Tonight on GameNight! Nikki, Rusty, Dave & Lincoln teach & play "The Four Doors" designed by @mattleacock.bsky.social, @mattriddlegames.bsky.social & Ben Pinchback and from @happycampergames.bsky.social. Thanks to @gamegenic.com for sponsoring this episode! —Lincoln www.youtube.com/watch?v=Troy...

The Four Doors - GameNight! Se14 Ep11 - How to Play & Playthrough

Thanks so much to Gamegenic - https://gamegenic.com - for the accessories and sponsoring this episode! Tonight on GameNight! Nikki, Rusty, Dave & Lincoln teach & play "The Four Doors" designed by…

youtube.com

Our Tabletop Spotlight series continues with more incredible guests! Check out the NEW lineup including the one and only "evil bowtie man," Dr. Reiner Knizia, along with many other notable creatives from across the tabletop gaming industry! Sunday 11:00 AM CST www.youtube.com/@OurFamilyPl...

Newsletter is out! This month: breaking news about Flickering Stars, upcoming appearances, life imitating art, and more.

Flickering Stars Update

Coming at you in 2027!

mattleacock.substack.com

I'm currently doing an AMA if anyone has a question or wants to hang out:

Matt Leacock in Leacock’s Lab

This is the Ask Me Anything thread that I'll be using on 15 July 2026 at 10:00 AM PDT // 1:00 PM EDT!

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Excellent visualizations by ProPublica making the case that CCS is a dead-end solution. You may want to remove that card from your Daybreak set. daybreakgame.org/card/1121

ProPublica@propublica.org · last mo.

For more, here's our investigation with @drilledmedia.bsky.social:

Gosh, I love this poem. I keep returning to one of my favorite Chesterton quotes. "If something is worth doing, it's worth doing badly." Please Use AI, via open.substack.com/pub/shawnsmu...

Please Use AI

Be sure to use AI when making

open.substack.com

The Eighth Annual Uganda Village Boardgame Convention Crowdfunder is Now Live! The event is incredible, their needs are modest, and the money goes far! And Donna and I will match the next £1,000 that are donated to their crowdfunder.

I’m a climate scientist. Let me fix this headline. “Nearly a century ago, scientists showed that burning fossil fuels warms the planet. Today, we know human emissions account for over 100% of the warming. Yet dark money and disinformation still work to keep Americans addicted to fossil fuels.”

Forbes@forbes.com · 2mo ago

Scientists have reached a consensus that human behavior is a big driver of climate change—but Americans aren't buying it.

My May Newsletter is out. Giant Pandemics, upcoming releases, and more!

Leacock’s Lab: Giant Pandemics and More

Plus: Updates on Forbidden Legacy and Flickering Stars, Remembering Ken Tidwell

mattleacock.substack.com

The Lord of the Rings: Fate of the Fellowship won Cooperative Game of the Year, Thematic Game of the Year, and Medium Game of the Year at the Golden Geek Awards! Congrats to the whole team at @zmangamesofficial.bsky.social.

BoardGameWire@boardgamewire.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Co-op titles Fate of the Fellowship, Vantage dominate 20th Golden Geek Awards, Hot Streak scores pair of wins: boardgamewire.com/index.php/20...

Excited to welcome our special guests for Game Market West Spring 2026, a tabletop game market where independent designers showcase/sell their newest games: @mattleacock.bsky.social @dodecadonuts.bsky.social @themisplay.com SumLilThings #boardgamesky #ttrpg #cute

Animal Rescue Team (the first game in our SU&SD Presents line) has been nominated for an Origins Award in the Coop/Solo category! Thank you to the panel!

My March update is up: Forbidden Legacy announced, Fate of the Fellowship availability info, The Four Doors design diary, Flickering Stars update, and more!

Leacock’s Lab: Forbidden Legacy Announced!

Plus: Fate of the Fellowship Availability Update, The Four Doors Design Diary, and more

mattleacock.substack.com

Matt Riddle and I have posted our Design Diary documenting the strange and circuitous history of The Four Doors. Development was a gauntlet: five different themes, four different publishers, four contributing designers. Includes: Goonies! Disease! Flooding! Vermin! and Meddling Locals!

The Four Doors – Design Diary — Matt Leacock Games

Matt Leacock: The design of The Four Doors followed a long, meandering route. It was the result of four different designers working alongside four different publishers to produce no fewer than five...

leacock.com

Grab your jetpack, Forbidden Legacy will premiere at Gen Con this year! Designed with Rob Daviau. This one unfolds over seven chapters. www.wericmartin.com/forbidden-le...

