Gil Hova 🔜 NHRL 2025 World Champs
@gil.hova.net
He/him. JC/NYC.
Informal Ferret Games, robot fight facilitator at NHRL, weird/noisy music, ferret fan. Still not a negotiable Final Fantasy currency.
All my links: https://gil.hova.net
Informal Ferret Games, robot fight facilitator at NHRL, weird/noisy music, ferret fan. Still not a negotiable Final Fantasy currency.
All my links: https://gil.hova.net
Pinned
BREAKING: I'm starting up a new line of games that I'll be putting out on @thegamecrafter.bsky.social. Some will be reprints of older Formal Ferret Games, some of these will be expansions to existing games, and some are going to be brand new.
Of course, I'm calling it Informal Ferret Games.
Of course, I'm calling it Informal Ferret Games.
Reposted by Gil Hova 🔜 NHRL 2025 World Champs
I got so stoned at a Mets game once I compared the Jumbotron to the top screen of a Nintendo DS bc it had “a bunch of useful contextual information” and the field to the bottom screen bc “it’s where the game is actually played”
November 24, 2025 at 2:04 PM
I got so stoned at a Mets game once I compared the Jumbotron to the top screen of a Nintendo DS bc it had “a bunch of useful contextual information” and the field to the bottom screen bc “it’s where the game is actually played”
Reposted by Gil Hova 🔜 NHRL 2025 World Champs
If you're running a gift exchange this year, I built a tool that might improve everyone's gifts: bettersecretsanta.com
Better Secret Santa
Improve your Secret Santa gift exchanges by making it easier for everyone to select a gift.
bettersecretsanta.com
November 25, 2025 at 12:18 AM
If you're running a gift exchange this year, I built a tool that might improve everyone's gifts: bettersecretsanta.com
I saw that the excellent sportswriter @rodger.bsky.social recently moved from Substack to Beehiiv, so I became a paid subscriber.
More sportswriters, and writers in general, should move off Substack. If you're in a position to support a writer who's recently moved, please do so!
sports.beehiiv.com
More sportswriters, and writers in general, should move off Substack. If you're in a position to support a writer who's recently moved, please do so!
sports.beehiiv.com
Sports! with Rodger Sherman
Covering the unique and untold stories about sports.
sports.beehiiv.com
November 24, 2025 at 10:12 PM
I saw that the excellent sportswriter @rodger.bsky.social recently moved from Substack to Beehiiv, so I became a paid subscriber.
More sportswriters, and writers in general, should move off Substack. If you're in a position to support a writer who's recently moved, please do so!
sports.beehiiv.com
More sportswriters, and writers in general, should move off Substack. If you're in a position to support a writer who's recently moved, please do so!
sports.beehiiv.com
OTOH - this may put BGG.CON in play!
Bittersweet to leave one of the best con experiences I’ve had, knowing I won’t be able to have it next year. 2026 NHRL World Champs is Dec 5, 2026!
#PAXUnplugged 2025 is now complete. See you next year, December 4-6, 2026!
November 24, 2025 at 12:30 AM
OTOH - this may put BGG.CON in play!
Bittersweet to leave one of the best con experiences I’ve had, knowing I won’t be able to have it next year. 2026 NHRL World Champs is Dec 5, 2026!
#PAXUnplugged 2025 is now complete. See you next year, December 4-6, 2026!
November 24, 2025 at 12:19 AM
Bittersweet to leave one of the best con experiences I’ve had, knowing I won’t be able to have it next year. 2026 NHRL World Champs is Dec 5, 2026!
Too many games played tonight to count.
@macaroobanzai.bsky.social’s This Is Not A Game About Pipes is mind bending. Played a couple of hands and loved it. Wish I could’ve scored a copy, but the line for his IGNM table snaked all the way out of his queue and around the corner.
@macaroobanzai.bsky.social’s This Is Not A Game About Pipes is mind bending. Played a couple of hands and loved it. Wish I could’ve scored a copy, but the line for his IGNM table snaked all the way out of his queue and around the corner.
November 23, 2025 at 5:44 AM
Too many games played tonight to count.
@macaroobanzai.bsky.social’s This Is Not A Game About Pipes is mind bending. Played a couple of hands and loved it. Wish I could’ve scored a copy, but the line for his IGNM table snaked all the way out of his queue and around the corner.
