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Misha @the-goblin.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

This is part of New York Games Week, running Oct 4-11. There are dozens of other phenomenal events also happening all week, be sure to check them out!

nygamesweek.com

New York Games Week

A city-wide gathering of developers, publishers, investors, students, players, and press that activates venues across all five boroughs.

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Misha @the-goblin.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Come on up to CCNY this upcoming Friday (10/9) for a talk by the outstanding developer and human being @apthomson.bsky.social for a talk on "how to make Titanium Court", the game that earned them their second Seumas McNally Grand Prize in two years.

eventbrite.com

Gaming Pathways @ CCNY Presents Guest Speaker AP Thomson

AP Thomson will speak on the process they used to design and develop awarding winning Titanium Court.

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sam “ludonarrative disinterest” sorensen @samsorensen.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

astonishing! unaccountable! it's another episode of DEAD LETTERS! today, it's Evey Lockhart's WET GRANDPA, an ominous river adventure! join us as we discuss poetic meter, NPCs as ethical traps, "conversational infinity," gigging, and the Madonna. come listen! open.spotify.com/episode/6898...

open.spotify.com

29: Wet Grandpa

Dead Letters · Episode

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Mike Pohjola @mikepohjola.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

The very smart roleplaying podcast Dead Letters reviewed my old Manifesto of the Turku School. I wrote some thoughts in my blog but it was really nice and I became a regular listener. mikepohjola2.wordpress.com/2026/09/24/t... @dead-letters.bsky.social #roleplaying #larp #gametheory

mikepohjola2.wordpress.com

The Turku Manifesto in Dead Letters

Twenty-six years ago I was young and arrogant enough to publish an artistic manifesto on roleplaying games and larps. (I’m not young anymore.)I proclaimed character immersion (“eläytymi…

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sam “ludonarrative disinterest” sorensen @samsorensen.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

it cannot be! another episode of DEAD LETTERS, on Skerples' MAGICAL INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION! join us as we discuss setting guides (yet again), the relative social cachet of GMs as hobbyist game designer and/or improvisers, legwork, and postmodernism! come listen! open.spotify.com/episode/1Y5d...

open.spotify.com

28: Magical Industrial Revolution

Dead Letters · Episode

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Misha @the-goblin.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

I didn't know that you and KB were posting 'enemies', but oh my god that makes perfect sense

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Misha @the-goblin.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

"Manifesto" as a Vampire-esque Path/alternative to Humanity is incredibly funny, oh my God.

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Misha @the-goblin.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Oh ouch, I sure do pivot from talking about "The Quiet Year" to "A Quiet Year" in this episode.

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sam “ludonarrative disinterest” sorensen @samsorensen.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

hwaet! it's another episode of DEAD LETTERS! this time, we're discussing "The Invisible Rules of Roleplaying" by Markus Montola! join us as we yap about the definition of roleplaying, non-game roleplaying, cross-media roleplaying, and not roleplaying! come listen! open.spotify.com/episode/61fy...

open.spotify.com

27: The Invisible Rules of Roleplaying

Dead Letters · Episode

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sam “ludonarrative disinterest” sorensen @samsorensen.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

good morning! are you a DEAD LETTERS listener? interested in thoughtful tabletop RPG discussion? fond of the Aughts aesthetic? then join THE MAILROOM, our forum! it's open to all and equipped with all the features a robust internet message board needs! see you there! deadletters.nyc/forum/index....

deadletters.nyc

Dead Letters

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sam “ludonarrative disinterest” sorensen @samsorensen.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

the crowd goes wild! it's another episode of DEAD LETTERS, this one on THE BLACK WYRM OF BRANDONSFORD! join us as we discuss the Muppets, topos -> topography -> topology, videogame quest design, the charm of the generic, and proto-OSE editing & layout. come listen! open.spotify.com/episode/2lK9...

open.spotify.com

26: The Black Wyrm of Brandonsford

Dead Letters · Episode

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Rosalind @rosalindmc.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

rosalindmc.itch.io/rosepulp-cre... For anyone who wants a massive library of pixel art sprites for fantasy creatures! All free for anyone to use for (almost) any project! #pixelart #gamedev

rosalindmc.itch.io

Rosepulp Creature Library by Rosalind

300+ Sprites for fantasy creatures

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Misha @the-goblin.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

The book is usually real good at 'usable if run out of the book unmodified, but amazing if you do one customization pass over it'. The City Quest's format just tells you not to make that pass.

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Misha @the-goblin.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Honestly, if I ran a campaign and we got to The City Quest I'd just tell the players that I'm picking the terminal event (it's EB)--the terminal event being non-random would fix 90% of my issues with the city.

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Geoff Engelstein - The Universe Explained with Cookie out now! @gengelstein.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

One of my all-time favorite rules, from Pea Ridge (1980). The designer's great-great-grandfather fought in the battle, and if his unit takes damage you roll a die to see if he survives. If he dies, the designer is never born, and the game doesn't exist, and so automatically ends in a draw.

