Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Dan Bullock @danbullock.bsky.social · 2d

For those still waiting to take the plunge, Candice put together an excellent How to Play video for IN THE SHADOWS. You can find it here: boardgamegeek.com/video/575510...

In the Shadows - BGG How to Play

Video for In the Shadows: Resistance in France 1943 - 1944

boardgamegeek.com

2 8

Reposted by Dan Bullock

Greg Loring-Albright, PhD (he/him) @gregisonthego.bsky.social · 7d

Big day for @cmichpress.bsky.social! Check the Art & System crowdfunder, but then take a look at the proof copies of my game with them Keep the Faith!

www.backerkit.com/c/projects/c...

Keep the Faith Project Update: Production Copy and a very good price shift

Dear Faithful Backers, I am reaching out today for a few reasons. Number 1, our production copy of Keep the Faith arrived, and it looks awesome! We have already cleared it a...

www.backerkit.com

3 12

Dan Bullock @danbullock.bsky.social · 8d

Hegseth's bold vision of bringing domestic abuse abroad fails to surprise or inspire.

1 1

Dan Bullock @danbullock.bsky.social · 9d

In July, my new laptop transformed into a paper weight. I lost the entire Andor prototype and 3 months of event card work and graphic assets on Penitent. Sometimes losing one's place gives perspective on a design project. Have you ever lost progress only to find a new direction with a design?

3 1 14

Dan Bullock @danbullock.bsky.social · 13d

NEW EPISODE! I chat with @gregisonthego.bsky.social about his excellent zine RULEBOOKS FOR RADICALS, his work, and finding design inspiration in dire times. We only got sidetracked on Process Era 76'ers for a tiny bit, but GDDD is never a slave to the algorithm. www.buzzsprout.com/1993070/epis...

Radical Rulebooks with Greg Loring-Albright, PhD - Game Design Deep Dive

Greg Loring-Albright is the designer of Ahoy, Keep the Faith, and co-designed Bloc by Bloc: Uprising with T.L. Simmons. Moreover, he teaches Game Studies and Game Design at Harrisburg University. We d...

www.buzzsprout.com

1 14 39

Reposted by Dan Bullock

BoardGameWire 🔜 Spiel Essen 2025 @boardgamewire.bsky.social · 21d

The Bobby Nunes Memorial Award, launched last year to recognise historical gaming’s most exceptional culture writers, podcasters and video essay makers, has unveiled its second annual cohort of finalists:

boardgamewire.com/index.php/20...

(Bit late on this one due to summer holidays, sorry!)

Popular wargamer Bobby Nunes sits looking down at a game of Combat Commander. He is wearing glasses and holds a pair of tweezers.

6 22

Dan Bullock @danbullock.bsky.social · 20d

Def should have led with card images yesterday, lol😅

1 1 7

Dan Bullock @danbullock.bsky.social · 21d

Sample persona card and Iggy. The manager cards are still hideous, but Tony DeFries is just a gross person, lol.

2

Dan Bullock @danbullock.bsky.social · 21d

Sample remastered album and threat cards

2 2

Dan Bullock @danbullock.bsky.social · 21d

For preview, I can post some here. For crafting, I will put out a grid of nine on 8x11 sheets for those making it at home and upload it to files soon.

2 1

Dan Bullock @danbullock.bsky.social · 21d

If you have significant crossover between games and Bowie fans in your life, the "remastered" version of BOWIE is now available for download on the BGG game page. Changes are mostly cosmetic, but the batshit premise is still the same. Enjoy! boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/25...

Bowie

Bowie is a game best suited for 3 to 4 players. Each player will play David Bowie, or more accurately, a persona of David Bowie. The object of the game is to achieve the greatest legacy of any Bowie a...

boardgamegeek.com

3 11 30

Reposted by Dan Bullock

秋落本家 ~ Autumn Fall Productions @yazawaakios.bsky.social · Jul 29

Big day for fans of North Korea worldwide /massive j

No Motherland Without: Yan'an Fan-made Expansion is now out on Tabletop Simulator! Featuring 19 new Event Cards and a way to randomize Generation Map layout with the new Citizen Mini-cards!

Link: steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/...

1 3 7

Reposted by Dan Bullock

秋落本家 ~ Autumn Fall Productions @yazawaakios.bsky.social · 24d

Okay now we're done with this ordeal

No Motherland Without: Yan'an Expansion DEFINITIVE version is out now! Streamlined historical timeline with 5 additional event cards + 2 brand new West Policy cards, along with the promised EXCRUCIATINGLY LONG HISTORICAL NOTES!!!