Forbidden Legacy to Debut at Gen Con 2026

Matt Leacock and Rob Daviau join forces once again

wericmartin.com

Please take the time to read what the children detained in Dilley wrote me in their own words: www.propublica.org/article/ice-... 10/

“I Have Been Here Too Long”: Read Letters from the Children Detained at ICE’s Dilley Facility

Hundreds of children are currently being held with their parents at an immigration detention center in Dilley, Texas. In letters and drawings, eight kids convey the pain of feeling trapped with no end...

propublica.org

Rhado calls The Four Doors "A miracle of design." @mattleacock.bsky.social

Latest newsletter is out! If you're interested in updates on my games, please take a second to subscribe.

Leacock’s Lab: Animal Rescue Team Now Available, Trip Report, and More

Plus: Spiel Essen and DAU Report, Animal Rescue Team Design Journal, Daybreak Returns to Public Radio, and more

mattleacock.substack.com

when I worked on This Guilty Land, and immersed myself in antebellum primary documents, the thing that really struck me is how incrementalism today is just the same shit it was then, responding to the same kind of bad faith arguments by evil fuckers, & treating real change as impossible & infantile.

Outside/In from New Hampshire Public Radio aired a wonderful episode about Daybreak yesterday. Not going to spoil whether they won or not!

How to solve the climate crisis in 60-90 minutes — Outside/In

Can a board game about the climate crisis really make for a good Friday night with your friends?

outsideinradio.org

We were happy to join the first Sun Day day of action at San Jose City Hall today. Hope and expect this day to become bigger and bigger each year.

Micah Laaker@laaker.com · 11mo ago

Beautiful day to celebrate @sundayofaction.bsky.social outside City Hall w/ generous folks at First Unitarian Church of San Jose, council member David Cohen, @mothersoutfrontsv.bsky.social, @350sv.bsky.social, @planetacterra.bsky.social, @indivisible.org Silicon Valley, & so many more #solar #energy

My September update is up! New and upcoming release info, appearances, trivia results, our trip to Middle Earth, and more. This is also a great time to subscribe if you haven't yet.

Leacock’s Lab: September 2025 Update

Upcoming releases and appearances, trivia results, our trip to Middle Earth, and more

mattleacock.substack.com

I try to keep my feed mostly positive, but this is worth a read. My plea to you is to get involved locally, not just in yelling into the void but in building community. Human connection is (hopefully) one way through. We are so much better than all of this.

Garrett M. Graff@vermontgmg.bsky.social · 12mo ago

The precise moment when and where in recent weeks America crossed that invisible line from democracy into authoritarianism can and will be debated by future historians, but it’s clear that the line itself has been crossed. www.doomsdayscenario.co/p/america-ti...

My daughter and I played The Four Doors designed by @mattleacock.bsky.social and published by @happycampergames.bsky.social. The first was phenomenally good. I can’t wait to play more.

I love this so much.

HORG@occlupanid.bsky.social · last yr.

CuspDot art space in Hangzhou, China is showing “Occlupanid: Bread Tag as an Organism” this month in collaboration with HORG. Visitors are encouraged to explore known occlupanid biomes, and practice identification techniques. cusphangzhou.cargo.site/Occlupanid-P...

I’ve just posted my full design diary for The Lord of the Rings: Fate of the Fellowship on my blog. Lots of goodies including some time-lapse videos and some goofy bonus materials including a Middle Earth Tube Map.

Lord of the Rings: Fate of the Fellowship – Design Diary — Matt Leacock Games

Origins The Lord of the Rings: Fate of the Fellowship has been a long time coming. Its roots can be found in my earliest attempts at game design and my love of Tolkien. My Uncle Pat introduced me ...

leacock.com

June Update is up! Announcing the Four Doors and more! (also: psst, great time to subscribe if you haven't already)

Leacock’s Lab: The Four Doors & Fate of the Fellowship Design Diary

Plus UK Games Expo, Diana Jones, and Remembering Pablo Suarez

mattleacock.substack.com

If you're unaware of the incredible history and meaning behind the @dianajonesaward.org, I have a story to share with you.

One of tabletop gaming’s most prestigious awards has gone missing

A celebration of the ugly yellow hunk of plastic that was the Diana Jones Award

web.archive.org

Charlie Hall@charliehall.bsky.social · last yr.

I am profoundly grateful to the Diana Jones Award Committee. What an unexpected honor, especially to be considered next to @mattleacock.bsky.social, @cmyk.games, @rascal.news, and Rose Estes. I'm flabbergasted.

Excited and honored to hear that Daybreak is up for the Diana Jones Award along with @charliehall.bsky.social, @rascal.news, and Rose Estes!

The Diana Jones Award@dianajonesaward.org · last yr.

The committee of the Diana Jones Award is pleased to announce the finalists for its 2025 award, which it believes best exemplified “excellence” in the field of gaming for the past year. They are: