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Jeff Grisenthwaite

@jeffgrisenthwaite.bsky.social

370 followers 260 following 530 posts

Board game designer. Positano is available now! Monkey Mayhem, Soothsayers, and Outfox the Fox are coming soon! Also, I host online playtesting Monday nights on Break My Game.

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Jeff Grisenthwaite @jeffgrisenthwaite.bsky.social · May 7

Game designer milestone reached!
I just received my copies of my very first published game! It looks gorgeous and feels really good to see it in the world.

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Jeff Grisenthwaite @jeffgrisenthwaite.bsky.social · 1d

Do other countries have military bases on American soil?

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Jeff Grisenthwaite @jeffgrisenthwaite.bsky.social · 1d

Seas of Strife communicates suit, rank, and its odd distribution well.

Jeff Grisenthwaite @jeffgrisenthwaite.bsky.social · 2d

Good on you for talking about this openly, and good on your wife for pushing for you to do so.

Another factor that could be contributing toward burnout is that, compared to most professions, game design is really difficult. It requires continuous creative energy, and there is rarely a clear path.

Jeff Grisenthwaite @jeffgrisenthwaite.bsky.social · 4d

It's certainly attention-grabbing. And I do agree that dry mechanical hooks aren't often compelling enough.

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Jeff Grisenthwaite @jeffgrisenthwaite.bsky.social · 4d

That video was excellent, but the way he's defining "Appeal" is essentially the definition I've always used for "Hook."

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Jeff Grisenthwaite @jeffgrisenthwaite.bsky.social · 5d

What game design takeaways do you have from it?

Jeff Grisenthwaite @jeffgrisenthwaite.bsky.social · 5d

That's such a better solution than constantly yelling "NO SCREEN PEEKING!"

Jeff Grisenthwaite @jeffgrisenthwaite.bsky.social · 6d

Annual global revenue for the tabletop industry appears to be around $20B. That's a lot higher than I would have guessed.

I'm sure a good chunk of that is games from the 1900s. And another sizable chunk is MTG, Lorcana and other such cash sinkholes.

But still, $20B is huge.

Playing Cards & Board Games Market | Industry Report, 2030

The global playing cards and board games market size was valued at USD 19.90 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach USD 31.93 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 8.3% from 2025 to 2030

www.grandviewresearch.com

Jeff Grisenthwaite @jeffgrisenthwaite.bsky.social · 6d

It's a good perspective. I feel like that 10% estimate is the big gap between today's world and your calculations. I suspect it's maybe more like 1% in terms of the number of people that purchase 1+ games annually.

Given enough time, I think it could grow to 10%.

Jeff Grisenthwaite @jeffgrisenthwaite.bsky.social · 6d

More generally, don't let theme get in the way of usability. Don't call a deck "the library" and a discard pile "the graveyard" and your hand "the tome."

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Jeff Grisenthwaite @jeffgrisenthwaite.bsky.social · 6d

I've only seen tiny clips of it when my wife watches it. I refer to it as the "meaningful gazes" show, because every scene ends with someone staring at someone else in a manner that is rather cryptic if you have no context.

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Jeff Grisenthwaite @jeffgrisenthwaite.bsky.social · 9d

Thanks, that means a lot!

Jeff Grisenthwaite @jeffgrisenthwaite.bsky.social · 9d

It's getting a new release as Best of Neapolitan

Jeff Grisenthwaite @jeffgrisenthwaite.bsky.social · 9d

Children of Time is great! Fascism is not so great.

Jeff Grisenthwaite @jeffgrisenthwaite.bsky.social · 9d

This one was signed as a direct result of your contest, so thank you!

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Jeff Grisenthwaite @jeffgrisenthwaite.bsky.social · 9d

YES!! Grant put Outfox the Fox in his top 5 this month, saying, "It's my favorite party game I've played in a while!"

Grant’s Game Recs @grantsgamerecs.bsky.social · 10d

I love all 5 of these games I had a chance to check out recently. They are my Top 5 Board Games of September! #boardgames #games #tabletopgames #gamenight

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Jeff Grisenthwaite @jeffgrisenthwaite.bsky.social · 10d

When you die, your life will be reduced to an unpredictable tally of points

a man in a blue suit and bow tie is standing in front of a large screen with a green stick flying in the air .

ALT: a man in a blue suit and bow tie is standing in front of a large screen with a green stick flying in the air .

media.tenor.com

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Jeff Grisenthwaite @jeffgrisenthwaite.bsky.social · 13d

🎲✂️ to get this in the board game design feed

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Jeff Grisenthwaite @jeffgrisenthwaite.bsky.social · 14d

Tricky Kids is a trick-taker, in which the cards have no numbers. Players write whatever numbers they want on them, as long as the total equals 21.

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Jeff Grisenthwaite @jeffgrisenthwaite.bsky.social · 14d

a bald man wearing green glasses is standing in front of a desk with the word done written on it

ALT: a bald man wearing green glasses is standing in front of a desk with the word done written on it

media.tenor.com

Jeff Grisenthwaite @jeffgrisenthwaite.bsky.social · 15d

3 word headings that start with verbs do work very well for sell sheets and pitch videos

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Jeff Grisenthwaite @jeffgrisenthwaite.bsky.social · 16d

10 sq ft seems like a great rule of thumb. Sizing my game down by 10% seems entirely reasonable.

Jeff Grisenthwaite @jeffgrisenthwaite.bsky.social · 16d

For table hog games, how big is too big? I'd love to see some measurements of the smallest tables that you regularly play games on. 🎲✂️

This is my Arches prototype. It spreads over roughly 11 sq ft (1 sq meter).

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Jeff Grisenthwaite @jeffgrisenthwaite.bsky.social · 17d

So, are these fictitious screenshots of games that don't exist (yet)? What do you do with them?

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Jeff Grisenthwaite @jeffgrisenthwaite.bsky.social · 18d

My approach is to just send out my emails when I'm ready. And if I don't hear anything after a month or two, I'll reach out again with a gentle nudge.
Publishers are always busy. I'm not sure that there's a perfect time.