Nick Ferris
@nickferris.bsky.social
I make boardgames, grow things in dirt, and espouse progressivism. Tall, but not too tall. Connecticutie. he/him https://nickferris.carrd.co/ “The first duty... is to the truth, whether it's scientific truth, or historical truth, or personal truth.”
The finale of Star Trek: The Next Generation counts as an adaptation of A Christmas Carol
Julie DiCaro@juliedicaro.bsky.social · 7d agoWhat's your most unhinged TV or movie take? I'll start. Replacing "Yub Nub" with instrumental flutes at the end of ROTJ is Ewok cultural erasure.
I've updated my list of designers selling their games at the Indie Games Night Market at PAX Unplugged with the new folks of 2026 including @practicalpeng.bsky.social @tricktaking.bsky.social @jamiesabriel.bsky.social @nnoa.bsky.social @mandashafer.bsky.social and more! If I missed you, let me know.
A few episodes later, decided an update was due. One each of STRANGE, NEW, and WORLD in my humble assessment. No combination is readily presenting itself as clearly the best, though I will say I thoroughly enjoyed "Off-Hour" in an otherwise lackluster season.
Daniel Solis@danielsolis.bsky.social · 3mo agoI have a request for a trekkie with more time and data experience than me: Please make a three-circle Venn diagram labelled STRANGE||NEW||WORLDS. Place each episode of Strange New Worlds according to whether it features something strange, and/or something new, and/or a world. Thank you! #StarTrek
Don't sleep on one of the greatest game design and playtest opportunities in all of New England. Heck, in all of New *and* Old England. Yeah, I said it. Anyway, come play our games and show us yours and we'll all be better for it! 🎲✂️
Practical Tim@practicalpeng.bsky.social · 2mo agoI always love the game design nights at @backagaincafe.bsky.social ! Last night I got great feedback on molding my card-crafting bot-battler to a better state, and I tried a new variant rule for Worms Upon a Time to give a few consolation points for finding a near-matching word. Happy times. :)
Lots of love for A Wizardologist Most Hexasperated the past couple weeks, and here's some more courtesy of @boardgameanimal.bsky.social along with an overview of last IGNM. Coincidentally, I did a very small reprint of Wizardologist to fill lingering requests. If you want to buy one, DM me!
BoardGame Animal 🐕@boardgameanimal.bsky.social · 2mo agoA long time coming, reshoots, & many other challenges later…it’s here! Revisiting the 2025 IGNM games… Here’s to 2026 🍻 youtu.be/9D2_2vfzN2w?... Ft games from @nickferris.bsky.social @fanfactories.bsky.social @cardboardedison.com @drawnonward.bsky.social & more~
No, *you're* buying Magic cards for the first time in 30 years.
I spoke on the candle to my grandmother's lover this morning for just shy of 20 minutes. We talked about ANAPHASIC life forms, PLASMA conduits, and that awful new guy Mitch who just showed up where he is. I told him we want to see him get a prequel episode in SNW Season 5.
If you've been waiting to pick up a copy of Fright Factor until it's closer to Halloween season, YOU FOOL.
Daniel Newman // New Mill Industries@dnlnwmn.bsky.social · 5mo agoFright Factor is sold out!
They're giving Ro Laren her own videogame? Excellent. Amazing. I really hope this is the start of a new golden age of Star Trek videogames.
@joshforct.bsky.social, the next governor of Connecticut if-there-is-any-justice-in-the-world, is doing an AMA over on the Connecticut subreddit today. Please go ask him any questions and consider voting for him in the primary on August 11th. www.reddit.com/r/Connecticu...
From the Connecticut community on Reddit
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I'm breaking the news of Tim's upcoming release before he even works on it. Don't let this one sit on the side of the road with a sign saying "free" for six months until it literally dissolves in the rain. No raccoons harmed in the making of this game.
Practical Tim@practicalpeng.bsky.social · 6mo agoBulk Pickup, the couch-lifting tire-rolling load-shifting game that will make you and your friends say, "Can't we just schedule this for Wednesday?" Apparently 78 BGG entries fall in the "trash" category, a large number of them rat- or raccoon-related. boardgamegeek.com/boardgamefam...
If enough publishers opt to use a platform like this, I feel it will help undo a lot of the harm that crowdfunding has inflicted on game development in the past decade.
BoardGameWire@boardgamewire.bsky.social · 7mo agoFentasy Games looks to help complex board game publishers avoid ‘strangulation’ of trad distribution with P500-style platform launch: boardgamewire.com/index.php/20...
Everyone should check their spam folder for notice of a class action settlement in Taylor v. Google. It's 100% legit; punch in your info on the settlement website so you'll get surprise money down the road. Also, the irony that a lawsuit against Google ends up in my Gmail spam folder...
