Mark Wallace
@markwallace.bsky.social
Anguish flâneur, game designer, professional writer. Bylines: NYTimes Mag, Salon, LARB, Rumpus, GQ, more.
Games: markwallace.itch.io
News: inlooking.substack.com
Once wrote a book: https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262513227/the-second-life-herald/
Games: markwallace.itch.io
News: inlooking.substack.com
Once wrote a book: https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262513227/the-second-life-herald/
Pinned
Name your fav song lyric.
Architecture, Nature, Alcohol, Space Travel, Rock n Roll
for a work thing, I have occasion to reread Joan Didion's 1967 essay on the Summer of Love, Slouching Towards Bethlehem, and I am just very happy about that and you can too
www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2017/06/didi...
www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2017/06/didi...
Slouching Towards Bethlehem | The Saturday Evening Post
In her transformative essay from 1967, Joan Didion takes a closer look at the dark side of the Haight-Ashbury counterculture during the Summer of Love.
www.saturdayeveningpost.com
January 5, 2026 at 3:48 PM
for a work thing, I have occasion to reread Joan Didion's 1967 essay on the Summer of Love, Slouching Towards Bethlehem, and I am just very happy about that and you can too
www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2017/06/didi...
www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2017/06/didi...
New year's resolution I think I can fulfill:
Unsubscribe from the newsletters I just never find the time to read.
Unsubscribe from the newsletters I just never find the time to read.
January 2, 2026 at 12:29 PM
New year's resolution I think I can fulfill:
Unsubscribe from the newsletters I just never find the time to read.
Unsubscribe from the newsletters I just never find the time to read.
ruin two bands by combining them:
REMinem
REMinem
Ruin two bands by combining them
NINXS
NINXS
December 29, 2025 at 11:08 PM
ruin two bands by combining them:
REMinem
REMinem
Good stuff!
I've got an Itch winter sale on! 25% off everything OR you can buy it all for $50 and save 35%! Mothership! Cairn! Standalone games! Mork Borg! more! Includes all the goodies pictured here. Take a look: itch.io/s/173492/win...
December 26, 2025 at 6:33 PM
Good stuff!
5 Games (or Game Things) I want to MAKE (or finish) in 2026:
- Meatframes, a game about operating a human body that isn't yours
- Mrs. Ashby's Garden (Mausritter site)
- The Weathervane (Cairn background)
- space heartbreaker WIP
- Came the Storms, a harrowing one-shot about the climate apocalypse
- Meatframes, a game about operating a human body that isn't yours
- Mrs. Ashby's Garden (Mausritter site)
- The Weathervane (Cairn background)
- space heartbreaker WIP
- Came the Storms, a harrowing one-shot about the climate apocalypse
10 is way too much given my past output so I'm saying:
5 Games I Want to MAKE (or finish) in 2026!
- Tacticians of Ahm (Tactical Fantasy)
- Stranger Stars (Mothership Total Conversion)
- Voidbreakers (Horror Investigation)
- 1,000 Miles from Home (Road Trip)
- Astral Command (Solo PbtA Trek-like)
5 Games I Want to MAKE (or finish) in 2026!
- Tacticians of Ahm (Tactical Fantasy)
- Stranger Stars (Mothership Total Conversion)
- Voidbreakers (Horror Investigation)
- 1,000 Miles from Home (Road Trip)
- Astral Command (Solo PbtA Trek-like)
10 games I want to MAKE in 2026
- RatCatchers
- SkateSword
- Advanced DNGN + DRGN
- Fight Knights: World Tour
- Recon:Recon
- SmorgasBorg
- Defective Detectives
- Punkass Supers
- Broken Fixer
- The Puppets Variety Hour with Hermit the Crab
And yes I WILL be taking questions at this time...
- RatCatchers
- SkateSword
- Advanced DNGN + DRGN
- Fight Knights: World Tour
- Recon:Recon
- SmorgasBorg
- Defective Detectives
- Punkass Supers
- Broken Fixer
- The Puppets Variety Hour with Hermit the Crab
And yes I WILL be taking questions at this time...
December 26, 2025 at 12:53 PM
5 Games (or Game Things) I want to MAKE (or finish) in 2026:
- Meatframes, a game about operating a human body that isn't yours
- Mrs. Ashby's Garden (Mausritter site)
- The Weathervane (Cairn background)
- space heartbreaker WIP
- Came the Storms, a harrowing one-shot about the climate apocalypse
- Meatframes, a game about operating a human body that isn't yours
- Mrs. Ashby's Garden (Mausritter site)
- The Weathervane (Cairn background)
- space heartbreaker WIP
- Came the Storms, a harrowing one-shot about the climate apocalypse
This is a very detailed and solid proposal from a couple of people who know what they want. It isn't for me, but if you're the right kind of ttrpg writer / designer, check it out.
Just want to put out feelers for a TTRPG writer/dev or two who would be interested in collaborating on a pulpy scifi/fantasy project in 2026 with myself and another artist/writer. Ideally someone who'd fuck with "Frank Frazetta but queer" as an aesthetic. Would love 2 chat if this sounds interesting
December 24, 2025 at 3:16 PM
This is a very detailed and solid proposal from a couple of people who know what they want. It isn't for me, but if you're the right kind of ttrpg writer / designer, check it out.