@macaroobanzai.bsky.social’s This Is Not A Game About Pipes is mind bending. Played a couple of hands and loved it. Wish I could’ve scored a copy, but the line for his IGNM table snaked all the way out of his queue and around the corner.
Ferret Frenzy: couple of minor tweaks left.
Rough Roads: Minor tweaks, ready to bring a graphic designer on board.
Hurry Up: Second playtest went far more smoothly than it had any right to.
Am I… starting to enjoy game design again?
Rough Roads: Minor tweaks, ready to bring a graphic designer on board.
Hurry Up: Second playtest went far more smoothly than it had any right to.
Am I… starting to enjoy game design again?
November 22, 2025 at 11:37 PM
Ferret Frenzy: couple of minor tweaks left.
Rough Roads: Minor tweaks, ready to bring a graphic designer on board.
Hurry Up: Second playtest went far more smoothly than it had any right to.
Am I… starting to enjoy game design again?
Rough Roads: Minor tweaks, ready to bring a graphic designer on board.
Hurry Up: Second playtest went far more smoothly than it had any right to.
Am I… starting to enjoy game design again?
Reposted by Gil Hova 🔜 NHRL 2025 World Champs
Just remembering how one of the most important and widely read and dropped-with-maximally-damaging-timing "Biden is old and senile" pieces was reported by Nuzzi. It makes you think!
well, I read it, and the salient, non-gross part is Lizza alleging, midsentence and without elaboration, that Nuzzi ran numerous “catch-and-kill operations” on RFK’s behalf, which would give her a role in both his appointment and the untold preventable deaths he has abetted in office. Cool.
November 22, 2025 at 4:29 PM
Just remembering how one of the most important and widely read and dropped-with-maximally-damaging-timing "Biden is old and senile" pieces was reported by Nuzzi. It makes you think!
Reposted by Gil Hova 🔜 NHRL 2025 World Champs
Journalist challenge: Use “Machine Learning” when you mean machine learning and “LLM” when you mean LLM. Ditch “AI” as a catch-all term, it’s not useful for readers and it helps companies trying to confuse the public by obscuring the roles played by different technologies. 🧪
November 22, 2025 at 4:50 PM
Journalist challenge: Use “Machine Learning” when you mean machine learning and “LLM” when you mean LLM. Ditch “AI” as a catch-all term, it’s not useful for readers and it helps companies trying to confuse the public by obscuring the roles played by different technologies. 🧪
Rough Roads at 1 pm, Hurry Up! At 5 pm, tons of other great prototypes to try!
Good Morning #PAXU !
It's day two and we're so hype to see you. Come playtest 🎲✂️ games with us on level 4. No registration required, just take the escalators up whenever you've got some free time!
https://f.mtr.cool/ocbieqxdjn
It's day two and we're so hype to see you. Come playtest 🎲✂️ games with us on level 4. No registration required, just take the escalators up whenever you've got some free time!
https://f.mtr.cool/ocbieqxdjn
November 22, 2025 at 2:32 PM
Rough Roads at 1 pm, Hurry Up! At 5 pm, tons of other great prototypes to try!
PAXU Day highlights, after the fantastic megagame…
* Wandered the demo hall. Bought Bear Raid, a game I playtested a ton and always wanted in my collection.
* Picked up a couple of Fiasco playsets from @bullypulpithq.bsky.social. Maybe more than a couple.
* Wandered the demo hall. Bought Bear Raid, a game I playtested a ton and always wanted in my collection.
* Picked up a couple of Fiasco playsets from @bullypulpithq.bsky.social. Maybe more than a couple.
November 22, 2025 at 6:20 AM
PAXU Day highlights, after the fantastic megagame…
* Wandered the demo hall. Bought Bear Raid, a game I playtested a ton and always wanted in my collection.
* Picked up a couple of Fiasco playsets from @bullypulpithq.bsky.social. Maybe more than a couple.
* Wandered the demo hall. Bought Bear Raid, a game I playtested a ton and always wanted in my collection.
* Picked up a couple of Fiasco playsets from @bullypulpithq.bsky.social. Maybe more than a couple.
Had a blast at the PAXU SCIRE megagame! Thanks to @thismaybegraham.bsky.social and @mythworks.bsky.social for running it, and to @themetalsteve.bsky.social for being my table’s GM.
November 21, 2025 at 11:02 PM
Had a blast at the PAXU SCIRE megagame! Thanks to @thismaybegraham.bsky.social and @mythworks.bsky.social for running it, and to @themetalsteve.bsky.social for being my table’s GM.
