iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Christopher Chan-BLM @xopherchan.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Oh hai. Hong Kong, Riichi, or Zung Jung?

Christopher Chan-BLM @xopherchan.bsky.social · 27/02/2026

I agree in principle. In practice, I modulate my questions based on the testers. Asking about fun with other designers is not a great use of time. But with non-designers I often get more useful feedback when I approach the question of experience terms the use more commonly.

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Christopher Chan-BLM @xopherchan.bsky.social · 27/02/2026

Fun is not a monolith. You may not know exactly what kind of fun your game wants to be when you come up with it but it’s critical to understand the intended experience before you pitch it.

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Christopher Chan-BLM @xopherchan.bsky.social · 17/02/2026

Being well-played is definitely not a problem. Creativity does not happen in a vacuum and understanding that something has done something previously is a valid first step towards innovation.

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Reposted by Christopher Chan-BLM

Rami Ismail (رامي) @ramiismail.com · 15/07/2025

Bye forever, WeTransfer.

WeTransfer TOS says they can use all your uploaded content for genAI

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Reposted by Christopher Chan-BLM

Cardboard Edison @cardboardedison.com · 17/01/2026

HEY BOARD GAME DESIGNERS! We're updating our reports on publishing contracts! If you've signed a game with a publisher in the past 5 years, let us know (our Gmail is our name) and we'll send you the anonymous survey. See our past reports here: cardboardedison.com/reports And please spread the word!

Snapshot of the top portion of three of Cardboard Edison's reports on board game publishing contracts.

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Christopher Chan-BLM @xopherchan.bsky.social · 09/01/2026

This guy and I are on the same wavelength! I’m constantly asking people what their game is promising in feedback sessions.

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Christopher Chan-BLM @xopherchan.bsky.social · 05/01/2026

I’ve got a game where players make color groups with adjacent tiles. Most tiles are one color but the tiles with more than one color on them can rotate. I wanted to cut it for the longest time to streamline the game but that extra decision just kept things fresh.

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Christopher Chan-BLM @xopherchan.bsky.social · 26/11/2025

It should be polished enough to pitch well. It doesn’t need to be a finished product but the promise of the game and potential as a product should be super clear.

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Christopher Chan-BLM @xopherchan.bsky.social · 26/11/2025

Yep. I found that it was frequently a pacing problem. It’s fine for a stock to tank but it either needs to happen towards the end to be satisfying or have some kind of rubber banding effect if it’s something that needs to happen mid game.

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Christopher Chan-BLM @xopherchan.bsky.social · 25/11/2025

They fill a very similar niche! But racing games come with enough other conventions to set them apart as a category. It’s kind of like how tricktaking is an auction format but is also so specialized in its conventions that it feels odd to call it that.

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Christopher Chan-BLM @xopherchan.bsky.social · 21/11/2025

The garment worker mahjong game and a path building game that breaks a lot!

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Christopher Chan-BLM @xopherchan.bsky.social · 21/11/2025

Looking forward to seeing you! I’ll try to get in playtest with you at the con! I’ll be at Unpub testing my stuff from 1:30-4:30 on Fri and Sat. When I’m not there your best bet is to check the KTBG/Burnt Island booth during expo hours.

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Christopher Chan-BLM @xopherchan.bsky.social · 19/11/2025

I am up early and ready for PAXU. Who will I see there?

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Christopher Chan-BLM @xopherchan.bsky.social · 12/11/2025

Beacon also makes sets of odd polyhedrals. But they’re pricey.

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Christopher Chan-BLM @xopherchan.bsky.social · 03/11/2025

The short answer is volume. You need enough games spaced out over time so the long tail economics of royalties can balance hits against flops to provide a living income. The other volume is how many copies a game is likely to sell-some genres have smaller market caps. Many games, big audiences.

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Christopher Chan-BLM @xopherchan.bsky.social · 15/09/2025

We’re pinning down the exact wording but “Creative Graphic Designer” is floating around. I’m basically an in-house art and graphics guy.

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Christopher Chan-BLM @xopherchan.bsky.social · 15/09/2025

It’s official! Today is my first day at Kids Table Board Gaming. We’re going to make so much cool stuff!

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Christopher Chan-BLM @xopherchan.bsky.social · 31/08/2025

It would dance and barf up cubes that eventually convert into honey.

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Christopher Chan-BLM @xopherchan.bsky.social · 28/08/2025

Then maybe it wants to be different games about the same moment in history? The most interesting promise of an anthology is what its content has in common.