Considering rewatching all of The Expanse because I loved it so much.
end of transmission
end of transmission
December 23, 2025 at 1:38 PM
Considering rewatching all of The Expanse because I loved it so much.
end of transmission
end of transmission
Reposted by Mark Wallace
The question of whether or not the U.S. still has a functioning democracy is an important one, but it’s not a SIMPLE one
Some of the folks saying “It’s fine” are the people who benefit from the badness. Some are naive, sure.
But some have looked where the ball is rolling and rightfully fear it.
Some of the folks saying “It’s fine” are the people who benefit from the badness. Some are naive, sure.
But some have looked where the ball is rolling and rightfully fear it.
December 22, 2025 at 5:19 PM
The question of whether or not the U.S. still has a functioning democracy is an important one, but it’s not a SIMPLE one
Some of the folks saying “It’s fine” are the people who benefit from the badness. Some are naive, sure.
But some have looked where the ball is rolling and rightfully fear it.
Some of the folks saying “It’s fine” are the people who benefit from the badness. Some are naive, sure.
But some have looked where the ball is rolling and rightfully fear it.
Reposted by Mark Wallace
This week @markwallace.bsky.social sails across the endless treetop sea of The Wildsea from @mythworks.bsky.social @felixisaacs.bsky.social
Discover how this game offers many treasures to those who take the time to explore its depths 👇 tabletopbookshelf.com/blogs/tablet...
Discover how this game offers many treasures to those who take the time to explore its depths 👇 tabletopbookshelf.com/blogs/tablet...
December 21, 2025 at 2:44 PM
This week @markwallace.bsky.social sails across the endless treetop sea of The Wildsea from @mythworks.bsky.social @felixisaacs.bsky.social
Discover how this game offers many treasures to those who take the time to explore its depths 👇 tabletopbookshelf.com/blogs/tablet...
Discover how this game offers many treasures to those who take the time to explore its depths 👇 tabletopbookshelf.com/blogs/tablet...
I took a few too many words to review @felixisaacs.bsky.social's The Wildsea for @tabletopbookshelf.com. This was a "read & review" that made me really want to run (or play) this game. Beautiful book, wildly imaginative setting, *lots* of mechanics. Check it:
tabletopbookshelf.com/blogs/tablet...
tabletopbookshelf.com/blogs/tablet...
READ & REVIEWED: The Wildsea
by Mark Wallace I'm a sucker for strange new worlds. Give me a place that isn't, a place that couldn't exist — especially if it's near enough to our world that you could squint and glimpse it — and I ...
tabletopbookshelf.com
December 21, 2025 at 2:39 PM
I took a few too many words to review @felixisaacs.bsky.social's The Wildsea for @tabletopbookshelf.com. This was a "read & review" that made me really want to run (or play) this game. Beautiful book, wildly imaginative setting, *lots* of mechanics. Check it:
tabletopbookshelf.com/blogs/tablet...
tabletopbookshelf.com/blogs/tablet...
the funniest part of this is that photo-bashing is all AI is, like, literally
Anyone who supports this is an embarrassment. "Instead of typing it out they'll generate their idea"? Are you insane?
Call yourself whatever you want but you aren't creatives, that's for sure.
Call yourself whatever you want but you aren't creatives, that's for sure.
December 21, 2025 at 2:26 AM
the funniest part of this is that photo-bashing is all AI is, like, literally
An earlier version of my OVER/UNDER roundup (buttondown.com/TeethRPG/arc...) mentioned this in-game ad, paid for in game $, made by one player for another player's game they were running inside the game they all were playing. Had to cut it for space :( but happy to find it again. Love this shit.
December 20, 2025 at 7:56 PM
An earlier version of my OVER/UNDER roundup (buttondown.com/TeethRPG/arc...) mentioned this in-game ad, paid for in game $, made by one player for another player's game they were running inside the game they all were playing. Had to cut it for space :( but happy to find it again. Love this shit.
Reposted by Mark Wallace
December 18, 2025 at 5:42 AM
really perfecting my Think About What Should Be At The Top Of My Priority List Until There's No Time Left To Get Anything Done skill today.
December 20, 2025 at 4:15 PM
really perfecting my Think About What Should Be At The Top Of My Priority List Until There's No Time Left To Get Anything Done skill today.
Reposted by Mark Wallace
Deep Vellum and Dalkey Archive are seeking applications for a Marketing Director. Find out more at deepvellum.org/news.
December 20, 2025 at 2:37 PM
Deep Vellum and Dalkey Archive are seeking applications for a Marketing Director. Find out more at deepvellum.org/news.
(For the morning crew:) I did something meta and made a game about a game. GARBAGE IN/GARBAGE OUT is a 1-page TTRPG born of my experience in OVER/UNDER, by way of a Lasers & Feelings hack. Check it out.
markwallace.itch.io/garbage-in-g...
markwallace.itch.io/garbage-in-g...