This game is so good!
So happy that our game—NEGOCIOS INFERNALES—is available at @officialpax.bsky.social, at @studio2publishing.bsky.social! Booth 2951!
We’re running our games through GAMES ON DEMAND in the RPG section of PAX U. Friday 2-6, Saturday 10-2, 2-6! Tell your friends!
We’re running our games through GAMES ON DEMAND in the RPG section of PAX U. Friday 2-6, Saturday 10-2, 2-6! Tell your friends!
November 21, 2025 at 6:42 PM
This game is so good!
Reposted by Gil Hova 🔜 NHRL 2025 World Champs
And then they too can channel their cats inner psychic potential (at 8pm!) Followed by NCISBMOMG: Scranton (At 9pm) then at 10 pm Eternal Zest! A hour of just staring into the void!
November 21, 2025 at 6:34 PM
And then they too can channel their cats inner psychic potential (at 8pm!) Followed by NCISBMOMG: Scranton (At 9pm) then at 10 pm Eternal Zest! A hour of just staring into the void!
Hey, PAXU: AllPlay is demoing the new version of The Networks, and has a small number of copies for sale. Grab it while you can!
November 21, 2025 at 6:14 PM
Hey, PAXU: AllPlay is demoing the new version of The Networks, and has a small number of copies for sale. Grab it while you can!
Reposted by Gil Hova 🔜 NHRL 2025 World Champs
It is grimly hilarious how the US party most implacably opposed to state-surveillance authoritarianism in the name of freedom is now forcing state-surveillance authoritarianism on the US.
But only for people it doesn’t like, so that’s fine.
But only for people it doesn’t like, so that’s fine.
New: cops used Flock AI-enabled cameras to monitor No Kings protests around the country. Also monitored No Hands protests and protests against DOGE.
"Should serve as a warning of how it may be used in the future to suppress dissent."
www.404media.co/cops-used-fl...
"Should serve as a warning of how it may be used in the future to suppress dissent."
www.404media.co/cops-used-fl...
Cops Used Flock to Monitor No Kings Protests Around the Country
A massive cache of Flock lookups collated by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) shows as many as 50 federal, state, and local agencies used Flock during protests over the last year.
www.404media.co
November 21, 2025 at 4:15 PM
It is grimly hilarious how the US party most implacably opposed to state-surveillance authoritarianism in the name of freedom is now forcing state-surveillance authoritarianism on the US.
But only for people it doesn’t like, so that’s fine.
But only for people it doesn’t like, so that’s fine.
Really happy to see that the new @allplay.bsky.social version of Wordsy is being received so well!
In Quick Peaks we offer hot takes on games that are new to us. This week we have games from Wise Wizard Games, Portal Games, Ravensburger, Big Potato, @allplay.bsky.social, and @gil.hova.net.
www.meeplemountain.com/articles/qui...
#BoardGames #QuickPeaks
www.meeplemountain.com/articles/qui...
#BoardGames #QuickPeaks
November 21, 2025 at 4:23 PM
Really happy to see that the new @allplay.bsky.social version of Wordsy is being received so well!
Reposted by Gil Hova 🔜 NHRL 2025 World Champs
Each year, this is the definitive "read this before you go to Pax U" article for me
With #PAXUnplugged now just 25 hours away from opening, we're posting our guide one more time!
Have any tricks for enjoying the convention, or tips of where to find good food? Share them here for everyone!
For those of you travelling today, stay safe!
www.spritesanddice.com/features/gui...
Have any tricks for enjoying the convention, or tips of where to find good food? Share them here for everyone!
For those of you travelling today, stay safe!
www.spritesanddice.com/features/gui...
A Guide For PAX Unplugged 2025
How To Make The Most Of A Board Game Convention
www.spritesanddice.com
November 20, 2025 at 2:44 PM
Each year, this is the definitive "read this before you go to Pax U" article for me
WHERE TO FIND ME AT PAX-U...
Friday - Will probably get in around noon (anticipating work meetings in the morning). Wander the expo hall, maybe try a First Look game or two. Then play the SCIRE megagame from 2-6 pm. Then dinner somewhere, and up to the Unpub room for playtesting at 8:30.
Friday - Will probably get in around noon (anticipating work meetings in the morning). Wander the expo hall, maybe try a First Look game or two. Then play the SCIRE megagame from 2-6 pm. Then dinner somewhere, and up to the Unpub room for playtesting at 8:30.
