iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Maurice Suckling @writegameread.bsky.social · 12h

Today’s game: Keep The Faith, a 2-5 player game about how religions transform over time. Our religion featured a magical monkey who ate a magical acorn (there was some schismatic tension over this) and pooped a tree of life. Design Greg Loring-Albright. Published by CMU Press.

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Maurice Suckling @writegameread.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Yes. I’m now working on a new grad course ahead of next semester called ‘Reading Game Narratives’. This is absolutely something we do here.

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Maurice Suckling @writegameread.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

I like the diplomacy system, such as I saw it with 2 hours of play. The non-Britain/France players have some real agency and reasons to switch sides. The envoy system (seeking permission to move from someone not in your alliance) is a super interesting idea and it played well in our game.

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Maurice Suckling @writegameread.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

We played with 6 players, so I don’t know how the non-player nations work yet (and don’t have rules with me) - IIRC it’s bidding system. It’s fast and easy to pick up, and I suspected it will probably play pretty well at that number count. How was it solo?

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Maurice Suckling @writegameread.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Today’s arrival: Terry Brighton’s Hell Riders: The True Story of the Charge of the Light Brigade.

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Maurice Suckling @writegameread.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Today’s game: Coalitions (6 players), by Andy Rourke, published by Phalanx. I really enjoyed this. Some smart design choices here - especially with regards to the diplomacy system.

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Maurice Suckling @writegameread.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Ah. No - sorry to say I’d not heard of it before now.

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Maurice Suckling @writegameread.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Today’s game: Witch Hunt 1649 (Martha McGill, CMU Press). It was sort of mean. Played with 6 people (two of whom went on trial and were executed, one of whom was exiled).

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Maurice Suckling @writegameread.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Today’s delivery: The Weimar Republic (Gunnar Holmback, GMT Games).

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Maurice Suckling @writegameread.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Today’s arrival: Frank McDonough, The Weimar Yesrs: Rise and Fall 1918-1933.

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Maurice Suckling @writegameread.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Sessions of Narrative-Driven Analog Games @ RPI - students are playing a range of story-making games such as Nanofictionary, Once Upon a Time, The Storymatic, PitchStorm, Inventory Management, For the Queen, and Untold Adventures Await, in preparation for demoing their own designs.

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Reposted by Maurice Suckling

Stuart Ellis-Gorman @drcrossbows.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

I'm bad at self promotion, but did you know that I'm also an editor and that you can hire me? I have edited history books (most recently for Osprey) and TTRPGs (for Modiphius and Exalted Funeral among others). Full list: www.stuartellisgorman.com/editor Can contact me via website or here!

stuartellisgorman.com

Editor — Stuart Ellis-Gorman

I am a historian, writer, and editor specialising in tabletop RPGs and board games. This page lists the projects I have worked on as both a writer and an editor.

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Maurice Suckling @writegameread.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Today’s game, The Reason Why, a prototype about allocating blame for the Charge of the Light Brigade. Many mechanical things to alter, but the narrative and broad design concept appears to hang together.

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Maurice Suckling @writegameread.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

Latest arrivals (spot the odd one out):

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Maurice Suckling @writegameread.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

From Pea Ridge (1980), optional rule:

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Maurice Suckling @writegameread.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

Yesterday’s arrival, Nine Space Games, by Jason Morningstar. Serious contender for being part of my Narrative-Driven Analog Games course this semester.

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Maurice Suckling @writegameread.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

Yes - I have Matthias’, and so far only managed one learning game of it.

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Maurice Suckling @writegameread.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

Unpacking mail that came for me while away from home this summer #6: The Weimar Republic, published by GMT Games.

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Maurice Suckling @writegameread.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

Unpacking mail that came for me while away from home this summer #5: Education and Analog Role-Playing Games, Edited by Susan Haarman.

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Maurice Suckling @writegameread.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

Unpacking mail that came for me while away from home this summer #4: Introduction to Global Military History, Jeremy Black.

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Maurice Suckling @writegameread.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

Hear! Hear! It appears to be gaining real traction now. At least, as far as I can tell, in parts of the academy.