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Christopher Chan-BLM @xopherchan.bsky.social · 28/08/2025

I like this concept a lot, but it feels like it would benefit from a flexible shared system (like COIN, etc) rather than a series of fully novel designs to thrive in an anthology format.

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Christopher Chan-BLM @xopherchan.bsky.social · 20/08/2025

I just registered last week as well! See you there.

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Christopher Chan-BLM @xopherchan.bsky.social · 18/08/2025

If I ever taught a game design course Dan’s critical theory on games would be required reading.

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Christopher Chan-BLM @xopherchan.bsky.social · 18/08/2025

Yes! The way we use “Theme” to talk about how we style and set games frustrates the heck out of me because it mostly disregards what they are about and how we evoke that experience at the table. 🎲✂️

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Christopher Chan-BLM @xopherchan.bsky.social · 11/08/2025

I'm glad you liked it! I'm also tickled pink by you captured the art style in this strip.

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Reposted by Christopher Chan-BLM

Marceline Leiman is Racing Dinos @marcelineleiman.bsky.social · 07/08/2025

#BlockCollective is a volunteer-run community with the united goal of sharing resources and information, disrupting bigoted spaces, and serious engagement on the topic of trans rights. Please join us as we help shape the boardgame industry into a safer and inclusive space. 🎲✂️ discord.gg/D7E6gqwrRF

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Christopher Chan-BLM @xopherchan.bsky.social · 19/07/2025

Hey! Rad. I’m also relatively new to the Toronto scene. Hit me up for board game playtesting sometime.

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Christopher Chan-BLM @xopherchan.bsky.social · 17/07/2025

The unwritten rules one was a hard lesson about incentives.

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Christopher Chan-BLM @xopherchan.bsky.social · 12/07/2025

I’ve been working on this issue for a bit with a game of mine called Possums in a Trench Coat.

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Christopher Chan-BLM @xopherchan.bsky.social · 01/07/2025

One of these days I will make a D100 work.

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Christopher Chan-BLM @xopherchan.bsky.social · 29/06/2025

Of course when I was writing about fixing a rulebook I made a typo. “left out a problem…”

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Christopher Chan-BLM @xopherchan.bsky.social · 29/06/2025

This is a great article. After reading it I fixed problem in a rulebook I hadn’t even realized was there. Fragile elements in a modern game rulebook do not need to be subtext, they are opportunities to set expectations about a game’s tone and intent.

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Christopher Chan-BLM @xopherchan.bsky.social · 19/06/2025

Recently signed up and I really appreciate that you made this.

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Christopher Chan-BLM @xopherchan.bsky.social · 16/06/2025

I’ll be there with a few prototypes. The main ones are Canal Street Awakening, a mahjong inspired game about the 1982 Chinatown garment worker strike, and Too Many Chrises, an I-cut-you-choose/sudoku game about seating a bunch of people easily confused people at a wedding.

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Christopher Chan-BLM @xopherchan.bsky.social · 16/06/2025

Datamerge on InDesign is pretty critical for me any time I make cards.

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Christopher Chan-BLM @xopherchan.bsky.social · 09/06/2025

Cabanga goes from pleasant to genuinely fun because of the rule that you must take a penalty card if you play on the same color that was just played.

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Reposted by Christopher Chan-BLM

Alderac Entertainment Group @alderaceg.bsky.social · 04/06/2025

🎲✂️ Designers how well do you really know your game? We’re updating our pitch guidance and want to highlight the key questions a designer should be able to answer when submitting. Our working list attached : What would you add? #boardgames 🎲✂️

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Christopher Chan-BLM @xopherchan.bsky.social · 30/05/2025

When you make your own garden veggie cream cheese you can put as many garden veggies into it as you want

A sliced bagel on a plate on a black table in the sun piled high with finely chopped vegetables, loosely held together with some cream cheese.

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Christopher Chan-BLM @xopherchan.bsky.social · 29/05/2025

Thanks! It was a little bit of both. The game is definitely more complex than my other stuff, but the biggest challenge was organizing the flow of a few key concepts.

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Christopher Chan-BLM @xopherchan.bsky.social · 28/05/2025

Finally finished a complete draft of a rulebook I started 2 months ago. It's never taken me this long to put together rules for something I'd pitch but travel, iteration, and a lot of self-doubt really drew this one out. I'm going to have a root beer float or something to celebrate now. 🎲✂️

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