November 20, 2025 at 5:08 AM
WHERE TO FIND ME AT PAX-U...
Friday - Will probably get in around noon (anticipating work meetings in the morning). Wander the expo hall, maybe try a First Look game or two. Then play the SCIRE megagame from 2-6 pm. Then dinner somewhere, and up to the Unpub room for playtesting at 8:30.
Friday - Will probably get in around noon (anticipating work meetings in the morning). Wander the expo hall, maybe try a First Look game or two. Then play the SCIRE megagame from 2-6 pm. Then dinner somewhere, and up to the Unpub room for playtesting at 8:30.
Reposted by Gil Hova 🔜 NHRL 2025 World Champs
Pax Unplugged is right around the corner!!
Looking back at all the IGNM coverage—I’m so proud and impressed at how much our community came together to promote these awesome indie works!
There’s a game for everyone in this lot!
Here’s a thread of all the incredible coverage of IGNM 2025: 🧵 🎲✂️
Looking back at all the IGNM coverage—I’m so proud and impressed at how much our community came together to promote these awesome indie works!
There’s a game for everyone in this lot!
Here’s a thread of all the incredible coverage of IGNM 2025: 🧵 🎲✂️
November 19, 2025 at 3:56 PM
Pax Unplugged is right around the corner!!
Looking back at all the IGNM coverage—I’m so proud and impressed at how much our community came together to promote these awesome indie works!
There’s a game for everyone in this lot!
Here’s a thread of all the incredible coverage of IGNM 2025: 🧵 🎲✂️
Looking back at all the IGNM coverage—I’m so proud and impressed at how much our community came together to promote these awesome indie works!
There’s a game for everyone in this lot!
Here’s a thread of all the incredible coverage of IGNM 2025: 🧵 🎲✂️
My plan for trying new games this weekend at PAXU
November 19, 2025 at 5:11 AM
My plan for trying new games this weekend at PAXU
I've always liked @thegamecrafter.bsky.social crowd sale idea. The game will definitely get made, and TGC handles almost all of the business, production, and logistics end. Instead of having a funding goal (that is often BS), the game gets cheaper the more backers it has.
#Crownfell is an asymmetric, abstract, 2-player strategy card game that is live on @thegamecrafter.bsky.social!
No stretch goals, except for this: The more people get it, the lower the price goes *for everyone*.
Add-ons include a playmat & solo expansion.
www.thegamecrafter.com/crowdsale/cr...
No stretch goals, except for this: The more people get it, the lower the price goes *for everyone*.
Add-ons include a playmat & solo expansion.
www.thegamecrafter.com/crowdsale/cr...
November 18, 2025 at 8:02 PM
I've always liked @thegamecrafter.bsky.social crowd sale idea. The game will definitely get made, and TGC handles almost all of the business, production, and logistics end. Instead of having a funding goal (that is often BS), the game gets cheaper the more backers it has.
Reposted by Gil Hova 🔜 NHRL 2025 World Champs
Check out this article! It talks about my feelings on the Trump administration (I don't hold back), and why I decided to take the plunge to full-time design & dev work, even in light of tariffs & the current economy.
Wyrmspan and Apiary designer Connie Vogelmann has taken the plunge into full-time board game design following the huge success of her first two creations - and the destruction she says is being caused by Donald Trump in her former career as a grants law attorney:
boardgamewire.com/index.php/20...
boardgamewire.com/index.php/20...
November 18, 2025 at 5:03 PM
Check out this article! It talks about my feelings on the Trump administration (I don't hold back), and why I decided to take the plunge to full-time design & dev work, even in light of tariffs & the current economy.
*resets the DAYS SINCE LAST TIME MY FERRET MOJO JUMPED ON MY KEYBOARD AND MESSAGED MY CO-WORKERS counter back to zero*
November 18, 2025 at 4:33 PM
*resets the DAYS SINCE LAST TIME MY FERRET MOJO JUMPED ON MY KEYBOARD AND MESSAGED MY CO-WORKERS counter back to zero*
Reposted by Gil Hova 🔜 NHRL 2025 World Champs
I take back everything bad I’ve ever said about this website, this is INCREDIBLE
This Kiss - Gustav Klimt
#critterposting
#critterposting
November 18, 2025 at 3:43 PM
I take back everything bad I’ve ever said about this website, this is INCREDIBLE