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Misha @the-goblin.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

The "doesn't repeat itself" bit does just sound like trying to sound clever, though. Tragedy/farce feels like overdetermination, the quote feels(maybe unintentionally) like a claim that only ideas move history, but people copy each other's notes a lot.

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Misha @the-goblin.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

I think the implication is something like "modern fascists are just copying/rerunning the playbook of 20th century fascists". History repeats itself because people actively try to recreate it.

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Misha @the-goblin.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

My best read is "first as tragedy, then as farce" but with a kind of implicit dismissal of material conditions as being the driver of history.

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Misha @the-goblin.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

I contain multitudes, and many of those multitudes are team Misha.

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Misha @the-goblin.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

Wolves has a high floor of prep (reading the book), but supports open ended play really well--it lets the players go 'off rails' without making your prep much harder.

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Misha @the-goblin.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

I think you could run a serviceable MB one shot with minor prep and good improv skills. I think it assists prep for mid-sized campaigns well, especially if the players buy in to sticking close to the premise. If you wanted to run a big open-ended MB sandbox, the difficulty would ramp up.

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sam “ludonarrative disinterest” sorensen @samsorensen.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

goodness gracious! it's another episode of DEAD LETTERS, this time about MYTHIC BASTIONLAND! join us as we discuss modular worldbuilding, poetic meter, reading lens of storygames, diegetical detail and logistics play, and randomized quests. come listen! open.spotify.com/s/Xgf3wHR

open.spotify.com

25: Mythic Bastionland

Dead Letters · Episode

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sam “ludonarrative disinterest” sorensen @samsorensen.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

can it be? a new episode of DEAD LETTERS? about the TURKU SCHOOL MANIFESTO? discussing the immersive and/or empathetic larp style, internal vs external simulationism, and the revolution? in this economy? open.spotify.com/episode/53Vn...

open.spotify.com

24: The Turku School Manifesto

Dead Letters · Episode

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Misha @the-goblin.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

New York! We got a car in San Diego and are driving it home over the summer, using it as an excuse for a road trip

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Misha @the-goblin.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

Day 17 Critter of the Day: Mushrooms. We saw a lot of nice mushrooms on our walk around Devil's Lake. Are they critters? Why not. I'm not going to lie, CotD is falling apart a little as we move from doing big national sights to cities and highways.

Lots of small scallopy mushrooms crowing on a log

More log mushrooms, these larger and more leafy

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Misha @the-goblin.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

Day 17, Baraboo->Milwaukee: Morning hike along Devil's Lake. I got cocky hiking in the desert, but today reminded me that I completely fall apart stamina-wise once the dew point hits 65F. Ice cream. Laura got a tattoo in Milwaukee (fat horse).

A man paddleboarding with his dog. The dog soon jumped off and the man fell over

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loren schmidt @lorenschmidt.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

this death actually provides a really good checklist for RPG designers to go over when adding new features: (1) is it an interesting challenge with redundant soft workarounds, or is it a hard counter? be aware of the shape of the interactions this will have with other systems.

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Misha @the-goblin.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

Day 16 Critter of the Day: Bald Eagle. Most of the previous critters have been lifers, but as we get closer to home the more the species resemble what I'm used to. Bald eagles are still extremely photogenic, though, and there were a bunch of them around today.

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Misha @the-goblin.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

Day 16, Austin->Baraboo: Spam museum, then exploring the Mississippi River. Accidentally wandered into the Secretary of the Interior making an announcement. The river was absurdly lush, everything feels so green after so long in the desert. Spooky night drive through the countryside.

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Misha @the-goblin.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

Day 15 Critter of the Day: Thirteen-Lined Ground Squirrel. One thing I love about going to new places is seeing the local variants of "common" animal types. It's really fun seeing all the types of critters that people might mean when they say "squirrel"

A thirteen-lined ground squirrel on the ground

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Misha @the-goblin.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

Day 15, Kadoka->Austin: Jalapeno pepper jack cheese curds. Tourist traps. Sioux falls. We've reached corn country. Not many updates worth making.

A goat. They were wagging their tail when the photo was taken

The jolly green giant, I think from the peas

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Misha @the-goblin.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

D14 Critter of the Day: Rock Wren. We didn't see a ton of birds today, although there were a ton of prairie dogs, bison, deer, and pronghorn in the Badlands. We did see this guy, though, who was cutely jumping around on rocks right under an observation platform at dusk. An adorable lifer!

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Misha @the-goblin.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

Day 14, Hot Springs->Kadoka: Ate a breakfast sandwich and hiked off the Needles Highway looking for mountain goats. Did not find any. Proceeded to the Badlands, which were truly stunning. Power went out at hotel. So much lightning it was lit more than dark. Power has returned.

The Badlands, full of stripey colorful rocks and valleys

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Misha @the-goblin.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

D13 Critter of the Day: Bison. Apparently most of the bison we've seen have been bison/cattle hybrids; this is possibly the only pure bison we've seen. Apparently they're descended from bison reintroduced by the San Diego Zoo. This one was walking in circles, maybe 100 yards away. Hope they're okay!