GARBAGE IN / GARBAGE OUT by Mark Wallace
Find and hack the Datacache before time runs out
markwallace.itch.io
December 20, 2025 at 3:43 PM
(For the morning crew:) I did something meta and made a game about a game. GARBAGE IN/GARBAGE OUT is a 1-page TTRPG born of my experience in OVER/UNDER, by way of a Lasers & Feelings hack. Check it out.
markwallace.itch.io/garbage-in-g...
markwallace.itch.io/garbage-in-g...
I summed up @samsorensen.bsky.social and @sean.tuesdayknightgames.com 's OVER/UNDER in a game. At least, O/U if you were a cowboy. And if you were hacking @johnharper.bsky.social 's Lasers & Feelings as well as the Datacache. (Anyone else I can tag in here? 😛 )
markwallace.itch.io/garbage-in-g...
markwallace.itch.io/garbage-in-g...
GARBAGE IN / GARBAGE OUT by Mark Wallace
Find and hack the Datacache before time runs out
markwallace.itch.io
December 20, 2025 at 6:10 AM
I summed up @samsorensen.bsky.social and @sean.tuesdayknightgames.com 's OVER/UNDER in a game. At least, O/U if you were a cowboy. And if you were hacking @johnharper.bsky.social 's Lasers & Feelings as well as the Datacache. (Anyone else I can tag in here? 😛 )
markwallace.itch.io/garbage-in-g...
markwallace.itch.io/garbage-in-g...
Architecture, Nature, Alcohol, Space Travel, Rock n Roll
Name your fav song lyric.
December 18, 2025 at 5:54 AM
Architecture, Nature, Alcohol, Space Travel, Rock n Roll
Q: Aaron King bundle when.
A: 2026, I guess 🤷🏼♂️ 💸
A: 2026, I guess 🤷🏼♂️ 💸
Four RPG books I'm printing new/collected editions of in 2026.
December 16, 2025 at 3:19 AM
Q: Aaron King bundle when.
A: 2026, I guess 🤷🏼♂️ 💸
A: 2026, I guess 🤷🏼♂️ 💸
Reposted by Mark Wallace
O, horrible, O, horrible, most horrible!
December 15, 2025 at 3:48 AM
O, horrible, O, horrible, most horrible!
Hannukah skirmish game about freedom fighters driving out an occupying force, complete with magic lanterns: Five Maccabees from Home
#fiveparsecsfromhome #not
#fiveparsecsfromhome #not
December 15, 2025 at 4:05 AM
Hannukah skirmish game about freedom fighters driving out an occupying force, complete with magic lanterns: Five Maccabees from Home
#fiveparsecsfromhome #not
#fiveparsecsfromhome #not
Reposted by Mark Wallace
46 years ago today
London Calling is the third studio album by English punk rock band The Clash, originally released as a double album in UK on this day in 1979 at CBS Records
#punk #punks #punkrock #theclash #londoncalling #history #punkrockhistory #otd
London Calling is the third studio album by English punk rock band The Clash, originally released as a double album in UK on this day in 1979 at CBS Records
#punk #punks #punkrock #theclash #londoncalling #history #punkrockhistory #otd
December 14, 2025 at 4:19 AM
46 years ago today
London Calling is the third studio album by English punk rock band The Clash, originally released as a double album in UK on this day in 1979 at CBS Records
#punk #punks #punkrock #theclash #londoncalling #history #punkrockhistory #otd
London Calling is the third studio album by English punk rock band The Clash, originally released as a double album in UK on this day in 1979 at CBS Records
#punk #punks #punkrock #theclash #londoncalling #history #punkrockhistory #otd
I am intimately familiar with this ad. I gazed longingly on it throughout most of my childhood. I have a memory of actually ordering it, but I'm pretty sure that's a fabrication of my imagination, a hangover from the aching want of decades ago.
Holy shit I *remember* this ad. I'm pretty sure it was printed in some old Disney comics I found in my Grandma's basement back when I was ~10.
Daily Mail Order Toy Soldiers <Until Christmas>
Russ Heath got $50 for the 204 Revolutionary War Soldiers ad (there's RH in the lower left).
On the up side, Mark Evanier wrote in 2010 how Heath once freeloaded at the Playboy Mansion for months. So you takes the good with the bad.
<no 15>
Russ Heath got $50 for the 204 Revolutionary War Soldiers ad (there's RH in the lower left).
On the up side, Mark Evanier wrote in 2010 how Heath once freeloaded at the Playboy Mansion for months. So you takes the good with the bad.
<no 15>
December 14, 2025 at 3:40 AM
I am intimately familiar with this ad. I gazed longingly on it throughout most of my childhood. I have a memory of actually ordering it, but I'm pretty sure that's a fabrication of my imagination, a hangover from the aching want of decades ago.
Reposted by Mark Wallace
Pondering, wondering, connecting, remembering, reflecting, considering, thinking - all of that is useful and important, worthwhile and valuable.
December 13, 2025 at 4:03 AM
Pondering, wondering, connecting, remembering, reflecting, considering, thinking - all of that is useful and important, worthwhile and valuable.