Dan Bullock
@danbullock.bsky.social
Analog game maker (1979, In the Shadows, Bowie, Penitent & more) Game Design Deep Dive pod. Fmr Scarring Party bandleader. he/him 🏳️🌈
This month marks the tenth anniversary of Hollandspiele, which started taking orders for a reprint of Brian Train's The Scheldt Campaign on August 16, 2016. We have in that time released 122 games, expansions, and freebies - 64 of them my own designs. What a beautiful gift this life & work is.
I was very happy to have Pete join the "class" for the Penitent group demonstration. It was wild running demos for Penitent and Bowie back to back at SD Hist North!
Pete@petewiss.bsky.social · last wk.New @decisionspace.bsky.social is a report from @sdhistcon.bsky.social North! We talk about a bunch of games we played at this unique convention. I had an awesome time there and I hope my enthusiasm for the experience comes through! open.spotify.com/episode/0vDa...
Forgive us, but Lock Horns Games will be postponing opening for pre-orders of Penitent and Gods Will Have Blood. We will announce when orders are officially open via the mailing list and social media. Sorry to disappoint, but we want everything to be perfect before accepting any payments.
New @decisionspace.bsky.social is a report from @sdhistcon.bsky.social North! We talk about a bunch of games we played at this unique convention. I had an awesome time there and I hope my enthusiasm for the experience comes through! open.spotify.com/episode/0vDa...
An Infamous Traffic, Virgin Queen, John Company Megagame and More: Report from a Historical Game Convention
Decision Space · Episode
open.spotify.com
Ahead of orders opening again for Penitent this Friday, I have posted a Design Diary entry on BGG covering the competitive team demonstrations and opening new avenues for play and education. boardgamegeek.com/thread/37445...
Design Diary: Part Four | Penitent
In advance of the second wave of Penitent’s limited print run becoming available to preorder for Canada and Europe, I wanted to demo a teach-and-play session at the SD HistCon North event in Saint Pau...
boardgamegeek.com
Lock Horns Games will be opening preorders to USA, Canada, and Europe for the last 100 copies of Penitent and a reprint of The Gods Will Have Blood. There is a discount code via our mailing list for those ordering both. Games will ship early September. Preorders open July 31!
SD Hist North was a smashing success! As an experiment, I ran two jumbo demonstrations of Penitent with two teams of reformers divided by a screen. It delivered an entirely different experience and the feedback from players was overwhelming. Such a proud moment!
NEW EPISODE! I chatted with Akar Bharadvaj about his excellent Iran-Iraq War design Chalice of Poison. We discussed why it’s an underserved topic in games, his award-winning Tyranny of Blood, and diversity of topics in the historical corner of the hobby. www.buzzsprout.com/1993070/epis...
Chalice of Poison with Akar Bharadvaj - Game Design Deep Dive
Akar Bharadvaj is designer of the upcoming game Chalice of Poison about the Iran-Iraq War from GMT and the Zenobia Award-Winning Tyranny of Blood. We chat about both designs, the future of the Zenobia...
buzzsprout.com
Iranian designer’s Persian folklore game about exorcising demons wins 2026 Cardboard Edison Award, which celebrates the best in unpublished designs: boardgamewire.com/index.php/20... Congrats to all the @cardboardedison.com finalists this year, some super intriguing designs and themes, as ever!
REMINDER!!! The deadline for Night Market submissions for SD HistCon is May 25. This is a great opportunity to get a small run of your bespoke historical design in front of attendees at one of the best cons in our hobby.
SDHistCon@sdhistcon.bsky.social · 3mo agoWe have exciting news of two new planned events for SDHistCon Summit 2026 (Nov. 6-9 in San Diego). We're planning a Night Market for designers to create/bring/sell limited-print-run, self-published games, as well as a new Skunkworks event to showcase prototypes. Details: sdhist.com/sdhistcon-su...
Penitent by @danbullock.bsky.social was a standout experience - thought-provoking, challenging, and greatly educational. I’m still thinking about this game. Highly recommend if you want a game that makes you think as much as you play. Don’t judge my prison design. It’s already been judged 😩.
Making politically relevant games is impossible without publishing your own work. The alternative is often making baubles or adolescent power fantasies for man-children.
