Dean Ray Johnson ⚪
@boardgametextbook.com
Indie video game, music, and board game nerd. AuDHD. Dedicated rulebook hater. Author of Every Board Game Rulebook is Awful.
www.youtube.com/@BoardGameTextbook
boardgametextbook.com/EBGRIA.pdf
www.youtube.com/@BoardGameTextbook
boardgametextbook.com/EBGRIA.pdf
Pinned
Dean Ray Johnson ⚪
@boardgametextbook.com
· Nov 13
boardgametextbook.com
I used to rewrite board game rulebooks as a hobby. I was getting good at it, but something still felt wrong about it.
Then I took grad school classes in technical writing.
And then I started to hate all rulebooks.
And I had to write 90 pages and a new rulebook about it.
Latest draft on my site.
Then I took grad school classes in technical writing.
And then I started to hate all rulebooks.
And I had to write 90 pages and a new rulebook about it.
Latest draft on my site.
It's his year!
November 28, 2025 at 2:27 AM
It's his year!
Reposted by Dean Ray Johnson ⚪
Terraforming Mars really thought they'd get away with renaming rounds as "generations" specifically for the purpose of confusing people who draw the two cards in the game that refer to the "end of a generation" and I'll never forgive them
Do not change the shared language just to sound smart
Do not change the shared language just to sound smart
I want to agree to this in principle, but there’s also a Phil Eklund way to do it incorrectly. Eklund would regularly rename mechanics without offering context, assuming that the player would have the same knowledge and instincts as he did. It resulted in a rulebook that sounded like a muddled code.
there is almost no feedback I will reflexively ignore as a game developer but “you shouldn’t name something X because people don’t know that word” is one of them. oh no! You might learn a new word! God forbid you take away a piece of knowledge from a game that’s not a brand of gun or some shit lol
November 27, 2025 at 10:18 AM
Terraforming Mars really thought they'd get away with renaming rounds as "generations" specifically for the purpose of confusing people who draw the two cards in the game that refer to the "end of a generation" and I'll never forgive them
Do not change the shared language just to sound smart
Do not change the shared language just to sound smart
Reposted by Dean Ray Johnson ⚪
My Magnum Opus: Cloud Tools
November 22, 2025 at 4:03 PM
My Magnum Opus: Cloud Tools
Reposted by Dean Ray Johnson ⚪
Having just visited the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, this was a challenging, infuriating, and thought-provoking read.
I don't know how to introduce this one. After three titles about opium peddling, I figured the rest of SDHistCon would be breezy by comparison. I was wrong. The next day, I experienced one of the toughest board games I've ever played. Perhaps *the* toughest. spacebiff.com/2025/11/24/u...
Unnameable
After the first day of SDHistCon, where I played three games about opium peddling, I figured the second would be easier on my stomach. I could not have been more wrong. It has no name. Its designer…
spacebiff.com
November 25, 2025 at 1:59 AM
Having just visited the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, this was a challenging, infuriating, and thought-provoking read.
Reposted by Dean Ray Johnson ⚪
I really thought to myself "how bad could it be"
November 21, 2025 at 8:58 PM
I really thought to myself "how bad could it be"
Why are these all so good
Like actually sincerely good
The one with the purple bucket with inspired
Like actually sincerely good
The one with the purple bucket with inspired
Tiktok has really ushered in a new golden era of restaurant advertising
November 23, 2025 at 2:56 AM
Why are these all so good
Like actually sincerely good
The one with the purple bucket with inspired
Like actually sincerely good
The one with the purple bucket with inspired
Reposted by Dean Ray Johnson ⚪
The "Frieren Looking Up" Art Trend attracted some Big Names in Animation! Excited for Season 2?
November 21, 2025 at 4:59 PM
The "Frieren Looking Up" Art Trend attracted some Big Names in Animation! Excited for Season 2?
This thread made me go searching through the threepanelsoul archives, and I forgot about this 2014 strip that exactly murdered us all
November 23, 2025 at 1:35 AM
This thread made me go searching through the threepanelsoul archives, and I forgot about this 2014 strip that exactly murdered us all
The research on instructional design says that people learn more quickly when they're engaged. You're more likely to learn a topic when answering questions and watching demonstrations than when listening passively to lectures.
I'm saying, when people use ChatGPT, so they generate review questions?