See original post for link:

3 3 7

Dan Bullock @danbullock.bsky.social · 27d

Aquellos peones pueden tabular actividades en cada zona. Los peones no hay requeridos para jugar😉

Perdón por mi español, por favor.

1 1

Dan Bullock @danbullock.bsky.social · 29d

Well deserved! Please know that those kinds of think-pieces were my entry point into design and provoke conversation about the direction of the hobby.

1 3

Dan Bullock @danbullock.bsky.social · 29d

What a fantastic slate of nominees! Congratulations to @danthurot.bsky.social @amabel.bsky.social @charlietheel.bsky.social and @fredserval.bsky.social for facilitating meaningful discourse about the culture of historical games.

SDHistCon @sdhistcon.bsky.social · 29d

We're proud to announce the 2025 Bobby Nunes Memorial Award finalists, recognizing exceptional pieces of gaming media from 2024 by @amabel.bsky.social, @fredserval.bsky.social, @charlietheel.bsky.social, and @danthurot.bsky.social. More on their nominated works here: sdhist.com/2025-bobby-n...

5 24

Dan Bullock @danbullock.bsky.social · Aug 29

For those of us that are more influenced by RPGs than board games, lack of victory conditions, collective victory, or having competing incentives in play aren't radical design choices. Board game publishers shy from them. It's why I published GODS WILL HAVE BLOOD and will do the same for PENITENT.

Amabel Holland @amabel.bsky.social · Aug 28

I like an efficiency puzzle, I play & have made them, but they're such a small part of what board games can be & it is legit disheartening how many designers & players resist what is out there or tell you what you have made "isn't really a game"

It's often lonely & isolating but is changing slowly

2 7

Dan Bullock @danbullock.bsky.social · Aug 22

This week, I interview Lisa Smedman the designer of Trench Raid from Compass Games while trying to spread the gospel of Cindy Lee by way of outro music. www.buzzsprout.com/1993070/epis...

Trench Raid with Lisa Smedman - Game Design Deep Dive

Lisa Smedman is a best-selling author, journalist, and designer of many RPG games and modules. We discuss Trench Raid, her first solitaire tabletop wargame for Compass, the tactical approach to the to...

www.buzzsprout.com

1 3

Dan Bullock @danbullock.bsky.social · Aug 21

I love trying to solve age old design problems with 90 seconds of thought and zero math😂

1 4

Dan Bullock @danbullock.bsky.social · Aug 21

Assign players a shape for which there is a corresponding token (only they know their shape). Each player draws a token from a pouch. The tactile FEEL can help them not drawn their own shape. After each player has secretly drawn a token. Players reveal their shape (not the one drawn). Make sense?

3 13

Dan Bullock @danbullock.bsky.social · Aug 19

Phantom Ink is consistently great, particularly with folks that aren’t hobby gamers. The first knock of a spirit on the surface of the table is quite a jolt, even if your mediums are the bumbling sort. Conversely, my play of Mysterium felt as if someone had held Dixit under a running faucet.

1 3

Dan Bullock @danbullock.bsky.social · Aug 14

A sneak peek at FRUIT, Akar Bharadvaj’s brilliant CHALICE OF POISON, and a picture of the Muffaletta sandwich that changed our lives.

Dan Thurot @danthurot.bsky.social · Aug 13

I spent the weekend in New Orleans, playing games with hist-game designers and wargaming wonks. Two of those games, Fruit and Chalice of Poison, were especially impressive. Read about it here: spacebiff.com/2025/08/13/c...

Chalice of Bananas

I promise this won’t become a food review. Although if you could see the embarrassingly touristy pictures of what I spent the past weekend eating in New Orleans, you would understand the impu…

spacebiff.com

5 25

Reposted by Dan Bullock

SDHistCon @sdhistcon.bsky.social · Aug 13

Tickets are on sale now for SDHistCon Summit 2025, to be held from Nov. 7-10 in San Diego: tabletop.events/conventions/.... More information on the event: sdhist.com/sdhist-summi.... Hope you can join us for it!

1 13 30

Dan Bullock @danbullock.bsky.social · Aug 12

Lol, aren't you glad you could get a community ruling on it tho😅

2

Dan Bullock @danbullock.bsky.social · Aug 12

When playing a long game, do you log sessions or full plays? There lies your answer.

1 1