Amabel Holland@amabel.bsky.social · 3mo agoHow has being a publisher impacted my creative process? (warning: video contains adorable pups) youtu.be/7M9cko3cTTE
“Of all art forms that I partake in, I feel like zines are the ones that make the least amount of sense to use AI for. They’re supposed to be handmade and scrappy.”
‘They’re supposed to be handmade’: zine creators fight to resist AI influence
Artists and writers argue scrappy nature of self-published booklets is incompatible with artificial intelligence
theguardian.com
New episode! I chat with @colewehrle.bsky.social about his new publishing endeavor, Buried Giant, game expansions, and calibrating design scope open.spotify.com/episode/4R1d...
Love This Giant with Cole Wehrle
open.spotify.com
We have exciting news of two new planned events for SDHistCon Summit 2026 (Nov. 6-9 in San Diego). We're planning a Night Market for designers to create/bring/sell limited-print-run, self-published games, as well as a new Skunkworks event to showcase prototypes. Details: sdhist.com/sdhistcon-su...
"Prisons, constructed as such, have a sinister, but often, also, a nervous, makeshift air about them." - John Berger My first play of Penitent by @danbullock.bsky.social sees my nervous, makeshift prison collapse into ignominy on round 2. #boardgames #abolishthecarceralstate
This is a great opportunity to highlight some 2025 releases like Onoda from @fgradaille.bsky.social , Chicago '68 from @yoyoni.bsky.social , and In the Shadows from @josephnschmidt.bsky.social and yours truly.
Fred Serval@fredserval.bsky.social · 4mo agoIt is time to vote for the best historical game of 2025. Last year Golden Luddite winners were: 1812 Napoleon's Fateful March from @vucasimulations.bsky.social, Pax Penning from @mildamatildagames.bsky.social and A Gest of Robin Hood from @gmtgames.bsky.social Vote here : forms.gle/xjS2YW9c7xMZ...
Back from Circle DC, and it’s a busy day here at the house assembling orders. Penitent preorders should all be out the door this week. Love getting them all shipped to folks a few weeks early😎
I will be bringing a copy of PENITENT to Circle DC. Though there is no formal demo on the schedule, I'm happy to show it off. Orders will begin shipping next week. There are still a few copies left on the Lock Horns Games site. lockhornsgames.com
Who here is headed to Circle DC this week and what are you playing or showing off?
If Jesus died today DraftKings would be giving odds on the resurrection
Just now realizing I should have made a cozy penitentiary-building game featuring 800 STICKERS!!!
Walkable City, my latest co-op game about building walking, cycling & public transit infrastructure - is now LIVE on Kickstarter! 🚶🚴♀️🚌🚈 Build out the walkable city of your dreams! www.kickstarter.com/projects/fow...
Walkable City - the Urban Planning Boardgame
Asymmetric Cooperative boardgame about building a city without cars.
kickstarter.com
As someone that prefers to read game reviews, what video channels do you follow for in-depth reviews of new games? Before making the second print run of Penitent available to EU and Canada this fall, it would be worth seeing if anyone covers games like this (not that there are games like this)
America’s national character reduced to that of a mass shooter
Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 5mo agoPalantir CEO Alex Karp: "What makes America special right now is our lethal capacities. Our ability to fight war."
A while back, I posted about my move to the Netherlands later this year. As part of that move, my family is also venturing into the world of tabletop game publishing through Hawk and Dove. I'd be honored if you would check us out and follow along on our journey!
Hawk and Dove Games@hawkanddovegames.bsky.social · 5mo agoHello world! We are pleased to announce the founding of Hawk and Dove, a new historical game studio. We're just getting started on this journey, and we invite you all to follow along as we navigate the incredible world of board game publishing! Check us out here: www.hawkanddovegames.com
I must admit that despite reading @danthurot.bsky.social reviews for like a decade, I had never noticed the hover text over the images. Clearly, I am too dense to be left to read on my ownsome😕
TOMORROW: Tickets for SDHistCon North go on sale! I'm very excited to have one of these fantastic events in my own backyard. Plenty of excellent guests and events in the works. Plenty of Twin Cities representation expected, but I hope to see some of my Wisconsin and Illinois people there.
SDHistCon@sdhistcon.bsky.social · 5mo agoTickets for our next in-person convention, the inaugural SDHistCon North in the Twin Cities (July 11-12), will go on sale this coming Saturday! Also, our Harold Buchanan will discuss it with @ardwulf.bsky.social tonight: www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBAj.... More on the con: sdhist.com/sdhistcon-no....