I'm saying, when people use ChatGPT, so they generate review questions?
Relying on ChatGPT to teach you about a topic leaves you with shallower knowledge than Googling and reading about it, according to new research that compared what more than 10,000 people knew after using one method or the other.
Shared by @gizmodo.com: buff.ly/yAAHtHq
Shared by @gizmodo.com: buff.ly/yAAHtHq
November 21, 2025 at 11:53 PM
The research on instructional design says that people learn more quickly when they're engaged. You're more likely to learn a topic when answering questions and watching demonstrations than when listening passively to lectures.
I'm saying, when people use ChatGPT, so they generate review questions?
I'm saying, when people use ChatGPT, so they generate review questions?
I've never caught a cold like this. My nose is dumping mucus into a spot that annoys my windpipe but can't be dislodged by a regular cough. I have fits of multiple coughs in a row, getting deeper and deeper, trying to dislodge the mucus. The heavy coughs are giving me headaches.
November 21, 2025 at 4:52 AM
I've never caught a cold like this. My nose is dumping mucus into a spot that annoys my windpipe but can't be dislodged by a regular cough. I have fits of multiple coughs in a row, getting deeper and deeper, trying to dislodge the mucus. The heavy coughs are giving me headaches.
I feel like it's coming back someday. But I may need to quit my job to get it...
November 20, 2025 at 1:27 PM
I feel like it's coming back someday. But I may need to quit my job to get it...
Reposted by Dean Ray Johnson ⚪
NEW COMIC: Deep Thoughts
November 18, 2025 at 7:09 PM
NEW COMIC: Deep Thoughts
Reposted by Dean Ray Johnson ⚪
Feels like it should be bigger news that a journalist known for being loud about her investigations into banks/payment processors appears to be getting financially stonewalled by the entire industry unaminously right now.
The full count as of today:
YouTube suspended
Twitch banned 3x
Patreon suspended (temporary)
Patreon 3x audio flags (one false posi)
Ko-fi suspended (indefinite?)
Buy Me a Coffee suspended
Vice reporting censored
Pornhub censored 3x times
Fansly censored 1x
YouTube suspended
Twitch banned 3x
Patreon suspended (temporary)
Patreon 3x audio flags (one false posi)
Ko-fi suspended (indefinite?)
Buy Me a Coffee suspended
Vice reporting censored
Pornhub censored 3x times
Fansly censored 1x
Is it really a conspiracy to say Ana is being explicitly flagged by finance bros when she's now been banned (or censored) from Twitch, Patreon, Buy Me A Coffee, Ko-Fi, and *PornHub*??
November 17, 2025 at 2:10 PM
Feels like it should be bigger news that a journalist known for being loud about her investigations into banks/payment processors appears to be getting financially stonewalled by the entire industry unaminously right now.
Reposted by Dean Ray Johnson ⚪
this is just to say
i have desired
the desire
that was being desired
in the desire
i have desired
the desire
that was being desired
in the desire
November 17, 2025 at 6:17 PM
this is just to say
i have desired
the desire
that was being desired
in the desire
i have desired
the desire
that was being desired
in the desire
This is the worst cover of a Caroline Polachek song I've ever heard.
i think this may be the bit that broke me bc I am picturing her self-satisfied smirk at coming up with this and it is, honestly, making me die a little on the inside
November 18, 2025 at 3:21 AM
This is the worst cover of a Caroline Polachek song I've ever heard.
Reposted by Dean Ray Johnson ⚪
By far the dankest t-shirt I've published to date.
danielsolis.threadless.com/designs/he-b...
danielsolis.threadless.com/designs/he-b...
He Broke His Toes When He Kicked That Helmet Men's T-Shirt | Daniel Solis' T-Shirt Shop
He Broke His Toes When He Kicked That Helmet on Men's T-Shirt – Did you know he broke his toes when he kicked that helmet? That scream was real. IYKYK
danielsolis.threadless.com
November 16, 2025 at 1:27 PM
By far the dankest t-shirt I've published to date.
danielsolis.threadless.com/designs/he-b...
danielsolis.threadless.com/designs/he-b...
Reposted by Dean Ray Johnson ⚪
This is an insanely cool (actual) photo taken by photographer Andrew McCarthy of a skydiver buddy seen in silhouette against the distant sun. Full story, videos, and more here: www.instagram.com/p/DRBAaqLkvy...