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Maurice Suckling @writegameread.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

Unpacking mail that came for me while away from home this summer #3: Coaltions (and expansions) from Phalanx.

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Maurice Suckling @writegameread.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

Unpacking mail that came for me while away from home this summer #2: Hunt for Blackbeard from Fort Circle Games.

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Maurice Suckling @writegameread.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

Unpacking mail that came for me while away from home this summer #1: Bretwalda (and expansions) from Phalanx.

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Maurice Suckling @writegameread.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

Today’s arrival: Designing Historical Games For Classrooms, by my friend, @gamingthepast.bsky.social

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Maurice Suckling @writegameread.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

Today’s adventure: travelling from Oxford to London:

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Maurice Suckling @writegameread.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

Today’s game at BrotherCon, Sheffield, UK, Imperial Struggle.

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Maurice Suckling @writegameread.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

Today’s games at BrotherCon, Sheffield UK: War of the Ring (Free Peoples get the Ring to Mordor a turn before Lorien falls), then we begin We The People (and make all manner of mistakes on our first run out). Much fun had by all (both of us).

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Maurice Suckling @writegameread.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

It’s still quite early and I can already see revisions to apply for the next update. I’m attempting to blend aspects of Star Wars: Rebellion with Ares’ War of the Ring (with some other systems) - and it broadly seems to be working.

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Maurice Suckling @writegameread.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

Yesterday’s game - taking this prototype out for a walk - Fall of Camelot.

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Maurice Suckling @writegameread.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

Read of the last month: Battle cry of Freedom. Excellent single volume on the war, covering not just the military dimension, but also politics and social history. I recommend it to those interested in the topic.

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Maurice Suckling @writegameread.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

Today’s game: Game of the Generals by Sofronio H. Pasola Jr. (1970). Essentially similar to L’Attaque/Stratego, but flags (HQs) can move and if they reach the opponent’s back line and aren’t challenged that’s a win. 2 spies, who defeat everyone apart from privates also keeping things fun.

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Maurice Suckling @writegameread.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

Yesterday’s read: Farmer Giles of Ham. Beautiful illustrations in this, by Pauline Baynes.

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Maurice Suckling @writegameread.bsky.social · 31/05/2026

Today’s read: Smith of Wootton Major. Written 1964/5.

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Maurice Suckling @writegameread.bsky.social · 30/05/2026

Today’s reading: Leaf By Niggle (by Tolkien) - it’s like reading a response to Kafka - I believe scholars generally consider it an allegory of his anxieties that he will never finish LotR:

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Maurice Suckling @writegameread.bsky.social · 28/05/2026

Publication day. Thank you to @enwright.bsky.social, Iain, and Nick for making this so. I think this is a meaningful contribution to the field of historical games. My chapter is on historical rhetoric and board games, with a case study on Crisis: 1914. lnkd.in/evi5Z7Nw

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Maurice Suckling @writegameread.bsky.social · 13/05/2026

Good spot. That’s the box where Saxons get placed before they invade.

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Maurice Suckling @writegameread.bsky.social · 13/05/2026

Progress assembling my Fall of Camelot prototype:

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Maurice Suckling @writegameread.bsky.social · 12/05/2026

Assembling a prototype for my Fall of Camelot game:

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Maurice Suckling @writegameread.bsky.social · 11/05/2026

All three. I’m a prof in the department of Games and Experiential Media at RPI in NY, and much of my research is concerned with making games.

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Reposted by Maurice Suckling

Amabel Holland @amabel.bsky.social · 09/05/2026

Tomorrow is the 96th birthday of René Soriano, the designer of Kerplunk & ~60 other board games he had never been credited for. I found him, & in this video he tells the story of a remarkable career ranging from dexterity games to some of the earliest Star Wars licensed games. youtu.be/dTepZ7qM24Q

youtu.be

GRAVITY IS FREE: the games of René Soriano

YouTube video by Hollandspiele

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Maurice Suckling @writegameread.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

Might be worth applying and saying this - there could be a work around. The program has historically found ways to be flexible.

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