryan S. Dancey @ryandancey.com · 22/01/2026

Three things that Trump may cause with history-altering consequences: * A European Army * A Euro denominated sovereign debt market competing with the US Treasury * A global trade bloc of mid-tier nations He could easily be the most impactful President of the past 50 years.

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