If you tell yourself "I love trick taking games, but I can't play them in October because none of them are scary," then be sure to pick up a copy of Fright Factor before they're all gone, and then you can play trick taking games in October. Otherwise you have to stop, sorry I don't make the rules.
Daniel Newman // New Mill Industries@dnlnwmn.bsky.social · 7mo agoAn email just went out to the New Mill mailing list, but I wanted to let folks know that inventory for a few games are running quite low! Big Wave and Tezuma Trick: ~50 Icarus Club, Lepidoptery, Quattro: <40 Fright Factor: <30 RoboKraft, Yonkai no Yokai: ~10 Reapers and Idle Hands still on sale!
My wife is trying to send me a message in a language I do not understand.
This past weekend got some gaming in, some treats, & got to connect with @nickferris.bsky.social in person! Great times~
Nick's Game Design Tip of the Day. Stuck on something in your game? Write the rules for that part, even if it's broken, or even if you haven't designed it yet. Sometimes just writing in the area of a problem gives your brain the means to solve it. 🎲✂️
Considering I've watched it three times now, I'm ready to proclaim Starfleet Academy as my favorite Trek series premiere of all time. Please watch this show so it gets a proper run. (Maybe, dare I ask, a 20-episode season?)
🥧 suzanne 🥧@425suzanne.bsky.social · 9mo ago(i really enjoyed the first two eps of starfleet academy)
@jenniesue.bsky.social and I ate about 3% of those cookies. They are delicious and so are the games, so you should all come check out the cafe sometime!
Back Again Board Game Cafe@backagaincafe.bsky.social · 10mo agoHere's a quick summary of 2025 in games and treats at the cafe: 5,281 game plays (vs 5,179) 832 different games played (vs 764) 2,064 cups of tea (vs 1,511) 716 cocoas (vs 540) 1,735 cookies (vs 1,657) Fastest rising game: Flip 7 and for those curious... Boop is still our most played game
This is a smartly curated best-of selection for 2025--perhaps the one I've seen so far with which I most agree. (Yes I'm on it, but I swear that's only 4% of the reason why this list is so great.)
BoardGame Animal 🐕@boardgameanimal.bsky.social · 10mo agoA Sentimental Saturday Night Special: The Top 25 Games of 2025 youtu.be/bacmZ1L0t0E?... @bitewinggames.bsky.social @tricktaking.bsky.social @shreesh.bsky.social @dvcgames.bsky.social @bbornmueller.bsky.social @dnlnwmn.bsky.social @marcelineleiman.bsky.social @cmyk.games #boardgames 1/2
LITTLE DRUMMER BOY: I have no gift to bring. BABY JESUS: Nice drum. LITTLE DRUMMER BOY: ... BABY JESUS: ... LITTLE BOY: ... BABY DRUMMER JESUS: New plan, Mom and Dads. I'm starting a band.
Wizardologist is sold out! (A few copies are still in transit to purchasers; a few are on hold for those I've spoken with.) Final donation tally to the Trans Youth Emergency Project between PAX Unplugged sales and after: $1345.00 I cannot express my appreciation to the board game community enough.
Look at this thing. PLEASE LOOK AT THIS THING. Thank you.
Just a casual Monday text-only post to say I'm expecting to mail the last copies of A Wizardologist Most Hexasperated this week. DM to order. After that, I'll have a few copies left you could get if you find me in person, and that's that. Options for its future are still being explored. 🧙♂️✨
Today is a "Go to the grocery store and hand-pick individual green beans out of a pile in the produce section" kind of day. There are no stores that have that around here. So I guess it's just Tuesday.
a man in a red uniform says don 't tell me tuesday
Alt: Captain James T. Kirk in his maroon monster uniform standing board the bridge of the Enterprise-B says "Don't tell me... Tuesday."
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Remaining copies of games featured at the Indie Games Night Market at PAX Unplugged, like Houdini's Last Act, are starting to pop up online. Be sure to keep a lookout for them here and wherever else their designers tend to hang out, or you might miss them forever!
Cardboard Edison@cardboardedison.com · 11mo agoWe just sent an announcement to our newsletter subscribers: The remaining 20 copies of Houdini's Last Act are now available on our website! cardboardedison.com/houdini
Last chance for Bluesky folks to snag a copy before I open up orders to the unwashed masses of the world! For those who have already ordered, thank you!, and your packages are packed and ready to go to the post office by this Friday.
Nick Ferris@nickferris.bsky.social · 11mo agoBluesky folks! You get first dibs to grab one of the very few remaining copies of A Wizardologist Most Hexasperated if you missed it at PAX Unplugged. Each copy is just $10, and shipping anywhere in the US is $6. To purchase, send me a DM here! Details follow...