November 14, 2025 at 4:30 PM
This is an insanely cool (actual) photo taken by photographer Andrew McCarthy of a skydiver buddy seen in silhouette against the distant sun. Full story, videos, and more here: www.instagram.com/p/DRBAaqLkvy...
Reposted by Dean Ray Johnson ⚪
THREAD.
The definitive list of the absolute best interdimensional portals I have photographed on walks in the British countryside.
1. Gateway To The Land Of Leaping Dogs.
The definitive list of the absolute best interdimensional portals I have photographed on walks in the British countryside.
1. Gateway To The Land Of Leaping Dogs.
November 17, 2025 at 8:17 AM
THREAD.
The definitive list of the absolute best interdimensional portals I have photographed on walks in the British countryside.
1. Gateway To The Land Of Leaping Dogs.
The definitive list of the absolute best interdimensional portals I have photographed on walks in the British countryside.
1. Gateway To The Land Of Leaping Dogs.
Reposted by Dean Ray Johnson ⚪
a “Space Force”, if you will
November 13, 2025 at 2:27 PM
a “Space Force”, if you will
I'm tempted to back it for the memes and because Matsuchi has a good reputation, but there's no way I will ever get this to the table.
Vampire Survivors: The Board Game
A tabletop version of the award winning video game!
www.kickstarter.com
November 13, 2025 at 4:43 PM
I'm tempted to back it for the memes and because Matsuchi has a good reputation, but there's no way I will ever get this to the table.
Reposted by Dean Ray Johnson ⚪
As all this disgusting Epstein shit starts surfacing more and more, I hope we don't lose sight of the fact that apparently every major media outlet knew everything and instead spent their time money and energy attacking the trans community.
November 13, 2025 at 1:07 AM
As all this disgusting Epstein shit starts surfacing more and more, I hope we don't lose sight of the fact that apparently every major media outlet knew everything and instead spent their time money and energy attacking the trans community.
At the start of 2025, I made a huge playlist of albums from 2024 that I wanted to check out.
I was getting ready to say that my favorite album of 2024... was an album from 2014. The 10-year-anniversary edition showed up in my feed as a 2024 album, and I assumed it was some amazing new hyperpop.
I was getting ready to say that my favorite album of 2024... was an album from 2014. The 10-year-anniversary edition showed up in my feed as a 2024 album, and I assumed it was some amazing new hyperpop.
November 13, 2025 at 4:01 PM
At the start of 2025, I made a huge playlist of albums from 2024 that I wanted to check out.
I was getting ready to say that my favorite album of 2024... was an album from 2014. The 10-year-anniversary edition showed up in my feed as a 2024 album, and I assumed it was some amazing new hyperpop.
I was getting ready to say that my favorite album of 2024... was an album from 2014. The 10-year-anniversary edition showed up in my feed as a 2024 album, and I assumed it was some amazing new hyperpop.
okay, I mean, like, fuck you
Beth Hapworth, 38, who needs clear and direct communication from others in order to avoid misunderstandings, has reportedly become an expert in dancing around, pussyfooting and eggshell-treading.
Autistic woman prefers direct communication unless she has to do it
An autistic woman who would prefer for others to deliver difficult truths to her without any ambiguity would also rather die than say a single stressful thing directly into another person’s face, it…
thedailytism.com
November 12, 2025 at 3:04 PM
okay, I mean, like, fuck you
It was all... a pun... on wood for sheep...
Sometimes a pun makes me laugh. Sometimes a pun makes me groan. And rarely, a pun just makes me respect the level of work you put into it.
Sometimes a pun makes me laugh. Sometimes a pun makes me groan. And rarely, a pun just makes me respect the level of work you put into it.
GAME ON! 😤🏀 We are THRILLED to announce our sponsorship of the Minnesota @timberwolves for the 2026 NBA season! This was a natural partnership alongside our MN headquarters and we cannot wait to start trading timber for wolves! A-wooo! 🪵🐺 #catan #nba #minnesotatimberwolves
November 12, 2025 at 12:45 AM
It was all... a pun... on wood for sheep...
Sometimes a pun makes me laugh. Sometimes a pun makes me groan. And rarely, a pun just makes me respect the level of work you put into it.
Sometimes a pun makes me laugh. Sometimes a pun makes me groan. And rarely, a pun just makes me respect the level of work you put into it.