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Misha @the-goblin.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

Day 13, Hot Springs: Morning walk through endless prairie dogs and poison ivy. Went into a cave with only a (LED) candle for light, 175' beneath the surface (9th level??). Enjoyed it too much. Passed out early, neglecting to write this update.

Two prairie dogs, their cuddling interrupted

A rocky cliff face studded with caves and trees

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Misha @the-goblin.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

D12 Critter of the Day: Prairie Dogs. There were so many of these as we drove around today. Something about them having lookouts seems to give them room to act especially goofy. They lack the raw charisma of the pika, but are still a top-tier mammal.

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Misha @the-goblin.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

Day 12, Laramie->Hot Springs: Had a slow college-town breakfast and flea market wander. Drove north through grasslands. Saw a tree and rock. Saw a nuclear launch center (surface only). Took a Black Hills National Forest nature drive and saw more buffalo, pronghorn, and deer.

A building that could have killed millions

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Misha @the-goblin.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

D11 Critter of the Day: Pika. You may think the moose would be CotD, but there was one creature even more mighty on the mountain--this majestic beast. They have maybe the most charismatic small mammal call I've heard yet. I'm in awe

A pika standing atop their domain (a rock)

A pika running, revealing super cute black feet

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Misha @the-goblin.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

Day 11, Savery->Laramie: Went to a small town (Savery) museum to find it was hosting a native crafts festival. Drove most of the way up a mountain (Medicine Bow). Started on the rest, almost to the snow level, but the dog got spooked by distant gunshots. Saw two moose! Drove down the mountain again.

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Jiggety Jatters. The worst name. @jessefuchs.bsky.social · 06/03/2026

They haven't made graphics better than this yet. Will they ever? Experts disagree.

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Misha @the-goblin.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

D10 Critter of the Day: Magpies. These birds have been someone I've heard about being common, but have never been around where I am. They're so charming! I don't know what it is, exactly, but they're a quick favorite. They were standing on sheep and getting attacked by peewees, great stuff.

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Misha @the-goblin.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

Day 10, Savery: Stalling for a day to avoid being near a major tourist destination on the weekend, just having a chill rest on a remote ranch. Tons of deer, sage grouse, sheep, and one incredibly loving dog. My back feels better.

A sprawling Wyoming landscape, featuring a creek, trees, and hills

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sam “ludonarrative disinterest” sorensen @samsorensen.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

egads! a new episode of DEAD LETTERS about THE GREAT PENDRAGON CAMPAIGN (1985)—a followup to our last episode! we discuss the relationship between story and play, period lenses on the same era of history, '80s RPG books vs '00s RPG books, and dogs! come listen! open.spotify.com/episode/1x8l...

thumbnail for the podcast episode. the art depicts a hand-drawn drawing of Merlin looking Very Cute and sort of vaguely Lisa Frank, with five heraldic shields alongside him. overlaid layered text, kinda burned and shadowy, reads "Dead Letters," plus the standard overlaid-scanlines effect

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Misha @the-goblin.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

D9 Critter of the Day: Baby American Coots. The coots themselves aren't that novel, but look at that precious baby face!

An American Coot feeds its child some algea or something

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Misha @the-goblin.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

Day 9, Salt Lake City->Savery: A day of driving. A run on a bird viewing loop, then a long drive to mid-Wyoming. My back hurts, but the scenery was great. I got two $1 ice creams at Little America, which was a mistake.

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Misha @the-goblin.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

Day 8 Critter of the Day: Loggerhead Shrike. As startlingly cute as the pronghorns were, I can't give CotD to anybody but my nemesis bird (no longer!). Seeing not one but three of the fierce little butcherbirds in person was beyond special. They sounded like sparrows trying to imitate hawks!

A fierce little gray and black bird, a loggerhead shrike on top of a twig

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Misha @the-goblin.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

Day 8, Salt Lake City: Antelope Island, a short diversion to an auto repair shop, and more Antelope Island. Infinite shorebirds, countless bison, two pronghorns, and a sleeping barn owl. What an insanely wonderful place

A rocky landscape, salt sea in the background

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Misha @the-goblin.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

Day 7 Critter of the Day: This Cool Bug I Know Nothing About, seen at a rest stop off Highway 6. Would have been Golden Eagle, but the one we saw was sitting in the middle of the highway as we barreled towards it at 70mph. It didn't even flinch as we swerved around it, no time for photos.

Looks like some sort of fly with a scorpion tail

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Misha @the-goblin.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

Day 7, Tonopah->Salt Lake City: Explored an abandoned mine full of pigeons. Got horrible vertigo looking down a 600' shaft. Drove down Highway 6, a very lonely road. Drove some more. Drove some more. Drove past some salt flats. The dog is over being in the car, but also over Nevada weather.

A cowboy points at a mountain. The cowboy is a large sculpture

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